Green hydrogen in the first nationwide hydrogen valley

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The Baltic state of Estonia has set an ambitious goal of generating 100% of its energy supply from renewable sources by 2030. As part of this goal, energy industry stakeholders plan to showcase the entire country as the world’s first nationwide, integrated “hydrogen valley,” with a focus on green hydrogen.

The world’s first nationwide hydrogen valley

I will be in the Estonian city of Talinn later this week to report on the country’s renewable energy journey. CleanTechnicaincluding site visits and interviews with local startups.* In the meantime, let’s take a look at the national plan “Hydrogen Valley Estonia” as an indication of how fast and how far the energy transition can progress when policy and technology go hand in hand.

Hydrogen represents a major challenge for global decarbonization. Hydrogen is widely used as a zero-emission fuel and industrial feedstock, but the main source of hydrogen today is natural gas, although coal also plays a role. Freeing hydrogen from the clutches of the fossil energy supply chain would be an important step in the right direction.

The concept of the “Hydrogen Valley” is beginning to take hold in Europe, in parallel with the emerging green hydrogen industry. Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced from water or other non-fossil resources. The European Commission has set a goal of setting up at least 50 local hydrogen centers by 2030. France is an example of this, where the focus is on decarbonizing transport in the Loire Valley with hydrogen fuel cells.

A similar concept is used in the US Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program, which aims to bring together unique resources in different parts of the country to boost the domestic hydrogen industry.

Stakeholders in Estonia initially established the Hydrogen Valley Estonia consortium in 2022, and the wheels started rolling in 2023. “Alexela, Eesti Energia, the Port of Tallinn, the University of Tartu and the Estonian Hydrogen Association today signed an agreement to establish Hydrogen Valley Estonia to accelerate the vigorous and multifaceted development of the hydrogen industry and officially establish the world’s first nationwide Hydrogen Valley,” the partners announced in April last year.

Green hydrogen economy is taking shape

Hydrogen Valley Estonia is starting from scratch, as there is no green hydrogen plant in the country yet. However, the company argues that building a domestic green hydrogen industry is essential if the country is to contribute to the European Union’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

“Promoting the development of green hydrogen based on renewable energy will play a key role in implementing the green transformation and achieving Estonia’s national climate goals. The ambitious goal of the European Union and Estonia to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 has brought with it the need to significantly accelerate the development and implementation of green technologies,” emphasizes Hydrogen Valley Estonia.

In June this year, the Invest in Estonia organisation reported on the country’s progress in green hydrogen, noting that hydrogen centres have been established in Tartu, Pärnu, Saaremaa, Ida-Virumaa and Paldiski. “Their aim is to bring together different stakeholders who want to either develop or support the hydrogen economy, building on regional strengths.”

“Interested parties have met several times in Paldiski this spring. Paldiski is an ideal location for hydrogen production and industrial use as it has the necessary infrastructure in the form of a port, railway, road, gas pipeline, solar and wind farms, etc. Offshore wind farms are also expected to be built on the west coast in the coming years,” Invest in Estonia noted.

The wind energy aspect is particularly important as it provides a source of emission-free electricity at night, when demand usually drops. Excess electricity from wind farms could be used to produce green hydrogen outside of working hours. Invest Estonia points to the potential for using green hydrogen in the country’s wood and biomass industries.

More offshore wind energy, more green hydrogen

The link between wind energy and green hydrogen was reinforced earlier this year when the Estonian Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority announced that Norwegian company Deep Wind Offshore had submitted the successful bid for the Saare 2.1 offshore wind area.

In its plea for a domestic green hydrogen industry, Invest Estonia draws attention to the offshore wind resources in the area of ​​Saaremaa Island, the country’s largest island, pointing out that “the Estonian hydrogen market is very strongly and uniquely dependent on the development of offshore wind farms.”

Up to 98 wind turbines with a total output of up to 1,560 megawatts are to be built in the Saare 2.1 offshore wind area. The figures will become concrete as soon as an upcoming environmental impact assessment is completed.

And that’s just the beginning. Saare 2.1 is the first of a series of three offshore wind farms in the region to be auctioned.

As for the first projects that Hydrogen Valley Estonia expects, a hybrid ferry with battery and fuel cell is expected for 2026. Hydrogen filling stations in Tallinn and other cities are also being planned.

Meanwhile, the domestic green hydrogen industry is receiving support from UK-registered startup Elcogen. In July, Elcogen announced a new partnership with Austrian company AVL List GmbH to develop a new solid oxide electrolyzer technology capable of producing hydrogen from water at a megawatt scale. “This project combines the R&D efforts of both partners in their respective IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) Hy2Tech programs in Estonia/Finland and Austria,” Elcogen explained.

Elcogen is already in the process of building a new factory in the Loovälja industrial park near Tallinn. “The 14,000 square meter factory will significantly increase the company’s current production capacity for solid oxide cells and stacks to meet the growing global demand for emission-free energy and green hydrogen producing fuel cells,” the company said in June.

They mean it when they talk about a significant increase. Elcogen’s current production capacity is 10 megawatts. Once completed, the new factory will have a capacity of 360 megawatts.

Elcogen expects production to begin in the middle of next year, so stay tuned for more on that (see more from CleanTechnicas Estonia reports here).

Green hydrogen now in the USA

If you’re wondering how the U.S. fits into this picture, that’s a good question. The Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program is funded by the bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021, which provides a fossil energy exemption, and explains how the bill got through Congress.

Despite the fossil energy aspect, the overall focus is on green hydrogen from renewable resources. Watch in particular for a new surge in activity in the fuel cell truck sector.

*This technology tour is kindly supported by Trade Estonia through the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency.

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Image: An upcoming hybrid ferry powered by batteries and fuel cells is among the first projects to kick-start a new green hydrogen industry in Estonia (courtesy of Invest Estonia).