VNG, HyCC plan 500-MW electrolyser in Germany
Source： Renewables Now
Project kick-off for green H2 project GreenRoot in Lutherstadt Wittenberg. © Photo: Anika Dollmeyer
The project, called GreenRoot, aims to provide green hydrogen to support the decarbonisation of local industries. A connection is also envisaged to the German hydrogen network so that the green fuel can reach other industrial customers in the Central German chemical triangle.
The electrolyser is planned to be constructed on the former waterworks of the city of Wittenberg, located opposite the Piesteriz agro-chemical park. The site is near SKW Piesteritz, a producer of specialised agrochemical and industrial chemical products interested in switching to green hydrogen in the future.
The partners intend to commence the approval and consultation process in 2025, with a final investment decision targeted for 2026 and a start of operations anticipated in 2029.
“VNG is currently in the midst of an ambitious transformation process towards green gases such as biogas and green hydrogen,” CEO Ulf Heitmueller said, but added that projects such as GreenRoot need the economic conditions and regulations that make green hydrogen competitive. “We still need to work together on this,” Ulf Heitmueller said.
Konstantin von Oldenburg, managing director of VNG’s gas trading subsidiary VNG Handel & Vertrieb GmbH (VNG H&V), also a participant in the project, called on the European Commission to make the criteria for defining green hydrogen more flexible and deregulate it as soon as possible.
“In addition, the funding instrument of the Climate Protection Agreement should be further strengthened and made more pragmatic by the German federal government. In our view, a sustainable stabilization of the greenhouse gas quotas through a triple credit for green hydrogen and an exemption from network charges for electrolyzers beyond 2030 would also be important for this," Konstantin von Oldenburg said.