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Consortium to develop green hydrogen for sustainable transport in Emden

Norway-headed renewable energy major Statkraft AS and Energiepark Emden, a consortium consisting of Brons Group, GP Joule, SCORE, and Terravent, based in Northern Germany, has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to jointly put the East Frisian public and private transport sectors on a green footing. The companies plan to produce green hydrogen and establish a corresponding value chain.

Statkraft AS and Energiepark Emden have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to jointly develop green hydrogen for East Frisian public and private transport. Commissioned in 2004, Statkraft’s waste wood-fired combined heat power plant in Emden, Germany has an electrical output of 20 MW and supplies the nearby Volkswagen industrial site with 30 MW of district heating (photo courtesy Oliver Tjaden).

The traffic and transport sector accounts for around 19 percent of total greenhouse gas GHG) emissions in Germany. Green hydrogen is seen as an important pillar for achieving climate targets in this sector as well.

Statkraft and Energiepark Emden intend to build electrolysers with a total capacity of up to 50 MWe at the Emden site of the Norwegian energy company. Green hydrogen will be produced based on electricity from renewable energy sources, including a solar photovoltaic (PV) park being developed by Energiepark Emden.

In Emden, we have joined forces with strong partners from the region to make a significant contribution to reducing CO2 emissions from the transport sector in East Frisia with this lighthouse project. Statkraft is an expert in renewable energy. With our biomass site in Emden and the ability to provide green electricity from our portfolio – consisting of wind, solar, and hydropower plants – we are well-positioned to enable sustainable transport and traffic sectors, said Dr Carsten Poppinga, Managing Director of Statkraft in Germany

Energiepark Emden is a merger of renewable power project developer GP Joule, regional investment company Terravent Investments, and Emden-headed shipping, trading, and maritime services company Brons Group.

From 2023, the green hydrogen will be supplied mainly to customers in East Frisia, who will be able to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, for example in local public transport and the regional transport sector.

Supplied via H2 Emden

According to Statkraft, just one 5 MW electrolyser produces enough green hydrogen to operate around 85 buses in local public transport. Trucks, on the other hand, have higher hydrogen consumption and higher mileage. In other words, with the same amount of green hydrogen more than 20 trucks could run for a year.

The hydrogen marketing and sales are bundled under the company name H2 Emden, which in addition to Energiepark Emden shareholders Brons Group, GP Joule, SCORE, and Terravent Investments, includes the Emden-based fuel retailer SCORE Tankstellen und Mineralölhandels GmbH as a further shareholder.

The H2 Emden consortium aims to supply the regional public transport and transport sector in East Frisia with green hydrogen.

The partnership with Statkraft is a strong signal for the city of Emden and the East Frisia region. Emden has long been an energy location and a centre for renewable energy. Now we are opening the next chapter and laying the foundation for a green transport future in our region, said Claas Mauritz Brons, Managing Director of the Brons Group on behalf of the consortium partners of H2 Emden.

Together with other potential partners such as AG Ems, Spedition Weets, and Stadtwerke Emden, the 100 percent green hydrogen will be distributed via the SCORE filling station network and consequently made available to everyone.

I am thrilled that Emden is leading the way and has succeeded in finding a regional solution for the production and use of hydrogen. As the city of Emden, we will do our part to support this success, said Tim Kruithoff, Mayor of the City of Emden.

There is also strong support for the planned hydrogen project at the state level.

The project is welcomed by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economics, Labor, Transport, and Digitalization. The planned energy park has lighthouse character for the region with regard to the generation of  renewable electricity and the use of locally produced hydrogen, ended Dr Niels Kämpny, Head of the Industry and Economy Department at the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economics, Labor, Transport, and Digitalization.

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