Solar Global Group has secured a major contract to supply an electrolyser that will enable it to deliver green hydrogen produced using electricity from a rooftop solar power plant. The new hydrogen refuelling station, which will be built in the town of Napajedla (Zlín Region), will be the only one in the Czech Republic that currently allows passenger vehicles to be refuelled at full filling pressure. It is also the first electrolyser in the Czech Republic to produce hydrogen using solar energy
The equipment for the installation in Napajedle will be supplied by the German company H-TEC SYSTEMS. It is a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer with a rated output of 225 kilowatts. The hydrogen production capacity is up to 100 kilograms per day. This amount of hydrogen is enough to drive a hydrogen-powered passenger car (in the Czech market, a Toyota Mirai or Hyudai Nexo) for about 10,000 kilometres. A similar amount of hydrogen is also enough to drive a hydrogen-powered bus for 1 000 kilometres.
"Hydrogen is the new engine of change in the energy sector. Our group is one of the pioneers of solar energy development in the Czech Republic, so it is a logical step for us to be among the first to enter the hydrogen economy. We believe that green hydrogen produced using renewable energy will make it possible to decarbonise energy, industry and mobility." Commenting on the SG Hydrogen project, Vítězslav Skopal, Chairman of the Board of Directors and founder of Solar Global.
The necessary energy for hydrogen production will be supplied by a 600 kilowatt rooftop photovoltaic power plant. "The considerable power range of the electrolyser and its fast power response allow us to adapt to the variable production of electricity from renewable sources as much as possible. The "green" hydrogen produced in this way will be able to be refuelled by the filling station in Napajedla not only in trucks and buses, but also in passenger cars with eco-friendly hydrogen drive, such as the Toyota Mirai or Hyundai Nexo." Vítězslav Skopal states the expected use of green hydrogen.
Hydrogen mobility is still in its infancy on the Czech market. However, the advantages of hydrogen over electric mobility may bring dynamic development. A huge advantage compared to charging stations for electric vehicles is the very short time it takes to pump hydrogen into the vehicle and, thanks to advanced technologies, the high safety of the entire chain of hydrogen production and consumption. In the case of passenger hydrogen vehicles, for example, the refuelling time for a "full tank" is as little as three minutes, while the range of such a vehicle is about 800 km or more. Annually, we will be able to fully refuel more than two thousand hydrogen cars or 500 to 1000 buses or trucks in Napajedla.
Existing hydrogen filling stations in the Czech Republic allow filling the pressure vessels of passenger cars only to about half the pressure (about 300 to 400 bar), and this also limits the range of such filled vehicles to about half the range when reaching the prescribed filling pressure (700 bar or more). Filling at 700 bar or more is another advantage of the SG Hydrogen project in Napajedla.
The green hydrogen production project is a pilot solution within the long-term strategy of the Solar Global Group, which relies on the gradual emergence of a climate-neutral economy based on renewable energy sources and other smart solutions, including various forms of energy storage - whether in chemical batteries or in green hydrogen production.
The centre of Solar Global's activities to combine hydrogen and solar energy is the development and logistics centre in the Napajedla industrial zone in the Zlín region, which was launched in March this year. The building is situated in close proximity to the motorway network and thus offers ideal facilities and conditions for the distribution of products, components and complete systems for the energy industry. The Group has invested more than CZK 100 million in the new building.
"The coal age is slowly coming to an end. This challenge presents interesting opportunities for Czech technology companies to position themselves on European markets with solutions for modern energy. Our technology centre brings to the Zlín region an interesting perspective of a new field combining the development of renewable energy sources with energy storage. We will create jobs with added value, which will offer the opportunity to participate in the modernisation of the Czech energy sector and beyond." concludes Vítězslav Skopal, founder of Solar Global, by introducing his group's future plans.
For more detailed information, please visit our website www.sghydrogen.cz
Interesting facts about hydrogen:
- Hydrogen is expected to meet up to 24% of the world's energy demand in 2050 and to represent a market of EUR 630 billion per year.
- Hydrogen technologies will not replace other green alternatives, but will complement them in an appropriate way. In the context of energy storage and transport, this gas will be used where conventional batteries will not suffice (seasonal storage or long-distance transport of people and goods).
- The economics of operating electrolysers are improving. Over the past 10 years, technological advances in the industry have reduced the cost of these devices by 60%.
- Types of hydrogen:
- Green hydrogen: produced by electrolysis of water using energy from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind or hydro. No emissions are produced during production.
- Blue hydrogen: produced mainly from fossil fuels with the CO2 produced being captured by CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) technology.
- Grey hydrogen: extracted from natural gas. Currently the most common method of hydrogen production.
Author of press release:
Ing. Vítězslav Skopal
Owner of Solar Global
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- Tisková zpráva (Stáhnout)
