Engie is leading a green hydrogen project that will help decarbonise a paper factory in France.
The partners on the Hyflexpower project will demonstrate the first industrial-scale power-to-X-to-power system with a hydrogen turbine.
The European Commission-funded €15.2m project also includes Siemens Gas and Power, Centrax, Arttic, German Aerospace Center (DLR) and four European universities.
The technology will be deployed at Smurfit Kappa’s factory in Saillat-sur-Vienne, France.
The European Union under the Horizon 2020 programme is contributing €10.5m to the project.
The purpose of Hyflexpower is to prove that hydrogen can be produced from renewable electricity, stored as green hydrogen and then added to the natural gas that is currently used in combined heat and power plants.
This will involve upgrading an existing Siemens SGT-400 industrial gas turbine to convert stored hydrogen into electricity and thermal energy.
Installation of the hydrogen production, storage and supply facility at the French site will occur in 2021.
Storing fluctuating renewable energy is one of the major challenges of the energy transition.
The Hyflexpower partners are developing new technologies that can be used across “the whole power-to-X-to-power cycle”.
During periods of high demand the stored green hydrogen will be used to generate electrical energy to be fed into the grid.
At Smurfit Kappa’s factory in Saillat-sur-Vienne Engie Solutions operates a 12MW combined heat and power plant that produces steam for the manufacturing company’s products.
The conversion of existing infrastructure helps reduce costs and minimises lead time, compared with developing a greenfield site.
During two demonstration campaigns, the facility will be powered by a mix of natural gas and hydrogen, ultimately aiming for up to 100% hydrogen operation.
The overall goal of the Hyflexpower project is to test an entirely green hydrogen-based power supply for a completely carbon-free energy mix saving up to 65,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.
Engie Solutions will build the hydrogen production and storage facility, including the natural gas/hydrogen mixing station prior to the turbine.
Siemens Gas and Power will supply the electrolyser for hydrogen production and develop the hydrogen gas turbine.
Centrax will upgrade the package for hydrogen operation and install the new turbine.
German Aerospace Center (DLR) together with the University College London, University of Duisburg-Essen and Lund University will support the hydrogen turbine technology development.
National Technical University of Athens will perform economic, environmental and social assessments of the concept.
Arttic will support the operational project management and the project’s communication activities.