Electrolysis units to make the refining industry more sustainable

Energy-intensive industries are seeking novel cleantech solutions to achieve ambitious sustainability goals. Electrolysis has a key role to play. It is the process that uses the power of electricity to split elements and compounds. Its basic principle is to split water into oxygen and hydrogen with the help of electricity. The green hydrogen produced from electrolysis shows promise in replacing fossil fuels and lowering CO2 emissions.

Thanks to the EU-funded MultiPLHY project, we are one step closer to making this a reality. Project partner Sunfire, a global leader in the development and production of industrial electrolysers based in Germany, is installing the world’s first high-temperature electrolysis (HTE) system based on solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) on a multi-megawatt scale. It is being installed at a renewable products refinery in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to produce green hydrogen for its processes.

When completely built, the system will consist of 12 of Sunfire’s electrolysis modules. Two of these modules have been delivered to the Dutch refinery.According to Sunfire, the 2.6 MW high-temperature electrolyser operates at the extremely high temperature of 850 °C. By using heat, the electrolyser requires much less electricity to produce 1 kg of green hydrogen. It processes water steam. This steam reduces electricity demand.

“Lately, we were able to demonstrate an electrical efficiency of 84 % el, LHV. This was a breakthrough-moment. We are excited to commission our SOEC electrolyzer on multi-megawatt scale soon,” commented Sunfire CTO Christian von Olshausen in a press release posted on the company’s website. “We have tested the SOEC modules intensively to make sure they meet the highest quality standards. Now it is time to demonstrate our technology in an industrial refinery setting.”

After installation, the next steps are to integrate and operate the system. The HTE technology will be directly integrated into project partner Neste’s refinery procedures. As a result, it will become part of the renewable products production at the premises. The electrolyser’s commissioning is planned for early 2023. Following this, it will then be able to produce more than 60 kg of green hydrogen per hour. Sunfire is providing the technology for all this to happen.Sunfire CEO Nils Aldag stresses how important large-scale electrolysis projects such as MultiPLHY are: “Net-zero cannot be reached alone – that’s why we need pioneering partners to turn our vision of a world free from fossil fuels into reality. Our innovative electrolyzers help refineries like Neste to accelerate the green transition. MultiPLHY demonstrates that we are ready to deliver and implement electrolyzers in the multi-megawatt range.”

Overall, the MultiPLHY (Multimegawatt high-temperature electrolyser to generate green hydrogen for production of high-quality biofuels) project aims to demonstrate the advantages of HTE technology. It ends in December 2024.

For more information, please see:

MultiPLHY project website