A perfect match: hydropower plants & water electrolysis

To produce green hydrogen, sustainable electricity must be used for the manufacturing process. In addition to wind and solar energy, this can also be obtained from hydropower. To turn the version of a modern water electrolysis plant for the production of hydrogen on an industrial scale into reality, thyssenkrupp is working with the Canadian company Hydro-Québec. Together they aim to produce the energy carrier of tomorrow in a sustainable way.

With around 61 hydropower plants, Hydro-Québec is one of the biggest producers of electrical energy from hydropower. And thus produces large quantities of green electricity. Good conditions, therefore, for positioning a modern water electrolysis plant for the production of H2 on an industrial scale.

thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers recognized the potential of a collaboration with Hydro-Québec and is planning to install an 88-megawatt water electrolysis plant for the Canadian energy company. The enormous hydraulic energy resources of the region around Québec are considerable and the perfect location to harness hydropower for hydrogen.

No hydrogen economy without large-scale water electrolysis.

Water electrolysis is the key technology for decarbonizing the industrial sector, as it is the only scaled technology for producing green hydrogen to date. This is of great importance because green feedstocks will only become economically viable if they are produced and applied on an industrial scale. This is the only way they can compete with the cost and availability of old-fashioned feedstocks. thyssenkrupp's water electrolysis offers the world's largest standard modules, which can be easily interconnected up to the multi-megawatt and gigawatt range.

"With the expansion of our annual supply chain to one gigawatt, our large standard modules and the global positioning of our company as an EPC* provider, we are already ideally positioned in a market that is becoming more dynamic, " said Christoph Noeres, head of Green Hydrogen at thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers.

Hydro-Québec and thyssenkrupp create synergies for tomorrow

"The project with Hydro-Québec is an excellent illustration of the importance of combining, on the one hand, secure access to competitive renewable energy and, on the other, the use of scaled technology for hydrogen production," says Denis Krude, CEO of thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers. As an established big player in Canada's hydropower sector, Hydro-Québec is a particularly suitable partner for the large-scale development of an efficient hydrogen economy in the North of America.

From a global perspective, the collaboration between industry and utilities is also an issue that will be of greater concern to our society in the future. For a successful and sustainable hydrogen economy, the creation of synergies and infrastructures among the individual sectors is crucial. Because one thing is clear: No economic sector will be able to master the energy transition on its own.

^{* Engineering, Procurement and Construction}