UK electrolyser manufacturer ITM Power has entered a strategic collaboration with Rheinmetall AG, an international technology group in the defence sector, to support Rheinmetal’s Giga PtX programme. The project aims to build a Europe‑wide network of decentralised synthetic fuel production plants for NATO armed forces, designed to strengthen defence energy resilience, sovereign fuel capability and operational readiness.
Under the Giga PtX concept, several hundred modular plants, each with up to 50 MW of electrolysis capacity, would be deployed across the continent. Each facility is expected to produce around 5,000–7,000 tonnes of e‑fuel per year, using renewable power and ITM’s proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers as the core hydrogen production units. The companies will initially focus on opportunities in the United Kingdom.
The collaboration links Rheinmetall’s Power‑to‑X and system integration know‑how with ITM’s electrolyser systems, targeting a repeatable, scalable model for large‑scale hydrogen and synthetic fuel production. For defence and other mission‑critical sectors where full electrification is not feasible, synthetic fuels are seen as a key enabler of secure, low‑carbon fuel supply chains.
ITM Power CEO Dennis Schulz said the project aligns the energy transition with national security priorities, while Rheinmetall’s Hydrogen Programme head Shena Britzen described e‑fuels as a strategic necessity that can give Europe’s armed forces greater energy autonomy and the ability to operate independently in crises.
The Giga PtX network, if rolled out at scale, would represent one of the largest potential demand‑side markets for industrial‑scale electrolysers in Europe.
