Frankfurt — Germany’s top utility RWE said on Wednesday it has agreed to supply France’s TotalEnergies with around 30,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year from 2030, in one of the sector’s biggest deals so far.
The agreement runs until 2044, the RWE said, adding this was the biggest amount of carbon-neutral hydrogen ever contracted from a German electrolysis facility.
Under the deal, RWE will supply TotalEnergies’ Leuna refinery, situated in eastern Germany near Leipzig, via its 300-megawatt electrolysis plant in Lingen, which is scheduled to start operations in 2027.
No financial terms were disclosed.
“This shows that with the right incentives hydrogen works for customers,” RWE CEO Markus Krebber said.
The deal comes amid growing scepticism around green hydrogen projects in Europe, with critics noting the massive costs for a future technology at a time when local industry is already suffering from high energy prices.
It also deepens an existing partnership between the two energy majors in the area of offshore wind, and helps TotalEnergies reach its goal of decarbonising its European refineries.
*Christoph Steitz; editing: Lincoln Feast – Reuters
