TIDMITM
ITM Power PLC
18 January 2018
18 January 2018
ITM Power plc
("ITM Power" or the "Company")
World's Largest Hydrogen Electrolysis in Shell's Rhineland
Refinery
ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company,
is pleased to note the announcement by Shell that it is building,
with ITM Power, a new hydrogen electrolysis plant, the largest of
its kind in the world. The full text of Shell's announcement is set
out below.
EUROPEAN CONSORTIUM WITH SHELL AND ITM POWER ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT
TO BUILD ELECTROLYSIS AT RHINELAND REFINERY
Shell and ITM Power will build the world's largest hydrogen
electrolysis plant at Rhineland refinery, Germany. With a peak
capacity of 10 megawatts the hydrogen will be used for the
processing and upgrading of products at the refinery's Wesseling
site as well as testing the technology and exploring application in
other sectors.
The European partner consortium of Shell, ITM Power, SINTEF,
thinkstep and Element Energy has now secured 10 million euros in
funding from the European "Fuel Cell Hydrogen Joint Undertaking".
The project's total investment, including integration into the
refinery, is approximately 20 million euros.
Detailed technical planning and the approval process will now
begin. The plant, named "Refhyne" is scheduled to be in operation
in 2020 and will be the first industrial scale test of the polymer
electrolyte membrane technology process.
"This new unit at Rhineland enables hydrogen to be made from
electricity rather than natural gas. A unit of this kind brings a
flexibility that can help the stability of the power grid, thereby
facilitating more use of renewable electricity", explains Lori
Ryerkerk, Executive Vice President of Shell Manufacturing. "In
addition, if powered by renewable electricity, the green hydrogen
will help reduce the carbon intensity of the site - a key goal for
us".
Currently the Rheinland refinery, Germany's largest, requires
approximately 180,000 tons of hydrogen annually, which is produced
by steam reforming from natural gas. The new facility will be able
to produce an additional 1,300 tonnes of hydrogen per year, which
can be fully integrated into the refinery processes, such as for
the desulphurization of conventional fuels.
Shell Rheinland Refinery General Manager Thomas Zengerly
highlights: "We are pleased to be working collaboratively with the
European Union and to assist in developing Europe's future energy
system by testing this technology at the Wesseling site. If
successful there is potential for this technology to be expanded at
our refinery."
Hydrogen has the potential to play an important role in the
energy transition. Today, hydrogen is already being used in
transport by fuel cell vehicles, as well as in industrial
applications. When used in transport, hydrogen can help improve
local air quality, as the only emissions of fuel cell vehicles is
water vapour. When the hydrogen is produced from renewable sources,
it can help improve CO2 emissions from the transport sector. Shell
is taking part in several initiatives to build up a hydrogen
refueling network for transport in a number of markets, including
Germany.
Numerous opening guests
The launch of the new facility was attended by numerous
representatives from politics and business in the Rhineland
refinery:
Michael Theben, Head of Climate Protection Department, Ministry
of Economy, Innovation, Digitization and Energy of North
Rhine-Westphalia: "The establishment of greenhouse gas-neutral
industrial processes is one of the greatest challenges of this
century. In addition to evolutionary steps in the future, however,
it will primarily depend on "jump innovations". The state
government of North Rhine-Westphalia supports the industry in this
transformation process and welcomes the establishment of PEM
electrolysis. It is an important building block for future
innovative industrial processes."
Tudor Constantinescu, Principal Adviser to the Director-General
for Energy at the Commission of the European Union, Brussels:
"Renewable electricity can support decarbonisation not only of the
power sector, but, through sectoral integration also of other
carbon intensive industries, such as refining. Green hydrogen is a
key enabler in this process, contributing to the Energy Union
objectives both in terms of emission reductions and increased
renewables' share. Therefore, we strongly support innovation
activities, and the Refhyne project is a great illustration thanks
to the world's largest PEM electrolyser application in a
refinery."
Dr. Graham Cooley, CEO, ITM Power PLC, Sheffield: "The Rhineland
10MW system will be the largest PEM electrolyser in the world. It
represents the maturing of PEM technology for large scale,
industrial applications. We are honoured to be working with Shell
and the project team to deploy this plant at one of Europe's
flagship refineries."
Bart Biebuyck, Executive Director, EU Fuel Cell & Hydrogen
Joint Undertaking, Brussels: "Thanks to the different European
research projects by the FCH JU in this area, there is now a window
of opportunity for these new generation electrolysers to prove
themselves in heavy industries like refineries. We are proud to see
the scaling-up of PEM electrolysers to 10 MW to decarbonise the
industry sector."
Eli Aamot, Executive Vice President of SINTEF Industry: "REFHYNE
is the fourth FCH JU project on PEM electrolysers which is
coordinated by SINTEF. We are proud to take on this task, thereby
contributing to the introduction of hydrogen technology in
industrial processes, in line with our vision: Technology for a
better Society".
Erwin Esser, Mayor of Wesseling: "The construction of hydrogen
electrolysis is a clear commitment to the Wesseling site. A good
day for Wesseling, for the employees of the company and a great
contribution to the success of the energy turnaround."
Johannes Daum, Program Manager Power-Based Fuels, NOW National
Organization Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology: "Major projects
such as 10 MW PEM electrolysis are building on the success of
technology promotion in the National Innovation Program Hydrogen
and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP). They demonstrate the suitability
for everyday use of processes on an industrial scale and improve
the profitability of producing hydrogen. They are an important step
in the integration of hydrogen into the energy system and make a
decisive contribution to implementing the energy transition in all
consumption sectors. "
This project has received funding from the Fuel Cells and
Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 779579. This
Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union's
Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and Hydrogen Europe
Industry and Hydrogen Europe Research."
For further information please visit www.itm-power.com or
contact:
ITM Power plc
Andy Allen, CFO +44 (0)114 244 5111
Investec Bank plc (Nominated Adviser and
Broker)
Corporate Finance: Jeremy Ellis / Jonathan
Wynn
Corporate Broking: Chris Sim / Rob Baker +44 (0)20 7597 5970
Tavistock (Financial PR and IR)
Simon Hudson / James Collins +44 (0)20 7920 3150
About ITM Power
ITM Power manufactures integrated hydrogen energy solutions for
grid balancing, energy storage and the production of green hydrogen
for transport, renewable heat and chemicals. ITM Power was admitted
to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004. In
September 2017 the Company announced the completion of a GBP29.4m
working capital fundraise. The Company signed a forecourt siting
agreement with Shell for hydrogen refuelling stations in September
2015 and subsequently a deal to deploy a 10MW electrolyser at
Shell's Rhineland refinery. Additional customers include National
Grid, RWE, Engie, BOC Linde, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Anglo American
among others. The Company currently has GBP31.5m of projects under
contract and a further GBP10.3m of contracts in the final stages of
negotiation constituting a total of GBP41.8m, subject to exchange
rate variations.
-ends-
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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