Shell locks green power for Germany’s Refhyne II hydrogen electrolyser

• Shell will offtake about 75% of a 230-MW German solar plant to power its 100-MW Refhyne II PEM electrolyser, tightening the link between renewables and green hydrogen.

Shell has struck a deal to source roughly three-quarters of the output from a 230-MW solar project in Germany to supply its 100-MW Refhyne II proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser. It’s a tidy example of what green hydrogen needs to scale: firm, low-carbon electricity at predictable pricing, tied contractually to the electrolyser that will use it.

Refhyne II builds on lessons from earlier PEM deployments in Europe—fast response, high power density and the ability to follow variable renewable generation. By locking in most of a large solar plant’s output, Shell reduces exposure to spot market volatility and improves the emissions profile of every kilogram of hydrogen produced. Expect hourly accounting to matter: European buyers increasingly want proof that clean power is time-matched to electrolyser consumption, not just covered by annual certificates.

On the system side, pairing a big solar offtake with a flexible load helps the grid. When sunlight is plentiful, the electrolyser can ramp up, soaking up low-priced megawatt-hours that might otherwise be curtailed. When the grid tightens, it can dial back, freeing capacity. Over time, adding on-site batteries or drawing on grid-scale storage could sharpen that flexibility and enable night-time production with stored solar.

Where does the hydrogen go? Industrial users are the near-term target—refining, chemicals, steel—plus mobility pilots in heavy transport. For those customers, the draw is lower embedded carbon and increasingly, regulatory compliance. For Shell, the structure creates a replicable template: sign a large, traceable renewable offtake, wire it to a grid-connected electrolyser with robust controls and verification, and deliver certified green molecules under long-term contracts.

Execution still matters. Interconnection and permitting for both the solar project and the electrolyser must stay in lockstep, and maintenance windows need careful choreography so one asset isn’t idle while the other is ready. But the basic arc is clear: if green hydrogen is to move from promise to product, it will look a lot like this—renewables and electrolysers tied together by finance, data and discipline.