RWE is to acquire from Vattenfall the 1.4 GW gas-fired power plant ‘Magnum’ at Eemshaven, the Netherlands, in the province of Groningen. The two companies have signed an agreement to this effect. The plant, which has been in operation since 2013, is considered one of the most modern power plants of its kind.
Magnum is located in the immediate vicinity of RWE’s existing power plant in Eemshaven, a hard coal-and biomass-fired power plant of 1560 MW. RWE expects comprehensive benefits from sharing local infrastructure.
Thanks to its construction design, Magnum is already ‘hydrogen-ready’: the plant can be made technically suitable to co-fire hydrogen by up to 30 %. Moreover, there may also be the possibility of converting the plant to 100% hydrogen firing by the end of the decade, thereby supporting expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure in the province of Groningen, in which RWE is already actively involved through the ‘Eemshydrogen’ project cluster.
Since 2020, RWE has been developing Eemshydrogen, an innovative project for the production of hydrogen. As part of the tender for the Hollandse Kust West VII offshore wind farm, RWE also plans to build electrolysers with a total capacity of 600 MW. This would sustainably develop the province of Groningen into one of the focal points of the Dutch hydrogen economy.
The close vicinity to the Dutch North Sea and the surrounding former natural gas fields also make it possible for Magnum and RWE’s Eemshaven power plant to use carbon capture storage (CCS) technologies in the future. This would allow the Eemshaven site to be operated as not just CO2 neutral, but with a negative CO2 output. RWE hopes to get the required government support to make this technically, politically and economically feasible.
Closing of the Magnum transaction is expected to take place by the end of September this year. The agreed purchase price corresponds to an enterprise value of €500 million. Another component of the transaction is a solar plant with a capacity of 5.6 MW located on the site.
