Potential offtakers in the German city of Hamburg are partnering with Vattenfall and Shell to deliver an ambitious green hydrogen network that includes plans for 100MW electrolyser.
Hamburg Port Authority and other 11 other companies have teamed up with the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub, which comprises Shell, Vattenfall, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Warme Hamburg, to form a new network.
The application submitted by the companies to the EU-wide “Important Projects of Common European Interest” (IPCEI) funding programme spans nine complementary projects all in the vicinity of the Port of Hamburg, linking hydrogen production, distribution and use across a range of applications.
As of 2026, the network partners’ projects could reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Hamburg by 170,000 tonnes each year.
The other companies forming the network include Airbus, ArcelorMittal, Gasnetz Hamburg, GreenPlug and Hamburger Hafen und Logistik.
The nine projects include the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub, which plans to jointly produce hydrogen from wind and solar power at the Hamburg-Moorburg power plant site supplying a 100MW electrolyser.
In another of the nine planned projects ArcelorMittal’s Hamburg plant will be converted to climate-neutral steel production in four steps by 2030 as part of the H2H project.
These include the construction of a hydrogen-powered demonstration plant for the direct reduction of iron ore (H2First) and the technological upgrading of the existing direct reduction plant (H2Ready) to replace the long-term use of natural gas with green hydrogen.
In another the Hydrogen Port Applications (HyPA) project, involving the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), will set up two different priorities as an infrastructure provider and enabler for roads, railways and waterways in the port of Hamburg.
“Hydrogen fuel tank infrastructure in the Hamburg harbour area allows emission-free traffic in the heavily used harbour area and is an essential step towards decarbonisation,” says Jens Meier, CEO of the Hamburg Port Authority.
The Port of Hamburg, with its wide network of potential industrial applications and service partners, offers a unique location-specific advantage to creating a viable hydrogen economy, said the network.
In addition, the network should produce a “variety of positive spillover effects” throughout Germany and across Europe.
It is already closely linked to other activities among Germany’s northern neighbours.