* Project to initially produce 50MW of hydrogen
* Hydrogen use expected to grow rapidly under energy
transition
By Ron Bousso
LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - BP and Danish renewable
energy group Orsted have partnered to develop
zero-carbon hydrogen at a German oil refinery, BP's first
full-scale project in a sector that is expected to grow rapidly.
The project will produce so-called green hydrogen at the
Linden refinery in north-west Germany through the electrolysis
of water using wind power from the North Sea.
It is in its early stages and initially aims to build a 50
megawatt (MW) electrolyser to replace 20% of natural gas-based
hydrogen at the plant, BP said in a statement. Production is
expected to start in 2024.
The project could be expanded to up to 500 MW at a later
stage to replace all of Lingen's fossil fuel-based hydrogen,
Louise Jacobson Plutt, BP's senior vice president for hydrogen,
told Reuters.
Hydrogen is today mostly used in the industrial sector as
feedstock to make products such as fuels.
But the use of green hydrogen is expected to grow sharply in
the coming decades as the European Union and governments around
the world seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by
2050.
BP aims to expand its hydrogen output to 10% of the market
by 2030.
Green hydrogen is however much more expensive than natural
gas-based, or grey, hydrogen. Reducing its cost of production
will be key to expand the use of the fuel.
"We see a path to (price) parity with grey hydrogen by the
end of the decade" as more green hydrogen projects are launched
and technology advances, Anders Nordstrom, Orsted vice president
for hydrogen said.
The projected cost of the projected was not disclosed.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Jan Harvey)
BP (BP.)