According to foreign media, on August 1, 2023, German Vice Chancellor Robert Harbeck announced the German plan. These hydrogen power plants will be used to provide power to the grid when wind and solar power are insufficient, acting as energy storage and demand-side response.
In order to further check the authenticity of the news, we went to the official website of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. There is no English version at the moment.
Among these hydrogen power plants, there will be 8.8G/W new power plants operating directly on hydrogen. By 2035, the bidding project of 15GW hydrogen power plant will be open. These power plants can be temporarily operated with natural gas until they are connected to the hydrogen network.
Germany wants to decarbonise its electricity supply by 2035. BMWK, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, said that in the future all power plants must operate in a climate-neutral manner. The huge task of energy transformation requires not only advanced technology to convert fuels to renewable energy (especially hydrogen), but also large investment in the development of transportation and storage of hydrogen and its infrastructure.
Germany's hydrogen power plant bidding projects include the following three types:
1) Sprinter Green Hydrogen Power Plant
BMWK explains that it is aimed at those places connected to infrastructure, such as large hydrogen or ammonia storage facilities, regional power grids or hydrogen clusters. Or where there is an opportunity to import hydrogen or ammonia. This fund refers to the use of renewable hydrogen to generate electricity after the power plant is put into operation. The total amount of project bidding in 2024-2028 is 4.4G W. The project is oriented to new hydrogen power plant projects and upgrading of existing natural gas power plants.
2) Hybrid power plant
refers to the combination of wind and solar energy with local hydrogen storage and hydrogen power plant to realize controllable power generation based on renewable hydrogen. The total capacity of the tender plan for the hybrid power plant is 4.4G W, which refers to the capacity of the hydrogen power plant.
3) H2-ready power plants
are new or existing power plants that will initially operate on natural gas and will be converted to 100% hydrogen operation by 2035. The tender for H2-ready power plants is planned to have a total capacity of 10GW, of which up to 6GW will be used for new hydrogen power plants. The rest will be existing natural gas power plants that will be converted to run 100% on hydrogen.
Although the details of the tender have not yet been disclosed, BMWK said the German government would take measures to minimize the risk of excessive government funding and maintain the competitive intensity of the tender project.
By building large-scale hydrogen power plants, Germany will make significant progress in the energy sector and take an important step towards decarbonizing its electricity supply. This will also provide more possibilities for decarbonization in other industries. At the same time, the plan will encourage investment and innovation, and promote the integrated application of renewable energy and hydrogen technology in Germany. The development of hydrogen energy industry in Germany is also expected to attract more investment and talents, accelerate the maturity and popularization of hydrogen energy industry, and make positive contributions to the global hydrogen energy economy.
浙公网安备33010802003254号