Italia – Generadores de gas – Supply, Installation and maintenance of a PEM Electrolyser for Hydrogen Production at JRC Ispra

Contract Object

The procurement entails the design, manufacturing, delivery, installation, and commissioning of a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysis system for hydrogen production at the JRC Ispra site. The core of the system is a 50 Nm3/h electrolyser (which must be upgradable to 100 Nm3/h) that delivers hydrogen at an outlet pressure of 30 barg. The main equipment will be delivered in a containerized/skid version divided into three specific areas: a control panel area with the AC/DC converter, a water purification unit, and an ATEX-classified area containing the stacks and gas purification treatment. In addition to the containerized unit, the scope of supply includes several external components: - An MV/LV transformer - A thermal management system (dry cooler) - A low-pressure hydrogen storage system consisting of a cylinder rack at 30 bar with a total volume of 5 m3 - A gas blender installed on the outlet piping after the storage Finally, the procurement includes a comprehensive service package covering the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT), Site Acceptance Test (SAT), ATEX verification, staff training, two years of spare parts, and a 3-year maintenance contract. Reason for Purchasing The primary objective of this procurement is to produce green hydrogen by harnessing the renewable energy generated from the JRC Ispra site's internal photovoltaic (PV) plant. Currently, the site has a 1.35 MWp PV installation, which is planned to be expanded to 2 MWp and eventually 3 MWp in the future. Instead of using battery systems, the JRC intends to use the excess energy from this PV plant to power the electrolyser for self-consumption. The hydrogen produced will then be blended into the natural gas pipeline (up to a 10% volume blend) to feed the site's co-generators. A dedicated technical sizing analysis concluded that a modular 2x250 kW electrolyser is the optimal choice, as it offers the best compromise between the available PV power, the number of operating hours, and the demand from the co-generators across current and future PV expansion scenarios.

Official source

Granting body

European Commission, DG JRC - Joint Research Centre