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Where we do see progress today is in the development of electrolyzer technologies, an evolution that will be a springboard to commercial green hydrogen production at scale, potentially transported between continents and used in the biggest carbon emissions emitting industries. Infrastructure is required everywhere, from the Americas and Europe to the Middle East and Africa, Asia and Australia. But existing heavy industries are already familiar with using some of the equipment and modular energy carrier and storage systems. There is talk at our company about technologies and components including electrical control and protection to assure grid connection, motors to power pumps and compressors to handle the storage of hydrogen, and sensors to monitor and measure parameters such as flow pressure and temperature. For the purposes of illustration, the focus here will be on two technology areas that are fundamental today and will evolve alongside electrolyzers: rectifiers used to convert the electricity from the grid’ s AC to the DC, providing a stable power flow required for electrolysis; and automation systems to control and coordinate the operation of the plant.
Finding the power
The process of electrolysis uses electrical current to split molecules of water, extracting hydrogen and oxygen separately as gases. An electrolysis cell requires an electrical supply at a given DC voltage. The grid typically supplies electricity at a higher AC voltage. The installation that assures the electrical conversion is called the rectifier system, a technology that our company has been involved with for more than 100 years. They are designed for safe and reliable operation, sometimes under harsh industrial conditions.
Sources, including DNV’ s Hydrogen Forecast to 2050, explain that electrolysis will be the dominant form of hydrogen production by the middle of the century with 3,100 gigawatts of installed capacity – more than double the total installed generation capacity of solar and wind combined today. The big players are making technological progress by aligning existing high power rectifiers( HPR) with innovations in electrolysis.
The biggest example of this comes with Hydrogen Optimized( HOI) in Canada. They are leveraging their capabilities and resources to rapidly commercialize their patented RuggedCell™ high-power water electrolysis technology for the world’ s largest green hydrogen plants. RuggedCell™ technology converts renewable electricity such as hydro, solar and wind power into green hydrogen for industry. Such collaboration is advancing the commercial availability and feasibility of large-scale green hydrogen systems.
HPR is a highly modular and scalable technology and can provide power in the upper ranges required for modern electrolysis— between 5,000A and 550,000A with nearly unlimited current and voltage combinations to meet plant-specific requirements. It is designed to provide maximum availability and the highest levels of productivity with personnel site safety as a priority.
End-use applications using the green hydrogen produced in this way will include zero-emission transportation, fuel and fertilizer supply, ammonia and other chemical production with non-fossil sources of hydrogen. Crucially, the intention is to use this hydrogen as a reducing agent in iron ore reduction, known as a low-carbon alternative to traditional carbon-intensive methods such as coking coal.
Hydrogen is today being used in cement production as well. In most installations it is implemented as a booster fuel to increase the use of alternative fuels. Alternative fuels, in contrast to coal or other fossil fuel types, have a varying calorific content so to compensate for that at least one constant calorific fuel is needed. This has traditionally been fossil-based but is beginning to be replaced with hydrogen, if the cost is deemed reasonable.