HyMag500: 500 kW alkaline electrolyser pilot – blending hydrogen in gas-fired furnaces

Nedmag extracts magnesium salt in Groningen and uses it to produce a variety of products. This involves calcination and sintering processes in high-temperature, gas-fired furnaces. Nedmag believes that in the long run natural gas can be replaced by hydrogen and wants to gain practical experience with this pilot project. VDL Hydrogen Systems will supply a 500 kW alkaline electrolyser, allowing VDL to validate its prototype at scale in an industrial setting. Both partners will learn what is needed for scaling up hydrogen production and industrial processes.

500 kW alkaline electrolyser pilot: objectives and actions

Through this pilot, Nedmag and VDL aim to gain technical, economic, and organisational insights to make better-informed design and investment decisions for scaling up green hydrogen production.

For the pilot project, VDL will design, develop, and install a 500 kW alkaline electrolyser at the Nedmag site. Over a two-year period, the project partners will conduct extensive tests with this set-up to investigate multiple aspects of such an installation. These include fluctuating hydrogen production and use, safety, integration into existing operations, effects on processes and products, durability, and performance. This will help them understand what is further needed for scaling up both the electrolyser and the specific industrial processes.

The project is structured into six work packages:

1. Design, development, and engineering
2. Assembly
3. Commissioning and module-level validation
4. System-level testing and validation
5. Analysis and reporting of results
6. Preparation of the test site and permitting

The HyMag500 consortium

The consortium consists of: Nedmag and VDL Hydrogen Systems.

Results

The project demonstrates the performance of the electrolyser and provides insights into its operation under long-term and fluctuating use in a relevant industrial environment. This includes not only technical performance but also integrated safety aspects of on-site hydrogen production. The pilot is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by 283 tonnes per year. With full commercialisation (using a 1 GW installation), this impact could scale up to 566,900 tonnes of CO₂ reduction annually.