12
May
2020
|
14:50
Europe/Berlin

Driving the energy evolution forward using green hydrogen

Summary

Climate-neutral energy and security of supply through power-to-gas technology

It's a gas doubling as an energy source that can be manufactured using renewables such as solar or wind energy, and one that can be stored and used across multiple sectors: "Green" hydrogen, as it is commonly referred to, is a key component in the framework of any sustainable and economic energy supply. At our pilot plant in Brandenburg, for example, we have been making use of power-to-gas technology since 2013. This process is based on electrolysis and uses renewable electricity to split water into its component parts of hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O) without generating CO2 or soot. Moreover, the process generates heat that can be used in other applications. In additional process steps, pure H2 can also be refined into renewable liquid fuels. Consequently, the areas of electricity, mobility and heat (both process heat and heating for other applications) are largely becoming intertwined, resulting in a source of environmentally friendly energy that can be deployed wherever it is needed. Uniper is helping to lead the way by enabling an efficient reduction in CO2 emissions across all consumption sectors. This also applies to sectors that are difficult or even impossible to decarbonize through the direct use of electricity, such as aviation, shipping and heavy-duty transportation.

 

In contrast to electricity, H2 can be stored for long periods in much larger quantities, which allows for security of supply in addition to flexibility in the energy system. It's a topic that, in a time where conversion to renewables is a key point of discussion, holds more relevance than ever before — what would happen if, all of a sudden, energy suppliers from sectors like solar and wind were to come to a standstill? Alongside the other advantages, wind turbine production would no longer have to be curtailed to prevent grid overload, as the excess energy could instead be converted into green hydrogen. This could then be stored as an energy source in much larger quantities. Cavern storage facilities in particular are the best option when it comes to storing this form of energy. At Uniper, we are extremely well-prepared and have a number of appropriate facilities that can be converted and made available to the market for the storage of hydrogen.

Many pilot projects, such as our power-to-gas plant in Reitbrook, Hamburg, demonstrate that this technology is market-ready. Refineries and the chemicals industry in general already use H2 in large quantities. However, this is normally attained through the steam reforming of natural gas. In these sectors, there is therefore already a wide range of potential applications for green hydrogen as a replacement for the hydrogen generated from natural gas (i.e. "grey" hydrogen, as it is known). In our "real-world" laboratories, we are currently aiming to trial the manufacture, transportation, storage and usage of large quantities of the new energy form in a variety of different consumption sectors. At the Bad Lauchstädt energy park, a large electrolysis plant with a capacity of around 35 MW is set to produce green hydrogen using the energy from a nearby wind farm. The H2 is placed in a cavern facility for intermediate storage before it is directed through a gas pipeline into the hydrogen network of the chemicals industry in central Germany. "In refineries and the chemicals industry alone, the transition to green hydrogen would result in remarkable CO2 savings," says Agnes Herdick, Senior Manager Hydrogen at Uniper. For this reason, we are now offering refineries the option of constructing and operating an electrolysis plant at their production site, which would produce hydrogen from renewable electricity with 15 MW of electrical power. This hydrogen would then ideally be used for fuel production.

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The possibilities for using both pure hydrogen and fuels processed from green H2 are manifold. When it comes to achieving high operating ranges and carrying capacity as well as rapid refueling/recharging times, battery-electric drives are hardly able to keep up. In our Reallabor Norddeutschland (real-world laboratory in northern Germany), refueling concepts for logistics companies and public transport organizations have therefore also been investigated in combination with the power-to-gas facility installed on site since 2015, and even implemented under suitable economic conditions.

"The high conversion costs on the consumer side as well as the high costs on the production side have made it difficult to implement green H2 in a number of sectors. However, if changes to the legal framework were to promote and facilitate its economic production and use, we would be prepared to bring green H2 to market on an industrial scale, utilizing the anticipated scaling effects and potential for decreasing costs," explains Herdick. "Once accepted as a standard technology, green hydrogen will make a considerable contribution to the success of the energy revolution as an energy source of the future."

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