Hydrogen Alliance H2 MARSCH: Use of hydrogen secures jobs and enables climate targets to be achieved

Nordenham/Oldenburg, May 10, 2024. The companies Airbus Aerostructures, DMK Deutsches Milchkontor, Glencore Nordenham, KRONOS TITAN, USG-Blexen and the energy group EWE with its subsidiaries EWE NETZ and EWE GASSPEICHER, the Wesermarsch Economic Development Department and the cities of Brake (Unterweser) and Nordenham want to advance the transformation of the Wesermarsch on the way to climate neutrality by using hydrogen for industrial processes. Therefore, the partners founded the H2 MARSCH hydrogen alliance last year. The possibilities available to the participating companies and, in the future, to other customers for the supply of hydrogen were examined as part of a feasibility study. The results are now released.

At its core, the feasibility study shows options for how the decarbonization of industrial companies and their processes can take place and which renewable energy sources are suitable to replace current fossil fuels. The procurement of renewable energy sources was analyzed as well as possible infrastructures through which the energy sources can reach the region.

The aim is to implement decarbonization by the mid-2030s, both from an economic point of view and in terms of companies' customers. "On the one hand, this means investing in energy efficiency measures. On the other hand, that half of the energy required in the future, i.e. around 500 gigawatt-hours per year, could be electrified. The other half would have to be converted to molecular energy sources due to technical restrictions in the production processes. Hydrogen has turned out to be the best option for this," reports Tim Eshold from Glencore Nordenham and also spokesman of the H2 MARSCH initiative.

Around 13,000 tonnes of hydrogen would be needed annually for industrial companies. In principle, about a third of this amount could be produced in the region. According to the study, there is sufficient availability of land that meets the relevant licensing requirements for self-generation. "We need a few basic preparatory works in advance to make the deliberations," says EWE project manager Dr. Dennis Wenzel, "such as a possible water supply concept in cooperation with the local water board or the determination of available electricity connection capacity in cooperation with the local power grid operator." In order to be able to meet the overall demand, further quantities of hydrogen would have to reach the region via imports or a supra-regional pipeline network, such as the nationally planned hydrogen core network.

The H2 MARSCH partners have already developed a roadmap to achieve the climate protection and transformation goals set by industrial companies. This contains the essential steps on the way to climate neutrality. Carsten Büsing from Kronos Titan and member of the Advisory Board of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce: "What is absolutely needed are research and development as well as pilot plants before we can implement our transformation on an industrial scale. And for this, we need political support and appropriate funding in the coming years, without which we will not be able to act. After all, no one can accomplish such a mammoth task on their own." In a next step, the H2 MARSCH partners want to work out their concepts for the implementation and financing of the transformation in detail.

In addition to the EnergyHub Wilhelmshaven, the activities of the H2 MARSCH initiative are further proof of the enormous industrial policy potential of the northwest in the course of the hydrogen market ramp-up. Tobias Busch from the Wesermarsch Economic Development Department: "Wesermarsch is a future-oriented industrial location in rural areas, in the vicinity of the four urban centers of Bremen, Bremerhaven, Oldenburg and Wilhelmshaven. Large industrial companies are located as well as small and medium-sized enterprises as well as start-ups. The use of hydrogen plays an important role in making production, logistics and public transport more sustainable and becoming climate-neutral in the long term. We are committed to this and are jointly developing ways in which we can become climate-neutral, create value and, last but not least, keep jobs in the region and at the same time make our contribution to all climate protection activities in the Jade-Weser region.