Siemens and Uniper sign 'green hydrogen' agreement

Automation firm Siemens and energy company Uniper have agreed to work together to decarbonise their supply chains and produce and use 'green hydrogen' from renewable sources.

This will see Uniper's gas turbines, storage facilities and coal plants assessed for hydrogen use after it announced it would close or convert its German coal-fired power plants by 2025 at the latest.

“Together, we are working to use of hydrogen on a large scale and to make this clear to the world: Our future lies in hydrogen,“ said Siemens Energy executive board member Jochen Eickholt.

“We can show that a CO2-free, environmentally friendly energy supply is possible and makes sense under real conditions and using existing plants.“

Uniper was one of the first companies to use 'power-to-gas technology', which makes green hydrogen possible.

It has already built the first power-to-gas plant in Falkenhagen in 2013, followed by another one in Hamburg in 2015, and added a methanisation plant to the Falkenhagen plant in 2018.

In addition, Uniper is pushing forward cross-sector industrial projects together with refineries and the automotive industry with various real-life laboratory projects, which could make it possible to enter hydrogen production at market conditions in the near future.

Uniper CEO Andreas Schierenbeck said: After the coal phase-out and the switch to a secure gas-based energy supply, the use of climate-friendly gas will be a major step towards successful energy system transformation.

“Therefore, the decarbonisation of the gas industry, including gas-fired power generation, is essential if Germany and Europe are to achieve their climate targets.“