Green hydrogen developer HH2E has announced its second large-scale German project, Thierbach, supported by investors Foresight and HydrogenOne Capital Growth.

The development will be located near Borna in the district of Leipzig. The 100MW first phase is scheduled for startup in 2025, with the potential to scale up to over 1GW by 2030.

Like HH2E’s Lubmin project, Thierbach will install an alkaline electrolyser with a high-capacity battery  to balance out intermittent renewable electricity input and enable continuous green hydrogen production.

“In addition to Borna and Lubmin, we have also identified 15 other ideal locations for green hydrogen production in Germany. Our growth potential is impressive, and we look forward to further exploring it together with our investors and partners,” says Alexander Voigt, co-founder and board member of HH2E. The developer aims to install 4GW of green hydrogen capacity in Germany by 2030.

1GW – Potential capacity of Thierbach project by 2030

The project has seen support from the Leipzig district government, which anticipates a key role for green hydrogen in revitalising the region.

“The Leipzig district is in the midst of structural change and offers attractive location conditions due to the investment opportunities,” says Henry Graichen, Leipzig district administrator. He adds that “the development of the hydrogen economy is supported by the district of Leipzig as a strategic goal”, having set up the ‘H2 Transfer Region’ initiative in 2020 to evaluate opportunities for the transition from lignite coal to hydrogen.

HH2E anticipates offtake from a variety of sectors, including large-scale energy and industrial consumers such as the chemicals industry and commercial air and road transport operators.

“Domestic green hydrogen production is crucial to secure a key role for Germany in the future global green energy sector, a sector that is receiving major support from governments in all the world’s major economies. German industries will more easily be able to remain competitive if they are not totally dependent on energy imports,” says Andreas Schierenbeck, co-founder and board member of HH2E.

HH2E, Foresight and HydrogenOne have taken a preliminary investment decision on the project, but will not take FID until later this year.

 “We are pleased to start 2023 with our first investment in a clean hydrogen project, which is also the 10th private investment for our fund,” says Simon Hogan, chairman of HydrogenOne.

Foresight and HydrogenOne acquired minority equity stakes in HH2E in May 2022, as well as a framework agreement to co-invest in five large-scale projects across industrial locations in Germany.

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Author: Polly Martin