RWE will acquire the gas-fired power plant Magnum at Eemshaven, the Netherlands, in the province of Groningen from Vattenfall. The two companies have signed an agreement to this effect. The plant, which has been in operation since 2013, is one of the most modern power plants of its kind and has an installed capacity of 1.4 gigawatts.
Magnum is in the immediate vicinity of RWE’s existing power plant in Eemshaven, a hard coal-and biomass-fired power plant of 1,560 megawatts capacity. Thereby RWE expects comprehensive benefits from sharing local infrastructure.
Already H2-ready gas-fired power station
Thanks to its construction design, Magnum is already H2-ready. The plant can be made technically suitable to co-fire H2 by up to 30%. Moreover, there may also be the possibility of converting Magnum to rely on H2 as its sole fuel by the end of the decade.
Sopna Sury, COO H2 of RWE Generation SE said, “With the acquisition of the power plant in Eemshaven, we are strengthening our EemsH2 project cluster. At this site, we want to drive forward the production of low-cost H2 at large scale. Green H2 is the key element for decarbonizing the industry and thus an important pillar for the success of the energy transition.”
Since 2020, RWE has been developing EemsH2, an innovative project for the environmentally friendly production of H2 in Eemshaven. As part of the tender for the Hollandse Kust West VII offshore wind farm, RWE also plans to build electrolyzers with a total capacity of 600 megawatts. This would sustainably develop the province of Groningen into one of the focal points of the Dutch H2 economy.
Eemshaven site could be CO2 negative
The close vicinity to the Dutch North Sea and the surrounding former natural gas fields also makes it possible for Magnum and RWE’s Eemshaven power plant to use carbon capture storage technologies in the future. This would allow the Eemshaven site to be operated as not just CO2 neutral, but with a negative CO2 output.
At Groningen province’s Eemshaven port, in the immediate vicinity of Magnum, Gasunie is developing liquefied natural gas terminals, which can be additionally supported, for example, by heat supplied from RWE power plants.
A holistic use of the Eemshaven site thus enables RWE to create one of the leading energy and H2 hubs in Northwest Europe.
Closing of the transaction by the end of September 2022
Closing of the transaction is expected by the end of September 2022. The agreed purchase price corresponds to an enterprise value of €500 MM. Another component of the transaction is a solar plant with a capacity of 5.6 megawatts located on the site. RWE will take over Magnum’s entire workforce from Vattenfall. The transaction is amongst others subject to the advice of Vattenfall’s works council.
“With the Magnum transaction, we are acquiring a state-of-the-art and already hydrogen-ready plant. Its use in combination with our existing power plant in Eemshaven, enables RWE to develop Eemshaven into one of the leading energy and hydrogen hubs in Northwest Europe,” said Roger Miesen, CEO of RWE Generation SE. “Supplemented by an offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust West, which also provides for 600 megawatts of electrolyzer capacity and for which RWE has submitted a bid, we want to actively support the decarbonization of industry in the Netherlands and thus contribute to achieving the Dutch climate targets.”
