BP and Ineos eye opportunities in green hydrogen

BP and Ineos are the latest firms to disclose commercial plans to produce carbon-free hydrogen using water electrolysis powered by renewable energy. In its first commercial move into green hydrogen, BP has signed an agreement with the Danish wind turbine firm Ørsted to build a 50 MW electrolyzer and associated infrastructure at BP’s oil refinery in Lingen, Germany. Powered by offshore wind turbines, the electrolyzer will generate 9,000 metric tons (t) of hydrogen annually, enough to replace 20% of the natural gas–derived hydrogen that the refinery consumes. Scheduled to start up by 2024, the project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80,000 t per year, BP says. Separately, Ineos has created a UK-based business to develop and build green hydrogen facilities that meet in-house demand and supply other businesses across Europe. Ineos currently produces 300,000 t per year of hydrogen, largely as a by-product of its electrolysis process for making chlor-alkali.