Hamburg’s state government is backing to proposals to develop a green hydrogen production plant at the site of the decommissioned Moorburg coal-fired power station in northern Germany, following completion of a feasibility study.

A joint venture between Shell, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Swedish utility Vattenfall and municipal heating company Warme Hamburg plans to install a 100MW electrolyser at the Moorburg site on the river Elbe as the centrepiece of a Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub. The partners must still make FID on the project, Shell confirms to Hydrogen Economist.

The deployment of electrolyser capacity of up to 500MW at the site is economically and technically feasible, according to the Hamburg state government.

“Parts of the existing power plant infrastructure offer excellent prerequisites for the implementation of an electrolyser. This can be set up in parallel to a partial power plant dismantling and then expanded,” it says, adding a startup date of 2026 for the plant is realistic.

"It is extremely gratifying that, even after a thorough examination of profitability and technical feasibility, the go-ahead can be given for the construction of a large and scalable electrolysis plant at the Moorburg site,” says Michael Westhagemann, Hamburg’s senator for economics and innovation.

“This starting signal also heralds the conversion of the entire site to a new, green orientation, for which a holistic concept must now be developed.”

The project has been included in Germany’s shortlist put forward for funding from the EU's Important Projects of Common European Interest scheme.

The 1,600MW Moorburg plant closed in July last year as part of Germany’s phase-out of coal, only six years after its commissioning.

The German government has signalled it may need to extend the life of some coal-fired plants or bring some retired plants back into service to ensure security of supply amid the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But Moorburg operator Vattenfall says it has no plans to restart the station and has received no concrete enquiries from the government to make it available as reserve capacity.

“The preparations for the complete dismantling of the power plant, including the necessary permits and the invitation to tender for the demolition work, are very far advanced,” Vattenfall tells Hydrogen Economist.

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Author: Stuart Penson