Shaping the future of Power-to-X

Our new factory in Herning, Denmark, marks the passage from idea to practical reality for Power-to-X – one of the essential tools for reducing emissions and building energy resilience. It also represents the biggest investment in our history, and a turning point in the energy transition.

A revolution in green energy will begin when we start delivering energy efficient stacks to customers from our new Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell (SOEC) manufacturing facility in Herning, Denmark. This technology can turn renewable electricity into green hydrogen through electrolysis, also enabling derivatives such as e-ammonia, e-methanol and a variety of other end-products. These green chemicals will be essential in decarbonizing sectors like steel production, aviation and shipping, which are currently responsible for roughly 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

“Herning is the culmination of work that began in the late 1980s. It is our latest and perhaps most important contribution to solving global problems,” says Topsoe CEO, Roeland Baan. “It’s part of a tradition going back to pioneering ammonia production for fertilizer to secure food for a growing global population, and curbing acid rain by reducing emissions of sulfur and other pollutants from fossil fuels. We’re proud to be at the forefront of this part of the energy transition with a facility that will demonstrate on an industrial scale what our technology can do.”

Realizing a breakthrough technology

The green hydrogen produced with SOEC can be a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels. Power-to-X 
can also produce other e-fuels, like e-ammonia and e-methanol. SOEC uses power more efficiently than other methods of producing hydrogen. As Kim Hedegaard, our CEO of Power-to-X, explains: “Green power is essential for the energy transition, but it’s still scaling up. So green electrons must be treated as precious 
commodities. SOEC helps here because it is 20-30% more efficient than industry alternatives, such as 
PEM and alkaline, when paired with technologies that produce waste heat.”

Herning will have a capacity of 500 MW per year, and compared to hydrogen produced from fossil fuels 
it will avoid emitting 7.6 million tonnes of CO2 in its first ten years, equivalent to more than 4,000 return 
flights from Paris to New York. The plant will be ready to ship its first electrolyzer stacks in the first half of 
2025, reaching full capacity by 2026.

Contributing to Europe’s energy goals

Our technology has had a vote of confidence from the EU, through a EUR 94 million EU Innovation Fund 
grant to Topsoe. The European Commisson’s ambition is to deploy 40 GW of European-produced electrolyzers by 2030. As Roeland Baan confirmed on receiving the grant: “This recognizes our leadership in 
this field and our part in decarbonizing energy-intensive industries through the EU’s first industrial-scale 
SOEC factory.”

For us, Herning is just the start of producing SOEC electrolyzers at scale.

     Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the                granting authority can be held responsible for them.