It was announced last week that the two companies signed a letter of intent for the pilot project which aims to drive the large-scale use of hydrogen technology in CHP plants.

In conjunction with the project, the city of Hamburg has also set itself the goal of ensuring all interested customers in the power, heat and transportation sectors can be supplied almost entirely with green hydrogen by 2035.

“Our joint undertaking is an important flagship project for the successful implementation of the energy transition,” said Matthias Boxberger, CEO and Member of the Technical Board at HanseWerk AG.

“The energy transformation can only be successful in the longer term if through sector coupling a greater proportion of power generated onsite is consumed at the same location. Green hydrogen will play a significant role as a future energy source in this context.”

Green hydrogen is well suited to Northern Germany due to its wind resources and significance as an energy storage medium. If wind-generated electricity is converted into green hydrogen, it can be used in a variety of sectors such as power, heat and transport.

At the demonstration facility in Jürgen-Töpfer-Strasse in central Hamburg, a Jenbacher CHP plant with an electrical output of 999 kilowatts in natural gas mode is also due to run on variable hydrogen/natural gas mixes, or 100% green hydrogen.

The companies hope to bring the CHP plant online for natural gas operation as early as spring 2020; hydrogen-powered generation would then begin during the following summer.

“Together with HanseWerk AG, we are paving the way for a future energy supply in Hamburg that is greener, more secure, more flexible and more decentralised,” said Carlos Lange, President and CEO of INNIO.

“As a leading solutions provider of gas engines, we continue to invest in new technologies such as hydrogen. We are proud to be working in collaboration with HanseWerk AG to develop this innovative flagship project, a development that is a big step in advancing toward decarbonisation.”