ISSUE THREE / AUTUMN 2021
Europe has long been a leader in pioneering sustainable energy sources like wind and solar, and the rise of clean hydrogen is no exception. Several green – generated from renewables – hydrogen hubs have sprung up across Europe, forming the green shoots of a hydrogen future for the region and beyond. But, while these pioneering projects could kickstart clean hydrogen adoption at scale, collaboration between industry, policymakers, utilities, engineers and many other partners is key to their success.
HAMBURG GREEN HYDROGEN HUB
As green hydrogen is emissions-free when produced, and emits only water when combusted, it is seen as a vital part of efforts to decarbonize areas of the economy that cannot be simply electrified. And while the idea of a hydrogen economy is nothing new, with production costs tumbling, a favorable EU policy framework and a growing imperative to switch to sustainable energy, the race to scale up collaborative green hydrogen infrastructure projects is on.
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COLLABORATION AT WORK
One such collaboration opportunity is the Green Hydrogen Hub in Hamburg, which Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, the parent company of MHIRJ, is looking to develop in partnership with Shell, wind energy major Vattenfall and local municipal company Wärme Hamburg. The four partners have signed a letter of intent to explore the feasibility of converting the site of a former coal-fired power plant into a 100MW hydrogen project that could begin producing clean hydrogen by 2025.
While there is work still to do before green hydrogen can compete on price with other fuels, things are changing fast. Production costs have fallen by 40% since 2015, according to an IHS Markit report, and carbon-free hydrogen could be costcompetitive by 2030. But it is the potential to decarbonize an entire industrial cluster on a single site that is driving the agenda of projects like Hamburg, bringing together partners from different sectors working toward a common goal.
At the heart of the site in Hamburg’s Moorburg district, an electrolyzer would produce green hydrogen with an initial output of 100MW powered by renewable energy from solar photovoltaic (PV) installations and wind farms in the North Sea. Once completed, the electrolyzer would be one of the largest plants in Europe and a medium-to-long-term increase of its capacity to 500MW and beyond is already under consideration. A feasibility study will look into the smart integration of a hydrogen production facility with the site’s former coal-fired power plant; it will also look at storage possibilities and connections with future transportation infrastructure under 08 | MHIRJ WINGSPAN
development by local gas grid operator Gasnetz Hamburg. A future green hydrogen hub on the site could eventually supply hydrogen and heat to the city of Hamburg and help decarbonize the region’s industry and transport systems. The study will explore ways to utilize all forms of waste heat from the electrolyzer project – such as using surplus thermal energy for the city’s heat supply – to maximize energy efficiency. “The establishment of a green hydrogen hub that is fully integrated into Hamburg’s industrial infrastructure would show Europe, and the world, that the hydrogen economy is real and that it can make a significant contribution to the decarbonization of the energy system and heavy industry,” said Kentaro Hosomi, Executive Vice-President, Chief Regional Officer, Europe, Middle East & Africa at MHI.
The Hamburg Hydrogen Network (Wasserstoff-Verbund Hamburg) brings together twelve partners, including those involved in the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub, with the unique aim of mapping the entire hydrogen value chain, from the renewable energy that will power the electrolysis process to consumption of hydrogen by consumers. This would see onshore and offshore wind farms to the city’s north ensure a secure supply of clean energy to generate hydrogen, which can be transported using some existing infrastructure to connect the area’s high density of large off-takers. Global steelmaker ArcelorMittal has its sights set on developing the world’s first industrial-
