RWE, TotalEnergies close 15-year hydrogen PPA in Germany

RWE and TotalEnergies have signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) under which RWE will supply over 30,000 tons of green hydrogen per year to TotalEnergies’ Leuna refinery in Germany from 2030 to 2044.

French energy company TotalEnergies and German utility RWE have signed a 15-year green hydrogen purchase agreement (PPA).

Under the deal, TotalEnergies will buy about 30,000 metric tons of green hydrogen annually from RWE for its Leuna refinery in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, starting in 2030.

The agreement follows RWE’s investment decision six months ago to build a 300 megawatt (MW) electrolysis plant in Lingen (GET H2 Nukleus), expected to begin operations in 2027.

“This shows that hydrogen works with the right incentives for customers,” said Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE.

RWE described the deal as the largest contract for climate-neutral hydrogen from an electrolyzer in Germany.

TotalEnergies needs large volumes of green hydrogen to decarbonize its European refineries and has tendered 500,000 metric tons per year across the region.

RWE said that under EU legislation, electrolyzers must operate with renewable electricity generated at the same time as hydrogen production. To ensure a reliable hydrogen supply even during periods of low solar and wind output, RWE Generation will use reserved capacity at the Gronau-Epe hydrogen storage facility, which its subsidiary RWE Gas Storage West plans to bring online in 2027.

The German central hydrogen grid will enable RWE to supply TotalEnergies, connecting production sites such as Lingen in Lower Saxony with industrial consumption hubs like Leuna. The more than 9,000 km pipeline network, scheduled for operation between 2025 and 2032, will combine repurposed existing pipelines with newly built sections.