Uniper has selected Electric Hydrogen as its exclusive partner to design a 200 megawatt (MW) electrolyzer plant for the large-scale electrolysis within Uniper’s Green Wilhelmshaven project in Northern Germany.
Electric Hydrogen began conducting the preliminary front-end engineering design work for the project in October 2024, according to a news release.
Uniper’s Green Wilhelmshaven project consists of two major systems: large-scale electrolysis, which will produce green hydrogen, and an import terminal for ammonia. The electrolyzer will be built in Wilhelmshaven on the site of Uniper’s former coal-fired power plant. The ammonia import terminal is planned in the immediate vicinity of the first LNG terminal in the north of Wilhelmshaven, which is operated by a Uniper subsidiary.
Together, the two projects could meet a significant quantity of Germany’s projected demand for green hydrogen. Both plants will be connected via pipelines to the German hydrogen backbone and to underground storage facilities in northern Germany. With the Green Wilhelmshaven projects, Uniper aims to transform Wilhelmshaven into a central hub for green hydrogen in Germany. This is also confirmed by the “Project of Common Interest” (PCI) status granted to both projects.
The large-scale electrolysis will use renewable electricity from wind farms, creating zero-carbon green hydrogen gas for Uniper’s industrial customers. Green hydrogen plays a critical role in enabling industries like chemicals, steel, marine and air transport to chart a realistic path to carbon neutrality.
Decisive factors in the selection of the electrolysis technology were Electric Hydrogen’s advanced proton exchange membrane electrolysis (PEM) technology and the company’s offering of a fully integrated plant design to minimize hydrogen production costs. Electric Hydrogen’s low-cost 100 MW electrolyzer plants are available for deployment in the European Union in 2026.
“We aim to drive the efforts to decarbonize German and European industry. Uniper’s hydrogen project is a cornerstone of our plans to shape the energy transition,” said Susanne Thöle, Director of Hydrogen for Uniper. “We’re excited to begin the pre-FEED work on this project with Electric Hydrogen, in whom we have found a partner who understands our goals and supports our vision. We want to be the most trusted partner for policymakers, industry and society on how to make Europe’s energy supply secure, affordable and steadily greener.”
“Uniper is committed to becoming a leader in low-carbon energy,” said Raffi Garabedian, CEO of Electric Hydrogen. “We’re excited to help them fulfill this mission by bringing our advanced electrolysis technology and low project cost to Wilhelmshaven as their exclusive electrolysis partner. Electric Hydrogen was founded to make the switch from fossil fuels to zero-carbon green hydrogen an economic inevitability. Green Wilhelmshaven is a monumental step toward that goal.”
