Shell Energy has started up a 10-MW polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer facility—one of the largest of its kind in the world—to produce green hydrogen at its Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland refinery in Wesseling, Germany, and it says plans are underway to expand the plant’s capacity to 100 MW.
The startup of the electrolyzer plant on July 2 marks a major milestone for the REFHYNE project, a five-year undertaking that began in January 2018 with funding from the European Commission’s Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH-JU). According to Shell, electricity used in the 10-MW plant is being supplied by renewable energy sources, and the green hydrogen it produces—up to 1,300 tonnes per year—can be fully integrated into refining processes, for example, for the desulphurization of conventional fuels.
