RWE has secured more than €818m in funding from the German government and federal state governments to implement certain hydrogen projects in the country.
The German energy company will receive €619m to support two facilities.
The first is a 300MW electrolyser plant located in Lingen, Lower Saxony which will generate green hydrogen. This facility is a part of the GET H2 Nukleus project.
The second recipient of the funding is a hydrogen facility in Gronau-Epe, North Rhine-Westphalia.
In addition, €199m has been granted to a consortium featuring RWE, which is developing a 100MW electrolyser plant at the port of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. This facility is a part of the HyTechHafen Rostock project.
Other companies in the consortium with RWE are RheinEnergie, EnBW Neue Energien, and Rostock Port.
The federal government is covering 70% of the total funding for each of the three projects. The states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are each contributing 30% for the projects within their territories.
RWE plans to invest a mid-three-digit million-euro amount across the three hydrogen projects.
RWE CEO Markus Krebber said: “Thanks to the funding from the German government and the federal state governments, the first industrial-scale hydrogen projects in Germany can now be implemented.
“Green electricity and hydrogen will be crucial in terms of making locations attractive to industry. It is thus vital to also invest in electrolysers producing hydrogen in Germany and the associated infrastructure including storage facilities without delay.”
Earlier in February this year, the European Union (EU) Commission identified the projects as Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) alongside other hydrogen schemes.
At the Lingen site, RWE aims to install 300MW hydrogen generating capacities in 100MW increments by 2027. The first 100MW electrolyser is scheduled to begin operations in 2025.
RWE said that two caverns will be utilised for storing hydrogen in RWE Gas Storage West’s Gronau-Epe facility. The first hydrogen is expected to be stored at the facility in 2026.
The proposed electrolyser at Rostock Port is anticipated to commence green hydrogen production in 2027.
