Questions and Answers

Hydrogen is a colourless and odourless gas that can be deployed as a universal source of energy. Unlike electricity, hydrogen can easily be stored for a long time. Green hydrogen is generated with the aid of renewable sources of energy – such as sun or wind energy, using the electrolysis method. That involves water (H2O) being split into its two components of hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) by supplying an electric current. The electrical energy that is obtained from renewable sources is, in this process, converted into chemical energy, which is then stored in the hydrogen. Unlike grey hydrogen, which is obtained using fossil fuels, no greenhouse gases result during the production of green hydrogen.

Green hydrogen has a lot of potential to promote the decarbonisation of society and industry. The use of green hydrogen is the only known way to rid industry and transport of their dependence upon fossil fuels. Industry and transport are responsible for over one third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Only if the CO2 emissions are decreased massively, in these areas as well, can global warming be limited to under 1.5 °C. Thus, green hydrogen is crucial for achieving the climate goals.

With the WESTKÜSTE100 research project, a regional hydrogen economy is supposed to be developed in Schleswig-Holstein on an industrial scale. The project concerns a living laboratory, which means that innovative technologies are tried out under real-life conditions in a chronologically limited testing space. The aim of the WESTKÜSTE100 living laboratory is primarily to generate green hydrogen for industrial purposes from wind power. By-products, such as waste heat, carbon dioxide and oxygen, should be returned to the material life cycle. Various sub-projects are, for that purposes, supposed to provide integral technical, commercial and scientific findings in the project period from 2020 to 2025, so that, once the project has been concluded, the decarbonisation of the industry planned by the partners of the consortium can be implemented using an electrolysis output capacity of several hundred megawatts. 

The WESTKÜSTE100 real-world laboratory comprises the exploration and testing of the decarbonisation of heat generation, transport and industry, and would save 31,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum with the 30 MW electrolysis facility. The potential is, however, even greater still, looking at the vision of an electrolysis capacity of several 100 megawatts. 

With the 30 MW electrolysis facility of WESTKÜSTE100, 6,000 to 7,000 standard cubic metres of hydrogen can be produced per hour.

The hydrogen produced within the scope of the WESTKÜSTE100 project will be deployed in various fields. A major proportion of the green hydrogen will be used industrially directly, in the production process of Raffinerie Heide. In addition, amongst others, a part of the hydrogen will travel via a pipeline from the electrolyser at Raffinerie Heide to the grounds of the Heide Municipal Utilities. There, the hydrogen will be fed into a portion of a grid area with around 200 households with a proportion of up to 20 vol. %. The hydrogen generated will also be stored for an interim period in a cavern which serves as a long-term and buffer storage facility, and from there transfered as renewable source of energy as a continuous material flow for industrial use. In one of three planned feasibility studies, it is also being investigated under which conditions a methanol synthesis facility, which uses the C02 from the cement works and the refinery, together with hydrogen from the water electrolysis as raw materials, can be implemented.

The prerequisites for developing a regional hydrogen economy in the industrial environment are precisely unique on the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein: A strong wind power region comes together here with excellent geological storage conditions, to meet innovative companies which are actively shaping the future and wish to make a significant contribution towards achieving the climate protection targets.

In WESTKÜSTE100, we would like to anchor the entire value creation chain for the production, storage and deployment of green hydrogen on the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein. What makes the real-world laboratory project so special and innovative is the integration of various material life cycles into the regional infrastructure which already exists. With Raffinerie Heide and the Lägerdorf cement works, we integrate regional areas of industry which currently still rank among the largest CO2 emitters in Schleswig-Holstein into the project. When converting to renewable sources of energy for generating power, and the use of hydrogen as a fuel and storage medium, a substantial contribution is being made towards the energy transition in the region. A further benefit for the production of green hydrogen in the region can be seen in the value creation: by investments being made in innovations and new technologies here on the west coast, local renewable hydrogen can be generated on a large scale. Thus, we can create value  on site and secure jobs. 

WESTKÜSTE100 is one of the projects in the ENTREE100 network (100% Energetic Transformation of Renewable Energy Sources), an initiative of the Heide region development agency for developing and cross-linking innovative projects in the field of renewable sources of energy, and that to the extent of 100%. The network comprises partners from business, research, development and the public sector. Further information regarding the other projects can be found at: https://www.region-heide.de/entree100.html

A 30 MW electrolysis facility is being constructed at Raffinerie Heide site. In order to operate this facility, an underground power cable is being laid between the Lieth voltage transformation substation and Raffinerie Heide. In order to store the green hydrogen generated during the electrolysis, an existing salt cavern is being re-purposed. In addition, a hydrogen transfer line, likewise running underground, is being laid between the electrolysis facility and the cavern. A storage facility is planned for Heide Municipal Utilities site, which will admix the hydrogen in a section of the existing gas grid. The green hydrogen will be supplied by the refinery via a new hydrogen line to the Municipal Utilities in Heide.