Germany's LEAG suspends H2UB green hydrogen plan
Energy firm LEAG announced on Friday that plans to build Europe's biggest green energy hub on the site disused coal-fired plant units in east Germany had been put on hold indefinitely.
The announcement comes just a week after ArcelorMittal canceled plans to convert to carbon-neutral steel production two German steel mills, citing high costs of energy.
LEAG announced that H2UB Boxberg would be postponed due to the fact that political and economic conditions had not evolved as expected.
The previous coalition government was accused of delaying indefinitely the implementation of the federal Power Plant Safety Act. This is a crucial regulatory requirement.
A LEAG spokesperson stated that "We have decided to postpone plans for hydrogen production at Boxberg, and instead, we will be focusing on other technologies, such as those for generation, storage and flexible electricity provision."
LEAG announced this project in April of 2024. The project called for the building of a large-scale, green, energy-efficient storage facility, as well as a centre to produce hydrogen and use it, on the site of decommissioned lignite-fired units.
The company committed to investing one billion euros per year and announced that it would bring 7 gigawatts of solar and wind power online by 2030.
LEAG, a company based in the eastern German region of Lusatia and owned by Czech investor EPH, is located there.
The report said that there is no schedule for the cost-effective and timely availability of hydrogen infrastructure within the region.
"The hydrogen industry is not growing as fast as expected." The spokesperson stated that there is a high level of uncertainty regarding the availability and price of hydrogen in a future market.
Germany aims to phase out coal-fired energy use by 2038.
The two 500-megawatt units at Boxberg are expected to continue operating until 2029. (Reporting and editing by Ludwig Burger, Jason Neely, and Riham Alkousaa)
(source: Reuters)
