New system for green hydrogen cuts production costs by up to 20 percent
ABB introduces the energy management system ABB Ability™ OPTIMAX® to the green hydrogen market. The solution can help reduce production costs through real-time insights into energy consumption across operations.
Green hydrogen made via electrolysis is considered an important technology for the low-carbon community. However, the technology presents challenges in the form of high production costs and energy-intensive processes. The cost of producing green hydrogen must be halved to less than 2 USD/2/kg by 2026 to scale up production capacity to 50 times, according to Green Hydrogen Catapult.
From design to real-time
ABB's OPTIMAX® covers all aspects of the life cycle of a hydrogen plant, from simulation in design and design phases to real-time visualization and monitoring when in operation. The software measures two-way power flows and carbon dioxide emissions and provides contextual data that operators can use to determine the optimal energy consumption levels required to support plant processes and minimize waste.
OPTIMAX® covers all aspects of the life cycle of a hydrogen plant.
The transparency provided by the solution can also be used to increase the efficiency and safety of each electrolysis tube in the system, regulate each module's speed and ensure that it is used only when needed.
20 percent reduction in power costs
Sleman Saliba in ABB Process Automation explains how OPTIMAX® makes the process more efficient:
Upscaling green hydrogen production requires significant capital investment as well as high operating costs. Nearly 70 percent of the total operating costs of operating a hydrogen plant come from the stream that cleaves the water molecules in the electrolysis process.
With OPTIMAX®, operators can run their industrial processes in the most energy-efficient way and get up to 20 percent reduction in power costs for 1-3 percent of technology investment.
Sleman Saliba, global product manager for energy management at ABB Process Automation.
By including intra-day planning, operators can also use OPTIMAX® to plan competitive power procurement, and develop an energy system based on forecasts for supply and demand of renewable energy.
The solution can also be used to optimize green hydrogen integration with existing hydrogen networks and any future infrastructure that may need to be developed.
