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.”