Messer builds green hydrogen plant in a joint venture with the district of Düren

Messer, the world's largest privately held specialist for industrial, medical, and specialty gases, is to build a plant for the production of green hydrogen in the Brainergy Park Jülich intermunicipal industrial estate. The business park is designed to promote the topics of "new energies" and "energy transition".

The hydrogen plant will be operated by HyDN GmbH, a joint venture between the district of Düren and Messer. With a nominal output of 10 megawatts and a production capacity of up to 180 kilograms of hydrogen per hour, the plant will be one of the largest of its kind in Germany. The green hydrogen produced will primarily be used to power fuel cell buses. Five of these climate-friendly buses, which only emit water vapor during operation, are already in use in the district of Düren. Another 20 are to follow by November 2024.

As part of the project, NEUMAN & ESSER was commissioned to supply two electrolyzers for hydrogen production and two diaphragm compressors for pressurizing the hydrogen. Messer will be responsible for storing the hydrogen produced, filling, and quality assurance. "For Messer, this project is another important strategic step to support our customers in decarbonization. We are involved in the engineering of the hydrogen production plant, will take over the operation of the plant in the long term, and distribute the green hydrogen. With this project, we are making an important contribution to climate protection by reducing environmentally harmful CO2 emissions," says Virginia Esly, COO Europe of Messer.

The green hydrogen plant is set to go into operation in the fall of 2025. Its construction is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMDV) with around 14.7 million euros. The funding is part of the National Innovation Program Hydrogen 2 (NIP2).