Rostock's seaport is to be gradually developed into a large-scale hub for green hydrogen with an energy output of 1 gigawatt by 2030. The necessary renewable energies will be fed into the port mainly from offshore wind farms via the Bentwisch energy grid connection. The surplus heat generated during the conversion process will be supplied to the district heating network of Rostock municipal utilities for the district heating supply of the Hanseatic and university city.
The H2-VALUE chain of the Rostock region
With the development of a regional value chain from regeneratively produced, green hydrogen, actors from politics, business and science are working together towards the goal of a sustainable, competitive hydrogen economy. The potential offered by wind and solar energy is being implemented in a variety of projects in the sense of linking sectors.
Electrolyser
In the Barlach town of Güstrow, in the district of Rostock, the energy company Enertrag is building an electrolyser by 2030. This will be supplied by 100 per cent regionally produced wind and solar power and is connected to the doing hydrogen pipeline. Güstrow's Municipal Utilities will be the consumers of the resulting surplus heat.
Hydrogen power station
The company Apex Group recently commissioned Europe's largest grid-connected hydrogen power plant in Rostock-Laage. Once completed, the plant will use power-to-gas (PTG) technology to electrolytically produce up to 300 t/a of green hydrogen from renewable energy sources with a capacity of 2 MW. The hydrogen will be converted back into electricity in a connected H2 combined heat and power plant.
Bentwisch energy grid node
At the Bentwisch energy grid connection, which interconnects the regional distribution grid and the nationwide extra-high voltage grid, renewable energies from the offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea are fed into the grid and distributed nationwide. The seaward interconnector also allows electricity to be routed between Denmark and Germany via the node for European electricity trading.