H2FUTURE: World's Largest ‘Green' Hydrogen Pilot Facility Successfully Commences Operation

What is currently the world’s largest pilot plant for the CO₂-neutral production of hydrogen has successfully commenced operation at the voestalpine site in Linz, simultaneously setting an international milestone in the advancement of new energy supply options. As part of the EU-funded H2FUTURE project, partners voestalpine, VERBUND, Siemens, Austrian Power Grid, K1-MET and TNO are researching into the industrial production of green hydrogen as a means of replacing fossil fuels in steel production over the long term.

Global climate goals aim to almost completely eliminate CO₂ emissions by 2050. This poses challenges for industrial enterprises and energy suppliers, and demands new technological solutions in both sectors. In this context, CO₂-neutral (“green”) hydrogen is regarded as the most promising future option for facilitating the energy transition. Now the world’s largest and most advanced electrolyser has commenced production of green hydrogen at the voestalpine premises in Linz. The new plant has a capacity of over 6 megawatts, and is currently regarded as the most effective and state-of-the-art facility of its type. It will be used to test whether the technology deployed to produce green hydrogen is suitable for use on an industrial scale. Furthermore, the project, which receives EUR 18 million in EU funding, will investigate the potential to provide network services, and potentially compensate for fluctuations in the power grid.

voestalpine leads the way in decarbonizing steel production
As an industry pioneer in environmental protection, voestalpine is following a consistent, long-term strategy of decarbonizing the steel production process.

In light of global climate targets, voestalpine is currently investigating the practicality of a hybrid technology to bridge between the existing coke/coal-based blast furnace route and electric arc furnaces powered with green electricity partly generated using green hydrogen. If economically feasible, from today’s perspective this option would reduce the Group’s CO2 emissions by around a third sometime between 2030 and 2035. Over the long-term, voestalpine is striving to successively increase the use of green hydrogen in the steel production process, allowing the Group to reduce its CO₂ emissions by a total of over 80% by 2050.

“The most important precondition for scenario planning based on green electricity and green hydrogen is, however, sufficient quantities of renewable energy available at commercially realistic prices. This is the only way in which we can apply tomorrow’s technologies in a truly competitive manner,” Eibensteiner adds.

Siemens regards hydrogen as an essential element in a climate-neutral industrial society
Decarbonizing the economic and energy system is a key challenge for the future. For that reason, industry requires new processes and novel technologies, such as using electrolysis to generate green hydrogen from renewable energies, in order to achieve the long-term climate goals.

In addition, electrolysis can also be used to support the power grid, by extracting excess power from the grid as required. This is an important factor in view of the increasing fluctuations in power generated by renewables. “Siemens has a history of focusing on clean energy, including its generation, distribution, and application. Efficient technologies are a key element in curbing climate change with its dramatic consequences,” Hesoun explains.

The high-tech heart of the plant, the Siemens Silyzer 300, has a capacity of six megawatts, and can generate 1,200 cubic meters of green hydrogen. H2FUTURE is an important milestone for the industrial application of electrolysis as a cornerstone for future industrial applications in the steel industry, in refineries, the manufacture of fertilizers, and other industrial sectors requiring large volumes of hydrogen. It creates the basis for future projects on an industrial scale. Hesoun continues: “We are delighted to see this new technology in use for the first time as part of this project. This outstanding project is an important step towards global decarbonization.”

VERBUND: Sector coupling through electrification
“Hydrogen is green, i.e., CO₂-neutral, when produced using electricity generated from renewables. It allows us to store intermittent and volatile supplies of electricity generated from renewables such as wind and sun, allowing them to be better utilized,” explains VERBUND CEO Wolfgang Anzengruber. As a raw material, energy source, and storage medium, green hydrogen could contribute significantly to decarbonizing energy and CO₂-intensive processes. There are extremely interesting potential applications in the industrial sector as well as transport, especially for freight and rail transport. Furthermore, responsive electrolysers can be used to provision power grids, offering services for increasingly overloaded transmission networks. H2FUTURE is a prime example of cross-sector cooperation generating added value.

FCH JU: European research and demonstration projects as a lever to achieve climate goals and strengthen competitiveness
“The H2Future project is one of the flagship projects of the FCH JU that aim to help European electrolyser OEMs develop products that are of the quality and capacity required by European industry to reduce its CO₂ emissions. Green hydrogen produced through electrolysis, using electricity from renewable energy sources, can be used by industries like steel production, refineries, methanol or ammonia, making their products green”, says Bart Biebuyck, Executive Director of the Fuel Cell Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU). The FCH JU is making up to EUR 12 million of research funding available for the project. In doing so, the European Commission is providing substantial support for implementing climate protection-relevant, innovative projects, and enhancing the competitiveness of European players.