ABB introduces its energy management system ABB Ability™ OPTIMAX® to the green hydrogen market, to help reduce costs of production by enabling real-time visibility of energy consumption across operations.
Green hydrogen made via electrolysis – a process of using electricity from renewable sources to split water into hydrogen and oxygen – is widely considered an important energy vector for achieving a low-carbon future. It does, however, pose significant challenges in the way of high production costs and energy-intensive processes.
Hydrogen plant lifecycle
According to the Green Hydrogen Catapult, a global initiative made up of energy companies, to scale up production capacity to the 50 times needed, the cost to produce green hydrogen needs to drop by 50 percent to less than $2/kg by 2026.
The cost to produce green hydrogen needs to drop by 50 percent to less than $2/kg by 2026
ABB’s OPTIMAX® supports this by serving every aspect of a hydrogen plant lifecycle, from the simulation at design and engineering phases to real-time visualization and monitoring when in operation.
The software measures bi-directional power flows and carbon dioxide emissions providing contextual data which operators can use to determine optimal energy consumption levels required to support plant processes and minimize waste.
Energy efficient way
The transparency offered by the solution can also be applied to increase the efficiency and safety of each electrolyzer module being operated within the plant, regulating each module’s speed, and ensuring it is only used as and when required.
“Scaling up green hydrogen production requires significant capital investment as well as high operating costs,” said Sleman Saliba, Global Product Manager Energy Management for ABB Process Automation.
Sleman Saliba adds, “Nearly 70 percent of the total operating costs to run a hydrogen plant comes from the electricity needed to split the water molecule in the electrolysis process. With OPTIMAX®, for between 1-3 percent technology investment, operators can run their industrial processes in the most energy-efficient way and gain up to 20 percent reduction in electricity-based costs.”
Market electricity prices
The solution can also be used to optimize green hydrogen integration with existing hydrogen networks
Incorporating intra-day planning, operators can also utilize OPTIMAX® to plan ahead to trade competitively with the grid, developing a circular energy system that is based on forecasts of renewable energy availability against demand, also considering market electricity prices.
The solution can also be used to optimize green hydrogen integration with existing hydrogen networks and any future infrastructure that may developed.
ABB’s Process Automation business
ABB’s Process Automation business is a pioneer in automation, electrification, and digitalization for the process and hybrid industries. They serve customers with a broad portfolio of products, systems, and end-to-end solutions, including their # 1 distributed control system, software, and lifecycle services, industry-specific products as well as measurement and analytics, and marine offerings.
As the global #2 in the market, they build on their deep domain expertise, diverse team, and global footprint, and are dedicated to helping the customers increase competitiveness, improve their return on investment and run safe, smart, and sustainable operations.