Linde unveils plans for new hydrogen plant in Germany

Linde has today revealed plans for a new proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser plant in Germany that the company says will produce enough green hydrogen to fuel approximately 600 fuel cell buses a year – and it’s expected be operational in the second half of 2022.

The new 24MW electrolyser, which Linde claims will be the world’s largest, will produce green hydrogen to supply Linde’s industrial customers through the company’s existing pipeline network.

Liquefied green hydrogen will also be distributed to refuelling stations and other industrial customers in the region, Linde said in a statement, adding that the total amount of green hydrogen being produced can fuel approximately 600 fuel cell buses, driving 40 million kilometres, thus saving up to 40,000 tons of CO2 tailpipe emissions per year.

“Clean hydrogen is a cornerstone of the German and EU strategies to address the challenge of climate change,” said Jens Waldeck, President Region Europe West, Linde.

“It is part of the solution to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions across many industries, including chemicals and refining.”

“This project shows that electrolyser capacity continues to scale up and it is a stepping stone towards even larger plants.”

The electrolyser will be built by ITM Linde Electrolysis (ILE), a joint venture between Linde and ITM Power, using high-efficiency PEM technology.

“This is the first sale via our joint venture with Linde and is currently the world’s largest announced PEM electrolyser,” said Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power.  

“It demonstrates the growing commitment by industry to use green hydrogen produced by electrolysis to decarbonise production processes.”