Austria, 12 January 2024
In the European reference project EUH2STARS, the consortium leader RAG Austria AG, together with LINZ AG, AGGM Austrian Gas Grid Management AG, Axiom and the Energy Institute at the JKU Linz, is demonstrating for the first time in the Austrian part of the project, how urban centres can safely use the summer sun in winter in the form of green heat and electricity all year round – without any CO2 emissions. As part of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON) call for proposals to investigate and scale up the large-scale underground storage of hydrogen, the EUH2STARS project, which was submitted on Austria's initiative, was awarded funding of around 20 million euros.
Led by RAG Austria AG, the EUH2STARS consortium, with its complementary expertise in various disciplines, not only covers the entire hydrogen storage value chain – from the centrepiece of storage (RAG Austria AG, Shell Global Solutions International B.V./Netherlands, Energie Beheer Nederland BV/Netherlands, Hungarian Gas Storage/Hungary, Trinity Capital S. L./Spain), hydrogen processing (Axiom angewandte Prozesstechnik GmbH, Axiom Polska Sp.z o.o), transport networks (AGGM) and energy suppliers (LINZ AG) – but also integrates key research institutions (Montanuniversität Leoben, The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research/Netherlands, Energy Institute at Johannes Kepler University Linz).
"RAG has all the building blocks available in Upper Austria to make renewable energy from sun and wind truly secure in terms of supply. As part of this reference project, we have now been commissioned by the EU to demonstrate that this can also be used to reliably supply urban centres with green heat all year round," says RAG Austria CEO Markus Mitteregger.
"Hydrogen is a key factor for the energy supply of the future, especially for Upper Austria as the No. 1 economic and industrial province. That is why we have also launched the Upper Austrian "Wasserstoff-Offensive 2030" which deals with the entire value chain - from primary energy supply, transport and storage to applications in industry and mobility. The establishment of a pipeline infrastructure is of crucial importance for the installation of hydrogen storage facilities and the supply of hydrogen to industrial companies and energy companies. This is the only way to realise the advantages of hydrogen for achieving a CO2 neutral energy system. The realisation of the hydrogen pipeline infrastructure must be based on two pillars: in a first step, the modification of existing gas pipelines and then the construction of a new pipeline infrastructure. As it will not be possible to produce the high demand for climate-neutral hydrogen in the EU entirely domestically, international hydrogen transport pipelines to and through Austria will also be necessary," emphasises Markus Achleitner, Provincial Councillor for Economic Affairs and Energy.
The project is a key building block in the City of Linz and LINZ AG's efforts to expand the district heating supply from the current 40 per cent to 100 per cent renewable sources by 2040. In terms of security of supply, the connection to hydrogen storage facilities, as investigated in the project, is an important basis for this. In order to ultimately be able to utilise the stored hydrogen in LINZ AG's power plants in the long term, the project plans to examine the suitability of the Linz-Süd district heating power plant (FHKW) and the upstream infrastructure, such as the supply lines, for hydrogen. Any necessary adjustments to the power plant layout will also be analysed.
"Green hydrogen is of crucial importance for achieving decarbonisation in municipal district heating and electricity generation. This technology is also suitable for extensive use in industry in Linz, which currently accounts for around 13 percent of Austria's total CO2 emissions. The pioneering hydrogen technologies have a particularly strong leverage effect in the industrial city of Linz. In this context, EUH2STARS represents a lighthouse project with an exemplary signalling effect for the large companies in Linz and marks a milestone on the city's path to a complete energy supply from renewable sources," explains Klaus Luger, Mayor of the City of Linz.
"As a utility company, LINZ AG is also working on future topics such as hydrogen. We are continuously implementing hydrogen activities so that we are fit for the future with this energy source. The pioneering EU project EUH2STARS is now an important milestone. As an energy supplier, our long-term goal is the seasonal storage of surplus energy in summer. This will enable LINZ AG to supply people and businesses in the supply area with green electricity and green district heating from climate-neutral hydrogen in winter," says LINZ AG CEO Erich Haider.
"As a market and distribution area manager, AGGM has been responsible for planning the gas infrastructure in Austria for over 20 years. With the H2 roadmap for Austria, AGGM has already mapped out the needs-based development of the gas infrastructure up to 2050 in cooperation with the gas network operators. With the rededication of around 1,400 km of existing gas pipelines for the transport of hydrogen and the addition of around 300 km of new hydrogen pipelines, an efficient core network can be established in Austria parallel to the methane network, which will cover the future regional and cross-border transport requirements for hydrogen. Hydrogen storage facilities are a key component of this H2 roadmap. The efficient integration of storage facilities into the hydrogen infrastructure is a success factor for the design of a resilient renewable energy system and essential for the success of the energy system transition," emphasises Bernhard Painz, AGGM CEO.
"The joint EUH2STARS project is paving the way for a decarbonised European economy. Large-scale hydrogen storage systems are important hubs of the European Union's future energy networks, which will enable the further expansion of wind and solar energy," says Aleksander Makaruk, R&D Lead and Senior Engineer, Axiom.
"Storing energy using hydrogen will be one of the key building blocks of the energy system of the future. As a research institution, we are looking forward to working with our project partners to further develop this system and optimise its implementation," says Robert Tichler, Managing Director, Energy Institute at the JKU Linz.
"For the Montanuniversitaet Leoben, it is a great pleasure but also a responsibility to evaluate the possibility of underground hydrogen storage in an international consortium and ultimately to demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen storage on a large scale. This will be an indispensable contribution to the energy transition. Once underground high-pressure hydrogen storage is established, this will accelerate the transition from carbon-based energy sources to hydrogen-based ones. This will further accelerate the energy transition. Montanuniversitaet Leoben is looking forward to the collaboration and looks forward to the expected results within the framework of EUH2STARS with confidence, joy and interest," says Gregor Mori, Associate Professor of Corrosion and Hydrogen Embrittlement, Montanuniversitaet Leoben.
"After almost a decade of experience with geological hydrogen storage, we are now taking the next step. Together with our partners, we want to demonstrate the possibilities of hydrogen along the entire value chain in the EUH2STARS reference project," says RAG Austria CEO Markus Mitteregger, explaining the objectives.
EUH2STARS is based on the experience gained from RAG Austria's first hydrogen storage projects in Upper Austria. RAG was the first company in the world to prove that hydrogen can be stored seasonally and in large volumes in depleted natural gas reservoirs. On this basis, both the planning and technical investigations into the specific transformation of the infrastructure for the use of hydrogen are being driven forward as part of the new project. This includes, for example, storage conversion and the construction of new storage facilities on a larger scale in the central region of Upper Austria.
Underground natural gas reservoirs are thus being turned into seasonal and large-volume storage facilities for green hydrogen. The underground and invisible transport can take place in existing natural gas pipelines adapted for hydrogen transport. Furthermore, the medium-term aim of the study is to secure district heating and electricity production in modern combined heat and power plants in winter – especially when there is too little solar and wind energy available.
Overall, the measures required for the rapid ramp-up of the hydrogen economy will be analysed and planned along the entire value chain during the project period until 2029. The project participants intend to start or have already completed the concrete implementation before the end of the project period in 2029.
The pioneering work of RAG and its partners, which has so far been supported by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund, is now entering a European dimension. It is of outstanding importance throughout Europe for companies, political decision-makers and authorities for transforming European energy systems and enabling the energy transition. In the EUH2STARS reference project, basic technical and economic scenarios are being developed for a wide range of geological conditions and in very different energy environments. This will ensure that the results of the EUH2STARS project will benefit a wide range of interest groups across Europe.
Hydrogen is the key to increasing the security of energy supply as part of the energy transition. Hydrogen can be produced without CO2 emissions and can be used cleanly and flexibly in all sectors – whether for applications in industry, heat and electricity generation or transport. The decisive factor, however, is its large-volume storage and transportability in an existing, almost invisible infrastructure.
"In order to achieve the ambitious climate targets, it is not enough to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies. This must be accompanied by a rapid hydrogen ramp-up. Solar and wind power from the summer months must be made storable and thus brought into the winter when wind is not constant and sun and water do not provide enough energy to cover the increased demand from heat pumps and e-mobility. Experts predict a seasonal energy transfer of 10 TWh per year by 2030 only in Austria. With its regional projects, RAG is demonstrating how the energy transition can be realised. Politicians must urgently provide the necessary framework conditions and adapt the infrastructure. Declarations of intent alone are not enough," says RAG Austria CEO Mitteregger, explaining the need to make renewable energy storable in the form of hydrogen in order to ensure a secure supply of energy in the future.
More detailed information about the EUH2STARS project at:
www.euh2stars.eu
Stefan Pestl
Head of Corporate Communications
Schwarzenbergplatz 16
1015 Vienna
Tel.: +43 (0) 50724 5460
presse@rag-austria.at
This project is supported by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and its members.
