Electrolyser started up at Neste refinery

The pilot project demonstrates the viability of renewable hydrogen in reducing the use of fossil hydrogen in the refining industry. Replacing hydrogen produced from fossil raw materials with renewable hydrogen is one of the key means to lower greenhouse gas emissions in refining. As a next step in the demonstration project, a test programme will validate the technology's performance characteristics.

MultiPLHY is a demonstration project with consortium partners Neste, Sunfire, CEA, and ENGIE. The high-temperature electrolyser is provided by the German electrolyser manufacturer Sunfire and the hydrogen processing unit (HPU) by SMS group. Neste is responsible for the refinery integration and together with Sunfire oversees the operation of the unit. The research and technology organisation CEA coordinates the project, and ENGIE is in charge of techno-economic assessment.

"The MultiPLHY project has given Neste valuable insights and experience in integrating industrial scale renewable hydrogen production into our refinery. We remain committed to exploring different pathways to replace fossil-based hydrogen in our refining processes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our own operations. This demonstration project also shows the importance of cooperation across the whole value chain," said Jukka Kanerva, Senior Vice President, Renewable Refining at Neste.

The electrolyser integrated into Neste's refinery processes is based on the solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) technology by Sunfire. It consists of 12 electrolysis modules, which together make up the world’s largest high-temperature electrolyser (2.6 MW) installed in an industrial environment. The system operates at high temperatures of 850°C and produces more than 60 kg of renewable hydrogen per hour. Due to the utilisation of heat, the high-temperature electrolyser requires significantly less electricity to produce renewable hydrogen compared to other solutions on the market, leading therefore to a much higher efficiency of up to 84%.

“Due to their efficiency, our high-temperature SOEC electrolysers will be a solution in many applications where waste heat is available. The MultiPLHY project demonstrates that the technology can be integrated into industrial environments at a large scale,” stated Nils Aldag, CEO of Sunfire.

“High-temperature electrolysis has the potential to make renewable hydrogen more affordable while increasing the global energy efficiency of various industrial processes. The construction and commissioning achieved by Sunfire and Neste is a tremendous achievement and a big step in making green hydrogen competitive,” added Pierre Olivier, Head of Hydrogen Lab from ENGIE.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/06102025/electrolyser-started-up-at-neste-refinery/