Trans-European hydrogen infrastructure project “Green Hydrogen @ Blue Danube” opts for LOHC-technology from Erlangen / Germany for distribution
Erlangen/Germany, November 27, 2020. Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies GmbH and initiator VERBUND AG are driving forward the large-volume hydrogen infrastructure project “Green Hydrogen on the Blue Danube” with an initial roll-out in Bavaria. The project is being developed within the framework of the Important Projects of European Common Interest (IPCEI) and envisages the establishment of a pan-European supply chain for green hydrogen in the Danube region: With an electrolysis capacity of around 1.5 GW, over 80,000 tons of green hydrogen per year are to be produced from around 2 GW of renewable energy. Transport and storage on one of the oldest trade routes in Europe, the Danube, will be cost-efficient and simple via the Bavarian partner’s patented Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) technology. Conventional inland waterway vessels, which otherwise load fossil liquid fuels, are suitable for this.
Illustration of the entire trans-European hydrogen value chain of GREEN HYDROGEN @ BLUE DANUBE © VERBUND AG
As the two companies announced last week at the virtual HYDROGEN DIALOGUE, the complex innovative value chain of “Green Hydrogen @ Blue Danube” is to be implemented in a Bavarian preliminary project. This project envisages the production of 5 tons of green hydrogen per day – at a VERBUND hydropower plant on the Danube or Inn in Bavaria – and its usage in the regional industry and transport sectors. Over one year, this corresponds to the circulation of 3,000 ton of green hydrogen (from 20 MW on-site electrolysis) and 400 ton of LOHC. The goal is to lay the foundations for the further ramp-up of value creation and the integration of international supply chains.
The Bavarian medium-sized company Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies, which was founded in 2013, supplies the key technology for economic green hydrogen logistics for “Green Hydrogen @ Blue Danube”. „Our LOHC systems for the bonding and extraction of hydrogen from the carrier liquid are now being applied on an industrial level in Bavaria within a reasonable scope”, explains Dr. Daniel Teichmann, Managing Director and founder of the innovative young company, which has already delivered its first LOHC systems for commercial applications to the USA at the end of 2017.
“In the “Green Hydrogen @ Blue Danube” project, we are also the partner for project planning, plant implementation and for the acquisition of major hydrogen customers in Germany,” Teichmann adds to his company’s holistic commitment. The project consortium is currently intensifying discussions with local market partners who want to purchase the green hydrogen produced in the project (e.g. for the decarbonisation of refinery processes, as for example by Bayernoil, and with Bosch via customers with stationary fuel cells). MAN Energy Solutions and Clariant are also supplier for key components for the LOHC technology.
LOHC offers the best balance between cost-effectiveness and ease of implementation © VERBUND AG
Next milestone in the project will be further scaling up with the gradual development of green hydrogen production in South-East Europe to over 80,000 ton of green hydrogen per year. The LOHC technology and river ship transport provide a significant contribution to the goal of competitive hydrogen costs in Austria and Germany: Compared to all other means of transport, LOHC offers the best ratio of cost efficiency and simple implementation. Evaluation criteria such as technological maturity, safety and high regulatory acceptance are taken into account. This is proven and investigated by a detailed study by Roland Berger, which was carried out at the early stages of the project “Green Hydrogen @ Blue Danube”. “For this scenario, the LOHC solution can perfectly make use of its unique advantages, such as the usability of already available transport and storage infrastructure with very high capacity on existing transport routes,” says Uwe Weichenhain, Partner at Roland Berger.
If “Green Hydrogen @ Blue Danube” will successfully reach further milestones, such as the application procedures for “Important Projects of Common European Interest” in Austria and Germany as well as the participation of further hydrogen consumers, the consortium headed by VERBUND AG aims to start implementing the preliminary project in Bavaria as early as 2022.