The Leuna chemical park in Saalekreis. (picture alliance / dpa)
The German industrial gases group Linde is building a production plant for so-called green hydrogen in the Leuna chemical park in Saalekreis, a district in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, with government aid worth millions. One quarter of the investment funds, which will amount to around 60 million euros, will come from the federal-state fund for the improvement of regional economic structures (GRW), the state ministry of economics announced on Wednesday. The plant is to be ramped up on a test basis from July 1, 2022, and start operations three months later. It is expected to produce 3,200 tons of hydrogen using certified green electricity, later to come from renewable energy sources in the region.
Leuna, with its existing infrastructure of hydrogen pipelines and gas storage facilities, is ideally suited for the construction of an industrial-scale electrolysis plant, Linde manager Andreas Dietrich said, according to the press release. The company has also been supplying industrial gases to customers in the chemical park for decades.
Saxony-Anhalt wants to develop into a hydrogen model region, explained the state's Economics Minister Armin Willingmann. That is why the state supports business investments and research projects from this sector, he said. "Green hydrogen is highly interesting for vehicle manufacturers and energy-intensive industries, among others, in times of climate change and the energy transition."
The world's largest industrial gases group had already announced in November 2020 that it intended to greatly expand its hydrogen business. According to information released by the company at the time, Linde generates more than two billion dollars in sales from the production, sale, storage, and application of hydrogen. In the future, this figure is expected to quadruple, the company said.
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