It is relatively easy to retool gas turbines to handle renewable fuels instead of natural gas. In addition, they can quickly supply balancing power whenever wind, water, or solar power generation dips. The ZEHTC plant will be used to research the control and optimization of this kind of complex energy system.

Robust system for the Scandinavian climate

Euromekanik, a Swedish specialist in gas, energy, and petrochemicals, was involved in developing the system. Specifically, the Euromekanik team designed the gas management setup and its safety features. The project opted for a Wystrach hydrogen storage system. “The high-pressure specialists in Weeze are developing and building a tailor-made plug & play solution,” says Euromekanik Managing Director Peter Rydebrink. “Their entire system will be housed in two 40-foot ISO containers, so all that has to be done at the operating site is to prepare the strip foundations. This will make installation at the project site quick and easy.” The two containers can store around 360 kg of hydrogen.

“In addition to simple handling on-site, we felt it was important for us to offer a solution that is robust enough to work reliably in the Scandinavian climate,” says Wystrach CEO Wolfgang Wolter. The ZEHTC plant is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2021. The project is funded by the Swedish Energy Agency and the ERA-Net Smart Energy Systems program.