Siemens to construct 6MW green hydrogen plant
German manufacturing firm Siemens will build a 6MW electrolysis plant to produce green hydrogen.
Construction is scheduled to start at the end of this year.
The plant is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of 2021 and will be located in the region of Wunsiedel, in the German state of Bavaria.
Green hydrogen will be produced from electricity from wind and solar farms located in the region. The hydrogen will be used to supply the transport and industry sectors, Siemens said.
The electrolysis should help to avoid bottlenecks and increase flexibility in the power grid, the firm said.
Earlier this year, German utility Uniper and Siemens signed a co-operation agreement to develop projects focused on green hydrogen. The German government agreed on the country's national hydrogen strategy in June. Under this strategy, it aims to invest €7bn in its domestic hydrogen sector by 2022.
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EU’s von der Leyen re-elected as Commission president
EU’s von der Leyen re-elected as Commission president
Brussels, 18 July (Argus) — The European Parliament today approved Ursula von der Leyen's re-election as president of the European Commission. Nominated by EU states in June, von der Leyen received 401 votes, by secret ballot, from parliament's 720 newly elected members. Von der Leyen called for continuing climate and energy policy in her 2024-29 mandate to achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) cuts of at least 90pc by 2040 from 1990 levels. "I have not forgotten how [Russian president Vladimir] Putin blackmailed us by cutting us off from Russian fossil fuels. We invested massively in homegrown cheap renewables. And this enabled us to break free from dirty Russian fossil fuels," said von der Leyen, promising to end the "era of dependency on Russian fossil fuels". She did not give an end date for this, nor did she specify if this includes a commitment to end Russian LNG imports. Von der Leyen went on to detail political guidelines for 2024-29. In the first 100 days of her new mandate, she pledged to propose a "clean industrial deal", albeit without giving concrete figures about how much investment this would channel to infrastructure and industry, particularly for energy-intensive sectors. The clean industrial deal will help bring down energy bills, she said. Von der Leyen told parliament the commission would propose legislation, under the European Climate Law, establishing a 90pc emission-reduction target for 2040. Her political guidelines also call for scaling up and prioritising clean-tech investment, including in grid infrastructure, storage capacity, transport infrastructure for captured CO2, energy efficiency, power digitalization, and deployment of a hydrogen network. She will also extend aggregate demand mechanisms beyond gas to include hydrogen and critical raw materials. Her political guidelines note the dangers of dependencies or fraying supply chains, from Putin's "energy blackmail" or China's monopoly on battery and chip raw materials. Majority report Passing the necessary legislation to implement her stated policies will now require approval from EU states and from parliament. Unless amplified by Germany's election next year, election victories by far-right parties in France and elsewhere appear not to threaten EU state majorities for specific legislation. Parliament's political centre-left S&D and liberal Renew groups, as well as von der Leyen's own centre-right EPP, have elaborated key policy requests . These broadly call for the continuation of von der Leyen's Green Deal, the set of legislation and policy measures aimed at 55pc GHG emission reduction by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. A symbolic issue for von der Leyen to decide, or compromise on, is the internal combustion engine (ICE). Her EPP group wants to stick to technological neutrality and to revise the phase-out, by 2035, of new ICE cars if they cannot run exclusively on carbon-neutral fuels. The EPP wants an EU e-fuel, biofuel, and low-carbon fuel strategy. Von der Leyen's guidelines reflect the need to gain support from centre-right, centre-left, and greens. For the ICE phase-out, she said the 2035 climate neutrality target for new cars creates investor and manufacturer "predictability" but requires a "technology-neutral approach, in which e-fuels have a role to play." She made no mention of carbon-neutral biofuels. It will be impossible for von der Leyen to satisfy all demands in her second mandate. That includes policy asks put forward by the EPP, ranging from a "pragmatic" definition of low-carbon hydrogen, market rules for carbon capture and storage, postponing the EU's deforestation regulation, to catering more for farmers, even by scrapping EU wildlife protection for wolves and bears. EU member states are expected to propose their candidates for commissioners in August, including those responsible for energy, climate, and trade policies. When parliament has held hearings for candidates in late October, von der Leyen's new commission would then be subject to a final vote. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Spain includes SAF, marine fuels in renewables targets
Spain includes SAF, marine fuels in renewables targets
London, 17 July (Argus) — Spain will start counting sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) and marine fuels towards its renewable energy targets, the government said. Starting from the 2024 financial year, SAFs and marine fuels will count toward meeting targets for sale or consumption of biofuels. A multiplier of 1.2 will be applied to the energy content of the fuels. An EU-wide SAF mandate will come into effect in 2025 that will set a minimum target of 2pc. The target rises to 6pc from 1 January 2030 and to 20pc from 1 January 2035, with a minimum share of 5pc of synthetic aviation fuels. The law defines synthetic aviation fuels as certified renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) that includes renewable hydrogen and derivatives such as e-methanol, e-ammonia and e-kerosene. EU states must bring this into their national legislation in line with the revised renewables directive by 21 May 2025. Spain's new remit also introduces hydrogen , biogas and RFNBOs . These will be double counted under Spain's biofuels certification system. By Evelina Lungu Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU must review 'overly ambitious' H2 targets: Audit
EU must review 'overly ambitious' H2 targets: Audit
Hamburg, 17 July (Argus) — The EU needs a "reality check" on "overly ambitious targets" for renewable hydrogen production and imports, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has said. The European Commission's RePowerEU targets of producing 10mn t/yr renewable hydrogen by 2030 and importing the same amount were based on "political will" rather than "a robust analysis," the ECA said in a report on EU renewable hydrogen policy. The bloc is "unlikely to meet" the targets "based on available information from member states and industry". Some industry participants have for a long time criticised the EU goals as unrealistic . In a response to the ECA's report, the commission said it "acknowledges the challenges" associated with reaching these "aspirational targets". The commission said it will "assess whether the aspirational targets can be reached," but noted it "cannot commit to any update at this stage". It said the underlying objectives "are still valid" and that "a downward review of the targets" could increase uncertainties for investors. But earlier this year, an assessment in which the commission set out scenarios for the energy sector anticipated much lower domestic renewable hydrogen production of around 3mn t/yr by 2030 . The commission told Argus at the time that the RePowerEU projections for 2030 would be reviewed once member states have submitted updated national and energy climate plans (NECPs). These were due by the end of June, but only a few member states submitted them on time . Responding to the ECA report, the commission said it would accept a recommendation to review its hydrogen strategy more broadly — including incentive mechanisms, the prioritisation of funds and the role of imports compared with domestic production — noting it would take the NECPs into account for this. EU funding could amount to €18.8bn in 2021-27, based on the ECA's estimates. But the commission itself "does not have a full overview of needs or of the public funding available," the ECA said. Funding opportunities are "scattered between several programmes," which makes it "difficult for companies to determine the type of funding best suited for a given project," it said. The ECA acknowledged that progress has been made on key regulatory areas, including a definition of renewable hydrogen. But the body notes that this took a long time, leading to investment decisions for projects being delayed. By Stefan Krumpelmann Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
New Zealand, Australia carbon brokerage rivalry builds
New Zealand, Australia carbon brokerage rivalry builds
Sydney, 17 July (Argus) — Commodities broker Marex announced today it opened an office in New Zealand and launched a new carbon trading platform for local emissions units, days after New Zealand competitor Jarden rolled out its own trading platform in Australia. Marex will initially focus on execution and clearing services across carbon, electricity and dairy sectors in New Zealand, in both listed and over-the-counter products. Its New Zealand-based and global clients will also be able to trade New Zealand emissions units (NZUs) in a newly launched platform called Neon Carbon. New Zealand clients will have access to clearing directly through Marex on the Singapore Exchange and Australian Securities Exchange, with the latter planning to soon launch physically settled futures contracts for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) and NZUs . The new Marex team will be led by Nigel Brunel, formerly Jarden's head of commodities in New Zealand. Jarden is considered to have the biggest share of the brokered NZU market through its CommTrade spot trading platform, followed by domestic trading platforms CarbonMatch and emsTradepoint, which is operated by state-owned electricity transmission system operator Transpower New Zealand's Energy Market Services. CommTrade expansion Marex has hired several other former Jarden brokers in recent months in New Zealand and Australia, as it looks to expand its environmental products business across Asia-Pacific . But the increasing brokerage competition in Australia with growing trading volumes for ACCUs in recent years prompted Jarden to roll out CommTrade in the Australian market. Jarden's clients in Australia had until now only a price display mechanism for ACCUs. But they are now able to directly input bids and offers through CommTrade, with real-time matching capabilities displayed on screen. "Transactions remain anonymous until matched, after which clients receive a contract note from Jarden detailing settlement terms," Jarden announced late last week. All transactions are settled directly through the company, with clients also able to trade other products such as LGCs. Marex told Argus it would not be able to share any product details on Neon Carbon at this stage. UK-based broker Icap entered the New Zealand carbon trading market earlier this year with the acquisition of domestic brokerage firm Aotearoa Energy, while several other brokers have entered the ACCU market in recent years. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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