Uniper SE

05/10/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/11/2021 05:29

Huntorf hydrogen hub: politicians informing themselves on site

The hydrogen hub planned by EWE and Uniper in Huntorf has also attracted the interest of federal politicians: On Monday, Dr. Stefan Kaufmann MdB, Innovation Officer 'Green Hydrogen' at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, went on site to get an idea of the plans of both companies. Kaufmann accepted the invitation of Lower Saxony's Science Minister Björn Thümler to visit selected sites in Lower Saxony in the field of green hydrogen production and storage. EWE CEO Stefan Dohler and Uniper COO David Bryson explained their plans to the two politicians in Huntorf.

Kaufmann is confident: 'Green hydrogen is the gamechanger for a climate-friendly energy supply of tomorrow. Germany has a unique opportunity to become a thought leader and pioneer for green hydrogen solutions. We can become a global technology supplier. To do this, we now need to quickly bring the enormous knowledge from science into practice. That's what makes projects like the one in Huntorf so important. The hydrogen hub shows: Green hydrogen is feasible, the value chains work. This is ensured by the excellent expertise and innovative strength of the partners involved. This is how energy transition works!'

Lower Saxony's Minister for Science and Culture Björn Thümler agrees: 'Green hydrogen is an indispensable building block for the energy transition. That's why we are funding five innovative research projects across Lower Saxony with a total of six million euros. Here in Huntorf, the DLR Institute for Networked Energy Systems and Clausthal University of Technology are now using the compressed air storage power plant to investigate the potential of using green hydrogen in thermal processes.'

EWE and Uniper had recently announced their intention to establish a hydrogen hub in Huntorf, Lower Saxony. Both companies have already signed a corresponding contract. Accordingly, they plan to generate hydrogen in Huntorf using renewable energy (wind power), store it there and create transport facilities to make it available to industry and the mobility sector. The cooperation between the two companies will take place under the name CHESS (Compressed Hydrogen Energy Storage Solution).

For more information, please contact:

EWE
Dietmar Bücker
T +49 (0)162-133 0844
[email protected]

Uniper SE
Lucas Wintgens
T +49 (0)160 95653004
[email protected]

About EWE

EWE is an innovative service provider active in the business areas of energy, telecommunications and information technology. With over 8,800 employees and sales of around EUR 5.7 billion in 2019, EWE is one of the largest utility companies in Germany. The company, based in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, is primarily owned by the local government. It provides electricity to around 1.4 million customers in northwest Germany, Brandenburg and on the island of Rügen, as well as parts of Poland, and supplies natural gas to almost 0.7 million customers. It also provides approximately 0.7 million customers with telecommunications services. To achieve this, the various companies in the EWE Group operate around 210,000 kilometres of electricity grid, natural gas grid and telecommunications networks. To provide comprehensive fibre-optic expansion in the region, EWE and Telekom Deutschland founded the company Glasfaser Nordwest, which will invest EUR 2 billion in fibre-optic expansion in the northwest over the next ten years. www.ewe.com