Thyssenkrupp increases annual electrolyzer capacity to 1 GW

From pv magazine Germany

Thyssenkrupp has announced plans to increase the annual production capacity of its electrolyzers to 1 GW, following the German government's launch of a new Covid-19 stimulus package that includes directives to build a hydrogen economy.

According to the government's plan, the country should reach a total electrolyzer capacity of 5 GW by 2030, with another 5 GW to be deployed in the following five years.

Thyssenkrupp manufactures its electrolyzers with De Nora, its strategic supplier and joint venture partner, in premade standard modules. One module is able to generate up to 4,000 cubic meters of hydrogen per hour.

The German industrial conglomerate said the modules can be easily transported, installed and interconnected to different plant sizes, ranging up to several hundred megawatts. It said the plants are very responsive, so they can be used to stabilize the grid. The patented design of the electrolysis cells enables high system efficiencies of up to 80%, it added.

Hydrogen is used as a clean energy source and fuel, but also as a CO2-neutral raw material for the production of green chemicals. As a specialist in the planning and construction of chemical plants, Thyssenkrupp believes it is ideally positioned to implement complete value chains, starting with the large-scale production of hydrogen through to the production of sustainable basic chemicals such as ammonia and methanol.

“Only green hydrogen opens the way to climate neutrality for energy and resource-intensive industries, such as fuel, chemical or steel production,” said Christoph Noeres, head of Thyssenkrupp's energy storage and hydrogen division. “This requires GW-scale water electrolysis.”

However, Noeres acknowledged that this will not be possible without a new regulatory framework and fair market opportunities for green hydrogen.

“In addition to the further expansion of renewable energies, the focus is in particular on adapting the levy and pay-as-you-go system and offsetting the CO2-reducing effect of green hydrogen in the target markets,” he said.