RWE wants to build hydrogen-powered plants at existing sites. A hydrogen-powered combined-cycle power plant with a capacity of 800 MW will be built at Weisweiler. The company has commissioned an international consortium.
The approval planning will begin immediately. The ordering of components and the commissioning of the construction are subject to a final investment decision.
Roger Miesen, CEO RWE Generation SE: "With the commissioned approval planning, we are making advance payments to maintain the chance of completion by 2030. RWE is ready to contribute to security of supply by building hydrogen-powered plants, thus enabling the phase-out of coal in 2030. Policy makers need to set the course quickly: only when the hydrogen grid connections are secured and the economic operation of the power plants is made possible by suitable framework conditions can we make final investment decisions."
The German government has announced the creation of a regulatory framework for tenders involving hydrogen-powered plants, in which RWE intends to participate. According to recently presented plans for the expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure, Weisweiler could be located close to a hydrogen transport pipeline.
Start of operation by 2030
A consortium of Ansaldo Energia (Italy) and Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain) won the bidding process for the plant.
The contract the partners have now signed includes, as a first step, the approval planning for the power plant. This is the prerequisite for RWE to start implementation as soon as the general conditions are met.
The two further contract tranches include the ordering of central power plant components and the construction of the plant. They will be initiated once all necessary permits have been obtained and the project's economic viability is guaranteed. According to current planning, this could be the case in 2025, meaning that the plant could start producing electricity by the end of the decade.
Expanding to other locations
The CCGT plant should be capable of using at least 50 % vol hydrogen at the time of commissioning. All plans are geared to enabling conversion to the use of 100 % hydrogen from 2035 onwards.
RWE is considering the construction of further hydrogen-powered plants at other locations.
(Source: RWE/2023)
