Successful hydrogen storage

Luleå HYBRIT´s pilot project in Luleå for storing fossil-free hydrogen shows that it is technically possible to store fossil-free hydrogen for the production of fossil-free iron and steel on an industrial scale.

HYBRIT's hydrogen storage pilot project is now completed and reported to the Swedish Energy Agency.

The project has built a 100 cubic meter hydrogen storage in a rock room in Luleå. The completed tests show that the technology works to support a large-scale hydrogen user, and that savings of about 25-40 percent of the variable operating cost of hydrogen production could be achieved. The pilot storage has undergone accelerated mechanical tests corresponding to about 50 years of operation.

“The pilot project has been highly successful and has given us the results we hoped for. We have shown that it is possible to use this technology to increase the flexibility of the electricity system and that it is a safe design that lasts over time. Hydrogen gas storage is an important piece of the puzzle to electrify industrial processes while increasing the amount of weather-dependent power. With the results and experiences gained from the pilot project, the technology is now ready to be scaled up”, says Mikael Nordlander, Director, Industry Decarbonization at Vattenfall’s Industrial Partnerships.

The main purpose of a hydrogen storage facility is to be able to adapt hydrogen production to fluctuations in the electricity market. The costs of hydrogen production are optimized by producing and storing surplus hydrogen at low electricity prices and reducing hydrogen production and using the stored hydrogen when prices are high.

“Hydrogen is an important part of LKAB’s future strategy and journey towards carbon dioxide-free processes and products. We have yet to make any decisions on hydrogen gas storage, but the successful results from the pilot give us good conditions when we review the needs and opportunities for storage in conjunction with our planned sponge iron production facilities”, says Jenny Greberg, Vice President Technology at LKAB.

The hydrogen pilot storage facility is part of the HYBRIT project run by LKAB, SSAB and Vattenfall to develop technology for the production of fossil-free steel. The HYBRIT initiative was launched in 2016 by owners SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall with the aim of developing the world’s first fossil-free ore-based iron- and steelmaking using fossil-free electricity and hydrogen gas. 

HYBRIT has extended the pilot project for storage of fossil-free hydrogen until 2026 to be able to carry out additional tests to improve the conditions for enabling the design of commercial hydrogen storage.

Lennart Håkansson

editor@northswedenbusiness