Orsted and six industrial partners have been awarded funding from a Danish Energy Agency initiative for a demonstration project in Denmark that will use offshore wind power to produce hydrogen for road transport.
The companies, which also include Everfuel Europe, NEL Hydrogen, GreenHydrogen, DSV Panalpina, Hydrogen Denmark and Energinet Elsystemansvar, have received Dkr34.6m (€4.6m) for the construction of a 2MW electrolysis plant with appurtenant hydrogen storage.
The plant will use electricity from two Siemens Gamesa 3.6MW offshore wind turbines to produce the renewable hydrogen for buses, lorries and potentially taxis.
Orsted said that project, known as H2RES, could produce about 600 kilograms of hydrogen a day at a plant built at the Avedore CHP power station.
The volume would be enough to power 20-30 buses, while also making testing its use in lorries and taxis possible.
The funding awarded to the H2RES project is the largest among the 53 projects which have received finance from the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme in this second 2019 call for applications, Orsted said.
Orsted head of hydrogen activities Anders Nordstrom said: “Renewable hydrogen could potentially form a cornerstone of Denmark’s ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70% in 2030 and of the transition to a world that runs entirely on green energy.
“Heavy road transport is one of the sectors which can be made greener by indirect electrification with hydrogen produced from renewable sources.
“However, renewable hydrogen is currently more expensive than hydrogen produced from gas or coal.
“Therefore, it’s important for us to be able to demonstrate the technology and gather experience, that will make it possible to scale up the technology and make it more efficient, so that we’ll be able to produce renewable hydrogen at a price which can compete with the price of the fossil-based alternatives.”
Everfuel chief executive Jacob Krogsgaard said: “The interest in green zero-emission fuel is enormous, especially in the Greater Copenhagen area.
“Hydrogen produced on surplus renewable energy gives us the possibility to make 100% green, pollution-free fuel.
“The energy can be stored, distributed and used flexibly without the need for further substantial investments in new electricity infrastructure for heavy transport in, for example, the city environment.
“Everfuel is responsible for distributing the renewable hydrogen, including establishing hydrogen stations for owners and operators of zero-emission vehicles – without limitations to existing operational needs.
“The H2RES project at Avedore is completely unique with strong partners and a close proximity to Copenhagen.”
Nel ASA chief executive Jon Andre Lokke said: “Denmark is a global front runner within renewable energy and has a pole position in leading the way for renewable hydrogen to be the energy source of choice for heavy-duty transportation.
“The realisation of the H2RES project will be an important step towards developing a nationwide infrastructure for renewable hydrogen, and we look forward to working with Orsted and the H2RES partners on this and future projects.”
Green Hydrogen chief executive Niels-Arne Baden said: “This is a very important project for us to be a part of, and we’re looking forward to the cooperation.
“Orsted is leading the way for the wind industry when it comes to the concrete use of hydrogen.
“The project will give GreenHydrogen valuable experience and a unique foundation to further develop our electrolysis facilities to meet the requirements of the wind industry, which will be among the very largest players within hydrogen for energy storage.”
Hydrogen Denmark chief executive Tejs Laustsen Jensen said: “The integration of energy from offshore wind into heavy transport is a main challenge in the green transformation.
“With H2RES, we’ll have the possibility of testing how hydrogen and offshore wind can best complement each other.
“Both with each other, with the transport sector and the collective energy system. It’s a very important step for hydrogen as a key technology in the green transformation.”