Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub orders electrolyser from Siemens Energy

12 September 2024

Electrolysis plant on site of former Moorburg coal-fired power plant - construction from 2025

The Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub (HGHH), consisting of the Luxcara asset manager and Hamburger Energiewerke, has commissioned Siemens Energy to supply and install a 100-megawatt electrolyser on the site of the former Moorburg coal-fired power plant. This comes after Robert Habeck, Germany's Minister for Economics, handed over funding decisions on Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) worth over EUR 250 million in August.

Electrolyser centrepiece of hydrogen site

"The order for the electrolyser is a milestone in our project," said Christoph Cosler, Head of Corporate Development at Hamburger Energiewerke. "After all the preparatory work, we are now moving on to the actual implementation. Construction of the electrolyser, which will be the main part of the hydrogen site, will start next year." This will be based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology, which is particularly well suited to operating renewable energies. Water is split into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity along a membrane. The electrolyser is scheduled to go into operation in 2027. Around 10,000 tonnes of green hydrogen could then be produced in Moorburg every year.

Important step for the European hydrogen sector

Hydrogen will be supplied via the HH-WIN network and a lorry-loading station. The HGHH consortium aims to attract companies from a range of industries and is currently in negotiations. The large-scale hydrogen project is another important step in the ramp-up of the European hydrogen sector, according to Alexey Ustinov, Head of Sustainable Energy Systems at Siemens Energy. "The energy transition will not succeed without green molecules," he added.

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Sources and further information

Hamburg as a green hydrogen hub

The City of Hamburg is keen to ramp up the hydrogen sector along with partners industry, science and politics. Their plans foresee decarbonizing ports, industry, logistics and aviation. More than 60 projects, initiatives, start-ups and collaborations on green hydrogen are underway in the city. Click on future.hamburg.com for more details of these endeavours.