Now it's time to get started: EWE has officially started construction of the 320-megawatt generation plant in Emden, taking a decisive step as part of the Clean Hydrogen Coastline hydrogen programme . With the award of the contract for civil engineering and building construction work to a general contractor – a consortium of the construction companies Ludwig Freytag, Gebrüder Neumann and MBN – the concrete implementation of one of the largest hydrogen projects in Europe to date begins.
The plant will be one of the first electrolysers on a market-relevant scale in Germany. From the end of 2027, the first green hydrogen is to be produced in Emden and delivered to industrial customers.
"With the start of construction, we are taking a decisive step from planning to implementation," says Stefan Döhler, CEO of EWE AG. "With the three contracted companies, we are relying on experienced experts in building construction and civil engineering, who will advance the project reliably and with a high level of technical competence. This creates the basis or sufficient planning security for us to start actively marketing green hydrogen. We are thus sending a strong signal for the industrial market ramp-up." The plant in Emden is part of a system-serving overall concept of generation, storage and transport – including a large-scale hydrogen storage facility in Huntorf and a pipeline axis between Wilhelmshaven, Leer and Emden, as part of the nationwide hydrogen core network.
Politicians must consolidate hydrogen course
With regard to EWE's hydrogen activities, Stefan Dohler also refers to the latest report of the German Federal Audit Office on the hydrogen strategy: "In our view, the report confirms that the market ramp-up must be significantly accelerated and made more economical. In order for hydrogen to play a major role in climate protection and competitiveness, we need reliable and practical framework conditions. The ramp-up will only succeed if regulation and funding are further developed in a targeted manner," said Dohler. Among other things, EWE is calling for a reform of the RFNBO rules so that electrolysers can be operated more flexibly and cost-efficiently, competitive electricity prices for electrolysers and grid-friendly location advantages, or reliable demand impulses, for example quotas for green industrial products.
About the Clean Hydrogen Coastline project: The sub-projects at a glance
- In subproject 1 "Clean Hydrogen Coastline – Electrolysis East Frisia", EWE is building a 320-megawatt hydrogen production plant in Emden, East Frisia. This is the first time that an electrolyser will be created on a market-relevant scale for future hydrogen value creation. In just two years, EWE wants to produce hydrogen from renewable energies in a way that benefits the system.
- In subproject 2 "Clean Hydrogen Coastline – Huntorf storage facility", EWE is connecting the hydrogen infrastructure to its cavern storage facility in Huntorf. To this end, one of seven large underground cavities currently used for natural gas storage will be converted to store hydrogen. This means that the green gas can be available when it is needed. Large-scale hydrogen storage thus also improves the security of supply for hydrogen users. EWE has already provided proof that hydrogen can be stored in salt caverns and extracted again with a high degree of purity as part of a research project at its gas storage site in Rüdersdorf near Berlin.
- Subproject 3 "Clean Hydrogen Coastline – H2 Pipeline Infrastructure Northwest" aims to optimize the gas infrastructure for hydrogen in the northwest. By building and converting several pipeline sections, EWE is establishing a connection to the future Europe-wide hydrogen transport network. This connection creates a connection between the hydrogen production plants, the hydrogen storage system and the users via the German hydrogen core network and the so-called European Hydrogen Backbone.
