The electrolyser system for RWE is one of ITM Power’s CE-marked HGas platforms, which has been successfully demonstrated in a P2G installation with Thüga AG in Frankfurt am Main.

‘This sale is our second significant Power-to-Gas order in an important strategic territory for this technology,’ comments Dr Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power.

Efficient hydrogen generation

The system incorporates proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser stacks operating under differential pressure. As with all ITM Power’s HGas platforms, the system has the ability to self-pressurise, operate via remote control, and modulate rapidly in response to demand.

The system is packaged in a 20 foot (6 m) ISO container for use outdoors.

ITM Power will supply the plant with a two-year warranty, and with a three-year after-sales support contract. The full contract value will be recognised in the ITM Power financial year ending April 2015.

Improving the business case

The RWE deployment will use a higher current density than the Frankfurt system, permitting a higher hydrogen output per stack. The system efficiency is also increased, through simplification of the balance of plant.

As part of the company’s drive to increase productivity, delivery timescales have also been significantly reduced.

First deployment in Frankfurt

ITM Power recently provided an update on its ground-breaking Power-to-Gas energy storage project with Thüga AG, a German network of municipal energy and water service providers, following its first full year of successful operation.

Thüga reports that the system has been declared ‘technically able to participate in the secondary power market’. This means that the electrolyser is technically capable of offering grid-balancing services, which increases the economic viability of the technology.

The system has passed its first annual re-assessment by TÜV Hessen. The electrolyser system has met every aspect of its specification including efficiency, remote control functionality, and response time.

The 300 kW plant is the first rapid-response PEM electrolyser plant to inject hydrogen into the German gas network, beginning in November 2013.