Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Haeolus (Hydrogen-Aeolic Energy with Optimised eLectrolysers Upstream of Substation)

Teaser

Wind is a clean energy source that is becoming ever cheaper. But we cannot “switch on the wind” as we please: as more wind turbines are built, the irregularity of wind causes difficulties in the power grid. In fact, scientists have shown that when wind power is more than...

Summary

Wind is a clean energy source that is becoming ever cheaper. But we cannot “switch on the wind” as we please: as more wind turbines are built, the irregularity of wind causes difficulties in the power grid. In fact, scientists have shown that when wind power is more than about 20% of the capacity of an energy system, there is no value in building more wind turbines, because the cheap generation is offset by the difficulties of storing and distributing energy.
Haeolus is about producing hydrogen directly from wind power. Hydrogen can be re-electrified later, used as fuel (land vehicles, ships, etc.), or used in the chemical industry. Our demonstration site is in Berlevåg, at the extreme north of Norway, close to the Raggovidda wind power park. In this sparsely populated region, the power grid was not built for high capacities. While Raggovidda already has a concession for 200 MW, only 45 MW could be built because of the export limitations. The case of Raggovidda is not unique: the best wind resources are often in sparsely populated areas with weak power grids, and often far away from mountains where energy could be stored by pumped hydro power.
Managing to exploit wind power resources in isolated areas with a weak grid will allow more renewable power generation, in spite of the weak grid these areas typically have. Haeolus will develop methods useful not just for the specific Raggovidda case (which, in the long term, is envisaged as a hydrogen production and export hub), but also for the cases of re-electrification and stabilisation of mini-grids (e.g. islands not electrically connected to the mainland).
The project\'s overarching objectives are:
1. Enabling more wind power in national energy systems.
2. Testing multiple use cases.
3. Deploying a state-of-the-art 2.5 MW electrolyser, the largest of its kind worldwide.
4. Operating the whole plant remotely, an important property for remote areas.
5. Raising awareness of the technology with public reports, seminars, site visits and other dissemination actions.

Work performed

\"In the first year of the project, the most time-critical activity was on the location, design and dimensioning of the experimental hall that will house the hydrogen system. It was eventually decided it will be located in the village of Berlevåg, on the coast, instead of directly in the Raggovidda wind park: this will allow easier access to the site, which is critical to spur adoption of hydrogen technology in the area. To maintain the aspect of \"\"generation within the fence\"\", the electrolyser will be connected to the wind park by a new power line.
The electrolyser system was designed and its parts have been ordered; the completion of the site and start of demonstration is scheduled for the third quarter of 2019.
The non-industrial partners of the project have focused on initial analyses and modelling, and have already completed several public reports.
The project had unfortunately a slow start, due to the need to replace the industrial partner providing the electrolyser. This caused a delay of about 4 months that made it impossible to meet the \"\"construction window\"\" of summer 2018 in Berlevåg: due to the Arctic conditions of the area, construction will first be possible in spring 2019.
In 2018, the project attracted significant attention from both scientist and journalists; it was represented at several conferences and workshops, and featured several times in the Norwegian press, ranging from specialised magazines for engineers to those for fishermen. Local authorities are enthusiastic about the project, and are considering follow-up demonstrations to boost the local hydrogen market.\"

Final results

In 2019, we expect to start the operation of our hydrogen plant in Berlevåg. We will release new reports on the technology and its impact on energy systems, and make the plant monitorable via our website.
For the rest of the project, we will demonstrate operation of the system in multiple configurations, to generate experience that can benefit many more sites than just Raggovidda. We will support local authorities and companies to launch follow-up projects to utilise the locally produced hydrogen.
The uptake of wind power has long been limited by its intermittent nature. By storing energy as hydrogen, we can build a buffer to compensate for this intermittency, and allow more clean, renewable energy to be used in our grids. Hydrogen production by electrolysis can play a significant role in stabilising grids, as they provide a large consumer that can be quickly ramped up or down as the grid operators require. This makes electrical grids more reliable and robust.
Such grid services will actually be a significant extra income for hydrogen production plants, and have been estimated in several case studies to be the critical factor that will make them profitable. As the share of intermittent renewables in the grid increases, the price that grid operators will be willing to pay for such reserves will also increase correspondingly. This is especially relevant for countries such as Germany, who are moving away from coal towards solar and wind, but have little or no potential for traditional energy storage technologies such as pumped hydro.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.haeolus.eu.