FUREC consists of two plants being built in Limburg, The Netherlands, that will convert non-recyclable municipal solid waste (MSW) into circular and green hydrogen.
The plants are expected to produce 54,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year, saving around 3.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) in ten years’ time.
RWE accepted the grant agreement yesterday (January 19) at the Financing Innovative Clean Tech Conference in Brussels, with a final investment decision by RWE expected in 2024.
Roger Miesen, CEO of RWE Generation SE, said, “The funding commitment from the EU Innovation Fund proves us right and underlines that RWE can make an important contribution to the decarbonisation of the economy with our project.
“With FUREC, we are facilitating the establishment of a centre for the circular economy in the Limburg region. At the same time, we are enabling the chemical industry to reduce its CO2 emissions.”
The funding marks a milestone for the advancement of the project, as it requires an investment of more than €600m to complete.
The company is now beginning to contract preferred suppliers for the plants, potential customers for hydrogen and CO2, and companies that can provide waste of suitable quantity and quality.
In 2021, RWE partnered with John Cockerill to develop a German technology facility that will also optimise the production of hydrogen from MSW from August 2022.
The findings from the operations in Germany will directly feed into the FUREC project in The Netherlands.
Read more: RWE, John Cockerill to develop new pilot plan for waste-to-hydrogen production in Germany
Earlier this month, RWE and Equinor revealed plans to develop a hydrogen value chain in line with Norway and Germany’s deepened hydrogen collaboration.
The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with the aim of replacing coal-fired power plants with hydrogen-ready gas-fired plants in Germany and build production of low-carbon and renewable hydrogen in Norway, which is planned to be exported to Germany through a pipeline.
Read more: Hydrogen power plants, production, and pipelines: Equinor and RWE sign agreement
Read more: Germany and Norway strengthen hydrogen ties, plans for large-scale hydrogen pipeline
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