Topsoe’s new SOEC factory
Topsoe’s new SOEC factory: A pioneering effort at hydrogen production comes online
Topsoe's groundbreaking SOEC factory in Denmark is set to revolutionize clean hydrogen production. With innovative technology and ambitious plans, this facility marks a significant step towards decarbonizing heavy industries and supporting global climate goals.
By Hydrogen Council
With the race to decarbonize gaining momentum, hydrogen takes center stage. At Topsoe, a leading provider of technology solutions for the energy transition, attention is increasingly focused on a cutting-edge solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) factory.
Supported by a €94 million grant from the EU’s Innovation Fund, one of the largest funding programs for innovative low-carbon technologies, Topsoe is set to operationalize its new SOEC manufacturing facility in Herning, Denmark, this year. The factory’s initial capacity will be 500 megawatts (MW) of SOEC units, with the potential to expand further down the road. It’s one of the biggest investments in Topsoe history.
Electrolyzers produce hydrogen by using electricity to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. When powered by renewable electricity, electrolysis enables low-emissions hydrogen which can be used to decarbonize energy-intensive industries like steel, mining, and long-distance transportation, which together account for roughly 30% of global greenhouse-gas emissions.
Indeed, Topsoe expects the clean hydrogen produced by its Herning electrolyzers to reduce more than 40 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emission over the first 10 years of operation versus conventional hydrogen produced with unabated fossil fuels. That is equivalent to removing more than 950,000 cars from the road each year. Tapping into what Topsoe expects to become a multi-gigawatt (GW) addressable market, the SOEC factory signals future scalability for worldwide electrolyzer production.
Technical innovation, facility breakthroughs
Hydrogen electrolysis can occur through three main technologies: SOEC, proton exchange membrane (PEM), or alkaline electrolysis. SOEC is the most nascent technology of the three, requiring higher temperatures and steam instead of liquid water. While it is historically been less attractive due to its high-cost relative to capacity, it operates at a higher temperature and thus exhibits faster kinetics and higher conductivity. That means it can run at a lower voltage, reducing power consumption relative to hydrogen output – and thereby produce more hydrogen for less electricity.
Indeed, Topsoe’s proprietary next-gen SOEC technology can produce between 20% – 30% more hydrogen per unit of power input than conventional electrolyzer technologies. When coupled with technologies that produce waste heat – such as ammonia, methanol, or steel production – Topsoe’s SOEC electrolyzers can realize the industry’s lowest levelized hydrogen cost at megawatt or gigawatt volumes.
That makes this electrolysis particularly well-suited for high-priced electricity markets and chemical or e-fuel production. Topsoe’s first SOEC customer, First Ammonia, is a perfect example. Starting in 2025, the New York-based company plans to develop modular, commercial-scale plants that produce clean ammonia using Topsoe’s SOEC technology.
To scale up its SOEC technology, Topsoe needed to push similar boundaries in manufacturing. In Denmark, it did just that. Expected to be operational in 2024, Topsoe’s 23,000-square-meter Herning facility will directly employ around 150 people and create numerous indirect job opportunities through its supply chain, construction, maintenance, and more.
As the first project of its kind, the facility presented numerous learning opportunities. Topsoe scaled up manufacturing of electrolyzers a hundredfold, going from 5 megawatts to 500 megawatts of electrolyzer capacity, as it developed infrastructure to support shipping, aviation, steel, and other industries. Broader impact on the energy transition
Topsoe’s clean hydrogen can substitute for fossil fuels across various industries and processes, such as low-emissions electricity generation. It can also form a versatile source for e-fuels through the company’s Power-to-X process, where clean hydrogen forms a feedstock or direct fuel for energy carriers, raw-material production, and more. Applications range from steel and cement production to ammonia, eMethanol or even sustainable aviation fuel.
Regulators have a lot riding on Topsoe’s success. The Herning factory supports the EU Commission’s proposal to deploy 40 GW of electrolyzers across Europe by 2030 and plays into its Net Zero Industry Act, which names electrolyzer technologies as one of eight strategic net-zero technologies that can accelerate climate action and industry competitiveness.
As demand increases, Herning previews the potential for more. Topsoe has formed an alliance with ABB and Fluor, leaders in electrification and automation (ABB) and engineering and construction (Fluor), to design a standardized concept for electrolyzer manufacturing facilities, starting with its recently announced plans to build a new $400 million SOEC facility in the U.S. state of Virginia. Experience from Herning will benefit the Virginia factory, as will a standardized concept and new built-in efficiencies.
Starting with the Danish and U.S facilities, Topsoe plans to explore new partnerships and business models, bring pioneers together and form new, forward-looking coalitions. With addressable markets in Australia, Europe and North America, it’s critical to accelerate electrolyzer production, speed up the pace of project completion, and gain regulatory clarity.
Lessons Learned for What’s to Come
In a bid to align with the EU’s climate goals and meet growing consumer demand, Topsoe’s new SOEC electrolyzer factory signals a major step forward in the journey toward sustainable energy. The production of such high-efficiency electrolyzers sets a global example for the kind of hydrogen production that can move the needle.
For Topsoe, it’s not only about developing the SOEC technology and building these factories. It also involves making the technology part of the wider scope of the Power-to-X value chain. Through this, Topsoe can integrate SOEC and back-end solutions to foster de-risked, competitive offerings – forming a key supply-chain partner for clean hydrogen, clean ammonia, eMethanol, and more. Topsoe is building on extensive experience and technological know-how, having worked for decades with downstream synthesis technologies and related processes.
With 40 years of history in this electrolysis space – from solid-oxide fuel cells to SOEC units – Topsoe has thousands of data points to help deliver superior performance and reliability. With one of its biggest investments yet now under development, the company hopes this is just the beginning. As Topsoe works with policymakers, regulators, and the broader public on like-minded projects, it’s ready to apply these first lessons on what’s to come.
