FRANKFURT, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell
has drawn up plans to make its German operations carbon-neutral
as it seeks to cut its own and customers' emissions by more than
a third over a decade.
The energy company is expected to announce a restructuring
by the end of the year as it prepares to accelerate its global
shift towards low-carbon operations, having set a goal of net
zero emissions by 2050.
"We support Germany in becoming a country with net zero
emissions. The transformation of Shell in Germany has begun and
will accelerate", Germany head Fabian Ziegler said in a
statement.
At its Cologne Rheinland refinery, the oil major is planning
to hike production capacity for "green hydrogen" tenfold by
2030, Shell said. Hydrogen is considered a green fuel when
electricity from renewable energy sources is used in its
production.
Setting up offshore wind farms, from which part of the
electricity would be used to produce green hydrogen, is an
element in Shell's contribution to Germany's energy shift, the
company added.
The oil major also plans to equip its petrol filling
stations with around 1,000 fast charging stations for electronic
vehicles by 2030.
Separately, Shell is planning to switch to production of
low-carbon energy solutions and special chemicals at the
Rheinland refinery, as part of its long-term plan to replace
crude oil processing there with other activities.
Earlier on Tuesday, Shell-owned German residential solar
battery maker sonnen said it was extending capacity as demand
for home storage systems is expected to grow with the ending of
subsidy programmes for supplying renewable power to the
grid.
(Reporting by Arno Schuetze; editing by John Stonestreet)