We have asked ourselves this question many times at Lean Hydrogen. I don’t know if you already know, but just in case, we’ll tell you again. In 2021 alone, we conducted three conceptual-basic engineering designs for plants with a 100 MW electrolysis capacity.
A plant of this capacity produces 1.8 tons per hour, and that’s not easy to manage out of the plant. There are several options that we list below:
- The ideal solution is to consume it on-site. A very clear example is the Fertiberia and Iberdrola plant in Puertollano.
- A variation of the previous solution is to use pipelines to transport the hydrogen from the electrolysis plant to the end-user. This can be very interesting and facilitates the management of the plant (similar to the first option). Especially when the consumer uses it within a pressure range that the electrolyzer can supply without any problem. In the plants designed so far, this has been the preferred solution (considering that none were located on the end-user’s premises).
- The process starts to get more complicated with compressed hydrogen at high pressures (200 – 300 bar). This solution requires the construction of loading bays and the design of a logistics system for trucks, including both tractor units and semi-trailers, as well as the usage of these semi-trailers at the destination (or more precisely, the time the trailer stays at the destination). This solution must certainly be considered in production plants since a significant percentage will be destined for hydrogen mobility, and the HRS will not necessarily be close enough for pipeline delivery. Here the question is, how many kilograms of hydrogen will we transport by trucks, and how will we guarantee the proper supply?
- Another solution, quite expensive but capable of handling more hydrogen per trip, is the liquefaction process. These tanker trucks transport more hydrogen per trip but are more expensive and require highly qualified personnel. It is a well-known technology, used in gas storage and transport since the space race. In fact, in the USA, it is one of the preferred solutions for HRS (we will talk about this another day).
- Finally, we have the group of hydrogen carriers. This solution not only serves as a method of evacuating hydrogen from the plant but also allows for the creation of a parallel business to green hydrogen. Here we can include ammonia and methanol, which have been super useful substances in the chemical industry for decades. Other carriers are LOHCs, Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers, but they do not have a use per se, they only serve as carriers.
