Grasshopper project in the IBERCONAPPICE Congress organized by the Spanish Fuel Cells Association
The Grasshopper project was presented by Coxabengoa at the Iberconappice Congress that took place in Cartagena (Spain) between October 25 and 27 in a talk called “Validation of the Power Plant developed in the Grasshopper Project, based on PEM fuel cells and powered with hydrogen”.
Grasshopper is a 100-kW power plant, based on fuel cells, capable of operating dynamically and making demand changes in seconds without any risk to the fuel cells thanks to a robust control system. It has been developed to provide precise control of flow, pressure, temperature, and humidity that allows the operating setpoint to be dynamically changed while maintaining high electrical efficiency. Following the success of the first phase of testing carried out at Coxabengoa’s testing facilities in Seville (Spain), the plant has been transported to the Netherlands to carry out a second phase of validation testing. There, the plant has been connected to the local electrical grid, where the net energy production was used by other consumers on the same grid, confirming the plant’s performance and the “plug & play” design of the unit.
These successful results of the project have aroused much interest among those attending the congress.
For more details about the IBERCONAPPICE Congress check the following link:
https://iberconappice.appice.es/
We will come back soon with very interesting news.
The Grasshopper pilot plant passes long-term operation tests
As mentioned before, Grasshopper is a new generation power pilot plant based on fuel cells, PEM type, which differs from the current ones in that it is able to operate dynamically with rapid response, which allows to contribute to developing a circular economy and zero-emission society providing grid stabilization services.
The Grasshopper fuel cell power plant, which has been in operation since its arrival in the Netherlands last year, has successfully passed the long-term operation tests. This great milestone has been achieved thanks to the productive collaboration between Abengoa and Nedstack.
Grasshopper project in the webinar organized by the Spanish Fuel Cells Association
Abengoa, an international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the infrastructure, energy and water sectors, through Abengoa Innovación, has participated at the “Fuel cells and Hydrogen in the energy scenario” webinar, in the panel of Industrial Initiatives. The presentation of Abengoa has been focused on the Grasshopper project in which it participates and whose objective is the production of sustainable energy from hydrogen using fuel cells.
This online webinar, organized by the Spanish Fuel Cells Association (APPICE) and that took place on January 31st, has been a great opportunity for the Grasshopper project to spread its promising and successful results and promote its second phase in the Netherlands.
For more details of the webinar agenda check the following link:
https://appice.es/docs/Programa-Seminario-APPICE-31En23.pdf
We will come back soon with very interesting news.
About Abengoa
Abengoa applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the infrastructure, energy, and water sectors. (www.abengoa.com)
Read MoreGrasshopper project in the EU Hydrogen Week
Yesterday, October 27th, the Grasshopper project was presented at the European Hydrogen Week during the EU Research Days, among other projects, specifically at the “End users: heat and power” session.
The European Hydrogen Week is an annual event dedicated to the clean hydrogen technologies. It is co-organized by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and its members, the European Commission, Hydrogen Europe, and Hydrogen Europe Research. Abengoa, the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the infrastructures, energy and water sectors, trough Abengoa Innovación, is an active member of the Hydrogen Europe.
The Grasshopper project has received great interest at the event for being a new generation of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power Plants: more cost effective, flexible in energy production, achieving an estimated CAPEX below 1500 EUR/kWe at an annual production rate of 25 MWhe, and with promising results during the testing phase.
For more information about the agenda of the European Hydrogen Week 2022, check the following link:
This project has been funded by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking undersigned agreement number 779430. It is supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 framework program for research and innovation and by the Hydrogen Europe and HydrogenEurope Research associations.
Read MoreThe Pilot Plant has been transferred to The Netherlands!!!
After some quite busy summer months, we are glad to announce that the GRASSHOPPER Pilot Plant has been moved successfully to The Netherlands. Milestone achieved last September!!!
The pilot plant has been transported by land to The Netherlands. The departure point was the Abengoa’s testing facilities, at the Port of Seville (Spain). At its final destination, the SAT (Site Acceptance Test) will be carried out, and then, the demonstration plant will be in operation for its final validation.
This new phase will serve for obtaining valuable information from the PEM Fuel Cell Power Plant (FCPP) technology.
Tips:
- The Grasshopper project creates a new generation of FCPP capable of generating electricity and heat without emissions from hydrogen using fuel cells, with water as the only by-product.
- Don´t miss the awesome videos in our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/GrasshopperProject?app=desktop
The Grasshopper pilot plant is ready for testing!
Last month, the construction of the Pilot Plant was completed! And at last, We moved it to Abengoa’s testing facilities in the port of Seville for the next phase. This is a major milestone towards the project’s success, and we are very eager to share it.
As we have mentioned before, check this post about containerized solutions, the plant can be easily transported and deployed at any location. The workshop where the plant was built was also located in Seville, so this transport only lasted about 30 mins through the outskirts of the city. But the process is identical if transported for very long distances.
Next month, Factory Acceptance Tests, or FAT for short, will begin in Abengoa’s testing facilities. Where many other technical innovation projects have also seen the light. Starting with IO Testing, following with circuit tests, or control loops adjustment among others, the pilot plant will be ready to receive the Fuel Cell stacks later this year. We will be sharing more about the FAT and how the tests are progressing along the road. For now, We hope you enjoy this video about the Grasshopper Pilot Plant transport!
GRASSHOPPER: Next generation of flexible and cost-effective MW-size Fuel Cell Power Plant
The GRASSHOPPER (GRid ASsiSting modular HydrOgen Pem PowER plant) project was officially kicked-off on the 9th and 10th January at the Akzo Nobel facilities located in Delfzijl, where the demonstration phase of the project will take place. All the consortium partners, the members of the Advisory Board and the Project and Financial officers from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking attended the event. At the kick-off the next steps for the first period were discussed, as well as the final demonstration.
INEA will coordinate the Grasshopper project, 36 months in length and a total budget of 4.4 M€, creating the next generation fuel cell power plants and demonstrating the flexible operation for grid support. The power plant uses green hydrogen and converts this into electricity and heat without emissions. With the variations in demand and consumption of energy from renewable sources such as sun and wind, a stable energy supply will rely more and more on flexible operation power plants.
The consortium consists, apart from INEA-Informatizacija Energetika Avtomatizacija, of Abengoa Innovación, S.A., Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells Limited (JMFC), Nedstack fuel cell technology B.V., Politecnico di Milano (Polimi) and Zentrum für Brennstoffzellen Technik Gmbh (ZBT).
The Advisory Board, consisting of members from Akzo Nobel Industrial Chemicals B.V, Tennet TSO B.V, SWW Wunsiedel and members of GOFLEX consortium, will be consulted during the project phase.
The innovative MEAs (membrane electrode assembly), stacks and fuel cell system will be developed through modelling, experiments and industrial experience by JMFC, ZBT and Nedstack. Abengoa Innovación will lead the design, construction and testing of a pilot plant. Polimi will provide support in the decision-making process through modelling activities and optimization. Implementation of the smart grid functionality into the FCPP control and grid integration will be done by INEA.
The demonstration unit will be installed in Delfzijl, where Akzo Nobel and Nedstack have been testing the fuel cell technology, connecting to the hydrogen by-product stream of the modern chlorine production facility.
This project has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 779430. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe research.
For more information, you can visit http://www.fch.europa.eu/project/grid-assisting-modular-hydrogen-pem-power-plant
