The official handover at All Energy 2018 marks a significant step forward towards the creation of a Hydrogen Territory in the Orkney Islands as part of the 10.9 million euro EU supported BIG HIT (Building Innovative Green Hydrogen systems in an Isolated Territory) project.
BIG HIT is a five-year project, involving 12 participants based across six EU countries. The project began in May 2016 and the official opening will take place in Kirkwall on 15th May 2018. The Orkney Islands have over 50 MW of installed wind, wave and tidal capacity generating over 46 GWhr per year of renewable power. The islands have been a net exporter of electricity since 2013. Energy used to produce the hydrogen for BIG HIT is provided by the community-owned wind turbines on the islands of Shapinsay and Eday, two of the islands in the Orkney archipelago.
At present the Shapinsay and Eday wind turbines are often ‘curtailed’, losing on average more than 30 percent of their annual output, with their electricity output limited by grid capacity restrictions in Orkney. The otherwise curtailed capacity from the locally owned Shapinsay wind turbine will be used by the BIG HIT project to split the component elements of water, by the process of electrolysis, to produce low carbon ‘green’ hydrogen and oxygen using a 1 MW PEM electrolyser.
This ‘green hydrogen’ is being produced at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) site on the northern island of Eday. The hydrogen is then transported to Kirkwall, mainland Orkney, using the fleet of Calvera hydrogen tube trailers carried on board the inter-island ferry service. This locally produced ‘green hydrogen’ supplies the hydrogen fuel cell installed at Kirkwall Harbour and will also be used for the Orkney Islands Council fleet of five Symbio Kangoo fuel cell range extended zero emission vans. The new Calvera tube trailers can each carry up to quarter of a tonne of hydrogen gas.
“The delivery of these two hydrogen tube trailers is another important step by BIG HIT” said Nigel Holmes, CEO of SHFCA, and communications manager for BIG HIT. “This project is developing our low carbon energy systems capabilities in Scotland, and we are delighted to be part of this Europe-wide team. BIG HIT is demonstrating the important role of hydrogen and fuel cells for realising additional local benefits from renewable energy, and this great project will help many other islands and communities to achieve similar benefits.”
Neil Kermode, Managing Director of EMEC, added that BIG HIT is helping to avoid grid shortcomings by piloting the generation of hydrogen from renewables sources. The project also supports further development of renewable energy projects in Orkney and is breaking through the barriers to delivering renewable transport and heat. This in turn will open up new markets around the world.
Calvera specialises in the manufacture of storage and transport systems for compressed gas, and particularly Hydrogen for high pressure. The company has provided bespoke systems for 30 years to industrial and medical gas companies and is a certified official supplier to these organizations. Calvera is composed of 2 production facilities, with a workforce of 60 people, and provides turnkey solutions including European approvals. In addition, the company maintains and refurbishes gas transport systems.
Image: Calvera tube trailer handover to BIGHIT at All-Energy 2018 (Photo: EMEC)
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