CIP takes 70% stake in H2APEX’s hydrogen project in Lubmin

Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has acquired a 70% majority stake in the first phase of Luxembourg-based H2APEX’s hydrogen project in Lubmin, Germany, through its Energy Transition Fund (CI ETF I), acting as a strategic investor.

As disclosed, the aim of the contractual agreement is to secure pre-financing of the European Union (EU) Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) funding of €167 million and to raise the additional financial resources required.

CIP will invest €15 million in the project phase until the final investment decision (FID) is made, H2APEX revealed, adding that the parties aim to jointly finance the total project volume of several hundred million euros by the time of commissioning, provided it is feasible and sustainable in the long term.

Construction of the funded project is expected to be completed in 2028. As informed, the plan is to produce up to 10,000 tons of hydrogen per year, which is said to correspond to a capacity of 100 MW in the first expansion stage. It is understood that the offtake for the first stage has already been secured in a preliminary agreement.

Reportedly, H2APEX has already secured important assets in advance at the Lubmin site, which is considered one of the most promising locations for hydrogen production in the EU due to its proximity to the Baltic Sea. In addition to access to offshore wind farms, there is also the possibility of feeding into the planned hydrogen transmission network, H2APEX said, adding that in the future, the hydrogen produced will be transported from northern to southern Germany via the associated Flow pipeline, which is scheduled to go into operation shortly. The company also pointed out that the feed-in also creates the opportunity to achieve and interconnect further IPCEI-funded projects along the hydrogen value chain.

Until the next phase of construction, which is scheduled for 2026, the focus is expected to be on reserving and ordering components and continuing the approval process. In the long term, H2APEX noted that it plans to achieve a total capacity of more than 1,000 MW on the site.

Peter Rößner, CEO of H2APEX, commented: “The strategic partnership with CIP is a milestone both for the development of our own hydrogen production capacities and for the entire H2APEX Group. We are delighted to have brought one of the world’s most financially strong infrastructure funds to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, bringing us a big step closer to the start of construction of our projects in Lubmin. We see this partnership as the perfect symbiosis of a financial investor with in-depth technology and industry expertise and a long-term investment horizon – as is customary for infrastructure investments – and H2APEX as a project developer and portfolio manager covering the entire hydrogen value chain. We are now continuing to work intensively on the further development of our projects so that construction can begin next year.”

Felix Pahl, Partner at CIP, stated: “This project is making an important contribution to the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in Germany. Together with H2APEX, we are developing a project in Lubmin with excellent infrastructure connections and confirmed IPCEI funding. We continue to see great potential in green hydrogen and are committed to long-term investments in scalable, renewable infrastructure. We look forward to working closely with H2APEX and all other partners in the project.”

In other news, it is worth mentioning that CIP secured A$814 million (approximately $515.5 million) for its Murchison Green Hydrogen project in Western Australia from the Australian Government’s Hydrogen Headstart program. Considered one of the “world’s largest and most advanced” commercial-scale green hydrogen and ammonia initiatives, this plant is set to produce around 1.8 million tonnes of green ammonia annually, primarily for export to Asian markets.