Uniper opens new storage facility for green hydrogen in Krummhorn, Bavaria
The Hydrogen Pilot Cavern (HPC) Krummhörn demonstration plant was opened, according to the company's release.
The hydrogen storage projects HPC Krummhörn in Lower Saxony and HyStorage in Bavaria, where a gas mixture of natural gas and hydrogen is stored in a pore storage facility, are part of the implementation of Uniper’s strategy and serve to prepare commercial storage projects for hydrogen.
The creation of the pilot cavern in Krummhörn with a geometric volume of approx. 3,000 cubic meters was completed by using solution mining at an existing borehole at the Krummhörn site. With a total storage volume of almost 500,000 norm cubic meters of green hydrogen, the storage facility will be one of the first of its kind. Surface equipment for injection is set up. The gas tightness test on September 24, 2024, marks the start of the trial operation.
Next step, once approved, will be the initial gas filling and the operation of the demonstration plant with various injection and withdrawal cycles in the coming year. During the entire project period, equipment and materials are to be tested for hydrogen compatibility in a real environment and experience is to be gained about the quality of the stored hydrogen, thermodynamics and rock mechanics. Further technical components will therefore be installed on the operating site of the Krummhörn storage facility. This includes a hydrogen test facility that allows to determine the gas quality in various realistic injection and withdrawal scenarios and to test process technologies for processing the hydrogen. Hydrogen will be analysed to identify changes that might have occurred during the storage phase in the cavern. Furthermore, the moisture and possible other residues are removed from the hydrogen to make it available for the customers.
Uniper will invest a low double-digit million euro amount in the green future project. Within the framework of the hydrogen directive, the Lower Saxony Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Climate Protection is funding the project as a pilot and demonstration project of the hydrogen economy with 2.375 million euros.
The Krummhörn site is ideally suited because, among other things, it complements the nearby Uniper site in Wilhelmshaven with the “Green Wilhelmshaven” project, offering the best conditions as an energy site and thus strengthening the importance of the region and Lower Saxony as an energy hub in Central Europe. The geographical location advantageously combines proximity to the windy North Sea with energy-technical connection to the gas and electricity grid that has existed for decades and, in the future, to the new hydrogen core network.
Düsseldorf-based Uniper is an international energy company with activities in more than 40 countries. The company and its roughly 7,000 employees make an important contribution to supply security in Europe, particularly in its core markets of Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
Uniper’s operations encompass power generation in Europe, global energy trading, and a broad gas portfolio. Uniper procures gas—including liquefied natural gas (LNG)—and other energy sources on global markets. The company owns and operates gas storage facilities with a total capacity of more than 7 billion cubic meters.
Uniper intends to be completely carbon-neutral by 2040. Uniper aims for its installed power generating capacity to be more than 80% zero-carbon by 2030. To achieve this, the company is transforming its power plants and facilities and investing in flexible, dispatchable power generating units. Uniper is already one of Europe’s largest operators of hydropower plants and is helping further expand solar and wind power, which are essential for a more sustainable and secure future. The company is progressively expanding its gas portfolio to include green gases like hydrogen and biomethane and aims to convert to these gases over the long term.
