Periodic Reporting for period 3 - MultiPLHY (Multimegawatt high-temperature electrolyser to generate green hydrogen for production of high-quality biofuels)
Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2023-06-30
The shift to a low-carbon EU economy raises the challenge of integrating renewable energy (RES) and cutting the CO2 emissions of energy intensive industries (EII). In this context, hydrogen produced from RES will contribute to decarbonize those industries, as feedstock/fuel/energy storage. MULTIPLHY thus aims to install, integrate and operate the world's first high-temperature electrolyser (HTE) system in multi-megawatt-scale (~2.4 MW), at a renewable products refinery in Rotterdam (NL) to produce hydrogen (≥ 60 kg/h) for the refinery's processes.
MULTIPLHY will demonstrate the technological and industrial leadership of the EU in Solid Oxide Electrolyser Cell (SOEC) technology. With its rated electrical connection of ~3.5 MWel,AC,BOL, electrical rated nominal power of ~2.6 MWel,AC and a hydrogen production rate ≥ 670 Nm³/h. MULTIPLHY's electrical efficiency (85 %el,LHV) will be at least 20 % higher than efficiencies of low temperature electrolysers, enabling the cutting of operational costs and the reduction of the connected load at the refinery and hence the impact on the local power grid.
MULTIPLHY will demonstrate the technological and industrial leadership of the EU in Solid Oxide Electrolyser Cell (SOEC) technology. With its rated electrical connection of ~3.5 MWel,AC,BOL, electrical rated nominal power of ~2.6 MWel,AC and a hydrogen production rate ≥ 670 Nm³/h. MULTIPLHY's electrical efficiency (85 %el,LHV) will be at least 20 % higher than efficiencies of low temperature electrolysers, enabling the cutting of operational costs and the reduction of the connected load at the refinery and hence the impact on the local power grid.
During period 3 all workpackages were active, WP5 being started during the course of the period. The overall progress of the project is as planned. Some tasks are delayed and the situation has been explained to the Project Officer in July 2022. A contingency plan to minimize the impact of this delay has been jointly defined by the partners, and has also been presented to the Project officer. It allows to secure the demonstration phase of the project, as detailed below in the report. The revised dates for delayed milestones and deliverables take this contingency plan into account.
Achivements towards objectives:
Objective 1: Scale-up of technology to multi-MW
Following the system engineering and optimization, most of the activities were dedicated to the HTE and HPU manufacturing, commissioning and FAT. The FAT has been achieved in M39 and M33 for HTE and HPU respectively, according to the revised schedule.
For the site integration, RP3 was dedicated to the execution phase, with different aspects (civil works, piping, mechanical, electrical, automation, instrumentation and IT). The system has been installed on site in April 2023 and the target start-up date for the demonstration unit is August 2023, according to the revised schedule.
Objective 2: Optimization of efficiencies
The design of the HTE and HPU is focused to achieve high efficiency. H2 output was confirmed during testing of Gen 2.1.0 module. During FAT, a quality criteria was set for an electrical consumption below 42 kWh/kgH2. The twelve modules passed this criteria, which is an important milestones towards the final objective of 84%LHV efficiency.
Objective 3: Increase of availability and Improve operations
A service and maintenance concept has been defined. The tests performed on Gen 2.1.0 module and HPU already contribute to a better knowledge of the reliability of those components. The real availability will be monitored during the operation phase.
Objective 4: Improvement of stack durability
Sunfire and CEA stacks were successfully tested over 7900h and 6800h with no H2 production loss. A 75 cell 12.6 kW stack was designed and built at CEA, and subsequently tested over 3 kh also without any H2 production loss.
Objective 5: Reduction of capital cost and of O&M expenditures
A Design-to-Cost strategy has been developed. The cost analysis has been refined. The purchasing for MultiPLHY (mid 2021 to end 2022) was both influenced by corona supply chain issues and Ukraine war.
Objective 6: Showcasing business opportunities
Techno-economic evaluations have been performed, providing methodology and reference values for several scenarios. Selected application cases of the steam electrolysis technology related to the production hydrogen in biofuels refinery have been proposed and the techno-economic specifications of the SOEC system designed for industrial application determined. The igger the plant, the higher the impact of Electricity Prices & Efficiency and CAPEX Total Integration Cost. Second, the bigger the plant, the lower the impact of CAPEX Stack. Lastly, in all scenarios beneficial are high full load hours and lower discount rates.
Recommendations for future projects can be formulated.
Objective 7: Defining a procurement strategy for renewable electricity
Three options for sourcing of renewable power have been described. Guarantee of Origin (GO) purchase is the only option available and the contractualization must be achieved through Neste existing supplier (no RES sourcing nor geographical requirements for Multiplhy).
Objective 8: Certifying renewable properties of the product
For the electricity part, a generalized CertifHy methodology already exists while for steam part it must still be developed. MULTIPLHY developed a methodology that addresses different steam supply configurations and which can therefore be applied to any SOEC project, i.e. not only MultiPLHY. The consortium evaluated the issuance of hydrogen guarantees of origin through the Dutch national certification authority Vertogas. Neste as hydrogen producer will be in charge of submitting the registration form, signing the settlement agreement with the metering company and the participant agreement with VertiCer before the start of operation. During operation, Neste will select trader and send sustainability statements to VertiCer.
Achivements towards objectives:
Objective 1: Scale-up of technology to multi-MW
Following the system engineering and optimization, most of the activities were dedicated to the HTE and HPU manufacturing, commissioning and FAT. The FAT has been achieved in M39 and M33 for HTE and HPU respectively, according to the revised schedule.
For the site integration, RP3 was dedicated to the execution phase, with different aspects (civil works, piping, mechanical, electrical, automation, instrumentation and IT). The system has been installed on site in April 2023 and the target start-up date for the demonstration unit is August 2023, according to the revised schedule.
Objective 2: Optimization of efficiencies
The design of the HTE and HPU is focused to achieve high efficiency. H2 output was confirmed during testing of Gen 2.1.0 module. During FAT, a quality criteria was set for an electrical consumption below 42 kWh/kgH2. The twelve modules passed this criteria, which is an important milestones towards the final objective of 84%LHV efficiency.
Objective 3: Increase of availability and Improve operations
A service and maintenance concept has been defined. The tests performed on Gen 2.1.0 module and HPU already contribute to a better knowledge of the reliability of those components. The real availability will be monitored during the operation phase.
Objective 4: Improvement of stack durability
Sunfire and CEA stacks were successfully tested over 7900h and 6800h with no H2 production loss. A 75 cell 12.6 kW stack was designed and built at CEA, and subsequently tested over 3 kh also without any H2 production loss.
Objective 5: Reduction of capital cost and of O&M expenditures
A Design-to-Cost strategy has been developed. The cost analysis has been refined. The purchasing for MultiPLHY (mid 2021 to end 2022) was both influenced by corona supply chain issues and Ukraine war.
Objective 6: Showcasing business opportunities
Techno-economic evaluations have been performed, providing methodology and reference values for several scenarios. Selected application cases of the steam electrolysis technology related to the production hydrogen in biofuels refinery have been proposed and the techno-economic specifications of the SOEC system designed for industrial application determined. The igger the plant, the higher the impact of Electricity Prices & Efficiency and CAPEX Total Integration Cost. Second, the bigger the plant, the lower the impact of CAPEX Stack. Lastly, in all scenarios beneficial are high full load hours and lower discount rates.
Recommendations for future projects can be formulated.
Objective 7: Defining a procurement strategy for renewable electricity
Three options for sourcing of renewable power have been described. Guarantee of Origin (GO) purchase is the only option available and the contractualization must be achieved through Neste existing supplier (no RES sourcing nor geographical requirements for Multiplhy).
Objective 8: Certifying renewable properties of the product
For the electricity part, a generalized CertifHy methodology already exists while for steam part it must still be developed. MULTIPLHY developed a methodology that addresses different steam supply configurations and which can therefore be applied to any SOEC project, i.e. not only MultiPLHY. The consortium evaluated the issuance of hydrogen guarantees of origin through the Dutch national certification authority Vertogas. Neste as hydrogen producer will be in charge of submitting the registration form, signing the settlement agreement with the metering company and the participant agreement with VertiCer before the start of operation. During operation, Neste will select trader and send sustainability statements to VertiCer.
MULTIPLHY is the largest SOE system installed worldwide in an industrtial environment.
MULTIPLHY will contribute
1. To increase the energy efficiency of production of hydrogen mainly from water electrolysis and re-newable sources while reducing operating and capital costs,
2. to demonstrate on a large scale the feasibility of using hydrogen to support the integration of re-newable energy sources into the energy systems.
Through a multitude of improvements (e.g. efficiency, durability, costs, and scale), MULTIPLHY will signif-icantly impact the competitiveness of green hydrogen production compared to fossil alternatives.
The produced information on the operational, technical and financial performance of the HTE itself and the illustration of the integration into the commercial and technical processes of NESTE will ensure that the re-sults have the maximum impact for further market deployment.
MULTIPLHY will contribute
1. To increase the energy efficiency of production of hydrogen mainly from water electrolysis and re-newable sources while reducing operating and capital costs,
2. to demonstrate on a large scale the feasibility of using hydrogen to support the integration of re-newable energy sources into the energy systems.
Through a multitude of improvements (e.g. efficiency, durability, costs, and scale), MULTIPLHY will signif-icantly impact the competitiveness of green hydrogen production compared to fossil alternatives.
The produced information on the operational, technical and financial performance of the HTE itself and the illustration of the integration into the commercial and technical processes of NESTE will ensure that the re-sults have the maximum impact for further market deployment.