The electrolyser, with an output of 250 kW, is part of a test facility at which nine project partners are investigating how hydrogen can be safely and reliably transported and stored through pipelines.
The electrolyser, which is installed in an overseas container, can produce around 170 kg of hydrogen per day at full load. A day’s production would theoretically be enough to power a car with a fuel cell engine for 17 000 km. However, the hydrogen from the 250 kW plant in Lingen is needed for research purposes. It will be fed into a 130-metre-long test line (loop) as part of the GET H2 TransHyDE research project, where companies and research institutes are developing technologies for the optimal use of hydrogen.
Sopna Sury, COO, Hydrogen, at RWE Generation said: “With the commissioning of this first electrolyser, RWE has officially started to produce hydrogen in Lingen. These 250 kW of electrolysis capacity for the GET H2 TransHyDE research project are an important first step for us, and it will quickly be followed by others. In a few months, our 14 MW pilot electrolyser at the Lingen plant, our first one that will produce hydrogen on an industrial scale, will also go into operation.”
In the coming weeks, a piston compressor will be put into operation next to the 250 kW electrolyser. This will allow hydrogen to be compressed to the 58 bar of pressure required for pipeline transport. The first tests on the TransHyDE test pipeline will start at the beginning of 2024.
TransHyDE is one of the German hydrogen lead projects funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and aims to advance the implementation of the National Hydrogen Strategy. The Ministry is funding the project to the tune of €11.63 million.