Green electricity from hydrogen to power Wintershall Dea’s transport vessel

Turneo GmBH, a joint venture between Hamburg-based Karlsson GmBH and energy service provider EWE, has begun producing green hydrogen in Cuxhaven, providing fuel for the first of four supply vessels in Wintershall Dea’s Mittelplate fleet.

Under the project named H2Move, Turneo commissioned and started operating a 2 MW electrolysis plant on November 15 to supply hydrogen fuel for Wintershall Dea’s ship transporting people and materials between Cuxhaven and the Mittelplate drilling and production island in the North Sea.

As explained, the hydrogen produced onshore in Cuxhaven is transported in tank trailers to the Mittelplate ship Coastal Liberty, which has been converted to hydrogen hybrid propulsion. Using a fuel cell, the hydrogen is converted into electricity which is stored in batteries that drive the ship’s electric motor.

In the future, the plant will also produce hydrogen for other ships and provide a hydrogen refueling station in Cuxhaven, and lay the foundation for onshore hydrogen mobility, the partners said.

Robert Frimpong, Head of Wintershall Dea Deutschland, underscored the importance of the joint project for the environment: “We’re reducing our ecological footprint and will be able to sail through the Wadden Sea emission-free and much quieter in the future.

“Many thanks to all those who paved the way for technological progress with their innovative spirit in this project. Pioneers and initial examples of concrete applications are laying the foundations for a climate-friendly future.”

Lower Saxony’s Economy Minister Olaf Lies said: “To successfully ramp up our hydrogen economy, we must now invest in developing the market. This means that we need reliable producers and buyers of hydrogen. And that calls for innovative companies that invest boldly in the future. Turneo, EWE and Wintershall Dea are precisely those companies that are shaping the transformation process towards renewable energy sources.”

In order to ramp up its hydrogen economy, Germany passed a draft law that provides regulations for financing the core network and received draft application from transmission system operators (TSOs) outlining key locations across the country to be connected by 2032.