Moore Fort Coal Power Station has experienced a major beginning, a milestone closure, and now, a bright future.

It was opened by the Swedish utility company Vattenfall in 2015 on the banks of the Elbe River outside the German port city of Hamburg. In fierce opposition, its plans and construction were withdrawn. A local newspaper commemorated its first day of operation with the headline "Greetings from the Stone Age".

Now, its next milestone may be to become one of the first 100 MW green hydrogen sites in Europe. The plan was announced last week, with Shell, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and municipal heating supplier Wärme Hamburg joining Vattenfall.

Data from Beyond Coal shows that the hard coal power plant has a power generation capacity of close to 1.6 gigawatts and is likely to be one of the last five new coal-fired power plants in Western Europe. Vattenfall admitted last year that the plant is not economically viable and will be closed in 2021.

The Swedish state-owned company Vattenfall aims to shut down all remaining fossil fuel power generation by 2030. The approval of Germany's 45 billion euro coal phase-out plan cleared the way for the December tender, which will compensate companies for shutting down 4,788 megawatts of capacity at a cost of 317 million euros (385 million US dollars).

Moorburg's green hydrogen future

The original plan was to build a 100 MW electrolyzer powered by wind and solar energy, and start producing green hydrogen around 2025. All of these will be subject to planning and financing requirements. The project is also applying for funding from the "Important Projects of Common European Interest" initiative.

Potential green hydrogen projects are emerging across Europe and are seeking the same public funding. But Moorburg does have some advantages.

Many of the basic elements that attracted Vattenfall to the site still exist, such as access to the port via the river. The plant is connected to the national transmission network, power distribution system, gas network and district heating network. Another factor favorable to the project is that there are already a series of off-site contractors, and steel giant ArcelorMittal is also lining up.

Emmanuel Kakalas, senior vice president and head of innovation and new products at Mitsubishi Power Europe, said in an interview: “One of the key starting points is the steel mill’s commitment.” He said: “This is to create a business case for demand. Basis." He described it as "basic load requirements."

Hamburg's industrial center also provides a large number of potential customers. If expanded, hydrogen-powered buses will also be tested in Hamburg. The local natural gas network is already working hard to develop a hydrogen pipeline connecting the port and the city.

Kakalas said that Hamburg Wam will not immediately become a hydrogen absorber, but he added that this partnership will be beneficial. By utilizing the excess heat of WärmeHamburg, the WärmeHamburg has been connected to the site through an existing cogeneration plant, which can increase the electrolysis speed of the reaction.

"This greatly improves the business case for production. Therefore, given the particularity of green hydrogen, we have a relatively attractive business case configuration," he said. The presence of a port also means that the site can contact other hydrogen carriers that may be transported to the site, such as ammonia.

In Europe, the EU's electrolyzer target for 2030 is 40 GW. If the only industry that uses green hydrogen comes from existing hydrogen users, such as the fertilizer industry, then we will face an oversupply situation. Editor/Huang Lijun