Hydrogen project H2Move gathers momentum in Cuxhaven
- Construction of plant for production of green hydrogen begins
- Mittelplate utility shipping fleet to be converted to hydrogen hybrid propulsion system
- Ships will sail through the Wadden Sea National Park more quietly and with significantly reduced emissions in future
On the site “An der Baumrönne 2” on the outskirts of Cuxhaven, the turnaround to climate-friendly energy supply in the region is being heralded. Today’s ground-breaking ceremony marks the start for construction work on a network for operating the Mittelplate supply fleet with hydrogen at that location. The primary focus in this regard is on the “H2Move” project. The symbolic ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Lower Saxony’s Environment Minister Olaf Lies (SPD), the Mayor of Cuxhaven, Uwe Santjer, as well as the Managing Director of project developer Turneo, Jochen Kaufholt, and Managing Director of Wintershall Dea Deutschland, Robert Frimpong.
During the ground-breaking ceremony, Olaf Lies said: "We need to create the conditions to drive the hydrogen issue forward. For this, we need entrepreneurs who invest courageously in the future. Wintershall Dea is a good example of the transformation process from fossil fuels to the future of energy supply.”
From now on, an electrolysis plant with a capacity of 2 megawatts will be built to produce the CO2-neutral green hydrogen, and compression technology will be used to compact it to a maximum of 900 bar. Moreover, storage tanks of various pressure levels will be constructed to accelerate future refuelling operations.
Wintershall Dea Deutschland is part of the new supply infrastructure and an important network partner that will purchase a large proportion of the hydrogen produced. This will be used to operate the supply fleet for Mittelplate Drilling and Production Island once the ships have been converted to hydrogen hybrid drive propulsion. “Hydrogen production at this site and the conversion of our marine engines to the state-of-the-art environmentally friendly propulsion technology are further steps towards improving environmental performance and reducing emissions. In future, we will sail through the national park with even lower emissions and more quietly,” emphasized Managing Director of Wintershall Dea Deutschland, Robert Frimpong, at the launch event. To date, the four supply vessels of the Mittelplate fleet together have covered around 12,500 nautical miles per year to supply Mittelplate Island. The vessel Coastal Liberty ship alone consumes around 275,000 litres of diesel per annum.
The starting point for the conversion was a feasibility study successfully carried out by EnTec Industrial Services GmbH in Cuxhaven. EnTec operates the Mittelplate land base in Cuxhaven and has been a reliable partner of Wintershall Dea for many years now.
The development and implementation of the onshore supply infrastructure is the responsibility of Turneo GmbH, a joint venture between Hamburg-based Karlsson GmbH and EWE Gasspeicher GmbH of Oldenburg. Turneo Managing Director Jochen Kaufholt: “I’m really thrilled that the tailwind from policymakers, the brilliant support from the city of Cuxhaven and the partnership with Wintershall Dea in a spirit of mutual trust have enabled us to give the starting signal for hydrogen technology at the Cuxhaven site here today.”
The hydrogen produced onshore is transferred to the Mittelplate ships in tank containers under up to 350 bar pressure. The hydrogen is then fed from these special containers to a fuel cell and the electricity generated is delivered to rechargeable batteries. This current drives the electric motor that sets the shaft and propeller in motion via a hybrid gearbox. This first practical maritime application is intended to lay the foundation for hydrogen infrastructure in Cuxhaven; the expansion of this infrastructure will benefit the port and the region as a whole.
About the Mittelplate oil field
Wintershall Dea has produced oil from the Mittelplate oil field in the Wadden Sea tidelands in Schleswig-Holstein for 35 years now – safely and without disruption. Using state-of-the-art technology, highly qualified employees and complex monitoring and safety systems, oil production and environmental protection can be harmonised even in this sensitive ecosystem. With almost three million litres of oil extracted every day, Mittelplate is by far the most productive oil field in Germany and an important economic and job engine on the coast.
About Wintershall Dea
Wintershall Dea is Europe’s leading independent natural gas and oil company with more than 120 years of experience as an operator and project partner along the entire E&P value chain. The company with German roots and headquarters in Kassel and Hamburg explores for and produces gas and oil in 13 countries worldwide in an efficient and responsible manner. With activities in Europe, Russia, Latin America and the MENA region (Middle East & North Africa), Wintershall Dea has a global upstream portfolio and, with its participation in natural gas transport, is also active in the midstream business. More in our Annual Report.
As a European gas and oil company, we support the EU's 2050 carbon neutrality target. As our contribution we have set ourselves ambitious targets: We want to be net zero across our entire upstream operations – both operated and non-operated – by 2030. This includes Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) greenhouse gas emissions on an equity share basis. In addition Wintershall Dea will bring methane emissions intensity below 0.1 per cent by 2025 and maintain zero routine flaring of associated gas in its operations. The climate goals are to be achieved through portfolio optimization, emissions reduction through more energy efficiency, investments in nature-based compensation solutions and in future technologies such as hydrogen and CCS. You can find more about this in our Sustainability Report.
Wintershall Dea was formed from the merger of Wintershall Holding GmbH and DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, in 2019. Today, the company employs around 2,500 people worldwide from almost 60 nations.
