New design local hydrogen production could alleviate overloaded power grid

By Team IO

Led by researchers from Saxion University of Applied Sciences, companies, partners and students have jointly designed an innovative electrolysis system, Saxion said in a press release. This system for decentralized hydrogen production uses wind and solar energy to produce hydrogen locally. The hydrogen is then stored and converted to energy when it is needed. This innovative design helps combat grid congestion and provides a more stable sustainable energy supply.

The Netherlands wants to be CO2 neutral by 2050. This requires large-scale use of solar and wind energy. But solar and wind energy depend on time of day, weather conditions and seasons. To ensure that sufficient energy is always available, it is important to store that energy temporarily and on a large scale.

Storing energy in hydrogen

When there is a surplus of renewable energy, it can be used to generate hydrogen. Because the surplus energy is then stored in hydrogen, this reduces the load on the power grid. The stored energy in hydrogen can then be converted back to electricity in windless and cloudy weather. Because hydrogen can be well transported via (partly existing) pipelines, large amounts of energy can be moved without causing additional load on the power grid.

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Battolyser Systems, a Dutch startup, announced it raised €30 million in Series A funding to scale its innovative hydrogen battery technology.

From central to decentralized

“Now green hydrogen is still mainly produced at large, central locations in the country,” says Benno Aalderink, associate lecturer in Hydrogen Technology and Applications at Saxion University of Applied Sciences. “But to achieve the climate goals, it is also necessary to produce green hydrogen locally (decentralized). This is possible with small-scale electrolysis systems, as designed in project HYGENESYS. These electrolysis systems convert water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can then be converted back to electricity when needed. This creates a more stable sustainable energy supply and relieves the overloaded power grid. Thus, decentralized hydrogen production can play a crucial role in the energy transition. Using the oxygen created in the process locally can also be interesting in the future.”

The ultimate goal is to realize a hydrogen production system at the H2Hub in Twente and to conduct research into decentralized industrial applications of hydrogen. In time, the residential application of decentralized hydrogen will also be tested.