Huge hydrogen production plants
The number of countries and companies expressing that hydrogen is a key to reaching the climate targets is steadily increasing. The core key to this emerging market is green hydrogen production and we at Sweco are proud to be operating extensively within this field.
Sweco is currently working with some of the large and meaningful hydrogen production plants. Here are four examples from across Europe. From off-shore wind power in Denmark, to land-based electrolysers in the Netherlands and Finland, to waste as a resource in Poland.
The Energy Island in Denmark
In the summer of June 2020 the Danish Parliament agreed to initiate two energy islands in the North Sea. Sweco has won the contract defining and developing the island, which will be constructed approx. 100 km west of Jutland in the North Sea. The first energy island will connect and distribute power from the surrounding offshore wind farms. With a minimum capacity of 3 GW and potential expansion to 10 GW of offshore wind. It provides an exciting opportunity in the hydrogen production arena. Providing a strong platform for the project / technology development. As part of this development Sweco is assessing how the Energy Island can accommodate HVAC and HVDC equipment for 10 GW wind Farms, and how to integrate Power-to-X systems for utilizing 2 GW power capacity for hydrogen production and energy storage. Further reading.
25 MW electrolysis plant in the Netherlands
Sweco has been commissioned by VOLTH2 to design two green hydrogen factories in the port area of North Sea Port, Vissingen, Netherlands. VOLTH2 has chosen Sweco as its engineering partner for the project. In the first project phase, Sweco is responsible for the entire design, the necessary permits and the subsidies. First design phase consists of two 25 MW electrolysis plants. Upon completion, this site will produce 3.6 million kg of green hydrogen per year. The design is carried out in a way, that the production capabilities can be expanded up to 100 MW by 2030.
Power-to-X design in Finland
Sweco Finland was assigned by P2X Solutions Oy the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) of a green hydrogen production plant. The project aims to start green hydrogen production in Harjavalta in 2024, with a capacity of 20MW. The FEED will be completed by the end of 2021 and will provide the cost estimate for the investment decision and engineering guidelines for next phases.”
Waste-to-hydrogen in Poland
Development of waste-to-hydrogen projects portfolio in Poland based on technology provided by PowerHouse Energy Group PLC and Hydrogen Utopia International PLC (UK) including concept design and Environmental Permitting for the Konin plant, with Sweco services including technical & regulatory advisory and project management. The designed installation will produce around 2.7 tonnes of pure hydrogen per day by extracting hydrogen from hydrogen rich syngas produced from 40 tonnes of unrecyclable plastic waste daily.
The hydrogen expertise within Sweco contributes to the energy transition
The four projects above are just some of the hydrogen projects we are working on at Sweco, and it gives a clear picture of how strong the development in this area is right now. Since we started our first hydrogen projects about 25 years ago, we have already completed well above 100 assignments. The Sweco international hydrogen network involves 150+ consultants. Sweco services within hydrogen span from 1) Production, distribution, storage and end-use, including permits and safety studies, 2) Due Diligence and funding, 3) Business and market development, 4) Energy system analysis and building design, to 5) Research and development. Customers range from government agencies, energy companies, start-ups, to industry. Next, we look forward to supporting market development both locally and in the rest of the world, but clearly Sweco’s hydrogen experts will make a big difference in the energy transition in the future.
Further reading about European hydrogen strategies and targets:
2021 Extending the European Hydrogen Backbone – Gas for Climate 2050