The LUT University-led consortium of the OffgridH2 co-innovation project, aimed at optimising off-grid electrolyser plants, has secured a favourable funding approval from Business Finland. The total project budget is 3.7 M€, and Business Finland is funding 2.1 M€. Flexens is one of the consortium partners.
This offers new business opportunities and market potential for Finnish companies in the hydrogen value chain. By optimising these off-grid electrolysers, the project also aims to accelerate the large-scale production of green hydrogen, making it economically more viable than fossil-based alternatives while reducing environmental impacts.
Overcoming grid limitations for sustainable Power-to-X solutions
Hydrogen, and Power-to-X in general, have been regarded as key components of the energy transition and reduction of fossil fuel consumption. Production of hydrogen and e-fuels made from hydrogen, however, require significant amounts of electricity. For low-carbon outcomes, this electricity can be renewable , but the global RES potential varies a lot between areas.
The renewable electricity must also be provided to the site reliably which requires a strong grid as well as decent proximity of RES. In many places, a good RES potential and a strong grid are not available in the same location. Offgrid hydrogen and Power-to-X solutions tackle the problem of the necessity of a strong grid in the Power-to-X facility.
Mastering off-grid Power-to-X design: The importance of expertise and advanced software
Many island societies tend to be significant net importers of fossil fuels due to a lack of domestic natural resources. Offgrid hydrogen and Power-to-X production can change societies to large exporters of green e-fuels. However, the successful design and implementation of off-grid P2X projects necessitate a comprehensive, precise analysis and sophisticated modelling techniques. This demands not only a high level of competence and expertise from project managers and technical specialists but also the utilization of specialized software solutions. In this field, Flexens can leverage its unique expertise.
Flexens operationalises the insights garnered from the collaborative research project. After the project, Flexens will have increasingly better capabilities in modelling, simulation, and design of green hydrogen projects in Finland as well as arctic and subarctic, off-grid conditions.
The consortium
The consortium consists of a public research project led by LUT University and private R&D projects led by Sumitomo SHI FW, Flexens, 3Flash, and VaasaETT. In addition, UPM Energy, Elcogen, Convion, and Suomen Hyötytuuli are financially supporting the public research project. The project has in-kind support from two leading ecosystems funded by Business Finland: Green Electrification 2035, led by ABB, and Zero Emission Marine, led by Wärtsilä.
Read more about the project:
https://clicinnovation.fi/project/offgridh2/
CONTACT
For more information about Flexens’ participation:
Juhani Riikonen
Head of System Design
+358 (0) 404 111 547
juhani.riikonen@flexens.com
Flexens Oy Ab is a project developer implementing Power-to-X technologies to enable societies to run on a 100 % renewable energy mix. Flexens was founded in 2018 to capitalise on the skills and capabilities created in building the world-leading RES testbed and demo, Smart Energy Åland, to capture the rapidly growing demand for renewable energy systems. Flexens has a solid commercial pipeline with substantial foreseen capacity in Finland and abroad.
