SOEC electrolysis achieves efficiency of 84 percent in practical test

Salzgitter (energate) - The steel group Salzgitter AG has achieved an efficiency of 84 percent in a hydrogen project with a high-temperature electrolyser from the Dresden-based company Sunfire. The record value was achieved with the help of solid oxide electrolysis technology (SOEC), Salzgitter announced. Alkali or PEM electrolysers only achieve efficiencies of around 60 per cent. "We have been working together with our partners on this lighthouse project for many months. In spring, we have now reached another important milestone," explained project manager Simon Kroop from Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung. For the first time, he said, the plant has produced 200 standard cubic metres of green hydrogen per hour, achieving an electrical efficiency of 84 per cent.

"The plant runs at operating temperatures of 850 degrees Celsius and uses steam from the waste heat of steel production in Salzgitter," explained Konstantin Schwarze, Head of Large Systems Product Development at Sunfire. Therefore, it requires significantly less electricity than conventional technologies to produce large amounts of green hydrogen. "We are very pleased to see our technologies successfully in use in industrial environments," added Sunfire CEO Nils Aldag. In the joint project with Salzgitter AG, Sunfire has now been able to prove the high efficiency on a megawatt scale, he said.
 

On the way to climate-neutral steel

Salzgitter AG is working on climate-friendly steel production in the Salcos (Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking) research programme. The programme also includes the joint project with Sunfire on SOEC electrolysis, which goes by the name of "GrInHy2.0". In addition to Salzgitter Flachstahl, Sunfire and Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung, the plant manufacturers Tenova and SMS Group as well as the French research institution CEA are also involved. /tc