Düsseldorf-headquartered energy company Uniper has teamed up with offshore wind giant Ørsted to jointly develop offshore wind with hydrogen on a large scale in Germany.
The partners plan to achieve this through a system-serving direct integration of hydrogen production from offshore wind power at the Wilhelmshaven site. Uniper began developing the “Wilhelmshaven Green Hydrogen” project in 2020. It is expected that an electrolysis plant with a capacity of 70 MW will be installed from 2025, and be expanded to 410 MW by 2030.
The renewable electricity required for the electrolysis will come from Ørsted offshore wind farm. Uniper believes Wilhelmshaven could develop into a hydrogen center for Lower Saxony and serve as an example for similar projects.
The two companies are also investigating CO2-free alternatives for stabilising power grids, as well as green solutions for industrial customers. The transmission system operator TenneT stands ready as a partner to support them and, among other things, to realise the transport of wind power from sea to land.
Axel Wietfeld, CEO of Uniper Hydrogen, stated: “Through the strategic partnership with Ørsted, we have exactly the right setup to combine economic and ecological goals directly on site in Wilhelmshaven. By integrating offshore wind and hydrogen, we can significantly support industries such as the chemical, steel or transport sectors in their decarbonization.”
Jörg Kubitza, Germany managing director of Ørsted, said: “Green hydrogen from offshore wind power is the driver of German decarbonization, as it plays a key role for future climate neutrality. Therefore, Germany as an industrial location needs much more green electricity than previously planned.”
Earlier this month, Uniper joined forces with Rotterdam Port to develop the production of green hydrogen at its location on Maasvlakte with the use of power generated by North Sea wind farms. Earlier on Monday, Ørsted sealed a 10-year power purchase deal from German food retailer REWE Group which will procure 100 MW of electricity from its Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm in Germany.
