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Feature02 July 2015,
updated04 August 2016Portfolio CompaniesMainz
In May 2014 Siemens, together with the public utilities of Mainz, Linde and the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, has laid the foundation stone for a new type of energy storage system. Now, time has come: By pressing a symbolic button, the Chairman of the Board of Linde Group, Dr. Wolfgang Büchele, Siemens board member Professor Siegfried Russwurm, two board members of Stadtwerke Mainz AG, Detlev Höhne and Dr. Tobias Brosze, and Professor Dr. Detlev Reymann, President of RheinMain University, officially launched a hydrogen production plant at the Energiepark Mainz on July 2, 2015. With the support of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology as part of the Energy Storage Funding Initiative the 17-million-project could be realized. The system, equipped with an electrolyzer from Siemens, will convert surplus electricity from wind farms to hydrogen from now on. In this way, it will be possible to store electricity from renewable sources over longer periods of time. With a peak rating of up to 6 megawatts the plant is the largest of its kind in the world.
The principle of electrolysis has been tried and tested for decades. What is special about the Mainz system is that it involves highly dynamic PEM high-pressure electrolysis which is particularly suitable for high current density and can react within milliseconds to sharp increases in power generation from wind and solar sources. In this electrolyzer a proton exchange membrane (PEM) separates the two electrodes at which oxygen and hydrogen are formed. On the front and back of the membrane are precious-metal electrodes that are connected to the positive and negative poles of the voltage source. This is where the water is split. The system in Mainz will thus have a capacity relevant for bottlenecks in the grid and small wind farms.
The principle of electrolysis has been tried and tested for decades. What is special about the Mainz system is that it involves highly dynamic PEM high-pressure electrolysis which is particularly suitable for high current density and can react within milliseconds to sharp increases in power generation from wind and solar sources. In this electrolyzer a proton exchange membrane (PEM) separates the two electrodes at which oxygen and hydrogen are formed. On the front and back of the membrane are precious-metal electrodes that are connected to the positive and negative poles of the voltage source. This is where the water is split. The system in Mainz will thus have a capacity relevant for bottlenecks in the grid and small wind farms.
Press Pictures
World's largest electrolysis system of its kind in Mainz, Germany
In May 2014 Siemens, together with the public utilities of Mainz, Linde and the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, has laid the foundation stone for a new type of energy storage system. With the support of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology as part of the Energy Storage Funding Initiative the 17-million-project could be realized. The system, equipped with an electrolyzer from Siemens, will convert surplus electricity from wind farms to hydrogen from now on. At the on-site info center visitors get information on the project and hydrogen as energy storage.
World's largest electrolysis system of its kind in Mainz, Germany
Energiepark Mainz plays an important role in Germany's switch to renewables. The world's largest electrolysis system of its kind converts "surplus" renewables by breaking down water into hydrogen which can be stored for use as and when required. This means greater flexibility in the use of renewables as they will be on hand whenever they are needed. The picture shows all technological components of the parties involved.
World's largest electrolysis system of its kind in Mainz, Germany
A hydrogen electrolysis system from Siemens converts surplus electricity to hydrogen in the electrolysis hall. This high-dynamic PEM pressure electrolyser with an input current of up to six MW is the largest of its kind in the world. The Energiepark is thus appropriately equipped in terms of stabilizing the power supply from smaller wind farms
From surplus wind power to hydrogen
Energiepark Mainz converts surplus electricity from wind farms to hydrogen. This means greater flexibility in the use of renewables as they will be on hand whenever they are needed. The picture shows the electrolysis hall with heat exchangers, hydrogen tanks and compressor containers.
From surplus wind power to hydrogen
Energiepark Mainz converts surplus electricity from wind farms to hydrogen. This means greater flexibility in the use of renewables as they will be on hand whenever they are needed. The picture shows electric rectifier stations which utilize renewables such as wind power for electrolysis.
Store renewables with hydrogen
The world's largest electrolysis system converts "surplus" renewables by breaking down water into hydrogen which can be stored for use as and when required. At on-site stations hydrogen is filled into trailers for storing or transporting.
Store renewables with hydrogen
The world's largest electrolysis system converts "surplus" renewables by breaking down water into hydrogen which can be stored for use as and when required. If hydrogen is not carted away it can be fed into the gas grid, directly at the Energiepark.
