New hydrogen technologies have been successfully installed at the Levenmouth Community Energy Project in Fife, Scotland.
Edinburgh-based company Logan Energy designed, supplied and installed the hydrogen-based energy storage systems and two mobile hydrogen vehicle refuelling units at Methil.
Hydrogen is seen as one of the key solutions to increasing energy storage to keep up with renewables demand.
Logan Energy believes this project is a turning point in positively proving the case for hydrogen as a key clean energy solution.
Hydrogen has been demonstrated at Levenmouth to be a significant resource for both electricity and heat requirements, as well as a sustainable zero emission transport fuel, which can drive the energy sector through the global clean energy revolution.
Bill Ireland, chief executive of Logan Energy, said: “At the Levenmouth Community Energy Project we have delivered what many visionaries have been talking about for some time and shown that it can be integrated into the existing energy systems for stationary power and transport needs.
“The drive for increasing our reliance upon renewable technologies is not new but the economic need to do so, and means to time shift energy, has never been more pertinent. The work we have completed at Levenmouth is a true first and highlights the power of hydrogen as a standalone multisector energy resource that also supports existing energy networks.
“This is a milestone in the energy sector and marks the practical delivery of a new hydrogen based energy era.”
The energy balancing system designed and installed by Logan Energy comprises a 250kWe Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Electrolyser, a gas storage arrangement and a 100kWe PEM fuel cell.
Coupled with a smart control system, the energy balancing is achieved by generating and storing hydrogen when there is excess renewable energy available.
The hydrogen is then used to power the fuel cell to provide power to the private wire network at times when there is insufficient renewable energy being generated.
The mobile refuelling units are self-contained modules, based upon ISO shipping container dimensions, so they can be readily transported and easily relocated from site to site. These are used to refuel Europe’s largest fleet of hydrogen hybrid vehicles which includes vans and refuse lorries.
Hydrogen is stored at the site and reconverted to electricity at times when on-site wind and solar generation is low, helping to offset the intermittency of renewable energy as well as being compressed and stored for 350bar refuelling of vehicles.
Logan Energy will maintain the newly-installed systems for the next five years during which information will be gathered and assessments made on the performance of the different technologies implemented.
Ireland added: “Seeing just a snapshot of the potential of hydrogen becoming a reality here in the UK is a tremendous step forward.
“As world leaders in the deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in commercial applications, we are pleased to have played a pivotal role in this project which is so important to the integration of the renewables industry in our energy strategy.
“The UK, and Scotland in particular, has a wealth of expertise in the energy sector. There is a massive potential to harness the skills and the innovative mindset that drove the growth of the traditional energy sector and bring that to the hydrogen and wider renewables sectors.”
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