The engineering arm of industrial gas major Linde is advancing Germany’s green hydrogen by partnering with Shell to build a 100 megawatt (MW) renewable hydrogen plant for the REFHYNE II project in Wesseling.
REFHYNE II is expected to produce up to 44,000 kg per day of renewable hydrogen to partially decarbonise site operations.
According to Linde, the fuel will be used to produce lower carbon, cleaner energy products such as transport fuels.
“This project draws on our decades of experience in developing hydrogen projects at scale worldwide and we are proud to have been selected by Shell to help deliver its vision for REFHYNE II,” said John van der Velden, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Technology at Linde Engineering.
Funded in partnership by the European Union and the German Federal Government, the project aligns with Shell’s goal of being a Net Zero-emissions company by 2050.
©Linde Engineering
Set to begin operations from 2027, REFHYNE II follows in the footsteps of REFHYNE I, a 10 MW PEM electrolyser which started up in 2021. Linde revealed that ITM Power will provide the electrolyser stacks for the project.
Linde Engineering has also delivered the first of three electrolysis plants to RWE, supporting a 14 MW pilot facility in Lingen.
The company will design and build two 100 MW PEM electrolysis plants as part of the GET H2 Nukleus project in Lingen. The first of the two units is due to go into operation in 2025, the second one in 2026.
“Major projects like this are crucial for Germany to reach its Net Zero ambitions,” said Tilman Weide, Senior Vice President Global Execution at Linde Engineering.
“Linde can draw on over 100 years of experience in the hydrogen business, and being part of the GET H2 Nukleus project is yet another demonstration of our expertise in developing hydrogen projects at scale to help accelerate the world’s energy transition.”
H2 Pilot Plant Lingen 2024. ©Linde Engineering
Green hydrogen in Germany
Linde is also constructing a large-scale hydrogen production plant at the Leuna Chemical Complex in Germany. The facility will produce green hydrogen through water electrolysis, with a capacity of around 24 MW.
The engineering giant is also involved in Germany’s HyGlass project, which aims to decarbonise glass manufacturing, and H2Stahl, a project that targets a reduction in carbon emissions within the steel industry.
Adopted in June 2020, Germany’s National Hydrogen Strategy includes a target of 5 GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030, with the potential to expand to 10 GW by 2035.
As of 2023, the country has an estimated 300 to 500 MW of installed capacity. By 2030, Germany aims to produce approximately 14 terawatt hours (TWh) of green hydrogen each year
The German government has allocated around €9bn ($10bn) as part of its hydrogen strategy with €7bn ($7.8bn) earmarked for domestic hydrogen production and infrastructure development, and €2bn ($2.2bn) for international partnerships.
