German Wintershall Dea and VNG jointly invested in the UK company HiiROC, a hydrogen technology partner

Kassel (Germany), March 31 - Neftegaz.RU. Wintershall Dea Technology and VNG have jointly invested in HiiROC as a potential technology partner.
The company, based in Hull, England, has further developed methane pyrolysis technology to accelerate the cost-effective and CO₂-free production of hydrogen.

Andreas Berger, Managing Director of Wintershall Dea Technology said:

• HiiROC’s technology offers us a lot of potential for decentralised hydrogen production

In methane pyrolysis, natural gas is split into hydrogen and solid carbon.
The hydrogen can be used as a clean, carbon-free energy source, while the solid carbon can be used as a raw material in industry; for example, in the production of plastic, rubber or similar products.

Hugo Dijkgraaf, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Wintershall Dea, explains:

• We actively support the energy transition, including through investments and projects that help to drive forward low-cost, large-scale and low CO2 hydrogen production

The activity is aligned with Wintershall Dea’s strategic goal of minimising Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions from 2030 onwards.
These emissions are predominantly generated by the combustion of the gas and oil produced by the company.
Here, hydrogen is expected to play a key role alongside carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Wintershall Dea is actively involved in multiple projects in these areas, including a methane pyrolysis research partnership with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and the CCS-Project Greensand in Denmark.