REFHYNE 2 Project involves building a 100MW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) hydrogen electrolyser plant in Germany.
The electrolyser will be located within Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland, near Cologne.
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REFHYNE 2 project partners include Shell Deutschland, ITM Power, Linde Engineering, ITM Linde Electrolysis, Fundacion Tecnalia Research & Innovation, Element Energy and Concawe, and it is coordinated by Sintef.
The Shell-operated project represents the second phase of the 10MW PEM electrolyser REFHYNE Project, which commenced operations in 2021.
The project is funded under Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme of the European Union. It secured €32.4m grant from the European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency CINEA in October 2021.
The Final Investment Decision (FID) on REFHYNE 2 was taken in July 2024. The electrolyser is expected to start hydrogen production in 2027.
Once operational, the project will produce up to 44,000 kilograms per day of renewable hydrogen supporting decarbonisation of Shell Rheinland. The capacity is equivalent to the fuel needed to travel 550,000km with zero emission hydrogen fuelled semi-trailers.
The use of hydrogen will reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions at the facility. Eventually, green hydrogen would be supplied to customers nearby, lowering industrial emissions.
REFHYNE 2 Green Hydrogen Project Details
The REFHYNE 2 Green Hydrogen Project will be based on the existing 10MW electrolyser installed under REFHYNE 1 Project.
The 100MW electrolyser is based on PEM technology and it will aim to produce hydrogen at less than €3/kg. PEM electrolyser supports a low carbon hydrogen production pathway by using low carbon electricity.
The electrolyser will feature ITM Power supplied TRIDENT and skids. The company’s 2MW electrolyser skid is based on its 30bar stacks.
The electrolyser will be powered by renewable power supplied by onshore wind farms, offshore wind farms, and solar farms.
The renewable hydrogen produced will be used in the operations of the Rheinland refinery, refuelling buses and supplying to industrial customers. The green hydrogen can also be used to produce cleaner energy products, including transport fuels.
In production phase, the project is expected to produce approximately up to 15,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year. REFHYNE 2 is expected to partially decarbonise fuel production at Shell’s Wesseling refinery.
Contractors Involved
Linde Engineering was selected by Shell in August 2024 for the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract for REFHYNE 2. The company will build the PEM hydrogen electrolysis facility.
ITM will supply TRIDENT stacks for the electrolyser. ITM will work in collaboration with Linde Engineering to fulfil the contract.
About REFHYNE I
In July 2021, REFHYNE I began operations at the Shell Rhineland Refinery in Wesseling, Germany. With a peak capacity of 10MW, the facility could produce 1,300 tonnes of hydrogen per year.
It was designed to help balance the local power grid by producing and storing hydrogen using surplus power.
The plant, the first to use PEM technology at such a large scale in a refinery, completed operations in June 2024. It was built by ITM Power and operated by Shell.
A public final report outlining key understandings learned during project operation from a technical, economic and environmental perspective was also published.
Project REFYHNE was partly funded by the European Commission through the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU).
