Austrian energy firm OMV has received the first electrolyser components for its 140MW green hydrogen project, marking a key construction milestone following Masdar’s withdrawal from the development.
The parts for the Siemens Energy PEM electrolysers arrived at the project site in Bruck an der Leitha just over a year after OMV broke ground on the development.
Once operational, the plant will supply green hydrogen through an OMV-built 22km pipeline to the Schwechat refinery, which has capacity to process up to 9.6 million tonnes of crude oil per year.
On LinkedIn, the company said the delivery marked the start of installing the plant’s core technology, keeping it on track to begin producing up to 23,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year from the end of 2027.
It comes after UAE renewable firm Masdar pulled out of the development, leaving OMV as the “sole project owner” following a mutual agreement. Masdar would have held a 49% stake in the project.
The plant has received €123m ($138m) in funding from Austria’s green hydrogen subsidy auction and secured a €450m ($505m) loan from the European Investment Bank.
The development comes as European refiners seek to secure green hydrogen supplies to meet EU mandates.
Under the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive III, renewable hydrogen used in the production of fossil transport fuels can count towards national transport targets, which require RFNBOs to account for at least 1% of transport energy by 2030.
