The potential for hydrogen in Lysekil

In the study, three possible scenarios were examined, where varying needs for hydrogen were defined based on Preem’s long-term goals. Based on these scenarios, estimates were made for the requirements regarding hydrogen supply from electrolyzers, combined with a hydrogen storage facility designed to manage variable electricity production.

“It’s about being able to size different parts of the production chain so that there is always access to hydrogen, without over-dimensioning. What we understood from this project is that very large storage facilities are required. We also concluded that above-ground storage tanks require an unreasonably large area. We consider hydrogen storage in underground caverns to be more interesting,” says Cecilia Hellman, development engineer at Preem.

Another conclusion is that far more renewable electricity is needed than is currently available in the grid for large-scale hydrogen production via electrolysis.

“Projects for large-scale electricity production are necessary, and here Preem needs to collaborate with other actors. We are dependent on solving the issue of the electricity shortage in western Sweden,” says Cecilia Hellman.

Several electrofuel plants in development

Electrofuels are created by, for example, using hydrogen together with captured carbon dioxide. The technology is still in its infancy, and there are few examples of large-scale projects so far.

“There are many projects around the world planning to have large production facilities operational within five to seven years. When we looked at the Nordics as a whole, we saw that Denmark has the largest planned projects, but there are also several examples in Sweden, such as the projects Power2Earth, FlagshipTWO, SouthH2Port, and Project Air. Ovako has the largest electrolyzer in operation in Sweden (20 MW) and has a system where they can use the produced oxygen and surplus heat in their internal processes. They have flexibility through a gas-fired furnace that can be used instead of hydrogen, and they have access to the electricity they need via the existing grid, which means they haven’t needed a hydrogen storage facility. For future larger-scale electrofuel plants, more challenges arise, and hydrogen storage may be part of the solution,” says Viktor Stenberg from Chalmers Industriteknik, who led the project Flexible and robust hydrogen production and storage in Lysekil.

A lot of surplus heat

The project also examined potential synergies that could arise from the different scenarios for hydrogen production. This includes surplus heat that could be used in local district heating networks or for food production, such as fish or tomato farming.

“We found that the scenario with the largest electrofuel production resulted in a gigantic production of surplus heat, as much as 80 times the amount of heat generated today. This was an eye-opener and highlights a clear challenge in matching the scale of hydrogen demand with the ability to utilize by-products,” says Viktor Stenberg.

For Preem, the project’s results are being further explored in an internal project, where they are considering whether, instead of solely storing hydrogen, they could store different types of intermediates, such as electricity, hydrogen, or methanol, to complement each other.