Bilfinger has been commissioned by energy company Uniper to provide engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) services for a hydrogen project in the Krummhörn cavern storage facility (Lower Saxony). The aim of this research project is to develop a commercial storage solution for green hydrogen on a large scale.
Uniper's storage facility will be one of the first of its kind and is the second research project to utilise the hydrogen processing technology "H2DRY" developed by Bilfinger.
"We are proud to support Uniper in the realisation of this forward-looking project. The project underlines Bilfinger's goal of driving forward sustainable solutions together with our customers," says Thomas Schulz, Chairman of the Executive Board at Bilfinger." The storage of hydrogen is one of the central topics of the energy transition. "We can draw on our strong and transferable expertise in the gas industry and thus offer our customers added value."
Construction of the H2DRY hydrogen storage facility after a two-year test phase
Uniper plans to construct a hydrogen storage facility with a capacity of up to 3,000 m3 in a pilot cavern in the former Krummhörn natural gas storage facility and operate it under real conditions. The knowledge gained during the two-year test phase will form the basis for larger-scale projects and for the construction of commercial hydrogen caverns.
Bilfinger is supporting the research project with EPCm services for the above-ground plant technology of the hydrogen test cavern. The industrial services provider had already carried out the basic engineering for the project.
"In the future, cavern storage facilities could be used to store large quantities of green hydrogen and utilise it as required. This would make a significant contribution to securing the future energy supply. Due to our long-standing relationship with Bilfinger, we are delighted that the company is supporting us in breaking new ground for our pilot project", says Doug Waters, Managing Director Uniper Energy Storage.