Norway’s Norwegian Hydrogen and Australia’s Provaris Energy are set to establish a facility for green hydrogen production in the Alesund municipality that could produce about 40,000 tonnes per year. The plant will have an initial electrolyser capacity of 20MWs, with plans to expand to 270MWs.
The partners intend to transport compressed green hydrogen to Europe’s key import hubs. The facility could cut 500,000 tonnes per year of CO2 emissions. Although local consumers will receive some, a considerable volume of the green hydrogen generated may be exported to Europe, according to Norwegian Hydrogen’s CEO Jens Berge.
The Alesund site is expected to be Norway’s largest renewable hydrogen production centre and the most effective at decarbonising Norway’s grid. Norway’s grid is predominantly decarbonised, making it possible to link up electrolysers to it.
The partners believe shipments of compressed hydrogen is a financially viable option for distances less than 1,000-2,000 nautical miles, and this may complement the use of pipeline transport while reducing carbon emissions. Martin Carolan, Managing Director of Provaris Energy, said the company believed transport costs of less than $1/kg could be attained for journeys in the 1,000-2,000 nautical mile range, which would necessitate production volumes of over 100,000-200,000 t/yr. Carolan noted that the hydrogen compression process is less costly and energy-intensive than hydrogen liquefaction, conversion, and reconversion to ammonia.
