Periodic Reporting for period 4 - REFHYNE (Clean Refinery Hydrogen for Europe)
Période du rapport: 2021-07-01 au 2022-12-31
During the second period, in 2019, the project focussed on the detailed design of the electrolyser system plant and its integration to the refinery. It included technical and operational details as well as safety aspects. The design of the electrolyser package was subjected to two separate hazard/risk analysis processes during the design stage to ensure consistency with Shell's rules for safe working and integration with the wider HSSE strategy for the site:
• Shell's own hazard analysis process (ROGA)
• ITM’s hazard and operability study (HAZOP), a structured and systematic examination of the process in order to identify and evaluate problems that may represent risks to personnel or equipment
From January 2020 to June 2021, the project focussed on assembly and integration of the 10 MW electrolyser system in the new dedicated building at the refinery.
On the dissemination side, the project has now produced 3 videos, which are available from the project website. The first site visit was held in July 2020 with the visit of the EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson to the refinery. The other major outreach event was the inauguration of the electrolyser on July 2nd 2021. High level guests such as Jens Geier, Member of the European Parliament and Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and Armin Laschet, North Rhine-Westphalia’s Minister-President were present.
After the inauguration in July 2021, completion, testing and resolution on the system were performed the first part of the 4th period (last half of 2021). The electrolyser is now mechanically complete and fully integrated in the control system of the refinery process plant. During design and initial testing, learnings related to Regulations Codes and Standards and technical teething problems have been summarised and made available via the project website (refhyne.eu). Before the main operational phase begins, the electrolyser has been run for more than 1200 hours and produced more than 21,000 kg hydrogen. With the extension of 18 months, the project will be able to operate the electrolyser for a longer period and thus gain a better understanding of both technical, environmental and economic aspects of large scale electrolysers.
Summaries of findings and learnings from the construction and initial operation:
Design phase
• Delays were caused by the need to overcome barriers and knowledge gaps by industrial partners.
• The first of a kind nature of the project resulted in ITM needing to learn fundamental refinery design rules, while Shell needed to adapt to electrolyser design rules.
• Overcoming these hurdles and identifying where to deviate from traditional industry rules added time to the project.
Manufacturing phase
• The COVID-19 pandemic began during the manufacturing phase of the project and led to significant delays.
• Multiple national lock down in the UK impacted the building and Factory Assurance Testing of the electrolyser parts at the ITM site.
• Equipment suppliers were also heavily delayed and face-to-face meetings were halted due to travel restrictions.
Execution phase
• The execution phase was further delayed by COVID-19 as travel restrictions limited ITM's access to the site in Germany.
• As a multi-national project, travel restrictions that prevented the entry of UK citizens into Germany had significant impacts on productivity.
• Building delays were also experienced as pipe suction lines were required to be rebuilt to accommodate unforeseen changes.
Initial operation
• During the first test phase of the electrolyser system, certain technical issues have been experienced and prevented operation. These have mainly been caused by components outside the core electrolyser technology. Examples are cooling pipeline design and materials, DI-water unit and gas driers.