Plansee High Performance Materials and Linde Gas GmbH had already signed a contract for a sustainable hydrogen supply last March. Linde operates the plant used to generate the hydrogen from water and electricity. The hydrogen electrolyzer will be installed in an existing building on the Plansee premises at its Austrian site in Breitenwang/Reutte. Preparations for the project are currently in full swing. Part of the building had to be torn down to make space for the electrolyzer and related equipment. Commissioning of the plant is slated for fall/winter 2024.

Up until now, the hydrogen has been produced via steam reforming with natural gas, but this will be switched to electrolysis in the future. The electrolyzer will have an output of four megawatts and can generate up to 800 cubic meters of hydrogen per hour at a purity of 99.999 percent. The power required for this comes exclusively from renewable energies. This represents a significant reduction in our carbon footprint, as the new process will save around 4,000 metric tons of CO₂ in the initial stage.