The Green Hydrogen Hub, a collaboration between Corre Energy, Eurowind Energy and Danish state-owned Energinet, aims to establish one of the world’s largest green hydrogen production plants and combine it with an underground hydrogen storage in the area between Hobro and Viborg.
The ambition is to establish a complete Power-to-X (converting electrical power into something else) by 2025. This will comprise of an electrolysis plant, hydrogen storage and several industrial hydrogen consumers including a Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) facility.
This enables renewable solar and wind energy to be converted to hydrogen and stored to use at times when neither wind nor solar power are available. This stored energy can then also be utilised as sustainable fuel for industry, heavy goods, transport and shipping etc.
The diagram below illustrates this power-to-X value chain.
As lead developer of the hydrogen fuelled CAES facility and coordinator of developments across the entire project, leading key commercial and funding activities, Corre Energy have over 30 years of collective renewables and storage development experience.
Keith McGrane, Corre Energy CEO, confirms: “As a pioneer of hydrogen fuelled Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) projects in Europe, we see the complementary application of hydrogen-based storage systems and electrolysis as a fundamental enabler to achieving the full decarbonisation of the Danish energy system.
The ability to store renewables over long periods can deliver significant value across the energy system, reducing greenhouse gases, reducing electricity costs and replacing traditional fossil-based power plants. The project will be multipurpose by providing both electricity and hydrogen products to a range of customers with innovative business models to further enable the investment cases of large-scale renewables projects.”
Eurowind Energy will together with other partners develop the hydrogen facility to create the optimal conditions for storing wind and solar energy. Jens Rasmussen, CEO of Eurowind Energy states: “As a local company in Mariagerfjord Municipality, we aim to make a difference for the local society and to set Mariagerfjord on the World map. We have been working on this project for many years, and we are happy to have reached the point where we can now go public with the project, and we look forward to the future collaboration. Green Hydrogen Hub Denmark is a pioneering project with an international perspective that can solve a significant part of our challenges by storing renewable energy.”
Gas Storage Denmark (GSD), which is part of Energinet, is already operating Denmark’s two underground gas storages and has more than 30 years’ experience with large-scale underground storing of energy and brings this experience into the project.
The hydrogen storage currently being outlined includes a capacity of 200 GWh green energy. This compares to the total battery capacity of two million electric vehicles and will subsequently be scalable up to a capacity in the TWh-league. “Our ambition is to accelerate the green transition and thereby support the development of a climate-neutral energy supply. Denmark needs to develop new solutions to reach the ambitious 2030 goals. Long-term, large-scale storage of renewable electricity in a secure and cost-efficient manner is a vital. We believe that underground hydrogen storage can be essential in meeting that challenge, which is why this technology is the core of what GSD brings to Green Hydrogen Hub Denmark. We are collaborating with some strong partners who share the same motivation, dreams and vision, in terms of speed, scale, and direction for the green transition in Denmark. Together, we have all the competences needed for making the complex value chain work”, says Adam Elbæk, CEO of Gas Storage Denmark. Additionally, he underlines that the vision is to secure equal access for storing hydrogen, and that there will be a special focus on the security of supply, as this is a natural part of public critical infrastructure.
What are the benefits of the project?
The project is looking into the possibility of establishing a 350 MW electrolysis plant, 200,000 MWh hydrogen storage and a 320 MW Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) facility, which as the final link in the chain that can re-convert the green hydrogen to electricity.
By combining seasonal hydrogen storage and daily storage in CAES, consumers can be provided with 100% green electricity 24-7 all year. The project will enable the balance of an annual electricity consumption compared to that of 280,000 households. On top of that, the green hydrogen can decarbonise a range of sectors.
Further to this, the Green Hydrogen Hub will contribute to the European green transition by potentially displacing 600,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. The project is currently in the investigation phase and us, partners and other consortium members are excited for what the future will bring. The current consortium has already applied to the European Innovation Fund 2020 call for funding of the primary development aspects.
It is an incredibly exciting time for Corre Energy, and everyone involved in the project and we look forward to sharing more of this journey as it progresses.
If you have any further questions, please visit the project’s website.
