Construction has started in Germany on the world’s largest project storing green hydrogen using liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC). It is set to start operating in 2023.

An industrial site owned by domestic polymer producer Covestro in Dormagen, in Germany’s western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, will become home to a plant capable of storing around 1,800t of green hydrogen a year using benzyltoluene as an LOHC medium, says Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies, the company leading the project.

LOHC technology is widely seen as an efficient way to store and transport hydrogen. Liquid oils have high storage density, do not require extreme cooling or heating conditions and are barely flammable. The ability to safely store and transport hydrogen between centres of production and demand is a key component of developing a globally traded hydrogen market.

1,800t – Storage capacity of facility under construction

The Dormagen project will re-use heat released during the LOHC hydrogenation process for energy needed on site, further boosting its sustainability credentials.

“This is not only a huge step forward in bringing our LOHC technology to industrial scale. At the same time, one of the largest supply chains for green hydrogen is being created,” says Daniel Teichmann, chief executive of Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies.

Hydrogenious investor Covestro will produce the green hydrogen used in the LOHC storage process. It will obtain it as a byproduct from its chlorine electrolysis, while a power-purchase agreement for offshore wind signed with Denmark's Orsted in 2019 will certify its green credentials, the company said.

With an eye to future expansion, the project aims to export LOHC-stored green hydrogen to Rotterdam, home of Hydrogenious shareholder and commodity storage company Vopak. In the Netherlands, the hydrogen is planned to be released and used in the local mobility and industrial sectors.

“This is a great step forward in the development of an international hydrogen economy. These steps will pave the way to industrial scale deployment of hydrogen in multiple sectors,” says Vopak chief executive Eelco Hoekstra.

The state of North-Rhine Westphalia is supporting the project with funding of €9mn ($10.8mn).

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Author: Karolin Schaps