MAN and ANDRITZ Plan Pilot Green Hydrogen from Hydropower Project

MAN Energy Solutions and ANDRITZ Hydro are working together to develop a new completely green solution for the production of hydrogen power. They plan to launch Europe’s first pilot project producing green hydrogen from hydropower.

“Hydropower is one of the few completely climate-neutral forms of energy, which is capable of providing base load power,” required for the large-scale production of hydrogen explains Frank Mette, CEO of ANDRITZ Hydro. “We, therefore, see excellent potential for worldwide expansion – in new construction projects just as much as in repowering. By adding the possibility of producing hydrogen to hydropower plants, we are taking the next step and also making the energy generated there ready for export and storage without restriction.”

The companies are aiming to launch an initial joint pilot project before the end of this year to provide about 650 tons of green hydrogen by using an electrolysis output of up to 4 MW. Initially, the hydrogen will be for local use, but in follow-up projects in the coming years, designed for the export of hydrogen, the installed electrolysis output is expected to increase to up to 100 MW.

“The economy of the future will be climate-neutral, and to achieve this it needs huge quantities of green hydrogen,” said Dr. Uwe Lauber, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of MAN Energy Solutions. “Hydropower plants are ideal for generating hydrogen in a completely climate-neutral, reliable, and cost-effective manner. With ANDRITZ Hydro, we have been able to enter into a partnership with a world leader in the field of hydraulic power generation, to develop these prospects together with us.”

Following the pilot project, the companies plan to jointly identify and implement further projects in support of the German Federal Government's H2 Global initiative. H2 Global is a market-based funding platform, which aims to efficiently promote the market launch of green hydrogen and hydrogen-based power-to-X products. The initiative encourages the creation of hydrogen energy partnerships with countries with a high potential to provide a long-term, cost-effective and reliable green hydrogen supply to Germany and the EU.