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‘Solid-oxide electrolysers only last
two years’
Denmark-based Dynelectro’s approach also
‘allows for integration of SOE with A Danish start-up developing a long-lasting solid-oxide electrolyser (SOE) designed for intermittent renewable energy has won investment from the venture-capital arm of Norwegian fertiliser giant Yara. “While SOE yields the highest possible efficiencies to produce renewable hydrogen and e-fuels, it has been suffering from system lifetime issues up to now,” said Yara Growth Ventures in a press release. “Dynelectro’s approach increases the lifetime of SOE systems dramatically from typically two to 10 years, and it also allows for integration of SOE with intermittent renewable electricity — a key requirement for large scale adoption.” Investment director Björn Heinz added: “Electricity is the key driver for the cost of renewable hydrogen. While solid oxide electrolysis has the best potential for low cost, it suffers a niche existence due to system lifetime issues. We believe Dynelectro will overcome these issues and pave the way to make low-cost renewable hydrogen a reality.” Dynelectro says Yara is its first industrial investor, having only completed its seed investment round in May last year. The size of Yara’s investment has not been revealed. Dynelectro says on its website that it offers “a unique method [of] extending life expectancy of solid-oxide electrolysis”, and that “dynamic control is deployed to offset intermittent power within green fuel production”. “We have proprietary technologies which can unlock significant potential to reduce the cost of green hydrogen,” it adds. Dynelectro CEO Sune Lilbæk said: “The addition of Yara Growth Ventures is a significant milestone as they are our first industrial investor thereby demonstrating market readiness and pull for innovation within clean sustainable technologies,” said Dynelectro CEO Sune Lilbæk. Generally speaking, high-temperature solid-oxide electrolysers can produce more hydrogen per kWh of electricity than alkaline or PEM technology when utilising waste heat from industrial applications. Yara needs renewable hydrogen to produce green-ammonia-based fertilisers. Currently, it makes the vast majority of its ammonia from highly polluting grey H2 derived from unabated natural gas. “Decarbonization of the fertiliser value chain is an essential part of securing global food supply in a sustainable way and one of our primary objectives,” said Heinz. “Investing in companies like Dynelectro realises that strategy by supporting new technologies for the production of affordable low-emission end products. However, Dynelectro's estimate of a two-year lifetime for solid-oxide machines is disputed by other manufacturers of the technology. Denmark's Topsoe, which is building a 500MW solid-oxide electrolyser factory in Herning, claims its stacks have a lifetime of four years, while US-based Bloom Energy also reports system lifetimes of more than two years.
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