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ENERGIX-Stort program energi

Pressurised large-scale hydrogen production by alkaline water Electrolysis II (PE 1000)

Alternative title: Pressurised large-scale hydrogen production by alkaline water Electrolysis II (PE 1000)

Awarded: NOK 16.0 mill.

Project Number:

313974

Project Period:

2020 - 2024

Funding received from:

Location:

In the global energy market, renewables are becoming more important. New renewable sources such as solar and wind are gaining traction and are in some areas and countries a significant power source. Classic fossil energy power plants can adjust the production to follow the demand. When the demand is going down, the power plants reduce the production and saves fuel. When it comes to hydropower, more water is stored behind the dams upstream when production is reduced. Power production from solar and wind is fundamentally different. These kinds of power plants do not have expenses related to the energy sources. The production follows the availability of the source and not demand. This leads to periods with overproduction and other periods with no production even though demand is high. Grid connected systems are becoming part of the large national and international grid and influences the stability of the power and electricity cost. Instabilities has lately been seen because of insufficient production capacity and made the electricity cost rise and fluctuate significantly to reduce demand and stabilize the grid. Water electrolysers is also seen as a solution to stabilizing the grid. Water electrolysis is a known process to convert water (H2O), using electric energy into hydrogen (and oxygen). Hydrogen can be stored and used as an energy source later. Hydrogen can be burnt for heat or used in fuel cells for electricity production. The fuel cells can be stationary or mobile in ships, trucks, and cars. Hydrogen can also be a feedstock for chemical industry like ammonia production and as a reducing agent in the steel industry. This project targets to significantly reduce the cost of hydrogen produced by water electrolysis and stimulate on-site hydrogen generation from renewable energy to be used in the industry and transport sector. The project deals with the development of materials and internal components of an alkaline pressurized electrolyser for large scale hydrogen production. The main goal of the project is to ensure the use of cutting-edge materials and design optimized for low-cost high-volume manufacturing. Significant work has been done to optimize operation powered by renewables. This has high demands on intermittent operation, flexibility, dynamics, and rapid response. This will be enabled by going beyond engineering and into applied and basic research.

The project has developed Nel's pressurized technology to technology readiness level five (TRL 5). The design and manufacturing processes are made to make fast and high-volume production of cell material possible and to make Nel able to deliver many large-scale plants to our customers. Our future customers will be able to produce large amounts of hydrogen with these plants and support the global energy transition to zero carbon emission solutions.

The global energy market is growing very fast with the main strategic focus on renewable energy sources, mainly solar and wind. The transition to an energy system based on a large degree of intermittent renewable energy will result in a power generating scenario subjected to both seasonal as well as hourly variability, with significant amount of excess renewable energy (on the order of TWh) emerging in countries across the EU and around the world. Thus, energy storage, in particular Power-to-Gas technologies, e. g. water electrolysis, are expected to play a major role in future energy systems. One of the main key performance indicators (KPI) for water electrolysis at system level is the capital expenditure (CAPEX). Here the alkaline water electrolysis technology has a potential advantage due to the possibility to use lower cost materials such as KOH, nickel and steel. On the other hand, hydrogen production cost specifies all cost to bring out one unit of hydrogen (volume or mass) at the installation site (TCO). In many cases this is the most important KPI for an end user as it allows an economical evaluation. In the addition to CAPEX the TCO also includes operational expenditure (OPEX) where electricity cost is the major contributor. This project targets to significantly reduce the cost of hydrogen produced (TCO) by water electrolysis and stimulate on-site hydrogen generation powered by renewable energy sources to be used in the industrial and transport sectors. The project deals with the development of an alkaline pressurised electrolyser for large scale hydrogen production. The main goal of the project is to develop cutting edge pressurised alkaline electrolyser technology for industrialisation.

Funding scheme:

ENERGIX-Stort program energi