H2 pilot plant in Lingen

Starting signal for green hydrogen production in Lingen

In summer 2024, RWE commissioned a 14-megawatt electrolysis plant on the site of the Emsland gas-fired power plant. The plant for producing hydrogen using green electricity has a capacity of 14 megawatts. Using electricity from renewable energy sources, it can produce up to 270 kilograms of green hydrogen per hour.

The pilot project marks the first concrete step towards establishing large-scale electrolysis capacities. RWE intends to use the plant to gather valuable experience for the operation of future large-scale plants.

The technology: pressurised alkali process and proton membrane electrolysis

RWE is testing two electrolysis technologies under industrial conditions in the pilot plant

Dresden-based manufacturer Sunfire has installed an alkaline electrolyser with a capacity of 10 MW for RWE. Four modules, each weighing 15 tonnes, were assembled in a specially constructed hall to form two ‘stacks’ almost ten metres long.

At the same time, Linde Engineering designed and built a 4 MW plant with a PEM electrolyser from ITM Power. The abbreviation PEM stands for “polymer electrolyte membrane”. The PEM electrolysers are installed in the smaller hall of the test plant in two compact “cubes” of 2 MW each.

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Hydrogen to reach customers by trailer from 2025

As part of extensive tests, the hydrogen will initially be added to the fuel for the natural gas turbine of Block D of the Emsland gas-fired power plant. Until the power plant site is connected to a hydrogen network, the hydrogen produced with the pilot can initially only be transported to the customer by road using tankers. Construction work on a public refuelling facility and a non-public filling station for the hydrogen (H2 Filling Hub) started in July 2024. The refuelling facility and filling station will go into operation in mid-2025. As soon as the Lingen site is connected to a hydrogen network, customers can then also be supplied with hydrogen via a pipeline.

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RWE gains experience with pilots
for industrial hydrogen production

The Lingen site plays a key role in RWE’s hydrogen strategy: as part of the GET H2 Nukleus project, the company plans to commission 300 MW of electrolysis capacity in three stages by 2027. The aim of GET H2 Nukleus is to initiate the development of a supra-regional hydrogen infrastructure together with partners and thus provide impetus for a strong European hydrogen market. With the 14 MW pilot plant, RWE is testing on a small scale what the company wants to implement a few metres away in the GET H2 Nukleus in the three-digit MW range: the production of green hydrogen in order to provide industrial customers with green molecules and thus support them in their decarbonisation.

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Strongly positioned along the hydrogen value chain

RWE has the knowledge and extensive experience in the development of hydrogen projects. The company is one of the key players at many stages of the hydrogen value chain. For example, RWE operates gigawatt-scale wind and solar power plants worldwide, which generate the green electricity that is essential for green hydrogen. RWE also has expertise in the production and storage of green hydrogen and an international energy trading arm (RWE Supply & Trading), which can supply industrial customers with green molecules as and when they need them. Together with strong partners, RWE is active in over 30 hydrogen projects worldwide.

Pioneering investment decision
for Lingen pilot plant

”By 2030, RWE will create two gigawatts of its own electrolysis capacity to produce green hydrogen. In Lingen, we want to gather operating experience in the industrial use of the two technologies, which are to be used in the three-digit megawatt range as part of GET H2, for example. The funding commitment from the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment is a key factor in the realisation of this pilot project, which will pave the way for future large-scale plants.”

Dr Sopna Sury, Chief Operating Officer Hydrogen at RWE Generation (3 May 2022)

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Left to right: Olaf Lies (Minister for the Environment, Energy, Construction and Climate Protection for the State of Lower Saxony), Dr Sopna Sury (COO Hydrogen RWE Generation), Katja Wünschel (CEO RWE Renewables Europe & Australia GmbH), Nikolaus Valerius (Technical CEO RWE Nuclear GmbH)

Hydrogen from pilot plant goes on the road via H2 filling hub

Together with the Westfalen Group, RWE is currently building a public refuelling facility and a non-public filling facility in Lingen - a so-called H2 Filling Hub. This is expected to go into operation in mid-2025. The H2 filling station will allow hydrogen-powered vehicles to be refuelled with green hydrogen. The filling station will enable companies that sign a purchase agreement with RWE to collect hydrogen with tank trailers from mid-2025 and transport it to their sites of operation. RWE will provide the green hydrogen for the H2 Filling Hub via its pilot electrolysis plant. The Westfalen Group will be responsible for operation.

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