The energy companies RWE and badenova plan to build the largest green hydrogen production plant in Germany in Albbruck am Hochrhein.
With a cost of 100 million euros, the project aims to produce around 8,000 tons of green hydrogen annually, primarily for use in the chemical and steel industries in the border triangle between Germany, Switzerland, and France. The production plant is scheduled to be operational in the next three years.
Located near the existing hydroelectric power plant on the Rhine, the project will draw 80,000 cubic meters of groundwater annually to provide water for the electrolysis process. The cooling water for the plant will come from the Rhine and be sent back there after use. The Albbruck-Dogern hydroelectric power plant will provide the energy needed for hydrogen production. RWE representatives have stated that they will need around 50 megawatts of electricity for the electrolyser, which corresponds to half the output of the run-of-river power plant in Albbruck. In addition to hydroelectricity, wind and solar power from the region could also be used.
The hydrogen will primarily be sold to transport companies, as well as to the chemical and steel industries. Badenova will be responsible for sales and will require new lines to be installed to transport the hydrogen. A new 8.5-kilometer hydrogen pipeline will connect Albbruck to the gas network as a first step, with a vision for a 60-kilometer pipeline connection across national borders to Switzerland and France in the future.
Albbruck’s Mayor Stefan Kaiser has welcomed the project, stating that the choice of location is a total win-win situation for the town. The waste heat from the plant will be used to heat a new residential area in which 900 people will live, and the district of Waldshut is planning to construct a new hospital near the plant that could also be heated or cooled with the waste heat.
The project also has the potential to create new business opportunities, such as the Albbrucker Spedition’s plan to build a filling station for hydrogen tankers. The transport and logistics company Eckert plans to use green hydrogen to fuel its approximately 100 trucks, stating that becoming climate-neutral is in the interest of their future.
While the project has many potential benefits, there are also potential challenges to overcome. For example, the production of green hydrogen is currently more expensive than producing hydrogen from fossil fuels, and the market for green hydrogen is still relatively small. However, with the EU’s goal to become climate-neutral by 2050 and Germany’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% by 2050, the demand for green hydrogen is expected to increase in the coming years.
