BP said it is planning to work with Danish renewable energy firm Orsted on a green hydrogen project at its 82,000 b/d Lingen refinery in northwest Germany.
It will involve using renewable energy from Orsted's wind farm in the North Sea to power a 50MW electrolyser at the refinery. This will produce almost 9,000 t/yr of hydrogen through electrolysis of water, enough to replace around 20pc of the refinery's current hydrogen consumption, BP said.
Hydrogen used in refinery processes is typically produced by reforming natural gas. Unlike hydrogen produced from renewable electricity, this results in CO2 emissions.
"The project could be expanded to up to 500MW at a later stage to replace all of Lingen's fossil fuel-based hydrogen," BP said.
The two companies are working towards a final investment decision on the project in early 2022 "subject to appropriate enabling policies being in place". It could be operational by 2024, BP said.
Cost estimates have not been disclosed, but BP and Orsted have applied for funding from the EU.