HH2E picks Nel electrolysers as Germany, Norway deepen ties

German green energy firm HH2E AG on Friday took a new step towards the realisation of a gigawatt-scale green hydrogen project on the Baltic coast by setting the foundation for a partnership with Norway’s Nel ASA (OSE:NEL).

HH2E and Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser have signed a non-binding contract for a Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) study that precedes a final purchase contract for two 60-MW electrolysers. The German company said in a statement that the potential order could be worth more than EUR 30 million (USD 31.8m). A firm electrolyser supply contract is expected to be signed by mid-2023.

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The project in Lubmin, the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, is the first of what HH2E hopes to eventually become a 4-GW portfolio in Germany. As announced in June 2022, the company created a joint venture with Swiss natural gas and power trader MET Group to develop the Power-to-X (PtX) facility on the site of a former nuclear power plant.

By 2025, the facility should have the capacity to produce some 6,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year and will be expanded to more than 1 GW of electrolysis capacity and over 60,000 tonnes of green hydrogen by the end of the decade.

“Our original plan to establish 4 GW of green hydrogen production capacity by 2030 in Germany is being implemented at a rapid pace and well within our reach,” commented Alexander Voigt, co-founder and board member of HH2E.

The signing of today’s contracts took place as Germany's vice chancellor Robert Habeck, Norway's minister of petroleum and energy, Terje Lien Aasland, and minister of industry and trade, Jan Christian Vestre, are visiting Nel's factory in Heroya, Norway. On Thursday, the officials agreed to deepen the ongoing cooperation between the two countries with respect to hydrogen, battery technology, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and renewable energy from offshore wind.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.060)