Blue Economy CRC

Description

Blue Economy CRC’s Hydrogen Production and Research Facility opened on Friday, the 7th of February. The groundbreaking facility produces green hydrogen for Tasmania – the first to do so. Optimal Group provided the Capstone hydrogen microturbine, ITM electrolyser and the DC microgrid infrastructure, which are integral parts of this new facility. 

This facility will support research and training development for blue economy industries and will also provide commercial-scale hydrogen for industry and transport applications.

The DC microgrid connects electricity flows between the PV panels, the battery, the hydrogen turbine, a clean electricity source for emulating wind and wave generators, and a programmable load to accurately model end-user scenarios for research purposes.

This microgrid also controls the electrolyser, which is one of the largest in Australia, generating 100% renewable hydrogen from installed solar PV and verified renewable power from Tasmania’s electricity grid.

The Capstone 65 kW hydrogen-fuelled microturbine is a novel and innovative technology, and it represents a cost-effective alternative to employing a fuel cell to generate electricity from hydrogen. The microturbine is designed to work as a standalone power generation system that can be deployed in remote locations and to replace diesel-operated generation systems.

Hydrogen is an effective way to store and export clean energy to blue economy industries. This is because it can provide very high reliability of electricity supply within an islanded microgrid, can displace diesel and other fossil fuels in aquaculture and vessels and finally, the oxygen produced along with hydrogen provides an added benefit to aquaculture.