Danish transmission system operator Energinet and compatriot multinational Danfoss are collaborating on a project to examine whether a plant that converts electricity to hydrogen can be used to help balance the power grid.
The duo will look at whether a 0.5MW electrolysis plant for green hydrogen can be developed at Danfoss’s factory in Nordborg in a way that also allows the sale of balancing services.
They will also consider utilising the waste heat from the electrolysis plant for district heating.
They will embark on a close collaboration in the form of a week-long, intense energy marathon, which begins on 17 May and runs for five days.
Energinet system responsibility senior manager Jesper Abildgaard Nielsen said: “On the one hand, we know that the vast majority of our electricity in the future will be made as the wind blows and the sun shines.
“On the other hand, we also know that hydrogen plants can become a very large and important part of the energy system of the future as power-to-X.
“The goal … is to create a viable path between an electricity system with very fluctuating production, and hydrogen plants that can run or not run when the electricity system needs to turn up or down.
“We want to create the flexibility that will be absolutely crucial for the green transition and future security of supply.”
Danfoss senior vice president of technology Jakob Fredsted said: “It’s about business opportunities for Danfoss, but it’s also about delivering the green solutions that really mean something to the world.
“It has not happened before that a hydrogen plant is connected to the electricity grid balance market, but as our founder, Mads Clausen, once said, if others can do it, so can we, and if others cannot, we still have a chance.”