In April 2020, Uniper and Siemens Gas and Power signed a cooperation agreement for the development of projects on the decarbonization of power generation and promoting sector coupling. It extends the long-standing partnership between the two companies. It is important to look at the energy, mobility and industry sectors together, because they all can and must contribute to reducing greenhouse gases. One focus of the planned cooperation is the production and use of "green hydrogen" - in other words, hydrogen from renewable energy sources. The companies intend to implement projects in this field together, addressing the entire value chain.

Joint projects for the conversion of power plants

The scope of the new cooperation agreement also includes the evaluation of the potential of Uniper's existing gas turbines and gas storage facilities for the use of hydrogen. The focus of the work is to define what role can hydrogen play in the future evolution of Uniper's coal power plants. Uniper recently announced that it would close or convert its coal-fired power plants in Germany by 2025 at the latest. Uniper’s coal-exit plan is instrumental to make the company achieve its objective of becoming climate neutral in its European power generation by 2040. Siemens Gas and Power is helping its customers achieve their decarbonization goals. “Brownfield transformation" projects are designed to decarbonize coal-fired power plants and significantly reduce CO2 emissions from gas-fired power plants, including the integration of storage solutions through to the use of "green gas”. By building infrastructures for Power-to-X, Siemens Gas and Power is making a global contribution to cross-sector decarbonization. Siemens offers all core technologies for a long-term CO2-free energy supply - from power and heat generation by renewable energies or gas-fired power plants, to power transmission and distribution, to efficient electrolysis for hydrogen production.

Siemens and Uniper have been partners for many years in integrated products, solutions and services along the entire energy value chain. In addition, the companies share a pioneering role in power-to-gas plants in which hydrogen or methane are produced from renewable energies. Power-to-gas plants can provide a technical answer to one of the key questions of the energy revolution: How can the fluctuating energy sources sun and wind be stored and thus made plannable? The aim of this cooperation is to contribute to improving the economic efficiency and thus the marketability of power-to-gas plants.

After the coal phase-out and the switch to a secure gas-based energy supply, the use of climate-friendly gas will be a major step towards successful energy system transformation; therefore, the decarbonization of the gas industry, including gas-fired power generation, is essential if Germany and Europe are to achieve their climate targets. We are ready to invest and have set the strategic course to significantly accelerate the decarbonization of our portfolio. In doing so, it is important to bundle energies, act openly in terms of technology, and work with proven high-technology partners like Siemens.

Andreas Schierenbeck Uniper CEO