German energy company EWE has signed a deal to supply adhesive manufacturer tesa with 500 tonnes of green hydrogen annually, in a move expected to cut emissions at its Hamburg plant by around 6,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) a year.
The agreement between EWE HYDROGEN GmbH and tesa Werk Hamburg GmbH will cover 100 per cent of the plant’s planned annual hydrogen demand, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2028. The hydrogen will be used to generate steam, replacing fossil fuels in one of tesa’s key industrial processes.
The contract, signed by EWE CEO Stefan Dohler and tesa CEO Kourosh Bahrami, marks another step in EWE’s efforts to establish a market for green hydrogen in Germany, following a recent supply agreement with steelmaker Salzgitter AG.
The hydrogen will be produced at EWE’s planned 320-megawatt hydrogen production facility in Emden, which is scheduled to begin operations at the end of 2027. The plant will use renewable electricity to produce hydrogen through electrolysis, meeting European requirements for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO).
From Emden, the hydrogen will be transported to Hamburg through Germany’s developing hydrogen core network.
tesa is also preparing to connect its Hamburg facility to the city’s hydrogen industrial network, HH-WIN. The connection is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, paving the way for the first hydrogen-powered steam generation in 2028.
"We want to gradually make our production climate-neutral by 2030 and are creating the technical prerequisites for this at the Hamburg plant. Green hydrogen complements electrification, heat storage and intelligent energy control where process heat cannot be fully electrified.
"In this way, we combine measurable CO₂ reduction with reliable and sustainable production for our customers. The contract with EWE is therefore not only an important step for our climate targets, but also for the long-term competitiveness of the site," says Kourosh Bahrami, CEO of tesa SE.
tesa’s Hamburg plant is the largest energy consumer and emissions source within the company’s production network. Its decarbonisation strategy combines energy-efficiency measures, electrification, heat storage, AI-supported energy management and green hydrogen.
The company plans to begin using approximately 500 tonnes of green hydrogen annually from January 2028 to generate steam. Two hydrogen-ready dual-fuel steam boilers will enable the switch, with the first boiler already installed and connected.
EWE CEO Stefan Dohler said: "With tesa, another well-known industrial customer after Salzgitter has opted for green hydrogen from EWE. This shows that supply and demand can come together, even if the market is still in its infancy. tesa and EWE are making binding decisions today for a more climate-friendly energy supply of tomorrow."
EWE is developing several parts of the hydrogen value chain, spanning production, transport, storage and supply to industrial customers.
Its large-scale Clean Hydrogen Coastline project, supported under the EU’s Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) framework, includes electrolysis, storage and pipeline infrastructure in northwest Germany. The German federal government and the state of Lower Saxony are providing financial support for the infrastructure, including the planned production facility in Emden.
The supply agreement with tesa, however, is a private-sector contract between EWE HYDROGEN GmbH and tesa Werk Hamburg GmbH.
On the demand side, tesa is receiving support for its Hamburg transformation through a climate protection contract from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, alongside local funding from IFB Hamburg.
For EWE, the agreement is its first hydrogen supply contract in which a federal climate protection contract supports green hydrogen use at the customer’s end. The deal illustrates how public funding mechanisms can help create industrial demand and accelerate the development of the hydrogen market.
Despite the latest agreement, the broader hydrogen market remains in its early stages and continues to depend on financial support, competitive energy costs and predictable regulatory conditions.
EWE says further industrial partnerships and a more reliable policy framework will be essential to move beyond individual projects and establish green hydrogen as a commercially viable energy source across Germany and Europe.
"The first contracts show that companies are ready to lead the way. Now we have to move from individual projects to scaling. It must be possible to produce and use green hydrogen competitively in Germany and Europe. To do this, companies need long-term security and practicable rules so that hydrogen can strengthen the resilience of our energy supply and Europe's energy sovereignty at the same time," says EWE CEO Dohler.
The EWE-tesa agreement offers a concrete example of how investment in production infrastructure, industrial conversion and public support can bring hydrogen supply and demand together. Its longer-term significance will depend on whether Germany can scale up production and deliver green hydrogen at prices that industry can sustain.
