EWE and swb award the contract to the APEX Group for the construction of an electrolysis plant for the decarbonization of the ArcelorMittal steel works in Bremen. The Hybit project comprises an investment volume of over 20 million euros. The project name HyBit stands for “Hydrogen for Bremen’s industrial transformation” and marks the beginning of the decarbonization of steel production in Bremen. It is considered one of the largest industrial hydrogen projects of its kind in Germany and Europe to date and is a joint project by EWE, swb and ArcelorMittal Bremen.
The APEX Group will realize the heart of the project with a ten megawatt electrolysis plant for hydrogen production. The aim is to use electrolysis to produce green hydrogen at the swb power plant site in Bremen-Mittelsbüren. This will be used for pig iron production and processing in the Arcelor Mittal steel works as well as for future mobility applications. It will save tons of CO2 amounts. The plant is scheduled to go into operation in 2024.
“It is part of the APEX vision to make green hydrogen competitive and available to everyone everywhere. We are therefore particularly pleased that we have been trusted with this flagship hydrogen project, explains APEX CEO Peter Rößner.
“With the signing of the contracts, the cornerstone has now been laid for making a German hydrogen flagship project a reality,” says Dr. Timo di Nardo, one of the two managing directors of Bremer Wasserstoff GmbH, in which EWE and swb AG have a 50 percent stake each, along with Dr. Thomas Kalkau. “The project is particularly important at this time, when efforts to achieve more energy independence are in full swing against the background of global energy supply,” adds Thomas Kalkau.
“The construction of the electrolysis plant marks the starting point for the use of green hydrogen in Bremen’s steel production and is therefore an important element for the decarbonization of steel production at ArcelorMittal Bremen. We will use the first hydrogen in the existing facilities. Following in the next stages with the use of new production technologies, it will enable us to be producing climate-neutral steel in Bremen by the mid-30s,” says Reiner Blaschek, Chairman of the Management Board of ArcelorMittal Bremen.
According to EWE CEO Stefan Dohler, the HyBit project shows the great benefit that hydrogen has in terms of climate protection, especially in industrial applications. “With our Clean Hydrogen Coastline initiative and the associated construction of large electrolysers and the conversion of cavern storage facilities and pipelines to hydrogen, we are already preparing the next big step towards large-scale infrastructure hydrogen economy.”
swb CEO Dr. Torsten Köhne is happy about “this important step on the way to the realization of a groundbreaking project”. “With this project we are now working together on an innovative building block to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in Bremen in the future. Helping to shape our region sustainably and at the same time economically successfully is what drives us. The use of hydrogen as an energy carrier will play a central role in this.”
