Ballylumford Power-to-X
FEED study completed. The project could not proceed because of grid connection dates.
The Ballylumford Power-to-X project aimed to demonstrate an end-to-end hydrogen economy for the power generation sector. Awarded approximately £1M in funding from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) through the Longer Duration Energy Storage (LODES) competition, the project completed a 12-month FEED study to deploy a 20MWe electrolyser producing green hydrogen and oxygen from renewable energy, with integrated storage and power generation applications.
Project overview
B9 Energy Storage, on behalf of a project consortium comprising Mutual Energy, Islandmagee Energy and Net Zero Technology Centre, was awarded approximately £1M in funding as part of the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Longer Duration Energy Storage (LODES) innovation competition. This was the only LODES award to a Northern Ireland-based applicant and the only Power-to-X project in the UK to be funded for stream 1, phase 1 activities, which included a 12-month FEED (front end engineering design) study.
Technology and approach
The project aimed to produce demonstrably green hydrogen and oxygen from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. It would have deployed a 20MWe electrolyser at Ballylumford, Islandmagee, in Northern Ireland, to provide longer duration electrical balance for wind energy that would otherwise go unused (curtailment).
The hydrogen was to be distributed in a dedicated transmission pipeline and stored underground in a local salt cavern system for later use as carbon-free fuel in both the transport and power generation sectors. The latter application involved firing trials of a relocated 20MWe open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) of the kind typically used for electricity generation on oil and gas platforms and at oil refineries. The trials aimed to reach a hydrogen blend of more than 70% by volume in natural gas.
Further firing trials of the OCGT module were to be carried out with oxygen added to the combustion air, to assess the benefits of oxygen-enhanced combustion on fuel efficiency. These trials would run the turbine part loaded, an inefficient mode of operation that is increasingly seen during wind farm curtailment. The technique could reduce the carbon intensity of the electricity market.
What the project would have demonstrated
- Longer duration energy storage: salt cavern storage of hydrogen at large scale, to balance renewable energy supply
- Gas turbine fuel switching: hydrogen blends of more than 70% by volume in an OCGT for power generation
- Oxygen-enhanced combustion: better OCGT fuel efficiency by adding oxygen during part-loaded operation
- Integrated system design: electrolysis, storage and power generation connected in a single demonstration
Project status
The 12-month FEED study was completed. The project could not proceed because of grid connection dates.
Project details
- Location
- Ballylumford Power Station, Islandmagee, County Antrim
- Technology
- Power-to-X, green hydrogen production
- Electrolyser
- 20MWe
- Funding
- About £1M from BEIS, through the LODES competition
- Partners
- Mutual Energy, Islandmagee Energy, Net Zero Technology Centre
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