MAN Energy Solutions and ANDRITZ Hydro have agreed to collaborate on international initiatives for the production of green hydrogen from hydropower.
The deal was signed in Ravensburg by Frank Mette, CEO of ANDRITZ Hydro in Germany, and Dr. Uwe Lauber, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of MAN Energy Solutions.
The collaboration will begin with a pilot project in Europe. Following that, the companies want to collaborate on identifying further initiatives and implementing them as part of the German Federal Government’s H2 Global initiative. H2 Global is a market-based financing platform dedicated to promoting the market entry of green hydrogen and hydrogen-based power-to-X goods efficiently. To accomplish this, hydrogen energy agreements will be formed with nations that have a correspondingly high potential for providing Germany and the EU with a long-term, cost-effective, and dependable supply of green hydrogen.
Frank Mette: “Hydropower is one of the few completely climate-neutral forms of energy, which is capable of providing base load power. We therefore see excellent potential for worldwide expansion – in new construction projects just as much as in repowering. By adding the possibility of producing hydrogen to hydropower plants, we are taking the next step and also making the energy generated there ready for export and storage without restriction. Together with MAN Energy Solutions, we can open up new markets and opportunities for the operators.”
Uwe Lauber: “The economy of the future will be climate-neutral, and to achieve this it needs huge quantities of green hydrogen. Together with ANDRITZ Hydro, we want to make this resource available. Hydropower plants are ideal for generating hydrogen in a completely climate-neutral, reliable and cost-effective manner. With ANDRITZ Hydro, we have been able to enter into a partnership with a world leader in the field of hydraulic power generation, to develop these prospects together with us.”
The companies intend to begin a cooperative pilot project by the end of this year to produce approximately 650 tons of green hydrogen using electrolysis with a maximum output of 4 MW, first for local use. Following on-going projects aimed at hydrogen export, the installed electrolysis capacity is likely to rise to up to 100 MW in the future years.
Frank Mette: “MAN Energy Solutions contributes scalable and, above all, flexible electrolysis technology to this partnership, along with many years of experience in power-to-X technology and plant engineering. Together, we will tap growth markets for hydrogen in Europe and worldwide, including for the production of green hydrogen, which can then be imported by German consumers.”
The company offers PEM electrolysis technology through H-TEC SYSTEMS, the electrolysis expert owned by MAN Energy Solutions. Around 85 H-TEC SYSTEMS professionals are developing stacks and megawatt electrolysers based on the polymer-electrolyte membrane method (PEM) in regions such as Bavaria and Schleswig-Holstein to meet the hydrogen demand for industry and energy refiners.
