RAG Austria and ANDRITZ have officially broken ground on a major expansion of the RAG Valley Gampern hydrogen hub in Upper Austria, a project that will create the country’s largest green hydrogen production facility and strengthen Austria’s efforts to build a more resilient renewable energy system.
The expansion will increase the site’s electrolysis capacity from 2.5 MW to 15 MW, with commissioning scheduled for the end of 2026. Once operational, the facility is expected to produce more than 1,500 tonnes of green hydrogen annually—equivalent to around 17 million cubic metres—using renewable electricity generated primarily from solar power.
Under the agreement, ANDRITZ will deliver the project on a full Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis, supplying the complete electrolysis plant along with hydrogen purification and compression systems. The project further strengthens ANDRITZ’s growing position as a provider of large-scale green hydrogen infrastructure.
The hydrogen produced at Gampern will be stored for long periods and used when renewable electricity generation is insufficient, supporting electricity and heat production while gradually replacing natural gas. The concept demonstrates how hydrogen can act as seasonal energy storage, allowing excess renewable electricity generated during the summer to be used during the winter months.
Several Austrian energy companies—including EVN, Energie AG, KELAG, LINZ AG, and Salzburg AG—have already reserved electrolysis capacity at the facility, highlighting growing industrial demand for domestically produced renewable hydrogen.
The expansion follows a challenging winter in 2025/26, when periods of low solar, wind and hydropower generation exposed the limitations of relying solely on intermittent renewable electricity. During those weeks, Austria depended heavily on natural gas-fired power plants and electricity imports to maintain energy security.
According to RAG Austria, the project illustrates the need for a fully integrated energy system combining renewable generation with large-scale energy storage. While batteries and pumped hydro storage play an important role in balancing short-term fluctuations, they cannot provide the long-duration storage required to bridge extended periods of low renewable generation.
Green hydrogen is increasingly viewed as one of the most promising solutions for seasonal energy storage. Produced through electrolysis using renewable electricity, hydrogen can be stored for months and later used to generate electricity, provide industrial heat or supply hard-to-decarbonise sectors.
The Austrian government has identified large-scale hydrogen storage as a key component of the country’s future energy strategy. National studies estimate that Austria could require around 1.2 TWh of seasonal energy storage by 2030, rising to approximately 7 TWh by 2040, underscoring the importance of projects such as Gampern.
The expansion of RAG Valley is expected to play a significant role in advancing Austria’s hydrogen economy while supporting domestic energy security, industrial decarbonisation and greater use of renewable electricity throughout the year.
