Starting in 2035, the Kiel coastal power station will use hydrogen to generate both electricity and heat. Now a letter of intent has been signed.
According to Stadtwerke Kiel, the coastal power plant on the east side of Kiel will be converted to run on green hydrogen in twelve years and will be the first major engine combined heat and power plant in the world. When the framework and infrastructure are in place, operations can start in 2035. The coastal power station would run on green hydrogen, making it the first large-engine combined heat and power plant in the world.
If hydrogen is produced through electrolysis with wind or sun energy, it is regarded as green hydrogen. This cycle is climate-neutral if the hydrogen is reused to produce energy and heat.
The power plant has so far been run on natural gas. Environmentalists have already attacked the coastal power plant’s continued use of fossil fuels when it was first put into operation in early 2020. Nonetheless, the municipal utility claims that it emits 70% fewer emissions than its forerunner, a coal-fired power plant.
In the summer of 2020, the federal government had already settled on its national hydrogen policy. The coastal power plant is made up of an electrode boiler, a heat storage tank, and 20 gas engines with a combined rated output of 191 megawatts. The engines can be quickly ramped up to produce power and heat as needed. When compared: The Kiel joint power plant needs four hours to start up, claims the municipal utility. The electrode boiler allows the power plant to temporarily store extra wind energy by converting it to heat.
