Initiating the Production of Green Hydrogen for Transport and Other Applications in the Czech Republic

Introduction

The aim of the project is to initiate the green hydrogen market in the Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. The hydrogen will be produced in a 2 megawatt (MW) electrolyser powered by solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and a biomass combined heat and power (CHP) system, located in the town of Frýdek-Místek in the east of the Czech Republic.

Project Timeline and Output

After the construction stage that is part of this project, the commercial operation will begin in 2026 with an expected output volume of up to 270 tonnes of green hydrogen per year. The hydrogen will firstly be supplied to bus, train, and truck operators with the further possibility to use this hydrogen in non-transport applications, notably:

• Injection into the natural gas grid
• Metallurgy

The project has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 98% compared to the reference scenario over the monitoring period of 10 years.

Innovation and Market Initiation

The project’s innovation lies in the “market initiation” ambition and “operation optimisation” of the plant. For the latter, the combination of PV (prevalent in summer) and biomass co-generation (prevalent in winter) makes the production of hydrogen available all year round.

The key objective is to provide a reliable supply and guaranteed volume of green hydrogen at an affordable price in order to kick-start the market. This will encourage the demand side to invest in green hydrogen applications and generally inspire new stakeholders to grow the hydrogen market.

Production Details

The green hydrogen will be produced in a 2 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser, installed within the existing CHP plant. The selected size is adequate for the purpose of the project to help the local market startup, and the annual hydrogen output from the initial electrolyser will be sufficient to replace diesel in transport applications to the scale of about:

1. 30 buses
2. 5 local trains

However, it has the potential to be expanded at the current site and also to be replicated elsewhere in the region and beyond.

Economic Transformation

The project’s objective is to demonstrate that green hydrogen is one of the most promising ways forward to transform the economy of the coal region – with a rapid scale-up from the theoretical (at present) to the commercial (in only 3 years). The Moravian-Silesian region is one of the key EU regions that is transforming from coal-based heavy industry.

The VOZARTEK project will help to initiate the renewable hydrogen value chain within the region to support this transition. The location at the existing CHP plant will further increase energy efficiency through the use of residual heat from the hydrogen production within the existing district heating system.

Regional Impact

The VOZARTEK project aims to have a positive impact on the development of the Moravian-Silesian region by helping to initiate a regional renewable hydrogen value chain. The project will also contribute to the development and scale-up of innovative technologies in the region.