New Energies, new possibilities

ルノーは9月17日、ドイツで開幕した「IAAトランスポーテーション2024」において、新型燃料電池車『マスターH2-Tech』のプロトタイプを初公開した。

（写真：レスポンス）

新型ルノー『マスター』は、フランスのバティリー工場で製造される唯一のクラス車両であり、エンジン、ギアボックス、バッテリーもフランス製。さらに、サプライヤーの84％がフランスに拠点を置いている。内燃機関および電動バージョンは既に発売されているが、水素燃料電池車のH2-Techバージョンは2025年に市場投入される予定だ。

월간수소경제 = 이상현 기자 | 미코파워는 산업통상자원부에서 주관하는 '100kWe 이상급 고온 수전해 시스템 모듈 기술개발' 국책과제를 수행함으로써 그린수소 생산을 위한 고효율 SOEC 시스템 개발에 착수한다고 10일 밝혔다. 

산업의 공정 폐열과 원전 연계 등 외부 열원 활용과 타 수전해기술 대비 낮은 소비전력으로 수소 생산단가 저감이 가능한 차세대 고온수전해 기술을 개발하는 게 이번 과제의 핵심이다. 이 기술은 시스템 구조가 상대적으로 간단해 모듈화를 통한 규모 확장이 용이하고, 고온 연계를 통한 생산 효율이 높아 수소 생산경제성을 크게 향상시킬 수 있으나 아직은 상용화되지 않았다. 기술 난이도가 높아 소수의 기업을 중심으로 실증 단계에 진입하고 있는 단계다. 

과제 목표는 MW급 SOEC 시스템으로 확장할 수 있는 핵심기술인 단위 시스템 모듈(100kWe급)을 개발하는 것으로, 미코파워가 주관한다. 한국동서발전, 현대건설, 에너진, 세방전기, 한국과학기술연구원(KIST), 한국에너지기술연구원(KIER), 한국에너지공과대학교(KENTECH), 미래기술연구소(MERI), 한국가스안전공사(KGS)가 공동 개발기관으로 참여한다. 

참여 기업·기관은 개발결과를 기반으로 수십 MW급 SOEC의 대규모 실증, 국내 공급망 확보를 통한 해외 청정수소 생산거점 마련을 위한 기술 수출 등 긴밀한 협력을 통해 최고 기술개발 및 상용화 달성을 위한 의지를 표명했다.

미코파워는 SOEC 시스템 개발을 통해 분산 상용발전과 글로벌 SOEC 사업 로드맵을 더욱 구체화할 수 있게 될 전망이다. 또한 SOEC 기술의 국산화, SOEC 기술의 경쟁력과 경제성 확보, 국내 공급망 구축, 수소산업 생태계 강화, 그린수소 생산 확대를 통한 수소 인프라 안정성 향상 등을 도모할 수 있다. 재생에너지가 풍부한 해외 SOEC시장 선점의 기회도 잡을 수 있다고 설명한다. 

하태형 미코파워 대표는 “국내 유일 SOC(고체산화물) 전주기 원천기술을 보유한 우리 제품은 글로벌 청정에너지 시대를 선도할 수 있는 경쟁력을 가지고 있다”라며 "SOFC와 SOEC는 상호호완성(가역반응성)이 매우높아 SOFC 기술의 상용화를 주도해 온 미코파워가 또 한번 SOEC의 최초 상용화를 달성해 청정수소 산업을 견인할 것”이라고 말했다. 

한편, 미코파워는 고체산화물, 셀, 스택, 연료전지 시스템(SOFC), 수전해 시스템(SOEC)까지 순수 독자 양산기술 및 생산라인을 국내에서 유일하게 확보하고 있다. 최근에는 SOFC 시스템의 높은 효율, 우수한 내구성 및 경제성 확보를 기반으로 청정수소 발전시장에 참여 중이다. 올 12월에는 평택시에 스택 생산기준 연간 50MW 규모의 양산공장을 착공할 계획이다. 자동화 양산라인과 생산성 확대로 평택공장의 생산 능력을 수백MW까지 확장해 시장 수요에 탄력적으로 대응할 예정이다.  
미코파워, 고효율 SOEC 시스템 개발 시동 < 기술 < NEWS < 기사본문 - 월간수소경제 (h2news.kr)

Battolyser Systems, the Dutch manufacturer of an electrolyser with battery functionality, has raised €30 million in Series A funding from Global Cleantech Capital, Innovation Industries, and Invest-NL. The company will use the funding to scale its operations and bring its next-generation electrolyser to market in 2025.

The Battolyser® technology can switch on and off in response to intermittent renewable energy. With 100% flexibility, it unlocks new business models, reducing the cost of green hydrogen, and alleviates grid congestion. The next-generation Battolyser will be available as a 2.5-MW plug-and-play skid and 5-MW modules, integrated with a balance of plant on site.

Mattijs Slee, CEO of Battolyser Systems, said: “Over the last year we scaled our technology from a successful industrial pilot at RWE’s Magnum power plant in Eemshaven, The Netherlands, to a MW-scale demonstration unit. We are proud to receive the continuous support of our existing investors with deep cleantech expertise whilst adding Invest-NL, the Dutch National Promotional Institution, which plays a crucial role in the Dutch energy transition.”

Global Cleantech Capital and Innovation Industries completed the first close of the Series A round of €15 million in July 2023, further increasing their investment with a second close of an additional €15 million alongside Invest-NL in September 2024.

The Series A funding complements the €40 million financing agreement signed with the European Investment Bank (EIB) in October 2023. Battolyser Systems was the first Dutch climate tech scale-up to receive investment from the EIB. The Series A and EIB funding will significantly contribute to the financing of Battolyser Systems’ large-scale manufacturing facility, which will be located in the Rotterdam port area.

Reda Atibi, Investment Manager at Invest-NL, said: “We believe that Battolyser Systems’ unique alkaline electrolyser with battery functionality has incomparable characteristics that will contribute to the transition from grey to green hydrogen markets. Our investment in Battolyser Systems is a strategic step in our mission to accelerate the energy transition in the Netherlands and support clean technologies that contribute to a future-proof economy. We look forward to working with Battolyser Systems to accelerate their growth and mission.”

Paul Kloppenborg, CEO of Global Cleantech Capital, said: “The Battolyser unlocks the full potential of renewable energy and maximizing hydrogen production asset performance by rapidly adjusting to volatile and increasingly frequent negative power prices. This flexibility is a key solution to decarbonize industry, but also to produce off-grid fuels. We are excited to see their commercial deployment next year and the growth that will follow.”

Nard Sintenie, General Partner, Innovation Industries, said: “The patented nickel-iron Battolyser technology has fundamental advantages. It is inherently robust, 100% flexible, and has industry-leading efficiencies. We believe the company is well positioned to win in most sectors of the large hydrogen addressable market.”

Source: Hydrogentechworld

Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub orders electrolyser from Siemens Energy

Electrolysis plant on site of former Moorburg coal-fired power plant – construction from 2025

The Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub (HGHH), consisting of the Luxcara asset manager and Hamburger Energiewerke, has commissioned Siemens Energy to supply and install a 100-megawatt electrolyser on the site of the former Moorburg coal-fired power plant. This comes after Robert Habeck, Germany’s Minister for Economics, handed over funding decisions on Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) worth over EUR 250 million in August.

Christoph Cosler, Head of Corporate Development at Hamburger Energiewerke said

“The order for the electrolyser is a milestone in our project,”

“After all the preparatory work, we are now moving on to the actual implementation. Construction of the electrolyser, which will be the main part of the hydrogen site, will start next year.” This will be based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology, which is particularly well suited to operating renewable energies. Water is split into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity along a membrane. The electrolyser is scheduled to go into operation in 2027. Around 10,000 tonnes of green hydrogen could then be produced in Moorburg every year.

Hydrogen will be supplied via the HH-WIN network and a lorry-loading station. The HGHH consortium aims to attract companies from a range of industries and is currently in negotiations. The large-scale hydrogen project is another important step in the ramp-up of the European hydrogen sector, according to Alexey Ustinov, Head of Sustainable Energy Systems at Siemens Energy. “The energy transition will not succeed without green molecules,” he added.

Source: Hydrogencentral

Germany should push domestic green hydrogen production as import quantities ‘uncertain’ – researchers

Germany should push domestic green hydrogen production as import quantities ‘uncertain’ – researchers

Clean Energy Wire

Germany is betting big on green hydrogen imports but the country should strengthen its own production as well because it is “uncertain” where those imports will come from in relevant quantities by 2030, researchers have warned. Environmental think tank Wuppertal Institute said in a report that production targets in European countries lag behind Germany’s, adding that many states are also focusing on ramping up hydrogen production for domestic demand. Spain is among the most advanced when it comes to hydrogen projects but will also initially focus on local needs, the researchers noted. Europe’s existing hydrogen production sites and those with a definite investment decision currently amount to 2.5 gigawatts, just 6 percent of the EU’s 2030 target. Imports from global “sweet spots” with high renewables potential, such as Namibia and Saudi Arabia, will only make a small initial contribution to Germany’s hydrogen supply, stated the report.

According to the government’s 2030 hydrogen import strategy, it expects imports will cover 50 to 70 percent of demand for the fuel, seen as a key technology to decarbonise sectors where electrification is not an option, such as in parts of industrial manufacturing or in chemical production. Wuppertal Institute president Manfred Fischedick said Germany needed “more in-house production” of hydrogen, while at the same time bolstering global alliances. He called for an increase of cooperation in Europe to expand the H2 economy.

In 2023, Namibia commissioned a 10-billion-dollar green hydrogen project – Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest – in conjunction with German investors. The country is hosting a major hydrogen summit this week.

Source: Hydrogencentral