Independent oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea is developing a blue hydrogen project on Germany’s North Sea coast at the port of Wilhelmshaven.

The Bluehynow project aims to produce more than 200,000m³/hr of hydrogen from Norwegian gas piped in via two nearby landing points. Carbon dioxide from the plant will be shipped to offshore locations in Norway and Denmark and stored under the seabed in underground reservoirs, according to Wintershall.

Germany’s hydrogen strategy is highly supportive of green hydrogen, but the government has signalled it will not offer direct support to projects for the blue variety—though it will accept imports of blue hydrogen from Norway for a transitional period. Wintershall has not applied for any subsidies for its project, the company tells Hydrogen Economist.

Wintershall says Bluehynow will help to secure hydrogen supplies for Germany by responding flexibly to disruptions to supplies of imported green hydrogen.

200,000 m³/hr – Project’s expected hydrogen production

“Industrial customers need certainty that they will be able to obtain sufficient quantities of hydrogen in the near future. Otherwise, there is the risk that Germany’s national hydrogen strategy will become futile. We need hydrogen from diverse sources, with competitive production. Climate-friendly hydrogen from natural gas is an essential part of the solution,” says Wintershall CEO Mario Mehren.

Wintershall cites forecasts that Germany’s hydrogen needs will rise from a current 55TWhr/yr to 90-110TWhr/yr by 2030.

Wilhelmshaven has two nearby landing points for gas from Norway, the possibility of hydrogen storage in neighbouring facilities and a direct link to the planned German hydrogen network. It also has a deepwater port where large tankers can dock and the potential to transport CO₂ offshore from Wilhelmshaven.

Carbon management

“Wilhelmshaven is an ideal location for Bluehynow and can also be expanded into a logistics collection point for CO₂. Unavoidable CO₂ emissions from all over Germany can be pooled there and shipped from Wilhelmshaven to be stored safely. That would make a significant contribution to decarbonisation in Germany,” says Klaus Langemann, head of carbon management and hydrogen at Wintershall.

Cross-border shipment of CO₂ from Germany to storage sites in Denmark and Norway is technically feasible but still requires intergovernmental agreements based on the so-called London Protocol, which governs international transfers of the gas. “Intensive efforts are under way to achieve that,” the firm says.

The company adds that there are also highly promising CO₂ reservoirs off Germany’s North Sea coast—outside Germany’s territorial waters but within its exclusive economic zone.

“Wintershall is in favour of modernising the legal framework so that offshore carbon capture and storage can also be implemented in Germany,” the company says.

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Author: Stuart Penson