Shell consortium plans bulk hydrogen production project

A consortium of Shell Deutschland Oil and Shell Energy Europe with partners ITM Power, SINTEF, thinkstep and Element Energy plans a project to install a large scale electrolyser to produce hydrogen at the Wesseling refinery site within the Rheinland Refinery Complex. With a capacity of ten megawatts, this would be the largest unit of its kind in Germany and the world’s largest PEM (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane) electrolyser.
September 4, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

A consortium of Shell Deutschland Oil and Shell Energy Europe with partners ITM Power, SINTEF, thinkstep and Element Energy plans a project to install a large scale electrolyser to produce hydrogen at the Wesseling refinery site within the Rheinland Refinery Complex.

With a capacity of ten megawatts, this would be the largest unit of its kind in Germany and the world’s largest PEM (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane) electrolyser. This electrolyser technology is also suitable to improve the stability of the electricity grid with a growing share of intermittent renewable energy sources, such as from solar and wind.

The consortium has been invited to the preparation of a grant agreement by the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH 2 JU), following a competitive call for proposals.

Today, the refinery uses approximately 180,000 tons of hydrogen per year in its various plants. The hydrogen is currently produced as a by-product of the refining process or through natural gas reforming, while electrolysis uses electricity to split water into the base components of hydrogen and oxygen.

The project aims to enable the construction and operation of a large scale10 MW electrolyser that can produce high quality hydrogen and CO2 free hydrogen while demonstrating technology and cost improvements through up-scaling and new business applications. Electrolysis using low-cost renewable electricity could be a key technology for a potential CO2 free hydrogen production in the Shell Rheinland Refinery.

Related Content

  • Bombardier high speed train wins design awards in USA and Germany
    March 13, 2012
    Bombardier Transportation has won the iF Product Design Award as well as the Good Design Award for its ground-breaking very high speed (VHS) train currently being developed for leading railway markets in Europe, Asia and North America.
    Read More
  • Clear Blue illuminates Pennsylvania highway 
    December 11, 2020
    Deployment at the American Parkway follows an initial pilot phase in 2019
    Read More
  • Kapsch and Axxès to launch EETS solution for truck drivers
    November 19, 2018
    Tolling specialists Kapsch TrafficCom and Axxès will form a joint venture called MoKA to launch solution for European electronic toll collection services (EETS). Kapsch says EETS helps to simplify toll processing for commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. It also allows truck drivers to travel internationally via a single contract with an EETS provider and on-board unit (OBU). Companies must be accredited in their home country to achieve this service. Once approved, an EETS provider must be certified by
    Read More
  • Greenlots to provide EV chargers for Columbus Yellow Cabs
    May 24, 2019
    Greenlots, a Shell New Energies subsidiary, is to install DC fast charging stations at Columbus Yellow Cab’s depot facilities and several routes throughout central Ohio. Greenlots says the technology will allow Yello Cab operators to reduce charging times for its electric taxis, monitor the fleet in real-time and increase utilisation of each vehicle. Morgan Kauffman, CEO at Yellow Cab, says: "With this project, we're showing local residents that EVs are a viable substitution for traditional internal com
    Read More

Highlighted Content