The global energy transition will be based on the hydrogen economy
We are at the beginning of a hydrogen economy. This market will grow rapidly over the next 30 years because the demand for green hydrogen is immense - some talk of up to 500 million tons.
Hydrogen will play an important role in meeting the EU's and Germany's targets for reducing CO 2 and greenhouse gas emissions. The EU aims to achieve 40 GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030. Germany's National Hydrogen Strategy aims to build five gigawatts of electrolysis capacity by 2030. Green hydrogen will be an important lever to develop sustainable solutions, especially in sectors such as industry and mobility that are difficult to decarbonize.
To meet fast-growing demand and reduce costs, it is critical to accelerate the production of sustainably produced hydrogen by industrial-scale PEM electrolysers. The goal is thus to realize electrolysers on a large scale and with high performance. Every four to five years, the output of electrolysers increases tenfold. Siemens Energy's latest and most powerful PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolysis product line is optimized for applications up to the higher three-digit megawatt range, so that systems of this size can produce several tons of green hydrogen per hour.
Three heavy-duty trucks bring the plant from Mülheim to Wunsiedel. It will produce up to 1,350 metric tons of green hydrogen annually from renewable electricity and water for industrial and mobility applications in the region. This corresponds to CO 2 savings of up to 13,500 tons. The project will see the first commercial use of the latest and most powerful product line from the Siemens Energy electrolysis portfolio. Commissioning is scheduled for summer 2022.
Infographic of Werlte plant to produce synthetic crude oil used for decarbonization of aviation. In the process, green hydrogen is produced from renewable energy by the electrolysis from Siemens Energy. With CO2 (extracted from the air and from a biogas plant), synthetic crude oil is created as the basis for e-kerosene.
Site view of the Werlte plant with the electrolysis from Siemens Energy as a core.
DEWA
Alfons Benzinger
Siemens Energy AG
Freyeslebenstr. 1
91058 Erlangen
Germany