The H2FUTURE research project at the voestalpine AG (Linz, Austria) site in Linz is entering the next expansion stage. Enhancements to the pilot plant made over the past three years allow the two project partners—international steel and technology group voestalpine and Austria’s leading energy company VERBUND AG (Vienna, Austria)—to conduct research not only into production but also the compression, purification, storage, loading, and further use of green hydrogen. To this end, the plant at the voestalpine site, which went into operation in 2019 as the world’s largest hydrogen pilot plant, will be expanded to include a compression and purification unit as well as five hydrogen storage tanks. The expansion costs amount to EUR 16.4 million.
In addition to production of green hydrogen, the H2FUTURE-Follow-Up project is now increasingly focusing on its treatment and provision for industrial applications, particularly with regard to such quality characteristics as purity and pressure. Specifically, the hydrogen generated by electrolysis is compressed, purified, and temporarily stored in the expanded H2FUTURE plant. Four of the five new hydrogen storage tanks will balance out the fluctuating levels of hydrogen production and consumption, thus contributing to security of supply. From the end of 2027, the fifth (shipping) tank will directly supply the HY4SMELT industrial-scale demonstration plant—Austria’s largest climate protection research project at voestalpine’s Linz site—with hydrogen via an approximately 1-kilometer-long pipeline.
In addition, the hydrogen can be compressed to up to 500 bar using high-pressure compressors and filled into trailers for road transport. As a result, it will also be available to external customers and other research and industrial projects, such as the SuSteel research project at the voestalpine site in Donawitz (which sources hydrogen supplied from a trailer provided by research partner K1-MET GmbH (Linz, Austria)).
“With H2FUTURE, together with our long-standing partner voestalpine we are implementing an important reference project for the development of a green hydrogen economy. On an industrial scale, the project shows how renewable electricity can be converted into green hydrogen and harnessed for specific industrial applications. Thus, H2FUTURE directly supports our role as a leading producer of renewable energy and as a partner for decarbonizing energy-intensive industries,” says Michael Strugl, CEO of VERBUND AG.
The first functional tests in the H2FUTURE follow-up project have already been launched. First research results are expected by the end of 2026. The project will end in December 2030 and will be funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism.
The H2FUTURE plant, which has been in operation since 2019, is one of the world’s longest-running proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis plants. It consists of 12 stacks, each containing 50 electrolysis cells, and has a connected load of six megawatts. The plant can produce 1,200 cubic meters of green hydrogen per hour. Since going into operation, it has produced almost 2,000 tons of green hydrogen and carried out numerous test programs. A “stress test” confirmed the load capacity of the plant in continuous operation and its ability to react quickly to large load changes. It is used in particular to balance out frequency fluctuations in the power grid caused by the irregular availability of renewable energy or varying electricity demand.