Hydrogen Project in Hamburg on German Government Shortlist

The partners of the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub, namely Shell, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Vattenfall and the municipal company Wärme Hamburg can continue to be optimistic about receiving EU funding to implement their plans. The project in Hamburg has been included in the German Federal Ministry of Economics' shortlist of projects under consideration for funding under the EU's "Important Projects of Common European Interest" (IPCEI) program.

The shortlist includes 62 projects from initially around 200 individual projects that applied for funding under the IPCEI program. The HH-WIN project, by the Hamburg gas network, which will provide the pipeline infrastructure for hydrogen transport in Hamburg, is also on the short list.

The companies Shell, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Vattenfall and municipal company Wärme Hamburg are planning how they can jointly produce hydrogen from wind and solar power at the Hamburg-Moorburg power plant site and utilize it in its vicinity. In addition to the construction of a scalable electrolyser with an initial output of 100 megawatts, the further development of the site into a so-called "Green Energy Hub" is planned. This includes the exploration of the extent to which the existing infrastructure of the Moorburg location can be used for the production of energy from renewable sources. In this context, concepts for the necessary logistics chains and storage options for hydrogen will also be considered. Subject to final investment decision and according to the current state of planning, once the site has been cleared, the production of green hydrogen is anticipated in the course of 2025 - making the electrolyser one of the largest plants in Europe.

The four partner companies view the energy location as having ideal conditions for further use. It is connected to both the national 380,000 volt transmission network and the 110,000 volt network of the City of Hamburg. In addition, overseas ships can call at the location directly and use the quay and port facilities as an import terminal. The municipal gas network company also intends to expand a hydrogen network in the port within ten years and is already working on the necessary distribution infrastructure. Numerous potential customers for green hydrogen are located near the site, thus enabling the project to cover the entire hydrogen value chain - from generation to storage, transport and utilization in various sectors. With these prerequisites, the Moorburg location is optimal for the German federal state of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and Northern Germany and can become a potential starting point for the development of a hydrogen economy.

The next step is a so-called "matchmaking" at EU level, which aims to bring together projects with a similar focus in the various EU Member States.