German govt okays early start of major green hydrogen project

Germany's economy ministry has given the green light for the early implementation of the Electrolysis Corridor East Germany project which envisages the installation of four large-scale electrolysers with a total capacity of 210 MW to produce green hydrogen on an industrial scale.

The early start of the project allows the project sponsors to begin work on the project at their own risk before the final allocation of funding, Enertrag which is involved in the initiative, said last week. The prospect of receiving funding remains unaffected, even though the final approval is still pending, the company noted.

Do you know we have a daily hydrogen newsletter? Subscribe here for free!

Electrolysis Corridor East Germany is part of the doing hydrogen initiative. Under the plan, green hydrogen will be generated at locations in the federal states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, and Saxony-Anhalt using clean electricity from Enertrag's own wind and solar power plants. It will then be transported via pipelines to industrial off-takers in Brandenburg to enable the decarbonisation of the local industry.

The plant in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will have a capacity of 55 MW and is expected to produce 4,300 tonnes of hydrogen per year. The site in Brandenburg with a capacity of 130 MW will have an estimated annual hydrogen production of 10,200 tonnes, and in Saxony-Anhalt, a 25-MW facility is forecast to produce 2,000 tonnes annually.

The Electrolysis Corridor East Germany initiative is classified as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI).