LATHAM, N.Y., June 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), a global leader in comprehensive hydrogen solutions for the green hydrogen economy, is part of a consortium of companies that received a $21.8 million dollar grant from the European Commission to build an offshore hydrogen production plant. As a member of the nine-company consortium HOPE (Hydrogen Offshore Production Europe), Plug will design and deliver a 10-megawatt (MW) proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer system to the site in the North Sea, off the port of Ostend, Belgium. This 10MW offshore hydrogen project aims to prove the commercial sustainability of renewable offshore hydrogen production, with the end goal to enable the deployment of commercial large-scale solutions.

The HOPE project will produce up to four tons a day of green hydrogen at sea, which will be transported to shore by pipeline, compressed and delivered to customers for mobility needs and small industries in Belgium, northern France, and southern Netherlands, within less than a 200-mile radius. HOPE is the first offshore project of this size in the world to begin actual implementation, with the production unit and export and distribution infrastructure due to come online in mid-2026.

“We are grateful for the European Commission’s support to demonstrate the viability of offshore green hydrogen production at scale,” said Andy Marsh, Plug’s CEO. “Once successfully demonstrated, we anticipate private sector investments in offshore hydrogen production will accelerate.”

The HOPE project will benefit from an ideal location, less than a mile from the coast, in the offshore testing area near the port of Ostend, Belgium, which aims to be a key link in the hydrogen supply chain in Belgium. The production site will be powered by electricity supplied under PPA (power purchase agreement) contracts that guarantee its renewable origin. The water used for electrolysis will be pumped from the North Sea, desalinated, and purified.

The consortium aims to pave the way for the deployment of large-scale offshore production of renewable hydrogen. The HOPE project will develop, build, and operate this production unit to demonstrate the technical and financial viability of a large-scale offshore hydrogen project with pipeline transport for supplying onshore customers.

The grant, covering a period of five years, will be used to finance the design phases, the supply of equipment and the construction work, as well as research, development and innovation work focusing on optimizing technological solutions and the operation of this type of infrastructure. The techno-economic analysis of large-scale offshore renewable hydrogen production solutions will be part of the grant.

In 2022, Plug and Lhyfe pioneered the proof-of-concept for the world’s first floating offshore hydrogen production plant, Sealhyfe.

About Plug
Plug is building an end-to-end green hydrogen ecosystem, from production, storage and delivery to energy generation, to help its customers meet their business goals and decarbonize the economy. In creating the first commercially viable market for hydrogen fuel cell technology, the company has deployed more than 60,000 fuel cell systems and over 180 fueling stations, more than anyone else in the world, and is the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen. With plans to build and operate a green hydrogen highway across North America and Europe, Plug is operating a state-of-the-art Gigafactory to produce electrolyzers and fuel cells, and is commissioning multiple green hydrogen production plants that will yield 500 tons of liquid green hydrogen daily by year end 2025. Plug will deliver its green hydrogen solutions directly to its customers and through joint venture partners into multiple environments, including material handling, e-mobility, power generation, and industrial applications. For more information, visit www.plugpower.com.

Plug Power Safe Harbor Statement

This communication contains “forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve significant risks and uncertainties about Plug Power Inc. (“PLUG”), including but not limited to statements about: The expectation that the HOPE project will produce up to four tons a day of green hydrogen at sea, to be transported to shore by pipeline, compressed and delivered to customers for mobility needs and small industries in Belgium, northern France, and southern Netherlands, within less than a 200-mile radius. HOPE being the first offshore project of this size in the world to begin actual implementation, with the expected production unit and export and distribution infrastructure due to come online in mid-2026. The guaranteed renewable origin of the electricity supplied under a power purchase agreement; The water used for electrolysis being pumped from the North Sea, desalinated and purified; Expectations that this project will demonstrate the technical and financial viability of a large-scale offshore hydrogen project with pipeline transport for supplying onshore customers. Plug’s operating a state-of-the-art Gigafactory to produce electrolyzers and fuel cells, and its plan to be commissioning multiple green hydrogen production plants that will yield 500 tons of liquid green hydrogen daily by year end 2025. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in these statements. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of PLUG in general, see PLUG’s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the “Risk Factors” section of PLUG’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and any subsequent filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and PLUG undertakes no obligation to update such statements as a result of new information.

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