Strengths of hydrogen
Hydrogen is an energy-rich gas – this is one of the reasons why it is used as a rocket fuel. And it can be produced from a variety of feedstock – also electricity – and stored in many different ways: from a few grams in handheld cartridges to thousands of tons in an underground cavern. This gives hydrogen a unique potential to store renewable energy – both on small and very large scale. Especially for longer term storage (weeks to months), hydrogen is today the only viable alternative in sight. And it’s versatile to use: It can be converted back to power, but also be used as fuel for cars, a material for many industrial products (such as hardened fats) or even be converted to synthetic natural gas. Hydrogen makes all these markets accessible for renewable power. In other words: the wind power might end up in a margarine tub.
As a leading industrial gas company and hydrogen fuelling station provider, Linde can draw on plentiful resources about building and operating hydrogen production and handling plants in various scales, technologies and regions.
Technology-wise, especially the Linde Ionic Compressor is an asset bringing several advantages for applications related to electrolysers with dynamic operation, featuring quick load changes, low energy consumption also during part load, variable inlet and outlet pressure, and last but not least the ability to compress moist hydrogen gas.
At the new Berlin airport, Linde together with partners Total, McPhy and Enertrag realized a versatile hydrogen energy storage project: Hydrogen is produced in a 500 kW electrolyser, then compressed and stored in order to be used for refueling at the Total Multifuel Station and for power generation in a combined heat and power plant. The hydrogen can also be filled into trailers to be delivered to other fuelling stations and consumers in the vicinity. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.
Project Energiepark Mainz
At a location south of Mainz, Linde is realizing the world’s first multi-MW hydrogen energy storage project based on advanced PEM* Electrolyzer and Ionic Compressor technology. Up to 1000 kg hydrogen will be stored onsite to be filled into trailers or injected into the natural gas grid. Our project partners are Stadtwerke Mainz AG, Siemens AG and Hochschule RheinMain. Overall budget is about
17 m€; the project receives funding by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
*PEM: Polymer electrolyte membrane