(Hamburg) – Shell, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Vattenfall and Kommunalwärme Hamburg GmbH want to build an electrolyser with an output of 100 megawatts at the Hamburg-Moorburg power plant site. Wind and solar energy will be used to produce hydrogen. There are also plans to develop the site into a “Green Energy Hub”. The companies signed a corresponding declaration of intent.
Connection to infrastructure
The companies intend to apply for funding under the EU “Important Projects of Common European Interest” (IPCEI) program. This should take place in the first quarter of 2021 with the submission of an initial project outline. The location has “ideal conditions for further use,” according to a statement. It is connected to both the national 380.000-volt transmission network and the city of Hamburg's 110.000-volt network. In addition, overseas ships could call at the location directly and use the quay and port facility as an import terminal.
“Potential starting point” for the hydrogen economy
The municipal gas network company also wants to expand a hydrogen network in the port within ten years and is already working on the necessary infrastructure. There are numerous potential buyers for green hydrogen in the area around the site, so that the entire value chain can be mapped - from production, storage and transport to specific application in the different sectors. “With these requirements, the Moorburg location in Hamburg and northern Germany is optimal and can develop into a potential starting point for the development of a hydrogen economy,” said the companies.
Coal-fired power plant only ran for five years
For many years, Moorburg was the location of a gas power plant owned by the Hamburgische Electricität-Werke. In 2015, Vattenfall commissioned one of Germany's most modern coal-fired power plants, which was scheduled to run until 2038. After the group was awarded a contract in the auction for the nationwide hard coal phase-out in December 2020, the power plant will be shut down this year. A decision from the transmission system operator on the system relevance of the system is expected in March 2021. 
If Moorburg is classified as not systemically important, coal burning will end by July 1, 2021 at the latest. If Moorburg is classified as systemically important by the transmission system operator and the Federal Network Agency confirms this, the power plant will serve as a reserve for a period to be determined.
Eleven power plant blocks across Germany were to be judged in the auction. How high the decommissioning bonus is for the two blocks in Hamburg, each with a capacity of 800 megawatts, was not disclosed. According to information from NDR, the average award value awarded by the Federal Network Agency was 66.259 euros per megawatt.
Moorburg sees the Hamburg coalition agreement as part of the hydrogen concept
According to their own statements, the companies could “count on the support of the Hamburg Senate” for their project. The red-green government also dealt with Moorburg in the coalition agreement in June 2020 under the title “Hamburg as a center of the hydrogen industry and innovative storage technologies”. According to this, the location “can play an important role in sector coupling with its direct and particularly efficient access to the transmission network”. This also includes the production of green hydrogen. The coalition will examine the possibilities of replacing coal-fired power generation with innovative concepts for generating, storing and converting energy, according to the contract.
Class schedule
Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub / © Vattenfall
