PROJECTS
Source: Bilfinger
Bilfinger's hydrogen drying plant will enable large-scale hydrogen treatment.
Decentralized hydrogen drying by absorption
The storage of green hydrogen is a central instrument to ensure the security of supply with renewable energies. Cavern storage facilities can offer suitable storage options - especially in Lower Saxony. However, in order to be able to convert the hydrogen back into electricity or feed it from the caverns into the pipeline network, it must first be dried. In this connection, Bilfinger is currently developing a demonstration plant in Cloppenburg in which the hydrogen is freed from moisture by absorption. This so-called "absorption drying" is already being implemented on a large scale for natural gas for gas storage - and is now also to be used for drying large quantities of hydrogen.
News (13.12.2023): Bilfinger supports Uniper with hydrogen storage project in Krummhörn
Uniper is currently investigating the underground storage of hydrogen in a salt cavern in Krummhörn, Lower Saxony. To this end, the construction and operation of a hydrogen test cavern (3,000 m³) for the underground storage of hydrogen is being driven forward.
Bilfinger will support Uniper with engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) services for the above-ground plant technology of the hydrogen cavern. The H2DRY technology will also be used for hydrogen drying. Learn more
News (26.05.2023): Hydrogen storage project reaches next phase: Bilfinger's H2dry plant to be built at EWE gas storage site in Rüdersdorf
Bilfinger has developed a demonstration plant in Cloppenburg in which the hydrogen is freed from moisture by absorption.
The so-called "H2dry system" has now been delivered to EWE AG's gas storage site in Rüdersdorf near Berlin, where the storage of hydrogen in underground caverns is being tested as an example. It should be possible to transfer the findings to caverns with 1,000 times the volume. Learn more
The drying process developed in the project enables efficient and large-scale hydrogen treatment, which is essential for the storage and subsequent grid feed-in of green hydrogen. Since the technology has already been tested in the context of natural gas drying, the plant can also be used to dry large quantities of hydrogen cost-effectively, which are necessary for the development of the hydrogen economy. After storage - for example from caverns - the hydrogen is dried in the absorption drying process using a suitable scrubbing liquid and can then either be used to generate electricity or fed into the transport network. The plant should enable hydrogen to contribute to the energy supply in a similarly flexible way as natural gas.
The joint project of Bilfinger Engineering & Maintenance GmbH and the Institute of Thermodynamics at Leibniz Universität Hannover is funded by the state of Lower Saxony and is an important part of the energy transition, as Lower Saxony's Environment Minister Olaf Lies emphasizes: "The implementation of this project is a major step for the energy transition. Decentralized hydrogen drying by absorption for gas storage and grid injection, is an essential step for the hydrogen economy. With this technology, hydrogen can be treated economically on a large scale and this enables the integration of renewable energies into our energy system. For example, hydrogen produced using wind and solar power, or hydrogen soon to be stored in caverns, can be fed into the transportation grid."
After production at Bilfinger Engineering & Maintenance GmbH in Cloppenburg, Lower Saxony, a test phase and demonstration operation will follow in early 2023 in Rüdersdorf in Brandenburg, where EWE Gasspeicher GmbH is currently investigating a salt cavern as a potential storage site for hydrogen as part of the HyCAVmobil project.
Project participants
Bilfinger is an internationally active industrial services provider. The aim of the Group's activities is to increase the efficiency of plants in the process industry, ensure their availability, reduce emissions and lower maintenance costs. Bilfinger offers services in various areas, from consulting, engineering, manufacturing, assembly and maintenance to environmental technologies and digital applications.
Bilfinger Engineering & Maintenance GmbH is part of the international Bilfinger Group and is active in industrial services. More than 3,000 employees plan and monitor plants in the process industry in the chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical sectors, among others.
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover is Lower Saxony's largest university with around 30,000 students. The Institute of Thermodynamics represents technical thermodynamics in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Leibniz Universität Hannover in teaching and research.
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