Netherlands/Germany – Herewith the first stop we can announce. On June 30, the HYdrogen Trail Europe (HYTE) will call at BASF in Ludwigshafen. There the chemical giant is building a pilot plant for the turquoise route of hydrogen production. Emission-free hydrogen from natural gas with valuable carbon as a second product.
BASF’s huge Verbund site in Ludwigshafen, together with energy company RWE, has big plans in the field of electrification and hydrogen. Last year BASF and RWE presented a plan for a two gigawatt offshore wind farm in the German part of the North Sea. With this they want to supply the chemical site in Ludwigshafen with green electricity. A three hundred megawatt electrolyser will also make the production of green hydrogen possible. The investment is four billion euros.
Turquoise route
The turquoise route to making hydrogen also seems to be an interesting route for BASF. Via methane pyrolysis, hydrogen can be produced with carbon black and not CO2 as a residual product. The first pilot is being built. Partners in this field are ThyssenKrupp and Linde. This route is being further developed in various places around the world. The Dutch research institute TNO is also developing this turquoise route.
HYTE
From June 27 to July 8, 2022, the editors of Industrielinqs and Industry & Energy will set off with three young professionals for the HYdrogen Trail Europe. Along the way they will blog, vlog about industrial hydrogen projects. They will also make a documentary and publish articles in magazines and on sites.
Central questions: what can we already see of the role that zero-emission hydrogen will play in Europe? And what are the next steps? From the North of the Netherlands, the Route goes via Germany and possibly Switzerland to Portugal and Spain. The return journey is via France and Belgium.
Would you like to become a partner of HYTE? Feel free to contact Wim Raaijen: wim@industrielinqs.nl.
