EWE is advancing its Huntorf hydrogen storage project in Germany and has awarded Bilfinger a contract to engineer, install, and commission a hydrogen treatment facility.

The project will repurpose one of seven underground salt caverns at EWE’s Huntorf storage site in Germany’s Wesermarsch region for hydrogen storage. Once commissioned, the facility will provide approximately 16 million standard cubic meters (Nm³) of working gas capacity and will be connected to Germany’s hydrogen core network.

Bilfinger will be responsible for the engineering, installation, and commissioning of the hydrogen drying system. The project will mark the first commercial-scale use of Bilfinger’s H2Dry technology.

Peter Schmidt, Managing Director of EWE GASSPEICHER, said: “Hydrogen storage facilities are essential for a secure and reliable energy supply. They create a buffer between production, import and consumption, ensuring that hydrogen is available whenever it is needed – no matter when it is produced or supplied. With our storage project in Huntorf, we are creating vital infrastructure and, through this contract award to Bilfinger, taking another important step forward.”

Ulrich Trebbe, Product Manager Hydrogen at Bilfinger, said: “Hydrogen storage requires efficient and cost-effective treatment solutions. With H2Dry, we provide exactly that while helping our customers bring green hydrogen to market competitively.”

The Huntorf facility forms part of EWE’s Clean Hydrogen Coastline initiative, which integrates renewable hydrogen production, storage, transport, and utilization across north-west Germany. The four-part project received funding approvals from the German federal government and the State of Lower Saxony in summer 2024 under the European Important Project of Common European Interest program.

Source:   Hydrogentechworld