E.ON deprioritises hydrogen, cancels 20MW plant in Essen amid spate of German industry setbacks
LONDON (ICIS)–On 2 July, a spokesperson for energy supplier E.ON told ICIS that its “international hydrogen imports, hydrogen production, and midstream activities will be deprioritized” as part of the company’s integration of its green gas business into its energy infrastructure solutions (EIS) business unit.
E.ON confirmed that this includes the cancellation of its proposed 20MW HydroHarbourEssen plant in Essen, Germany. It was expected to produce 2,300 tons of renewable hydrogen per year by 2027.
The company also confirmed it had exited the H2.Ruhr project, a collaboration with Enel, Iberdrola, ABB and SAP to construct a hydrogen pipeline in the Ruhr area of Germany, proposed to initially connect Essen and Duisberg. Announced in 2021, the project targeted delivery of up to 80,000 tons of renewable hydrogen and ammonia per year.
This is the latest blow to the German hydrogen industry, after steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal announced last month that it had cancelled its renewable hydrogen-based decarbonisation plans for two of its steel plants in Bremen and Eisenhuttenstadt, despite securing €1.3 billion in subsidies.
This was followed by postponements of EWE’s 50MW project in Bremen and LEAG’s 10MW plant in Lusatia.
A spokesperson for EWE told ICIS at the time, said:
National and European overregulation undermines the economic viability of renewable energy sources
“The energy sector and industry cannot shoulder the ramp-up alone. Policymakers must now act swiftly to establish reliable framework conditions and targeted incentives to make investments in hydrogen technologies economically viable.”
A spokesperson for LEAG told ICIS, said:
Uncertainty regarding availability and prices in a future hydrogen market is high
“The end of the German Ampel government last year has indefinitely delayed the implementation of the federal Power Plant Safety Act, a key regulatory pre-condition.”
E.ON said that the company,
Will focus on integrated, B2B [business-to-business] customer-oriented hydrogen solutions within the framework of EIS.
“This will enable us to create an even more attractive portfolio of solutions to support our B2B customers”.
It added that the company is,
Convinced that green hydrogen will play a role in a decarbonized energy future, especially for hard-to-decarbonize industrial B2B sectors
In 2024 E.ON had selected technology group Andritz to complete feasibility studies for the HydroHarbourEssen project.
Germany targets 10GW electrolyzer capacity by 2030.
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E.ON deprioritises hydrogen, cancels 20MW plant in Essen amid spate of German industry setbacks, source
