Siemens, Uniper Work on Green Gas for Power

Uniper and engineering giant Siemens have agreed to extend their co-operation to decarbonising power generation and the promotion of sector coupling, the German utility said April 8. One focus is the production and use of hydrogen generated from renewable energy. 

Siemens will also evaluate the potential of Uniper's existing gas turbines and gas storage facilities to run on hydrogen. Uniper plans to close or convert its coal-fired power plants in Europe by 2025 at the latest. Further ahead, it aims to be climate neutral in its European power generation by 2035. Today its European power segment emits 22mn metric tons/yr although it also produces around 24 TWh of carbon-free electricity. Under its new strategy it now intends to gradually increase the share of "green" gas or "green hydrogen" in its conventional gas business, in both power generation and energy trading.

 Siemens said its brownfield transformation projects were aimed at both decarbonising coal-fired power plants and "significantly" cutting CO2 emissions from gas-fired power plants, including the integration of storage solutions through to the use of "green gas".

Siemens makes all the core technologies for long-term CO2-free energy supply – from power and heat generation using renewable energy or gas-fired power plants, to power transmission and distribution, to efficient electrolysis for hydrogen production.

Siemens and Uniper have been partners for "many years" in integrated products, solutions and services along the entire energy value chain. They have also been working in power-to-gas plants in which hydrogen or methane are produced from renewable energies.