Salzgitter and its partner Sunfire say they are pushing ahead with rolling out Sunfire’s SOEC electrolyser technology at an industrial scale.
They are now in talks with Technical University TU Bergakademie Freiberg to validate the latest stacks in Salzgitter’s GrInHy3.0 (“Green Industrial Hydrogen”) research project, Kallanish hears from the steelmaker.
According to Salzgitter, high-temperature SOEC electrolysers can produce hydrogen highly efficiently and at low cost effectively. The partners in the GrInHy3.0 research project are integrating the latest SOEC stack technology from Sunfire into the hydrogen network of the Salzgitter Flachstahl strip mill. The facility will produce 16.5kg of hydrogen per hour, which will be used in processes such as the direct reduction of iron ore at the µDral pilot plant.
Eight of the modules are now being replaced after clocking in over 19,000 operating hours and producing 190 tonnes of hydrogen. Two new test modules with an electrolysis output of 540kW will be integrated into the existing infrastructure. They are expected to generate important information for the upcoming serial production. Commissioning is planned for 2024.
The GrInHy3.0 research project will run until 2027 and is subsidised by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
Christian Koehl Germany
