CLEAN energy solutions provider, H2Tec Limited, has been chosen to perform key upgrades to the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC)’s hydrogen production plant in Orkney.
H2Tec, which is a subsidiary of Edinburgh-based hydrogen tech firm, Logan Energy, will perform the program upgrades as part of the €11.7 million project, Integrating Tidal Energy into the European Grid (ITEG), funded by the European Union’s regional development body, Interreg North-West Europe.
The scope of work in the contract awarded to H2Tec includes improvements to the efficiency of the system by procuring, installing, pressure testing and commissioning an essential pipework control panel to connect newly generated hydrogen to on-site storage tanks.
Home to a vast renewable resource and the world’s first and only purpose-built open-sea testing facility for wave and tidal energy convertors, EMEC’s base in Orkney is a hub for renewable development and green hydrogen research and development.
The ITEG project, due for completion in 2021, will develop a combined tidal energy and hydrogen production solution, helping to address grid export limitations faced in remote communities.
H2Tec’s program upgrades will support this effort by optimising new and existing equipment to improve efficiency between the hydrogen production plant and storage facilities at the Caldale site on Eday.
Bill Ireland, Logan Energy and H2Tec chief executive officer, said: “Orkney already generates over 100% of its electricity demand from renewables every year, but the grid limitations confine Orkney’s export potential.
“It is important that we ensure the full potential of our renewable alternatives are being harnessed, and that operational challenges are overcome.”
