RWE gets permits to build 100MW electrolyser to be fed by offshore wind power

German utility gets construction and environmental OK for unit to convert electricity from the 795MW OranjeWind array in North Sea into green hydrogen

Supna Sury, head of RWE's hydrogen business unit.
Supna Sury, head of RWE's hydrogen business unit.Photo: RWE

RWE has secured the construction and environmental permits to build a 100MW electrolyser near the Magnum Power Station in the Dutch port city of Eemshaven that is slated to be fed by electricity from the OranjeWind offshore wind farm to produce green hydrogen.

“Securing the necessary permits brings us a step closer to realising this electrolyser in Eemshaven,” said Sopna Sury, chief operation officer hydrogen at RWE Generation.

“This would enable RWE to provide industry with green hydrogen to make their production processes more sustainable.

“With our plans of this electrolyser at the Eemshaven, RWE continues to contribute to the further growth in the area and helps to establish this cluster as a centre for renewable energy.”

A key part of the OranjeWind project is its integration into the Dutch energy system in order to address the challenges presented by matching intermittent electricity production from renewables with flexible demand for energy.

TotalEnergies recently said that it would dedicate its share of the renewable electricity production from the OranjeWind offshore wind project to power 350MW in electrolyser projects to produce green hydrogen for the decarbonisation of is refineries in Northern Europe.

RWE had bought the Magnum power station from Swedish peer Vattenfall in 2022. The 1.4GW plant in the northern Dutch province of Groningen is able to co-fire up to 30% of hydrogen with natural gas, and the utility earlier said it could convert the plant to rely on hydrogen as its sole fuel by the end of the decade.

The company is also working on the realisation of a 50MW electrolyser at the nearby Eems Power Station.

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Published 30 October 2024, 14:53Updated 30 October 2024, 14:54
EuropeNetherlandsOffshore windRWE