Page 51 - European Energy Innovation - spring 2018 publication

Spring 2018 European Energy Innovation
needs a level playing field for ALL use
paths of renewable energy.
Studies: Recent FCH JU-supported
studies on European level are
“HyUnder...” on underground storage
and the “Study on early business
cases in energy storage…”. “Hydrogen
Scaling Up” of Hydrogen Council
looks on the industrial impact. Recent
German studies are “Klimaschutz
durch Sektorenkopplung” by Enervis,
„Der Wert der Gas-Infrastruktur
für die Energiewende” by Frontier
and „Comparative Analysis of
Infrastructures: Hydrogen Fueling
and Electric Charging of Vehicles”
by Research Center Jülich. Regional
roadmap studies are “Green Hydrogen
Economy in the Northern Netherlands”
with GW numbers, “Akzeptanz durch
Wertschöpfung” by GP-Joule on
hydrogen mobility based on local wind
power, and “h21 Leeds City Gate” with
detailed plans to switch the whole gas
supply of the city to hydrogen made
by steam reforming with CCS and
to support hydrogen mobility. This
is not power-to-gas, but it will boost
sustainable hydrogen use technologies.
Technology: for electric splitting of
water there are 3 options: alkaline
electrolysis with proven long lifetimes, for methane (1 MW). In Germany
the potentially more efficient PEM
electrolysis based on Proton Exchange
Membranes with much higher power
densities, and the high temperature
Solid Oxide Electrolysis (SOEC) using
oxygen ion-conducting membranes.
When using externally generated
steam the latter has the highest
efficiency (92%), but its stack size is
limited to few kW. Due to reversibility
it is well suited for energy storage at
small scale or other applications that
strongly value efficiency. The other two MW projects are being planned, but we
technologies reach stack sizes of few
MW and in most projects efficiencies
of ~71%2. At lower current density
1) Gas-engines do also reduce emissions, but their GHG-reduction potential per unit of renewable
electricity is not sufficient to let them serve as standard solution for such vehicles – combustion engines and
green hydrocarbon fuels are advantageous for long-distance transport.
2) based on the higher heating value
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
51
HYDROGEN
(higher cost) PEM can easily reach The development of power to
higher values. Development focuses gas depends largely on its fair
on cheaper catalysts, new membrane consideration in Renewable Energy
types and efficient design. Cost ranges Directive, which is hardly visible in
from 1000 to 1500 €/kW for large current drafts. Use of renewable
plants excluding compression or hydrogen in fuel cell vehicles should
injection. Reduction potential ranges be imputed with a factor being half as
down to below 500 €/kW. much as that for battery vehicles – but
at least 2, and PtG-electricity has to be
In Europe there are 31 projects with a imputed as renewable in more cases:
total power of 25.4 MWel in operation
and another 14 totaling 29.3 MW • 100%, if it is supplied by the grid
under erection. The latter includes 1.2 operator in order to avoid throttling
MW in Hobro, Denmark, that is close to of renewable energy-producers
commissioning. Nineteen respectively
8 of these projects are located in • 100%, if it is supplied synchronously
Germany with a total power of 22/18 from any specific RE-producer
MW. Some projects are for multi-
purpose like hydrogen for mobility and • in case of purchase at an energy
industry as well as gas grid injection, exchange: to the instantaneous
in others the latter is combined regional (national or bidding zone
with methane synthesis. Liquids are related) percentage of RE, which
produced at small scale in Dresden is to be certified officially for each
with German funding, and a 1 MWel region and hour of the year.
Methanol production is being erected
in Niederaußem, NRW (MefCO2, FCH In any of these cases electricity
JU). Energy storage is demonstrated in consumed by power-to-gas plants
projects MYRTE (Corsica, FCH JU) and must of course not be imputed on
H2Herten (NRW, EFRE). the renewable energy target for the
electricity sector. But this is enough to
Important non-German plants in avoid double counting. The RED drafts’
operation are located in Aberdeen limitation to new off-grid plants is far
for mobility (1 MW) and in Troia, Italy, too strict.
there is Werlte for methane (6 MW), EnergieAgentur.NRW, funded by
Energiepark Mainz for multiple the state and EFRE, supports SMEs
hydrogen use (6 MW), and Ibbenbüren in their development of innovative
in NRW (150 kW), that reaches a energy technologies. Its Fuel Cells and
record efficiency of 86%, to which Hydrogen, Electromobility Network
heat use attributes 15%. Erections founded in y2000 has 430 members. l
include Wesseling refinery in NRW (10
MW), Südermarsch Wind (2.4 MW) Contact details:
and Leuna (2 MW) in Germany, Linz Dr. Michael Weber
in Austria (6 MW, steel), BIG HIT on EnergieAgentur.NRW
Orkney (1.5 MW, H2) and Jupiter in Fos- Kompetenzzentrum
sur-Mer (1 MW, methane). More multi- Systemtransformation sowie
Netzwerk Brennstoffzelle und
also see non-operation of plants due Wasserstoff, Elektromobilität
to unfavorable regulatory boundary
conditions. T: +49 211 86642-245
M: +49 178 7303023
E: weber@energieagentur.nrw
P: Roßstraße 92, 40476 Düsseldorf
www.energieagentur.nrw/english/
fuel-cell-network