Dutch Energy Supplier Essent Produces Hydrogen From Photovoltaics
Apr 27, 2022
The hydrogen plant will initially be powered by a photovoltaic plant, but Escent will also add wind power during times of low sunlight. The energy company also plans to deploy some battery storage capacity at the plant to temporarily store surplus solar energy that cannot be immediately converted into hydrogen or fed back to the grid.
Dutch electricity and gas supplier Escent has signed a partnership agreement with Dutch solar developer Solinoor to build a 5 MW electrolysis unit at an unspecified location in the country.
The hydrogen plant will initially be powered by a photovoltaic plant, but Escent will also use wind power during times of low sunlight. The energy company also plans to deploy some battery storage capacity at the plant to temporarily store surplus solar energy that cannot be immediately converted into hydrogen or fed back to the grid.
"This is the first project in the Netherlands to use ground-mounted floating solar parks, batteries and electrolyzers to sustainably produce hydrogen while addressing grid congestion and ensuring a balanced energy network," Essent said in a statement.
Escent and Solinoor will also collaborate to supply the produced hydrogen to local customers, which is expected to be done by road transport or direct pipeline. Vahid Kharidar, Director of Solinoor, said: “Green hydrogen is made with sustainable electricity. Solinoor is developing solar power parks across the Netherlands to be used as a source of electricity for hydrogen production. We believe that even with the challenge of limited transmission capacity on the grid, we can There will always be solutions that will enable the industry to achieve 100% green energy.”
According to Essent, potential customers can choose to switch to 100% hydrogen immediately, or they can initially use a hydrogen-natural gas blend fuel and then fully switch to hydrogen at a later stage. "In this way, we will help entrepreneurs make the transition to a green future in a responsible and controlled manner," Escent said.
The energy provider - operating across the Benelux energy market - was acquired by German energy giant RWE in 2009.
