Abengoa completes hydrogen-power pilot plant

Abengoa (Seville, Spain) has completed the construction of the demonstration plant for the Grasshopper project, in which it participates and whose objective is the production of sustainable power using hydrogen fuel cells.

Transfer of the Grasshopper project pilot plant for commissioning and starting up (Source: Abengoa)

As part of this project, a pilot plant has been built in Seville and moved to Abengoa Innovation’s testing facilities in the port of Seville (Spain), where it is being commissioned and started up before being sent to Delfzijl (Netherlands). There, it will use the hydrogen excess produced in the Nouryon chlor-alkali plant, thus validating power production in a real industrial environment.

The Grasshopper project creates a next- generation of fuel cell power plants (FCPP) capable of generating emission-free electricity and heat from hydrogen.

In addition to Abengoa Innovation, the project consortium includes INEA -Informatizacija Energetika Avtomatizacija, Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells Limited (JMFC), Nedstack Fuel Cell Technology B.V., Politécnico di Milano (Polimi) and Zentrum für Brennstoffzellen Technik Gmbh (ZBT).

The completion of the construction of the Grasshopper project represents a key milestone for Abengoa Innovation, as it opens the door to new developments in this field, while reaffirming the company’s leading position worldwide in this sector.

This project has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 779430. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research.