Strong domestic partnership for more green hydrogen
The plant whose commissioning is scheduled for end of 2026, will produce around 17 million m³ (more than 1,500 tonnes) of green hydrogen annually, using solar power as the primary renewable energy source. Once it comes on stream at the end of 2026, it will be the largest green hydrogen production plant in Austria.
ANDRITZ will supply the plant and assume full responsibility for project implementation and commissioning. The scope of supply, on an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) basis, comprises the complete plant for the production of green hydrogen, as well as systems for hydrogen purification and compression.
The project strengthens ANDRITZ’s position as a leading EPC partner for green hydrogen production plants and supports the company’s strategic focus on technologies that enable the ecological transition.
Several domestic energy suppliers – EVN AG, Energie AG, KELAG, LINZ AG and Salzburg AG – have already booked electrolysis capacity.
Winter 2025/26 revealed a supply shortfall in domestic electricity
The cold winter of 2025/26, with its high demand for electricity and heating, has left a clear mark. Renewable electricity generation remained at a low level for several weeks in January and February 2026 – with hardly any sunshine, low and unpredictable wind power, and limited hydroelectric power. This clearly shows that renewables alone cannot guarantee security of supply.
The simultaneously high demand for electricity in winter – partly caused by additional heat pumps – could only be met by adjustable natural gas-fired power stations and electricity imports from neighboring nuclear, coal and gas-fired power stations.
This brings a key question of energy policy back into the public consciousness: how can the energy supply be guaranteed during periods of low renewable generation?
“100 per cent renewable electricity on an annual basis does not guarantee a single week in winter. Last winter has shown who actually keeps the system running: our large-capacity gas storage facilities, into which the gas was stored a year earlier, and the adjustable, flexible gas-fired power stations. Thanks to early storage, our facilities were also independent of geopolitical circumstances. We can expect more ‘winters’ in the future, and we must be prepared for them. A resilient energy system must be able to guarantee supply at all times,” emphasizes RAG CEO Markus Mitteregger.
Short-term storage solutions such as batteries or pumped-storage facilities do make an important contribution, but they are designed for balancing supply and demand on an hourly or daily basis. They cannot compensate for generation shortfalls lasting several weeks.
Commitments alone do not guarantee winter supply – seasonal storage is a key prerequisite for the energy transition
The transformation of the energy system is necessary, socially desired and politically mandated. Industrial enterprises are to increasingly switch to low-carbon solutions – ideally those produced domestically – such as green hydrogen. However, the increasing electrification of heating massively increases electricity demand, particularly during the cold winter months, whilst the availability of green energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro is significantly limited at precisely that time. The Austrian government’s latest storage study also highlights the need for action: it indicates a seasonal storage requirement of around 1.2 TWh in 2030 and around 7 TWh in 2040. The storage projects required for this have been identified. Investment in electrolysis and hydrogen storage projects is now urgently needed to implement them. Only with sufficient storage capacity can renewable energy be utilized even when the sun and wind are not generating electricity.
“We want to supply Austria with affordable renewable energy from within the country all year round. This is precisely where hydrogen comes in: electrolyzes convert domestic solar power into a storable energy carrier, which is why I wholeheartedly welcome the project in Gampern. This will make summer sunshine available in winter, strengthen domestic value creation and make Austria less dependent on energy imports. Projects such as this are a key building block for security of supply, competitiveness and a realistic roll-out of hydrogen in Austria,” said Federal Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer.
