Rolls-Royce and SOWITEC cooperate on Power-to-X projects

• Target: up to 500 MW electrolysis capacity for power-to-X projects
  
• Production of green hydrogen and e-fuels for shipping, aviation, mining, agriculture, data centers

The Rolls-Royce business unit Power Systems and SOWITEC, a specialist in renewable energy projects, have agreed to cooperate with the aim of providing power-to-X projects with a total electrolysis capacity of up to 500 megawatts by 2028. The plants will use renewable energy sources to generate electrical power that will be used to produce hydrogen with mtu electrolysers. This green hydrogen can be used as fuel for fuel cells and hydrogen engines, to produce industrial feedstock and to produce sustainable e-fuels for marine, aviation, agriculture, mining and data center power. “With this project, we are actively working to reduce greenhouse gases in industry. We are convinced that with our new sustainable mtu technologies and through the cooperation with SOWITEC, we can successfully drive the expansion of Power-to-X plants,” explained Andreas Görtz, President of the Sustainable Power Solutions business division at Rolls-Royce Power Systems.

Rolls-Royce brings a wide range of its own new products to the cooperation for the production and use of sustainable fuels based on green hydrogen: these include mtu electrolysers, mtu fuel cell systems and mtu hydrogen engines, as well as experience with hydrogen ecosystems and in the simulation, design and optimization of decentralized energy supply systems.    

SOWITEC, based in southern Germany, is one of the world’s leading developers of renewable energy projects and has been active for almost 30 years. With over 4.2 gigawatts of solar and wind projects installed in South America, Europe and Asia, the Baden-Württemberg-based company has extensive experience in developing financeable turnkey renewable energy projects, from concept to implementation, including investor sourcing.

“We have already been working on Power-to-X plants since 2017. In Rolls-Royce Power Systems, with its innovative products and global sales and service network, we see a competent partner to jointly deliver integrated green hydrogen ecosystems from a single source,” said Frank Hummel, CEO of SOWITEC Group GmbH. “We are pursuing the vision of a global energy supply based on renewable energies and providing access to clean and affordable energy for all people and are developing competitive projects accordingly.”

Rolls-Royce had announced in 2021, through its ‘Net Zero at Power Systems’ sustainability program, that it would realign the product portfolio of its business unit Power Systems so that by 2030, sustainable fuels and new mtu technologies can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent compared to 2019. This near-term target plays an important role in the Rolls-Royce Group’s Net Zero ambition by 2050 at the latest. In the meantime, the company is already successfully operating an mtu fuel cell system, developing electrolysers to produce green hydrogen, and gradually releasing its main engines for sustainable fuels such as HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oils). The mtu gas engine portfolio is currently being prepared for hydrogen as a fuel, thus enabling a CO2-neutral energy supply.

About Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

1. Rolls-Royce pioneers the power that matters to connect, power and protect society. We have pledged to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in our operations by 2030 (excluding product testing) and joined the UN Race to Zero campaign in 2020, affirming our ambition to play a fundamental role in enabling the sectors in which we operate achieve net zero carbon by 2050.
2. Rolls-Royce Power Systems is headquartered in Friedrichshafen in southern Germany and employs around 9,000 people. The product portfolio includes mtu-brand high-speed engines and propulsion systems for ships, power generation, heavy land, rail and defence vehicles and for the oil and gas industry as well as diesel and gas systems and battery containers for mission critical, standby and continuous power, combined generation of heat and power, and microgrids and is intensively engaged in the development of climate-neutral solutions.
3. Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 150 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces and navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.
4. Annual underlying revenue was £10.95 billion in 2021, underlying operating profit was £414m and we invested £1.18 billion on research and development. We also support a global network of 28 University Technology Centres, which position Rolls-Royce engineers at the forefront of scientific research.
5. Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a publicly traded company (LSE:RR., ADR: RYCEY, LEI: 213800EC7997ZBLZJH69).