Shell Starts Up Europe’s Largest PEM Green Hydrogen Electrolyser Update on Refhyne II

ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to note the announcement by Shell today concerning the start-up of the 10 MW Refhyne I project and an update on the planned expansion to 100MW for Refhyne II. The full text of the announcement is set out below.

Shell starts up Europe’s largest PEM green hydrogen electrolyser

The project, backed by a European consortium, will accelerate hydrogen production and contribute to Europe’s goal to achieve climate neutrality

Wesseling, Germany – Europe’s largest PEM hydrogen electrolyser*, today began operations at Shell’s Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland, producing green hydrogen.

As part of the Refhyne European consortium and with European Commission funding through the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), the fully operational plant is the first to use this technology at such a large scale in a refinery.

Plans are under way to expand capacity of the electrolyser from 10 megawatts to 100 megawatts at the Rheinland site, near Cologne, where Shell also intends to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using renewable power and biomass in the future. A plant for liquefied renewable natural gas (bio- LNG) is also in development.

“This project demonstrates a new kind of energy future and a model of lower-carbon energy production that can be replicated worldwide,” Shell’s Downstream Director, Huibert Vigeveno, said at today’s official opening ceremony.

“Shell wants to become a leading supplier of green hydrogen for industrial and transport customers in Germany,” he added. “We will be involved in the whole process — from power generation, using offshore wind, to hydrogen production and distribution across sectors. We want to be the partner of choice for our customers as we help them decarbonise.”

Shell has a target to become a net-zero-emissions energy business by 2050, in step with society. As part of its Powering Progress strategy, Shell plans to transform its refinery footprint to five core energy and chemicals parks. This means Shell will reduce the production of traditional fuels by 55% by 2030.

The Rheinland electrolyser will use renewable electricity to produce up to 1,300 tonnes of green hydrogen a year. This will initially be used to produce fuels with lower carbon intensity. The green hydrogen will also be used to help decarbonise other industries.

The European consortium backing the project consists of Shell, ITM Power, research organisation SINTEF, consultants Sphera and Element Energy. The electrolyser was manufactured by ITM power in Sheffield, UK, and includes parts made in Italy, Sweden, Spain and Germany.

Armin Laschet, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister-President, said: "We are a hydrogen region. With the commissioning of the largest PEM electrolyser plant in Europe, we are further expanding our leading role in this field. We are therefore laying the foundation for a modern and green industry, with highly skilled jobs. Today, 30% of German demand for hydrogen already comes from North Rhine-Westphalia's industry. Estimates predict that demand will double by 2030. This is why we need innovative solutions that will meet the demand for CO2-neutral hydrogen. Projects such as Refhyne demonstrate how innovation can benefit both the environment and the economy."

Bart Biebuyck, Executive Director of FCH JU, said: "In order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, we need to fundamentally reshape our energy system. Clean hydrogen will play a key role in e-mobility and in industry, as it has great potential for decarbonising sectors where direct use of renewable energy is not possible. Accordingly, we want to accelerate the market launch of fuel cells and hydrogen technology and tap into their advantages in Europe.”

Dr Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power, said: “We’d like to congratulate our partners on the successful start-up of Europe’s largest green hydrogen production plant. We all recognise that this is just the beginning of the journey to net-zero. The next step, Refhyne II, is even bigger and would take us into the hundreds of megawatts for the first time, on our way to gigawatts deployments. The vision and commitment of Shell, North Rhine-Westphalia and the FCH JU show what can be achieved to deliver the world’s commitments on climate change.”

Alexandra Bech Gjørv, president and CEO of SINTEF said: “This is a big step towards a carbon-free future. SINTEF has been heavily involved in European electrolysis research for more than a decade, from fundamental development of materials and components to pilot projects. We are happy to see large-scale implementation as here in Refhyne. The green transition was something we talked about, now it is what we do. The transformation to the low-emission society is happening now and it is scaling up.”

Notes to editors:

• The Refhyne project is at the forefront of the effort to produce green hydrogen in Europe.
• Hydrogen will play a key role in the European Green Deal’s climate targets by helping to decarbonise harder-toabate sectors such as transport and industry. The European Commission released a landmark Hydrogen Strategy in 2020.

• Shell is also planning to produce sustainable and synthetic aviation fuel using renewable power and biogenic sources. The 100 MW electrolyser (Refhyne II) and SAF projects are at an advanced planning stage, with final investment decisions still pending. The consortium for Refhyne II has:

• 1 been invited to prepare the associated grant agreement with CINEA .

2

• Shell’s energy and chemicals parks will be highly integrated with chemicals sites to make them even more efficient in producing low-carbon and synthetic fuels, as well as high-value products such as bitumen, lubricants and chemicals.

• Shell Germany announced plans last year to reduce or compensate carbon emissions by more than a third within a decade – this includes its own emissions and its customers’ greenhouse gas emissions when they use the products it sells. This corresponds to 30 million tonnes per year, or about a tenth of the government’s CO2 reduction target for Germany by 2030.

• *Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysers are more compact than a conventional alkaline electrolysers. They are suited to working with renewable energy sources because they can operate dynamically using varying loads of electricity. This allows PEM electrolysers to operate when wind and solar energy generation are cheapest.

• 1 The invitation to the grant agreement preparation should not be regarded under any circumstances as a formal commitment by CINEA to provide financial support, as this depends on the satisfactory and timely conclusion of grant agreement preparation.

• For further information please visit www.itm-power.com or contact

ITM Power plc
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About ITM Power plc:

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ITM Power plc manufactures integrated hydrogen energy solutions for grid balancing, energy storage and the production of renewable hydrogen for transport, renewable heat and chemicals. ITM Power PLC was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004. In October 2019, the Company announced the completion of a £58.8 million fundraising, including an investment by Linde of £38 million, together with the formation of a joint venture with Linde to focus on delivering renewable hydrogen to large-scale industrial projects worldwide. ITM Power signed a deal to deploy a 10MW electrolyser at Shell's Rhineland refinery. In November 2020, ITM Power completed a £172m fundraising, including a £30m investment by Snam, one of the world’s leading energy infrastructure operators. ITM Power operates from the world's largest electrolyser factory in Sheffield with a capacity of 1GW (1,000MW) per annum. ITM Power received an order for the world’s largest PEM electrolyser of 24MW from Linde in January 2021. Other customers and partners include Sumitomo, Ørsted, Phillips 66, Scottish Power, Siemens Gamesa, Cadent, Northern Gas Networks, Gasunie, RWE, Engie, GNVert, National Express, Toyota, Hyundai and Anglo American among others.