The Hydrogen Stream: Green hydrogen generation on the Baltic Sea

Salzgitter Flachstahl and Iberdrola Deutschland have signed a long-term deal to source electricity from the “Baltic Eagle” offshore wind farm, which is currently under construction in the German part of the Baltic Sea. The offshore wind farm is scheduled to go online at the end of 2024. Upon commissioning, Baltic Eagle will reach 476 MW of total capacity. “The green electricity from the wind turbines will be used to produce green hydrogen,” said Salzgitter Flachstahl. “Green hydrogen is a core component for Salzgitter AG to produce virtually carbon-neutral steel.”

German Minister of Economics Robert Habeck has announced funding for the SALCOS – Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking transformation program. “As confirmed in this notice, the first development stage of SALCOS will receive around €700 million ($768.6 million) in federal funding and € 300 million from the state government,” said Salzgitter AG. “Taken together with the company’s own funds in excess of €1 billion already approved by Salzgitter AG, financing is now assured for the first development stage of SALCOS which is due to be implemented by the end of 2025.”

RWE and Badenova plan to jointly build a hub to produce, transport, and distribute green hydrogen on the Upper Rhine region in Germany. “With the planned electrolysis plant at the RADAG run-of-river power plant in Albbruck, we will be able to provide green hydrogen here in significant quantities from the end of 2026,” said Sopna Sury, COO Hydrogen for RWE Generation. “The green electricity for this will come from renewable sources in the region.” RWE plans to build an electrolysis plant with a capacity of 50 MW to produce up to 8,000 metric tons of green hydrogen per year. Badenova's infrastructure subsidiary, badenovaNETZE, plans to build a new hydrogen pipeline from Waldshut to Albbruck to reach industrial and transport customers on both sides of the Rhine River.

Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks has presented a prototype of its Unimog multi-purpose vehicle with a hydrogen-powered combustion engine. The project, funded by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, has been implemented by 18 industrial and scientific partners since July 2021. A hydrogen-powered combustion engine for the traction drive and all power take-offs “could prove to be a possible alternative drive type for the Unimog,” said Daimler Truck. “As space is limited, the installation of a purely battery-electric drive or hydrogen-based fuel cells would be challenging.” Daimler Truck said it only plans to offer climate-neutral vehicles in Europe, the United States, and Japan by 2039.

The Estonian Hydrogen Association has signed an agreement with Alexela, Eesti Energia, the Port of Tallinn, and the University of Tartu to “officially establish the world’s first nationwide Hydrogen Valley.”