Port of Rotterdam looks to scale green hydrogen production with novel 'Battolyser' concept
Port of Rotterdam has partnered with Dutch company Battolyser Systems to install a "Battolyser" plant capable of producing 1 gigawatt/year of green hydrogen.
PHOTO: Concept design of Battolyser systems factory at the Port of Rotterdam. Kraaijvanger Architects
In May this year, the Rotterdam Port Authority announced plans to supply 4.6 million mt/year of hydrogen to Europe by 2030, through a combination of local production and imports.
“Companies in the port are already actively working on projects regarding production, imports, shipping, storage, and use of green hydrogen. With this factory, we add green hydrogen equipment manufacturing to that portfolio,” says Allard Castelein, chief executive of the Port of Rotterdam.
The "Battolyser" is a novel concept developed by Fokko Mulder, a professor at Delft University of Technology, where a battery is integrated with an electrolyser. As a battery, it stores and supplies electricity, and when fully charged, it functions as an electrolyser.
According to Battolyser Systems, its biggest advantage is the ability to produce hydrogen continuously, giving it an edge over electrolysers powered by intermittent renewable electricity sources like wind and solar power. Due to its built-in battery, it can cope well with fluctuations in renewable electricity, its developers argue.
“Since the Battolyser can work with an irregular supply of energy, it is an ideal system to produce truly green hydrogen," says Kees Koolen, chief executive of Koolen Industries, which has invested in the Battolyser.
A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) notes that higher efficiencies, improved degradation resistance and reduced material requirements will “significantly decrease both the cost of manufacturing electrolysers and the cost of producing hydrogen.”
Battolyser Systems claims that its unit ticks all the boxes listed in the IEA's prediction and produces clean hydrogen at a low price.
S&P Global Commodity Insights has reported that the price of electrolytic green hydrogen spiked to $16.80/kg ($16,800/mt) in late July. However, the IEA predicts green hydrogen will come down drastically by the end of the decade, and cost between $1.3-4.5/kg ($1,300-4,500/mt) then, partly as a result of the advancements in electrolyser technology.
By Konica Bhatt
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