Plug Power to Build Hydrogen Generation Plant in the Heart of Europe
Plug Power Inc., a hydrogen solutions provider, plans to construct a 35-tonne-per-day green hydrogen generation plant at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in the heart of Europe. Plug signed a 30-year concession agreement to build the plant in Belgium's second-largest port.
Plug intends to build a 100-megawatt green hydrogen plant on 28 acres of land leased under the arrangement, utilising its electrolyser and liquefaction technologies. For the European market, Plug will create up to 12,500 tonnes of liquid and gaseous green hydrogen per year.
The plant will be built after the permitting procedure is completed, which is expected to be in late 2023. Green hydrogen production is planned to begin in late 2024, with plant commissioning in 2025.
With an electric interconnection point less than a mile away, the site's position allows for a quick supply of electricity from on-site and site-adjacent wind turbines generating dozens of megawatts. In addition, the site provides access to water, roads, rails, and pipelines for the transportation of green hydrogen. Plug has signed a contract with Fluxys to do a feasibility study to enable a link to the open-access hydrogen pipeline that will be installed along the site.
With about 15 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity, the North Sea countries are major wind power providers. As part of a recent cooperation agreement signed by Belgium, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands, they have pledged to increase capacity to 65 GW by 2030 and 150 GW by 2050. The European Union recently announced the $315 billion REPowerEU effort to assist in the transition away from Russian fossil fuels and toward renewable energy, such as green hydrogen.
In the United States, Plug recently signed an agreement with Walmart to help power the retailer's lift trucks and deliver green hydrogen using a fleet of liquid transport vehicles it acquired last year as part of its acquisition of Applied Cryo Technologies, which included liquid hydrogen and other cryogenic gas distribution and storage networks. The Walmart partnership, according to Plug, is one of the company's first green hydrogen supply contracts.
Source: Environmental Leader
