Do you want to earn money as a plant operator or supplier in the new big business of green hydrogen? Then look out: MR’s H2 solutions reduce both initial investment and ongoing operating costs — really!
Initial situation
Most countries in the world want to decarbonize their industry in the next 20 years. In important sectors such as steel and metal production and the chemical industry, as well as in large-scale transport by ship, plane and truck, this will only be possible with large quantities of hydrogen (H2). However, hydrogen is only emission-free if the electricity for electrolysis and further processing comes from renewable energy sources—in which case we can speak of “green hydrogen.”
But CO2-free hydrogen production will only become more widely usable if production costs are lowered. To this end, immense investments are being made in the production of green hydrogen by governments as well as private funds and investors. And here is where MR comes in. Helton Henrique Bezerra, MR’s expert for electrolysis, explains: “We advise operators and investors from the planning phase to the commissioning of the plant. If we are involved in the process at an early stage, investment costs can be significantly reduced and the profitability as well as the service life of the plants can be increased.” One way in which this is done is by solving the input-voltage problem at the electrolyzer.
The problem with electrolyzer operation
Electrolyzers that are fed with fluctuating energy from wind or photovoltaics have to adjust their production depending on how much electricity is available for them at any given time. Since almost all H2 plants work with direct current, the fluctuations in hydrogen production as well as ageing of the electrolytic cells causes excessive rectifier operation. With specialized concepts from MR, rectifier operation can be optimized by controlling the input voltage.
“We advise from the planning phase to the commissioning of the plant. If we are involved in the process at an early stage, investment costs can be significantly reduced and the profitability as well as service life of the plants can be increased.”
Helton Henrique Bezerra, Global Account Manager Electrolysis bei MR
Satyajit Pandya, who works in power quality at MR, knows the problems this causes: “Electrolyzer operation without appropriate input voltage control would lead to higher harmonic and reactive power requirements,” both of which must be compensated by costly filters and expensive compensation devices. In addition, poorly controlled input voltages damage the sensitive cells in the electrolyzer and reduce its performance over its life cycle (so-called “voltage drop”) leading to a shorter life of the plant overall.
More Informations
The vacuum on-load tap-changer as a solution
In this regard, MR offers a combination of vacuum on-load tap-changer and thyristor rectifier that has proven itself on the market for decades. “Over the past 30 years, we have supervised more than 40 hydrogen projects, so we know exactly what is important in these plants,” Pandya emphasizes. The vacuum on-load tap-changer optimizes the steady-state voltage adjustment which, in turn, reduces the electrical interference loads and harmonics in the system by about 40 percent.
This accordingly lowers the need for compensation by power quality management systems such as harmonic filters, thereby reducing investment volumes and operating costs. The same applies to reactive-power compensation for which the vacuum on-load tap-changer also achieves a reduction of 40 percent. Furthermore, adds Bezerra, “Our VACUTAP® on-load tap-changers are maintenance-free up to 300,000 switching operations”.
And because this solution requires less hardware overall, the space required around the H2 plant is also reduced. Furthermore, the sensitive cells in the electrolyzer experience less stress due to the optimized voltage control allowing the power factor of the plant to remain high over a long period of time with a softer and slower voltage drop. Bezerra points out another advantage: “The overall service life of the H2 plant is increased by years, which considerably increases the profitability of the investment!”
Your Contact
Do you have questions about MR’s electrolysis solutions?
Helton Henrique Bezerra and Satyajit Pandya are here for you:
H.Bezerra@reinhausen.com
S.Pandya@reinhausen.com