THE HYFLEXPOWER consortium and Smurfit Kappa have announced completion of the first stage of the HYFLEXPOWER research project on renewable energy.
This project, located at the Smurfit Kappa Saillat paper mill in France, has been described as the first in the world to introduce an integrated hydrogen gas turbine demonstrator.
The initiative involves collaboration across several industries, academic bodies and research institutes, including ENGIE Solutions, Siemens Energy, Centrax, Arttic, German Aerospace Center (DLR), and four European universities.
The hydrogen pilot was trialled last month with a mix of 30% hydrogen and 70% natural gas. The aim is to demonstrate that renewable energy can be converted to hydrogen and serve as a flexible means of storing energy which can then be used to power an industrial turbine.
The project marks the implementation of the world’s first industrial-scale power-to-X-to-power demonstrator with an advanced hydrogen turbine. In 2023, trials will continue to increase the hydrogen ratio up to 100%.
Garrett Quinn, chief sustainability officer of Smurfit Kappa, said, “We are focused on reducing our emissions with the best available technology today, but equally this announcement demonstrates how we are focused on looking beyond 2030 and trialing new technology, such as hydrogen, today. This project will allow us and our partners to understand the technical feasibility of using hydrogen with a lot of our existing energy infrastructure. This is an exciting project for us, and industry in general, as we progress on our journey towards net zero.”
Gaël Carayon, director of subsidiaries at ENGIE Solutions, added, “Ambitious projects like this one require taking partnerships to the next level and being united in a joint mission to make decarbonisation a reality. Hydrogen will play a crucial role in the interaction between renewables and electricity storage and generation.”
The project involves funding by the EC, with two-thirds of the €15.2 million investment coming from the EU’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The next trials for the HYFLEXPOWER project are scheduled for spring 2023.
