Shell sets out steps to make German activities carbon-neutral

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> has drawn up plans to make its German operations carbon-neutral as it seeks to cut its own and customers' emissions by more than a third over a decade.

The energy company is expected to announce a restructuring by the end of the year as it prepares to accelerate its global shift towards low-carbon operations, having set a goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

"We support Germany in becoming a country with net zero emissions. The transformation of Shell in Germany has begun and will accelerate", Germany head Fabian Ziegler said in a statement.

At its Cologne Rheinland refinery, the oil major is planning to hike production capacity for "green hydrogen" tenfold by 2030, Shell said. Hydrogen is considered a green fuel when electricity from renewable energy sources is used in its production.

Setting up offshore wind farms, from which part of the electricity would be used to produce green hydrogen, is an element in Shell's contribution to Germany's energy shift, the company added.

The oil major also plans to equip its petrol filling stations with around 1,000 fast charging stations for electronic vehicles by 2030.

Separately, Shell is planning to switch to production of low-carbon energy solutions and special chemicals at the Rheinland refinery, as part of its long-term plan to replace crude oil processing there with other activities.

Earlier on Tuesday, Shell-owned German residential solar battery maker sonnen said it was extending capacity as demand for home storage systems is expected to grow with the ending of subsidy programmes for supplying renewable power to the grid.

(Reporting by Arno Schuetze; editing by John Stonestreet)