RWE has received the construction and environmental permit for an electrolyser for its near its Magnum power plant in Eemshaven in the north of the Netherlands.
The permit marks an important stage in the development of a 100MW hydrogen project in Eemshaven, RWE said.
If the electrolyser is built, it would help to fully integrate the 795MW OranjeWind offshore wind farm into the Dutch energy system, which RWE is building together with TotalEnergies.
Sopna Sury, chief operating officer for hydrogen at RWE Generation SE, said: “With the receipt of the permits, we have come a step closer to the realisation of this electrolyser in Eemshaven.
“With the plant, RWE could provide industry with the green hydrogen it needs to decarbonise production processes.
“With our plans for this electrolyser in Eemshaven, we are contributing to the growth of the region and helping to establish it as a hub for renewable energies.”
In order to optimally coordinate fluctuating electricity generation from renewable energies on the one hand and flexible electricity demand on the other, integration into the Dutch energy system is an important part of the OranjeWind project.
OranjeWind’s planned 100MW electrolyser in Eemshaven will make an important contribution to this, RWE said.
TotalEnergies had recently announced that it would use its share of electricity generation from OranjeWind to operate electrolysers with a capacity of 350MW.
The aim is to produce green hydrogen for the decarbonisation of TotalEnergies’ refineries in Northern Europe
The investment decisions for the 50MW Eemshydrogen project and the 100MW electrolyser from OranjeWind are still pending.
An important prerequisite for this is that the necessary infrastructure such as the national hydrogen backbone is available in time to transport the green hydrogen to customers.