Green hydrogen from Jülich

Pilot plant for the production of green hydrogen

At the invitation of Dr. Alwin Heupel (Project Manager / Messer), our working group visited a pilot plant for the production of green hydrogen currently under construction at the Brainergy Park in Jülich. HyDN-GmbH, a joint venture between the district of Düren and Messer Industriegase GmbH, was founded to operate the plant. The plant combines all the necessary plant components, from production to truck loading. A pipeline will make it possible to supply customers from the adjacent industrial estate directly with hydrogen. In addition, buses operated by fuel cells from the district of Düren are to be refueled in future via a filling station on the plant site. This type of plant management is unique and aims to gather extensive experience for the construction of further plants of the same type.

Shortly before commissioning, we were able to inspect the components, from production to loading of the end product.

Production takes place using two 5MW PEM electrolyzer modules, each of which can produce 90 kg of hydrogen per hour and are supplied with 100% renewable energy. With the current production capacity of 180 kg/h, the plant will be one of the largest of its kind in Germany and can be increased to up to 360 kg/h at the same site through further expansion.

We would like to thank Mr. Heupel and the members of the commissioning team for the friendly welcome and the detailed presentation of the new plant.

Visit to the Institute for a sustainable Hydrogen Economy (IHE)

Dr. Jens Artz (IHE) joined our group for the tour of the pilot plant. Afterwards, Mr. Artz invited us to the Forschungszentrum Jülich and gave us an insight into the research work of his working group on the topic of catalyst shaping & scale-up in relation to chemical hydrogen storage and release.

We would also like to thank Mr. Artz for the visit to his working group, which brought an informative day on the subject of hydrogen and the associated challenges to a close.