thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers Plans to Build Electrolyzer Cell Assembly Center in Portugal

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 6, thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers will build its first company-operated centralized electrolyzer cell assembly center in Europe in Vila Nova de Gaia, south of Porto, Portugal. The company has signed a lease agreement for a factory building of more than 7,500 square meters in VGP Park. Construction of the factory building is scheduled to begin in winter 2026. Once completed, standardized, partially automated assembly lines will be installed, and cell assembly is planned to start in 2028. The project investment is expected to be EUR 10 million to EUR 14 million, and it will receive approximately EUR 3.7 million in government funding support through Portugal's COMPETE2030 program.

Initially, the center will be used for cell assembly of alkaline water electrolysis systems. The production line can handle multiple cell units simultaneously and automate some processes. The company's current Scalum standardized alkaline water electrolysis unit has a single-unit power of 20 MW. Its cell components were previously assembled mainly in decentralized workshops near customer project sites and then transported to the sites for installation. The new center will concentrate the relevant processes onto one assembly line, and complete cell assemblies will be delivered to project sites in an installable state after assembly.

After the assembly center is put into operation, it will serve electrolysis projects in Europe and surrounding regions and will also provide services related to cell maintenance and replacement during operation. According to the current arrangement, the first batch of cells assembled at the center starting in 2028 will be used for Moeve's Onuba project in Huelva, Spain.

Onuba is the first phase of Moeve's Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley project. thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers has obtained the engineering, procurement, manufacturing, and equipment supply contract for the project's 300 MW alkaline water electrolysis system and will provide 15 standardized 20 MW electrolyzer units. Moeve made the final investment decision for the project in March 2026. The project is planned to have an annual green hydrogen production capacity of approximately 45,000 tons.