A construction site in the UK for the National Grid's Viking Link interconnector, a major national infrastructure project, has become the first in the world to be powered and heated by zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells, according to Siemens Energy, the company providing the system.
Hydrogen Power Plant. Credit: Siemens Energy
Due to its location, in a remote part of rural Lincolnshire, the site will have no access to a grid connection for six to eight months, and the fuel cells are set to keep the site operational during this time.
In a statement, Siemens Energy said that the new technology will “provide enough heat and power for the construction village during that time, removing the need for diesel generators.”
Installed last month, the system is housed in a shipping container and will provide 20 cabins across the construction village with 250kVA of standard three phase, 400V electrical power and as much as 80kW of heating. Hot water is carried from the module via reusable pipes to various parts of the construction site, including six electric vehicle charging points, and a battery system has also been set up to boost efficiency and “smooth the peaks in power demand.”
Viking Link construction site
The fuel cell system at the Viking Link site. Photo: Siemens Energy
The use of a battery system also means that should there be an interruption in the hydrogen supply, the system's output will remain unaffected and can continue to provide power autonomously for several hours.
Initially the hydrogen will come from conventional sources but will then change to green hydrogen when a suitable supply has been confirmed.
Siemens Energy has said that the fuel cell's only byproduct from producing energy from hydrogen was water, and so stops the emission of nitrogen oxides and other airborne particulates. The company has said that around one tonne of CO2 emissions every week will be prevented by the use of its fuel cells.
“Diesel generation is a major contributor to highly damaging CO2, NOx, particulate, and water course pollution,” said Andrew Cunningham, managing director of GeoPura, a partner of Siemens Energy involved in the project’s development.
“This project shows that zero emission power generation has reached a point where it can viably replace off grid diesel generation and remove these health risks to the benefit of all,” he added.
The €2 billion, 765 km Viking Link Interconnector project is the subsea section of a high-voltage direct-current link that will carry enough sustainable energy across the North Sea from Denmark to Great Britain to power 1.4 million homes.The project is set for completion in 2023.
Viking Link map
The Viking Link will provide sustainable energy across the North Sea from Denmark to the UK.
“This is a great project and I’m delighted that we as Siemens Energy, with our partner GeoPura, have been able to walk the talk on how to build the hydrogen economy. In order to get the hydrogen economy moving we need to create a market, and it is small projects, such as this, which will increase the demand for green hydrogen, providing a pipeline of work for the supply chain," said Steve Scrimshaw, vice president, Siemens Energy UK & Ireland.
“We have 30 years to reach net zero and at that point, we won’t be able to use things like diesel to power a generator. This is truly the future for off grid power – and this project should be a model for others across the country.”
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