Hydrogen plant in Seewen suspended – market development remains crucial
Ebs Wasserstoff AG is pausing its project to produce hydrogen in Seewen. The joint venture between ebs, A. Käppeli's Söhne and IWB justifies this with a lack of demand on the market. It intends to resume the project when demand increases.
According to a press release, ebs Wasserstoff AG is suspending its project to produce hydrogen at the site of the surfacing plant in Seewen. The reason given for the decision is that sales and profitability are currently insufficient. However, the market situation is being monitored. Should demand increase, the project could be resumed.
The Schwyz-based energy supplier ebs Energie AG holds a 60 per cent stake in ebs Wasserstoff AG, the road and civil engineering company A. Käppeli’s Söhne AG Schwyz holds a 25 per cent stake and the Basel-based energy supplier IWB holds a 15 per cent stake. Together, they submitted a planning application for a production plant in Seewen in 2022.
According to a breakdown by ebs, the plant would produce hydrogen with a capacity of 5 to 6 megawatts for up to 100 lorries a day. This would have been sufficient for 11.1 million lorry kilometres per year and would have saved 7.8 million kilograms of CO2. The investment costs were estimated at CHF 16.8 million.
Some of the hydrogen could also have been fed into the gas grid by ebs Erdgas Biogas AG. The waste heat from the electrolysis process could have been utilised in the surfacing plant.