(Wesseling, Germany) – Shell has received the first 14 electrolysis stacks at its Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland. The green hydrogen produced using proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology after the plant's commissioning – "expected sometime next year" – will be fed into the existing grid. At full capacity, the 100-megawatt plant, part of the "Refhyne 2" project, is expected to produce up to 16.000 tons of hydrogen per year.
Fourteen crates of stacks have now arrived at Shell – a total of 150 will be delivered. © Shell
The 150 stacks are being manufactured by ITM Power plc in Sheffield, UK. Delivery will take place in several batches over the coming months using specially designed transport racks. The first shipment will now be stored, undergo extensive inspections, and then be installed in the already installed electrolysis modules.
Refhyne 1, with a capacity of ten megawatts, was already commissioned in 2021 ( more information here ). Now, the project is entering the final phase for Refhyne 2, says Marijn Bezuijen, Senior Project Manager Transformation at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland. "The delivery marks the transition from the construction phase to the subsequent commissioning of the plant."
The shipment is first inspected and then installed in the already installed electrolysis modules. © Shell
Together, the two electrolyzers cover approximately ten percent of the annual hydrogen demand for Shell Rheinland's production processes. They are part of the site's comprehensive transformation aimed at reducing its CO2 emissions. Around 1.400 employees at the refinery produce diesel, gasoline, kerosene, heating oil, and products for the chemical industry.
Refhyne 2 project partners are the British company ITM Power plc, the industrial gas manufacturer Linde, the research institutes Tecnalia (Spain) and SINTEF AS (Norway), the consulting company Environmental Resources Management (ERM) together with Element Energy and the research department Concawe of the fuel lobby European Fuel Manufacturers Association.
Photo above
Shell receives the first electrolysis stacks for the Refhyne2 project at its Rheinland refinery. © Shell
