On August 12, RWE AG commissioned a 14 MW pilot electrolyzer in Lingen. The facility, located on the premises of RWE's Emsland gas power plant, uses two different technologies for hydrogen production. The pilot plant is part of a larger plan to expand the hydrogen economy.
The 14 MW plant consists of two sub-units: a 10 MW alkaline electrolyzer from Sunfire and a 4 MW unit designed and built by Linde using a PEM electrolyzer from ITM Power. Using electricity from renewable sources, the two electrolyzers can produce up to 270 kilograms of green hydrogen per hour.
This allows the energy company to gain experience with two electrolysis technologies that are important for future large-scale industrial plants. The first large-scale plant is already under construction a few meters away. As part of the GET H2 Nucleus project, a 100 MW electrolyzer is scheduled to start operation here in 2025. By 2027, the company plans to expand its production capacity to 300 MW.
Initially, RWE plans to blend the hydrogen produced by the pilot electrolyzer with natural gas for the gas turbine of power plant unit D. From mid-2025, the company also intends to offer the energy carrier at the hydrogen refueling station on the site. Construction work for the refueling station and the filling station is already underway.
Lower Saxony Leading in H2 Investments
The Lower Saxony Ministry of Environment has provided 8 million euros in funding for the commissioned pilot electrolyzer. In July, RWE received funding commitments of more than 490 million euros from the federal and state governments for the construction of the 300 MW plant. Minister President Stephan Weil stated that 50 percent of the green hydrogen production recently approved by the EU in Germany comes from Lower Saxony, placing the state at the forefront of investments nationwide.
At the commissioning, Robert Habeck said: "By supporting hydrogen projects along the entire value chain, we are taking an important step towards a climate-neutral and sustainable economy in Germany. [...] I am convinced that electrolyzers like the one here in Lingen will make an important contribution to the success of the energy transition."
Hydrogen Hub Lingen
RWE AG Chairman Markus Krebber calls Lingen one of the most exciting places in the German energy transition: "Right next to our flexible gas power plant and our modern large-scale battery, we are now also producing green hydrogen. In the coming years, we will further expand the production of green hydrogen here at the site. [...] The complexity of the hydrogen economy is great. [...] Here and today, you can see how part of it becomes reality."
RWE is part of the GET H2 initiative, which aims to build Germany's first publicly accessible hydrogen infrastructure. The GET H2 Nucleus project connects green hydrogen production in Lingen with industrial consumers in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The approximately 130-kilometer network from Lingen to Gelsenkirchen is intended to become the first hydrogen network with non-discriminatory access and transparent prices.
