Pilot proves large-scale storage of fossil-free hydrogen gas
Swedish work shows it is technically possible to store the hydrogen gas for fossil-free iron and steelmaking on an industrial scale.
HYBRIT's pilot project for hydrogen gas storage is complete and has been reported to the Swedish Energy Agency.
The storage offers the possibility of reducing variable operating costs of hydrogen production by up to 40%, the companies behind it say.
HYBRIT was launched in 2016 by SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall with the aim of developing the world's first fossil-free, ore-based, iron- and steelmaking using fossil-free electricity and hydrogen gas.
The initial project looking at fossil-free sponge iron for steel production (DR pilot) is now being followed up with the latest pilot results for fossil-free hydrogen gas production and storage.
A 100m3 hydrogen storage facility was designed and constructed based on steel-lined rock cavern technology in Svartöberget, adjacent to the DR pilot for sponge iron production in Luleå, Sweden.
The choice of material to seal the rock cavity was one of the main bugbears in the project. The steel material chosen has shown resistance to hydrogen. No leakage of hydrogen gas from the sealing layer of the storage facility has been detected.
The organisation says the pilot storage facility has undergone accelerated mechanical testing equivalent to approximately 50 years of operation, and the safety, functionality and performance of the facility have been successfully demonstrated.
‘Hydrogen gas storage is an important piece of the puzzle to electrify industrial processes while increasing the amount of weather-dependent power. With the results and experiences gained from the pilot project, the technology is now ready to be scaled up,’ says Mikael Nordlander, Director, Industry Decarbonisation at Vattenfall's Industrial Partnerships.
Jenny Greberg, Vice President of Technology at LKAB adds, ‘We have yet to make any decisions on hydrogen gas storage, but the successful results from the pilot give us good conditions when we review the needs and opportunities for storage in conjunction with our planned sponge iron production facilities,’
HYBRIT has extended the pilot project for storage of fossil-free hydrogen gas until 2026 for additional tests to further improve the conditions for enabling commercial hydrogen storage.
