Aerial view of the site in Hemmingstedt, © Raffinerie Heide

The trend is clear: refineries also need to become greener – recently also to limit the use of Russian oil and gas. In Germany, refineries are responsible for about a fifth of the CO2 emissions by the sector. Green hydrogen can be integrated into existing production processes. Several refineries are currently making this transition.

Today, 30 percent of the demand for H2 in Germany is coming from Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW). In Wesseling, just south of Cologne, an electrolysis plant with 10 MW capacity just recently started operation. The industrial park where it is located, formerly Rheinland Raffinerie, now bears the neo-German name “Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland.” In the future, up to 1,300 tonnes of green hydrogen will be produced here every year. And the need will continue to grow – the NRW government estimates that demand will double by 2030.

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Shell is already planning the construction of REFHYNE II, a 100 MW electrolysis plant (see H2-international August 2020). The start of construction could still be in 2022. Crude oil processing at Germany’s largest refinery is to stop in 2025. People want to get away from oil and gas, especially if it comes from Russia. The current war in Ukraine is now further accelerating the eco-ambitions.

Big Oil wants to go green as soon as possible – and must. Shell has announced its intention to become a net-zero emissions company by 2050 at the latest. As part of its Powering Progress strategy, Royal Dutch Shell announced at the beginning of the year that it will reduce the number of refinery sites around the world to five. In doing so, Shell’s global production of fossil fuels will sink 55 percent by 2030.

“We want to become Germany’s leading supplier of green hydrogen for industrial and transport customers,” said Huibert Vigeveno at the opening of the plant. He is a board member of Royal Dutch Shell. Shell has the entire value chain in sight, from offshore electricity production on the high seas to the expansion of capacity to produce green hydrogen for all sectors, expressed Vigeveno.[…]

… Read this article to the end in the latest H2-International

Author: Niels H. Petersen