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FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Five northern German federal states announced on Tuesday that they would jointly advance the development of hydrogen from renewable electricity and install at least 500 megawatts (MW) of electrolysis capacity by 2025.
Green hydrogen is made by electrolysis, which is based on electricity obtained from sources such as wind and sun. Other hydrogen made from fossil fuels is not carbon free.
“The new initiative aims to make northern Germany the strongest up-and-coming region for green hydrogen in the heart of Europe and to complete the value chain for green hydrogen,” said a statement from the federal states.
The capacity is expected to increase rapidly to at least 5 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, said the group that named the Hy-5 initiative.
It consists of the federal states of Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein.
The statement was published at the opening of the annual WindEnergy trade fair, which is taking place digitally this year.
The northern region has adequate onshore and offshore wind capacity, seaports with import facilities, demand for green energy from their industrial companies and a head start in hydrogen research, the group said.
The region also has gas storage caverns and a natural gas pipeline network that could be used for hydrogen.
Germany wants to end its dependence on coal and nuclear power and use renewable energies to decarbonise energy in industry, transport and building heating.
Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Barbara Lewis
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