EWE, partner to build 200 hydrogen filling stations in Germany

German energy service provider EWE and JET H2 Energy, a joint venture of US energy company Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) and Switzerland-based hydrogen specialist H2 Energy, have decided to team up for the establishment of a hydrogen filling station network in the northwest of Germany.

The two companies have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build and operate around 200 public filling stations offering hydrogen produced by EWE from renewable energies. The partnership will start with four sites in Brake, Cuxhaven, Leer and Schortens, according to a recent statement.

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EWE plans to initially supply hydrogen from small plants, for example in Cuxhaven and Bremen, with the amount filled into hydrogen trailers. Future plans envisage for the company to produce green hydrogen on a power plant scale, for instance at its planned 320-MW electrolysis plant in Emden, East Frisia which is currently pending EU funding approval.

The four filling stations will be funded by the German Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport as part of the HyPerformer project "Hyways for Future" and as part of the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology.

One of the sites, the one in Schortens, was originally a partnership between EWE and the district of Frisia, Deutsche Bahn’s public transport subsidiary DB Regio and Friesen Elektra. It will be now supported by JET H2 Energy.

"We are firmly convinced that the establishment of regional hydrogen ecosystems will contribute to the success of the transformation towards low-emission transport. Especially in rural areas, where bus companies and freight forwarders, waste management companies or even fire departments are on the road, there is a need for available green fuel,” said Olaf Borbor, CEO of the joint venture that Phillips 66 and H2 Energy set up in 2022.