Wedoany.com Report-Oct 11,Western Australian gas utility ATCO Australia has achieved a network distribution blend of up to 10% renewable hydrogen, produced by a solar-powered electrolyzer, for 3,000 homes.
Western Australian gas utility ATCO Australia has achieved a test network distribution blend of up to 10% renewable hydrogen, produced by a solar-powered electrolyzer, for 3,000 homes as part of its Hydrogen Community Blending Project (HCBP).
The Hydrogen Community Blending Project (HCBP) is a AUD 2.6 million ($1.7 million) initiative, building on successful blending tests from the Clean Energy Innovation Hub (CEIH) at ATCO's Jandakot operations center. The company uses solar, battery, and renewable hydrogen through electrolysis.
The CEIH’s Hydrogen Microgrid, launched in 2019, was partly funded by a AUD 1.79 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). It features 1,003 solar panels, with excess renewable energy from a 300 kW rooftop solar system producing hydrogen via a 260 kW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer.
Unused energy is stored in a 478 kWh battery energy storage system (BESS), while pure green hydrogen is stored in a 30-bar high-pressure vessel for use as a blended fuel, a direct fuel for appliance testing, or backup power for a display home.