At the end of a long forest road in Ørskog in Ålesund, a large area opens up. The mountain has already been blown up, but the power situation in Møre and Romsdal could put a stop to what was to become one of the Nordic region’s largest hydrogen factories. The planned factory for Norwegian Hydrogen will produce renewable energy in the form of green hydrogen. The aim is to bring about a sharp reduction in CO2 emissions. But a lack of electricity from renewable sources can topple the entire climate project. What is hydrogen? Hydrogen: Today, it is mainly produced by splitting natural gas. It can also be produced using water electrolysis and renewable power sources. But it is not a given that hydrogen is environmentally friendly. Experience: Hydrogen has been used for industrial purposes for over a hundred years as a raw material in industry, agriculture or in the production of heat and electricity. A hydrogen car: Is in practice an electric car where the battery has been reduced and combined with a fuel cell and hydrogen tank. Hydrogen tank: The hydrogen tank is filled with hydrogen under pressure at a filling station. Fuel cell: Hydrogen from the tank and air meet in the fuel cell which produces electricity. The only emission from the process is water. Battery: During braking, the energy is stored in the battery as electricity. The battery can contribute extra power to the electric motor during rapid acceleration. Sources: Hydrogenbilnet.no, Unox.no, Hydrogen.no, Sintef. The hydrogen plant with around 50 jobs will be able to produce 40,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually when fully operational, and will require 2.4 terawatt hours of electricity. Full stop Over NOK 200 million has already been invested in the project, but now everything is put on hold. Norwegian Hydrogen is dependent on power in order to contribute to climate change. But the lack of power in Møre and Romsdal makes it difficult. CEO of Norwegian Hydrogen, Jens Berge, is frustrated. – If Norway is to have a role in the green transition, then we are forced to pick up the pace, says Berge. CEO of Norwegian Hydrogen, Jens Berge. Photo: Remi Sagen / news The hydrogen produced in the planned facility will, if all goes as the company hopes, reduce CO2 emissions by 500,000 tonnes annually. This corresponds to over 20 per cent of the emissions to the whole of Møre and Romsdal. Production of green hydrogen will contribute to making emission-free energy more available and building infrastructure for use in the maritime industry, heavy vehicles and industrial processes. – The concession round for the allocation of more power production primarily takes an awfully long time. It is also the case that when the power that is already available is to be distributed, one has to go through an unnecessary number of bureaucratic and time-consuming processes, says Berge. Furthermore, he says that a large part of this time is spent on each project being assessed for maturity and progress, in competition with a mixture of both realistic and more opportunistic applications, for more or less socially beneficial purposes. – The queue just keeps growing. Then it is not easy to plan and take care of established timelines in dialogue with either customers or investors, he says. – Much more must be done Several reports show that the industry and the export industry may face greater challenges in the future, if drastic measures are not taken. Storting representative Nikolai Astrup (H) is afraid that a lack of power is about to short-circuit climate change and believes that much more must be done, and much faster. – Unfortunately, we see that several players who are decisive for Norwegian jobs and the green transition are not allowed to expand, electrify or materialize due to grid and power situations, says Astrup Furthermore, he says that he sees little sign that the current government will address the situation and picks up the pace. Nikolai Astrup (H). Photo: Remi Sagen / news Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) believes they have done more in one year than the previous government did in eight years – We have full pressure to expand the network faster and utilize the network capacity that already there. And then we have taken a number of measures to get more power into the Norwegian power system as well, he says. Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap). Photo: William Jobling / news Too little capacity Bengt Endreseth is section leader in energy and green transition in Møre og Romsdal county municipality. He says that the problem lies in the fact that there is too little capacity in the transmission network, in addition to far too little own production of power in Møre and Romsdal. – Going forward, we must increase renewable power production and we must get more priority for the development of the power grid, says Endreseth. Section leader in energy and green transition in Møre and Romsdal county municipality, Bengt Endreseth. Photo: Per Vidar Kjølmoen/Møre og Romsdal county council Jens Berge is nevertheless optimistic and hopes the hydrogen plant will be completed in 2028. – Our motivation is quite simply to make zero emissions possible.
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Norwegian Hydrogen’s hydrogen factory may be shut down due to power shortages – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
