(08-02-2023) Sescom Group’s SES Hydrogen Energy Sp. z o.o. has conducted functional tests of a 0.5 MW hydrogen-oxygen boiler prototype under conditions that replicate operation at an actual installation. This is another key step on the way to certification and commercial implementation of the device in late 2024/2025
The tests carried out were aimed at functional testing of the burner, the flame behavior, and its characteristics for set powers using a thermal imaging camera, which will ultimately allow control of operating conditions in the combustion chamber. The key to the tests was to ensure the safe combustion of hydrogen with pure oxygen, which is a fundamental innovation compared to commercially available solutions.
– Functional tests confirmed the correctness and operational safety of the proposed solution. The team’s many months of effort made it possible to carry out tests in controlled conditions, imitating the actual operating conditions of the installation. We confirmed the selection of components, design, and conceptual assumptions of the boiler and proved that burning hydrogen in pure oxygen is safe – says Monika Kałdonek, Senior Project Manager at SES Hydrogen Energy. – This is a critical achievement that will allow us to improve the current test unit and continue development work focused on optimizing the design and processes in the boiler. Currently, we have completed the internal test results report. The next step is extensive analytical work on a detailed summary of the work performed and further tests in an open combustion chamber, and ultimately, the transition to key tests in a closed secondary circuit. Parallel to this work, we will start certification work on the device.
The concept of developing emission-free hydrogen boiler technology was born in the Sescom Capital Group over 12 years ago. Research and development works in this area were intensified in 2021. They are currently being continued by SES Hydrogen Energy.
The hydrogen-oxygen boiler under development is the first in Europe and one of the world’s pioneering heating devices dedicated to industrial applications, district heating, and residential heating, which will be based on controlled combustion of hydrogen with pure oxygen in a specially designed combustion chamber. Such a design will ensure not only the elimination of carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the lack of use of hydrocarbon fuels but also NOx, SOx, dust, and flue gases while achieving high efficiency of the device.
– The tests carried out are the result of many months of work on the design and improvement of the hydrogen boiler structure and a milestone on the way to its implementation. We are happy to share this information today. The next challenge is optimizing the solution and conducting tests in a closed combustion chamber, which is a key point on the way to certification. – emphasizes Mateusz Sołtysiak, CEO of SES Hydrogen Energy. – We receive many inquiries from the market, both from companies in Poland and abroad, which are already keenly interested in emission-free hydrogen boiler technology and heating with the use of hydrogen. So, we can see that the pressure to find alternative solutions in the heating sector is high and will continue to grow along with the strengthened regulations. It is even more gratifying that the first entities are already consciously deciding to make this type of investment. Pioneer in Poland is the planned construction of a hydrogen-heated housing estate in Śrem, carried out by Śremskie Towarzystwo Budownictwa Społecznego. As a partner in the project, we will deliver our hydrogen boiler for this purpose.
The will for cooperation between SES Hydrogen Energy and Srem TBS, announced in September 2022, is for the delivery of a hydrogen-oxygen boiler for a housing estate on Farna Street in Śrem. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025. It includes the building of 195 new apartments, which will be heated with green hydrogen generated from energy from photovoltaic panels installed on the housing estate, as well as additional sources in the form of heat pumps.
The hydrogen-oxygen boiler is fully in line with the climate regulations that have been updated and implemented by the European Union in recent years. The need to modernize systems, decarbonize and diversify energy sources is most acutely affecting the industrial and energy sectors, which remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels. This is particularly evident in Poland. Companies in the country are already facing the prospect of high costs due to the shrinking pool of emission allowances and their rising prices, as well as the gradual withdrawal of free permits.
– Earlier this year, the price of allowances exceeded 100 euros per ton for the first time in history, and many experts predict that it could reach as high as 150 euros in 2024. Comparing this to prices from a decade ago, where they were a few euros, we understand how much of a financial burden they will be. – Mateusz Soltysiak emphasizes. – In addition to the ETS, many changes await energy and industrial companies. For example, the MCP Directive comes into force for some medium-sized combustion plants as early as January 2025 and imposes mandatory reductions in sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and dust emissions. For buildings, on the other hand, the Energy Efficiency Directive will be crucial, according to which in the coming years it will be necessary to increase the percentage share of renewable energy and waste heat in order to create effective heating and cooling systems in the coming years. By 2050, this share should reach 60%. There is no denying that to think about meeting these requirements in the future, we should take decisive action today, modernize systems and replace conventional equipment with clean and efficient alternatives.
In addition, in March, the European Parliament approved the target of a 42.5% share of RES in the EU energy mix by 2030. It will not be achieved without balancing the system and effective energy storage. Hydrogen will be used for this.
SES Hydrogen Energy’s second flagship project is the development of proprietary electrolyzers that will enable the use of energy from RES farms to produce renewable hydrogen and oxygen. Given the integration of the electrolyzer and the hydrogen-oxygen boiler into a single project, the solution will allow the use of renewable energy to produce fuel and oxidizer to feed the district heating grid.
The company is currently continuing development work on the hydrogen-oxygen boiler. The next step is to test the device in various operating conditions, which is required to confirm compliance with EU directives, and then it is planned to start the certification process.
