Foundation laid for green hydrogen in North Rhine-Westphalia

An existing high-pressure natural gas pipeline will be upgraded for transport and temporary storage. The investments amount to €29.2 million, of which around €11.2 million are subsidies from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

"Lichtenau is not called the 'Energy City' for nothing. We are leading the way as a location for the generation of renewable energy and are open to new technologies. Green hydrogen can make a further contribution to the decarbonisation of industry in the surrounding area," explained Ute Dülfer, Mayor of the Energy City of Lichtenau. Georg Wigge, Managing Director of Stadtwerke Lichtenau, added: "With hydrogen production, we are investing in a promising way of coupling sectors such as electricity with heat and transport. This is another step towards using the full potential of local energy generation." In addition to the basic material water, electricity is also required to produce the hydrogen, which in this case comes directly from the locally available wind energy. This means that the hydrogen is not only produced in a 'green' way – it also serves to store energy from wind power that cannot be fed into the power grid during periods of grid overload.

The ‘Sleeping Giant’ awakens

The ambitious project called ‘Sleeping Giant’ started in 2023. "In the energy transition, the focus is often on expanding production. However, the expansion of networks and storage options is just as important. We therefore look at the topic holistically and with an open mind to all technologies," stated Andreas Speith, representative of Westfalen Weser, the motivation for investing in the production of hydrogen. In February 2024, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia approved funding of €11.2 million, thus securing the financing. This was followed by securing the property, technical planning and approval procedures. At the end of 2024, TÜV inspected the high-pressure natural gas pipeline and determined the measures for upgrading. With its large dimensions of around 6 km in length and one meter in diameter, the pipeline enables seasonal storage in addition to transport.

With the signing of the contract to establish Wasserstoff Lichtenau GmbH on 17 December 2024, another important milestone was reached. Dr Steve Flechsig, who has managed the ‘Sleeping Giant’ project at Westfalen Weser to date, was appointed managing director. The tendering process has begun. Once the contracts have been awarded, a concrete schedule for construction and commissioning can be drawn up based on the delivery times. Scaling up the plant in the coming years, when industry's demand for green hydrogen continues to rise, is the goal of all those involved. A possible heat supply from the waste heat of the electrolyser is also being examined as part of the municipal heat planning of the energy city of Lichtenau.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalhydrogenreview.com/hydrogen/10022025/foundation-laid-for-green-hydrogen-in-north-rhine-westphalia/