Everyone is talking about hydrogen, but while others are thinking about vehicle fuel, RISE is developing solutions that can achieve truly significant emission reductions. The Swedish Hydrogen Development Center (SHDC) brings together major industries able to jointly take the goals of the Paris Agreement from vision to reality.
Enormous changes are being planned in industries seeking to transition from fossil fuel dependence to using hydrogen to build their production processes. A transition of this magnitude is unprecedented. While some of the technical solutions are relatively simple, others still require a great deal of research and development. In addition, a number of system-related issues are being raised, such as how the new industrial processes will function together with the electric power system.
“This is where SHDC comes in,” says RISE Project Manager Johan Sandstedt. “We are a forum that focuses on industrial hydrogen production and use. In the transition, questions arise related to the needs of the industry, and it is in this that SHDC plays an important role.”
Huge emission reductions
Hydrogen technology presents great opportunities. Emissions from the steel industry alone are three to four times greater than those from the entire transport sector. One of the better known industrial initiatives is the steel industry’s HYBRIT project, which aims to start producing steel without the use of coal. But SSAB is far from alone in taking the journey from fossil fuel to hydrogen.
“Perstorp AB’s plans to replace fossil fuel-derived methanol with fossil fuel-free methanol would mean a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions that corresponds to permanently offsetting all Swedish domestic flights,” says Sandstedt. “LKAB’s transition to hydrogen corresponds to eliminating emissions from all of Sweden’s passenger cars – three times over!”
A unifying factor in the projects is that they are aiming to make entire industrial segments fossil fuel-free using hydrogen. The primary interest of the companies involved in SHDC is therefore not in hydrogen as an energy carrier or as a fuel, but in its properties as a substitute for the fossil fuel in the production process.
We are a forum that focuses on industrial hydrogen production and use
Provides an overview
Through participation in SHDC, members are provided an overview. At what stage are the various projects in industry, how far as the technology progressed, what research is being conducted? This allows opportunities for collaboration between members to be identified, along with new research questions. On question being addressed at present is how the heat in the processes can be utilised and produce revenue in the major investments required in the future. SDHC has also developed a physical testbed with electrolysis able to evaluate and demonstrate both single components and entire value chains for a wide range of hydrogen applications.
“We have around 30 members today, mainly larger companies, but also slightly smaller companies that manufacture specific technology used in the processes. It is then the members who primarily define the work and it is their needs that govern which issues we should address going forward,” concludes Johan Sandstedt.
