It’s Not Just About Producing Hydrogen. We Need to Create a Viable Market for It
56 ǀ POSITIV HYDROGEN
VODÍK
It’s Not Just About Producing Hydrogen.
We Need to Create
a Viable Market for It
Solar Global is one of the companies that has tested hydrogen in the Czech Republic not just
on paper, but above all in real-world operaon. In Napajedla, the company has launched green
hydrogen producon and is now also compleng infrastructure for its use in transport and industry.
The group’s founder, Vítězslav Skopal, says that the experience so far has highlighted one crucial
point: producing hydrogen alone is not enough. The key is to nd long-term, economically viable
uses for it. At the same me, he does not see the future solely in the direct use of hydrogen.
Solar Global is also interested in its further processing, for example into synthec methane,
as well as the potenal for integrang hydrogen with exisng gas infrastructure.
You have launched green hydrogen
production. What has the experience
so far shown you?
Above all, producing hydrogen is only one
part of the whole story.
We have a 230 kW PEM electrolyser here,
powered mainly by our own photovoltaic
power plant. This has allowed us to gain
hands-on and experience with the entire
process – production, compression,
storage, quality control, logistics
and the actual sale of hydrogen.
In my view, this practical experience
is the most valuable part. In real-world
operation, you discover just how many
technical, legislative and economic issues
need to be resolved.
Today, our green hydrogen is already
being supplied to the Czech industry
through Messer, while at the same time we
are completing infrastructure that will enable
us to broaden the range of its applications.
That is why I do not see the greatest
benefit of the Napajedla project simply
in the amount of hydrogen produced. Far
more important is the know-how we have
gained over the past few years.
A public hydrogen refuelling station will
also be part of the project. Does that
mean you believe in hydrogen mobility?
I believe in it where it makes economic
and operational sense. I do not think
hydrogen will become the dominant
solution for passenger transport. Battery
electric vehicles are developing very
quickly, and for an ordinary passenger
car, the direct use of electricity is simpler
and more energy-efficient.
The situation may be different for buses,
lorries, heavy-duty transport or closed
fleets with high daily mileage. In those
cases, range, weight, refuelling speed
and the way the vehicle is operated may
play a more significant role.
That is why we are preparing our refuelling
station so that it can serve passenger
vehicles as well as buses and lorries.
However, we do not want to decide
in advance which technology will prevail.
We want to have the infrastructure,
experience and product in place and then
respond to actual market demand.
Has your experience in Napajedla
changed your view of hydrogen
since the start of the project?
Definitely. When you enter a new field,
much of what you know comes primarily
from studies, projects and assumptions.
It is only real-world operation that reveals
where the problems lie.
Today, I would say that producing green
hydrogen is not the hardest part. Creating
a viable economy around it is much more
difficult.
You need production, storage,
infrastructure, logistics and, above all,
a customer who has a reason to purchase
hydrogen over the long term.
Despite this, you are preparing
further, significantly larger hydrogen
projects. Is that not too great a risk
in the current situation?
It would be if we were building electrolysers
simply because we wanted to produce as
much hydrogen as possible.
But that is not how we approach it. For every
project, we look for a way to connect
renewable electricity generation, energy
storage and a specific use for the hydrogen
produced.
Alongside the further development
of Napajedla, we are also preparing
projects in Staré Město, at a site near Kolín
and in Skoranov. With the larger projects,
we are already talking about electrolysers
with capacities of several megawatts.
However, as the size of the project increases,
securing offtake becomes increasingly
important. It makes no sense to us to build
a multi-megawatt electrolyser and only then
start looking for someone to buy its output.
We want to proceed the other way round:
first understand where real demand
exists or could emerge, and then prepare
the production and infrastructure
accordingly.
| Text: Monika Ševčíková, foto: Solar Global Service a.s.