Utility RWE has installed the first 10MW of electrolyser capacity at its pilot project in Lingen. The eight pressurised alkaline electrolysers were supplied by Germany’s Sunfire, while 4MW of proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) electrolyser capacity will be installed by industrial gases firm Linde in the near future.

The Lingen pilot plant, which will be integrated with the Emsland gas-fired power station, is due to come online in the autumn. It will produce up to 6.96t/d of hydrogen, which will be fed into a public network to be built as part of the Get H2 initiative—expected to start first flows by 2024—or blended with gas to fuel the Emsland turbines. RWE is planning to construct a hydrogen-ready turbine with Japan’s Kawasaki at the power plant.

“Once it has been commissioned, the Lingen plant will help us to build up experience with two technologies for the subsequent operation of large-scale electrolysers” Sury, RWE

The state of Lower Saxony is providing €8mn ($8.6mn) of funding for the project.

“Following months of preliminary work, it is exciting for everyone to see the pilot plant taking shape. With the arrival of the first electrolyser, we have come another step closer to our goal of producing green hydrogen. Once it has been commissioned, the Lingen plant will help us to build up experience with two technologies for the subsequent operation of large-scale electrolysers,” says Sopna Sury, COO for hydrogen at RWE.

RWE will site 200MW of electrolyser capacity for Get H2 Nukleus near the pilot project. The utility ordered two 100MW PEM electrolysers from Linde at the beginning of this year, aiming to commission the first in 2024 and the second in 2025, although the project is still pending both FID and funding through the EU’s Important Project of Common European Interest initiative.

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Author: Polly Martin