The town of Wunsiedel with a population of 10,000, is forging ahead on its path as an energy pioneer and is currently implementing a gigantic lighthouse project for the production of green hydrogen. In the largest electrolysis plant in Germany, pumps from Dickow are making a decisive contribution.
Electrolysis is a chemical process in which electric current forces a redox reaction. Specifically, this means that water is split into hydrogen and oxygen by the two reactions oxidation and reduction. Heat is generated as a by-product. If the electric current for splitting water comes from a renewable energy source such as wind or solar energy, the product obtained is also referred to as green, i.e. CO2-free hydrogen. Wunsiedel offers the necessary conditions for a successful green PEM hydrogen generation plant: the district town already generates 100 percent of its energy from sun, biomass and wind.
Electrolysis - in other words, a key term for the future expansion of the energy park on the outskirts of Wunsiedel. The green hydrogen produced in the newly built plant will be used, among other things, for decobarization of industry and for grid stabilization in the region. It also serves as a natural gas substitute for the surrounding businesses in northern Bavaria. When the plant comes on stream in July 2022, it will produce up to 1,300 metric tons of green hydrogen, saving 15,000 metric tons of CO2. In addition, the city's "zero emissions in energy supply" project is already laying a first foundation stone for a later public hydrogen filling station for trucks and buses. The technology partner of the gigaproject is Siemens AG, and the project company WUNH2 GmbH is the operator of the plant.
A decisive contribution to the energy turnaround in order to be able to reconcile industrial growth and climate protection in the future. "We are pleased to be part of the Wunsiedler way as a reliable partner and to support the sustainable actions of the city with our pumps," said Willy Bartel, Sales Manager of Dickow Pumpen. In the electrolysis process of the district town in the Fichtelgebirge, Dickow's standard chemical pump NCL constantly transports the cooling water between the heat exchanger and the cooling unit in the circuit, thus preventing the plant from overheating. "It's an exciting project. CO2-neutral hydrogen is an important building block of the future that our pumps can meet," emphasizes Willy Bartel. Just recently, Dickow Pumpen opened up about being part of Bavaria's hydrogen alliance to drive the expansion of hydrogen technology alongside other players. "We need more innovative approaches like the Wunsiedel pilot project and its energy park. Our pumps are ready for new and sustainable forms of energy use with H2."
Do you have pump-related questions on this topic? Feel free to contact us. We look forward to discussing your individual pump solution with you.
