Denmark’s Haldor Topsoe joins renewable hydrogen project in Copenhagen

LONDON (ICIS)–Denmark’s Haldor Topsoe on Wednesday joined a clean energy project to develop a “ground-breaking hydrogen and sustainable fuel facility” based on electrolysis in the greater Copenhagen area.

The project will be implemented by 2030 in three stages, achieving the capacity of 10 megawatts (MW) in 2023, 250 MW in 2027, and 1.3 GW in 2030, respectively, the firm said in a statement.

The partnership consists of large Danish companies – including A. P. Moller – Maersk, DSV Panalpina, SAS, and Everfuel – covering the whole value chain for the production, distribution, and consumption of renewable hydrogen and sustainable fuels.

Topsoe will contribute with know-how about technologies that convert captured CO2 into sustainable methanol and jet fuel using hydrogen from electrolysis of water.

As well as significant investment from the companies involved the project, substantial funding from Innovation Fund Denmark has been requested.

“For sustainable fuels to become competitive with fossil fuels, technologies must be matured and ultimately become available and proven on an industrial scale; partnerships like this are the way to achieve that,” explained Roeland Baan, Topsoe’s CEO.

“Topsoe contributes to this transition with the necessary carbon emission reduction technologies, particularly within efficient hydrogen production from solid oxide cell electrolysis (SOEC) and proven technologies to produce sustainable fuels like jet fuel, ammonia, and methanol, which are in focus in this project.”

The first stage will comprise a 10 MW electrolysis plant producing renewable hydrogen for trucks and, potentially, buses in the capital’s wider metropolitan area.

By 2027, the stage two facility equipped with a 250 MW electrolysis plant will combine the production of renewable hydrogen with capture of CO2 from combustion of municipal waste or biomass to produce renewable methanol for maritime vessels and renewable jet fuel for planes.

Stage three will upgrade the electrolysis plant’s capacity to 1.3 GW and capture more CO2.

With the large-scale supply of renewable electricity needed, the timing of phases two and three will depend on the execution of the offshore wind power project off the island of Bornholm in Denmark, the news relesae added.

Earlier this year, Haldor-Topsoe was chosen to deliver ammonia technology for the world’s largest green hydrogen production facility in NEOM, Saudi Arabia, as part of a $5bn project.

The project will make use of Topsoe’s know-how in the production of sustainable fuels from captured CO2 and renewable hydrogen. Photo courtesy of Haldor Topsoe.