Press release July 19, 2023
Iqony: Hydrogen project in Duisburg-Walsum wins EU funding
The planned HydrOxy Hub hydrogen production plant is one of 41 European projects supported by the EU Innovation Fund – a reward for substantial greenhouse gas savings
Essen, July 19, 2023 – 41 major projects, including 13 from the field of “Industry electrification and hydrogen”, are being supported by the EU Innovation Fund in the third call. The project by the Essen-based energy company Iqony to develop a HydrOxy Hub in the Walsum district of Duisburg is one of them. This was announced by the European Commission on July 13, 2023. As part of the project, Iqony is developing a hydrogen production (water electrolysis) plant that will be supplying climate-neutral, green hydrogen by the end of 2027. The heat generated during the operation of the electrolysis system will be fed into a district heating system.
Dr. Andreas Reichel, CEO and Labor Director of Iqony, comments as follows: “The fact that the EU Commission has approved funding for our HydrOxy Hub fills us with pleasure and confidence. The positive feedback from Brussels encourages us to continue working on new technologies and contributing with ambitious projects to the decarbonization of one of the most important industrial locations in Germany.”
Dr. Ralf Schiele, COO of Iqony, adds: “Our HydrOxy Hub in Duisburg-Walsum is a lighthouse hydrogen project. We will achieve a substantial greenhouse gas saving of around 1.3 million metric tons of CO2 in the first ten years of operation. Even in the first development stage, the plant will already have a capacity of 157 megawatts (MW).”
Lighthouse project HydrOxy Hub
Under the name of HydrOxy Hub, Iqony is planning to build a hydrogen production (water electrolysis) plant at the long-established Duisburg-Walsum power plant site. From 2027, the plant is planned to supply green hydrogen, i.e. hydrogen from renewable electricity. Iqony intends to supply the green hydrogen to the local steel industry and to transport businesses and other industries. The waste heat generated in addition to hydrogen and oxygen during operation of the electrolysis system will be recovered and fed into a heating network and will be available for district heating in the future.
Ralf Schmitz, CFO of Iqony, says: “The fact that the EU now wants to fund the project to the tune of around 10 percent of the project volume gives us security for the planning and implementation process. At the same time, we regard that approval as a seal of quality for one of our most important large-scale projects.”
The maximum capacity of 520 MW will be available after three development stages, with the first plant generating 157 MW in 2027. Further planning will be a adapted to the actual demand for green hydrogen. At present, the planning is based on the assumption that the final development stage will be reached at the beginning of the coming decade.
The EU Innovation Fund supports innovative projects that demonstrate alternative ways to use fossil fuels in industry and in the field of green hydrogen production. All the proposals submitted were evaluated by independent experts against the criteria of innovation level, potential for avoiding greenhouse gas emissions, financial and technical maturity, expansion potential and cost efficiency.
