A rendering of the project to produce green hydrogen that Gransolar is planning for the Port of Almería.

Image: Gransolar

A company spokesperson told pv magazine that the plant will produce hydrogen from seawater and will be powered by a 30 MW solar plant and a 20 MWh storage system with an autonomy of 4 hours.

The facility will be based on double-reverse osmosis treatment with energy recovery followed by electrolysis of deionized water through proton exchange membrane (PEM). Furthermore, secondary electrolysis of concentrated brine will be implemented by cell membrane electrolysis.

The main electrolyzer at the facility will have an installed capacity of 20 MW and an estimated production of 1,000 tons per year. The produced fuel will be then stored in trucks for pressurized gas at 400 bar pressure.

Hydrogen will be used as fuel for public transport at the port and urban cleaning vehicles in the city of Almería. It will also be utilized to feed the port's unloading machinery, the national and international transport of goods, and part of the energy demand of local manufacturing industries.

The project has a required investment of €80.5 million euros and is scheduled to be built by the end of 2024. Gransolar confirms that it has the interest and commitment of the Almería City Council, as well as multiple companies from different professional sectors, without providing further details.

Almería will not be the only Andalusian port with plans to produce hydrogen. The Port of Malaga is also expected to host green hydrogen production through a project that also contemplates the use of artificial intelligence.

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-usa.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-usa.com)

The "Choose Renewable Hydrogen" initiative, led by the employers Solar Power Europe and WindEurope and currently formed by Akuo Energy, BayWa re, EDP, Enel, Iberdrola, MHI Vestas, Solar Power Europe, Ørsted, Vestas and Wind Europe, remitted this Monday a letter to the vice-president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans asking the European Commission to bet on the "most efficient, sustainable and profitable" ways to decarbonise the economy.

Among the correct decisions for the next integration of Europe's energy system, the importance of green hydrogen stands out, which will play "a key role as the most profitable and sustainable solution for total decarbonisation".

In that sense, direct electrification is pointed out to be the main means to decarbonize heating and road transport, but there are other difficult sectors to eliminate, such as heavy industry, long-distance road transport, aviation and transport. maritime, where direct electrification is insufficient. Here, renewable hydrogen will play a key role as the most cost-effective and sustainable solution for complete decarbonization.

Clean hydrogen has been one of the topics highlighted in the EU's ecological recovery plans, which will be announced this Wednesday: according to the draft published by the portal specialized in European affairs EurActiv, there will be 1.3 billion for R + D + i and another 10 billion co-financing in the next decade , to minimize the risk of large projects, as well as a “commitment” to reach 1 million tons of this gas.

For its part, Iberdrola announced in mid-March that it will build one of the largest green hydrogen plants in Europe in Puertollano , with an investment of 150 million euros.

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine.es and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine.es).

Photo: Tecnalia

Iberdrola will develop a large green hydrogen project from renewable energy sources in Puertollano, according to what the city council has made public, which, in turn, mentions an article published in the economic newspaper Expansión.

The project will involve an investment of up to 150 million euros in a plant that will be one of the largest in Europe of its kind, that is, production of hydrogen from photovoltaic energy, unlike other systems, which are based on fossil fuels pollutants. The group's goal is to achieve decarbonisation and cheaper hydrogen in the future, which is now basically used in industry, but is beginning to have other applications, such as electric vehicles.

According to Iberdrola estimates, published last week by Expansión, the Puertollano plant will consist of a 100 MW experimental photovoltaic plant that will incorporate bifacial panels and string inverters, as well as a 20 MWh lithium-ion battery storage system. and 5 MW. It will also have a green hydrogen production system through electrolysis: divided into stackable modules that allow the plant to be expanded, according to the identified hydrogen demand needs. In this regard, different technologies will be tested: alkaline, proton exchange membrane, and solid oxide.

It will also have a main hydrogen storage system in pressurized tanks and an experimental storage plant for other technologies such as LOHC (organic liquid carrier hydrogen), as well as a control system that allows the optimal balance between renewable production, use of the battery and the energy dedicated to the production of green hydrogen.

Ideal location

"The choice of Puertollano as an enclave to launch the project is not accidental", they explain from the town hall. “It is a strategic place from which Iberdrola will not only be able to produce hydrogen, but will also be able to commercialize it for industrial use to adjacent companies for their production processes. The project will be located on the land that Iberdrola has had in Puertollano for years, and where it had already begun to build the photovoltaic. In Puertollano there is also the National Hydrogen Center. To distinguish itself from other hydrogens, Iberdrola will promote the creation of a green label for those produced with electricity before the authorities ”, they add.

Together with the project, Iberdrola will promote the creation of a 'green' label for the hydrogen produced that ensures that its carbon footprint is zero, thus helping hydrogen users to reduce their CO2 emissions.

The power company claims that decarbonising global hydrogen through its production with renewable electric energy would mean an increase in electricity demand of more than 10%, which would allow for the flood of renewable energy projects that the Government plans to incorporate with the new energy plan. .

Other pioneering projects

This project joins those that have been announced in recent weeks: the green hydrogen production plant in Lloseta, a pioneer in Spain, will start operating from 2021 thanks to the Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca project, and will allow a generation of up to 10 MW of production.

The Fundación Hidrogen Aragón coordinates a project to promote decarbonisation in Europe: The HIGGS project, which is now being launched in Huesca, will study for 36 months the possibilities of injecting hydrogen into current natural gas networks as a way to reduce emissions of CO2 in sectors difficult to electrify.

Enagás and Ampere will be the first to produce hydrogen with solar energy in Spain: both companies have signed an agreement for the joint development of several R&D projects for hydrogen production with solar and batteries.

Tecnalia, Engie and the University of Eindhoven (TUe) create in Bizkaia H2SITE, a startup to produce green hydrogen on site.

Green Hydrogen has serious potential to accelerate the transition to clean sources of energy. Schedule a call with us to see how we could work together: 

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-spain.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-spain.com).

H2SITE will provide low cost, high purity small and medium scale distributed hydrogen.

Photo: Tecnalia

Ten years ago, the Tecnalia research and development center and the EIndhoven University of Technology (TUe) began collaborating on European projects around metal deposition technologies, and in 2018 they won the second EARTO Innovation award. A year later, they created a limited company, H2SITE, which French power company Engie has just joined through its corporate venture capital fund, Engie New Ventures.

The new company will be located in Bizkaia and will develop a technology for small and medium-scale distributed hydrogen generation, of high purity and low cost, using advanced membrane reactors. “For the creation of this new company, the strategy developed by Tecnalia in the field of gas separation membranes has been key. This technological excellence is combined with the strategic collaboration established together with the University of Eindhoven, for the development of advanced membrane reactors ”, the company states in a statement.

The project will represent the first investment by Engie New Ventures, one of the largest global funds in the utilities sector, in start-ups in Spain.

The new company has received from the beginning the support of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, and will have an initial staff of 3 people for the first year of activity. H2SITE will provide low cost, high purity small and medium scale distributed hydrogen for both stationary applications and isolated areas requiring energy and mobility. "H2SITE will facilitate the deployment of 100% green electric mobility, opening up the possibility for on-board systems, within the vehicles themselves, to generate hydrogen," says the company, adding that "as a hydrogen technology platform, H2SITE will be capable of producing hydrogen from various compounds, such as biomethane, ammonia, bioethanol, etc. "

H2SITE will exploit a technology developed by Tecnalia and TUe, based on the intensification of processes, through advanced membrane reactors, maximizing the efficiency of the hydrogen production process and minimizing the necessary resources.

As for its industrial customers, H2SITE will offer a reduction of up to 40% of its current costs associated with the consumption of hydrogen, while reducing environmental impacts and avoiding regulatory and safety problems associated with the storage of hydrogen as it is an spot on demand.

“The main business objective of the startup is to become a state and European benchmark in the generation of green hydrogen and therefore, a relevant lever in the necessary energy transition. To do this, the challenge is to become the main supplier of hydrogen generated in situ for industrial use in stationary applications in prioritized industrial sectors, which are chemical, food, metallurgical, glass and electronics, which together represent a great part of the regional and national GDP ”, the statement ends.

Enagás and Ampere Energy recently announced the signing of an agreement for the joint development of several R&D projects for hydrogen production with solar and batteries.

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine.es, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine.es.

The project will be the first hydrogen injection experience in a real gas network in Spain with support for small-scale electrical storage, and will be carried out at the Enagás regasification plant in Cartagena.

Image: Enagás

Gas multinational Enagás and Ampere Energy, a Spain-based battery provider, have signed an agreement to begin joint production of hydrogen with solar power and energy stored in batteries.

The two companies will jointly work on several R&D projects to produce renewable hydrogen for self-consumption at the gas plant.

The project they are now planning will be the first hydrogen injection experience into a gas network in Spain, with small-scale storage as a back-up. It will be carried out at the regasification plant that Enagás operates in Cartagena, in the southern province of Murcia.

Ampere Energy has installed its Ampere Energy Square S 6.5 equipment at the Cartagena plant, which will have new storage and intelligent energy management solutions.

The installed equipment will allow Enagás to maximize the energy efficiency of the Cartagena gasification plant and reduce the environmental impact and its electricity bill up to 70%, according to the two companies.

The battery will store energy coming from both the photovoltaic system and the power grid, and will monitor this energy. Through machine learning algorithms and data analysis tools, the system will anticipate the consumption patterns of the plant, predict the available solar resource, and track prices in the electricity market, identifying the moments in which the cost is lower.

“This alliance opens the door to a long-term pact between Ampere Energy and Enagás to undertake joint R&D projects for energy storage and services,” both companies added.

If you are interested in learning how Green Hydrogen can work for you, schedule a call with us:

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-usa.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-usa.com).