Bp plc (London) has been granted funding, provided jointly by BMWK and the Lower-Saxony Government, as part of the European IPCEI Hy2Infra wave for a green hydrogen project in Germany. The funding will help support the development of a 100-MW green hydrogen project next to bp’s Lingen Refinery. German Federal Minister of Economics, Robert Habeck, handed over the official letter for the grant on behalf of the German government and the state of Lower Saxony at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) in Berlin.
Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, said: “The energy transition remains one of the greatest challenges facing our country, even in the face of further crises and conflicts. By funding hydrogen projects, we are taking an important step towards a climate-neutral and sustainable economy in Europe and beyond. We are giving the go-ahead for the construction of electrolysers in the three-digit megawatt class, thereby enabling important progress to be made in the domestic production of green hydrogen. An efficient hydrogen infrastructure plays a key role in enabling the decarbonization of industry and the energy sector. Hydrogen pipelines will be the lifelines of industrial centers. This will create the conditions for climate-neutral growth”.
Olaf Lies, Lower Saxony Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Building and Digitization, said: “The development of a hydrogen economy is an important building block for the energy transition in Germany and Europe. We want to form the central core of this hydrogen economy in Lower Saxony, because this is where good, future-proof jobs are created. bp’s Lingen green hydrogen project will be a milestone in the production of green hydrogen.”
“Our Lingen refinery has helped provide German industry with the energy it needs for more than 70 years. Decarbonising German industry is a significant challenge, and we are grateful to the German government for helping us,” said Patrick Wendeler, head of country bp Germany
The project aims to install a 100-MW electrolyzer capable of producing an average of 10,000-11,000 tons of green hydrogen per year. The renewable power needed for the electrolyzer is expected to initially be supplied by an offshore wind Power Purchase Agreement.
Felipe Arbelaez, senior vice president hydrogen and carbon capture & storage said: “Hydrogen is a nascent market, but one that could play a significant role in the energy transition and industrial decarbonization. Government support is vital to unlocking this potential, and we are proud to be progressing this project within the European IPCEI program.”
Patrick Wendeler, Head of Country bp Germany added: “Today’s announcement underscores bp’s commitment to Germany as we progress our ‘and, not or’ strategy. Our Lingen refinery has helped provide German industry with the energy it needs for more than 70 years. Decarbonising German industry is a significant challenge, and we are grateful to the German government for helping us – alongside the green hydrogen projects from the IPCEI Hy2Infra wave – to play a small but significant role in helping solve that challenge. With this funding, we’re a step further towards progressing our green hydrogen project in Lingen that would enable us to provide low carbon hydrogen to industrial customers and our Lingen refinery in the future.”
The green hydrogen from this project has the potential to support industrial customers, such as steel and chemicals producers, in an effort to decarbonize production processes in the region, including at bp’s Lingen refinery.