RWE is constructing a 300-megawatt plant to generate green hydrogen at its gas-fired power plant location in Lingen, Germany.
RWE had already ordered two electrolyzers, each with a 100-megawatt capacity, from Linde Engineering and ITM Power in 2022. Now, Sunfire and Bilfinger have been tasked with building the third phase. The contract for this phase is valued in the low hundreds of millions of euros.
Sunfire will provide a 100-megawatt alkaline electrolyzer. This is not the first collaboration between Sunfire and RWE; the Dresden-based company had already supplied a 10-megawatt alkaline electrolyzer for a pilot plant at the Emsland gas-fired power plant, where RWE is experimenting with PEM and alkaline electrolysis technologies.
Bilfinger SE, located in Mannheim, Germany, will serve as the solution partner for integrating electrolysis into the plant. Their responsibilities include extensive planning and the provision and installation of ancillary process technology systems, such as water and hydrogen treatment, compression, and control technology.
Contracts were signed shortly after RWE’s final investment decision for its largest hydrogen project to date. The German government and the State of Lower Saxony provided the funding required to move forward with the construction.
Dr. Sopna Sury, COO Hydrogen at RWE Generation SE, remarked that construction for the initial 200 megawatts of electrolyzer capacity is progressing well and emphasized the project’s significance in signaling to companies planning a switch to green hydrogen. The combined infrastructure from GET H2 partners will soon meet market requirements for green hydrogen supply.
RWE is working with grid operators Nowega and OGE to connect its hydrogen production facilities to industrial consumers in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The first 100-megawatt electrolyzer is set to be commissioned in 2025, with capacity scaling up to 300 megawatts by 2027.
Starting in 2027, the hydrogen produced in Lingen will be stored in a hydrogen cavern storage facility built by RWE Gas Storage West in Gronau-Epe. This setup will allow flexible hydrogen supply to industrial consumers.
