The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the seamless integration of renewable energy assets and hydrogen can be safely and efficiently introduced into the natural gas distribution system that will contain hydrogen levels beyond those in the current gas specification.
Report extract
ATCO’s Clean Energy Innovation Hub (CEIH) aims to investigate the potential role of hydrogen in the future energy mix by developing and utilising an industry-leading research facility. Testing will be conducted on a microgrid set-up enabled by renewable gas technology (including hydrogen) and on the integration of renewable gas with solar and batteries.
ATCO’s CEIH is an Australian-first, which integrates renewable hydrogen production and fuel cell technology with a renewable energy stand-alone-power-system in a “living lab” microgrid setup. At the CEIH, 1003 solar panels will produce renewable energy to supply ATCO’s Jandakot Operations Centre. Excess renewable energy generated from the 300 kW of rooftop solar photovoltaics is used to produce renewable hydrogen from a 260 kW electrolyser. Excess renewable energy is also stored for non-sunshine hours-usage in 500 kWh (478 kWh useable) of onsite battery energy storage. Pure green hydrogen is stored in a 30-bar high-pressure storage vessel and is thereafter, either distributed within the microgrid as a blended fuel for normal consumption or used as a direct fuel for appliance testing as well as for back-up power to a residential display home.