Danfoss-led consortium targets higher efficiency in green hydrogen production

Green hydrogen is produced using renewable electricity, but electrolysis remains energy intensive. Improving the efficiency of the overall production system is therefore important for applications where hydrogen is considered an alternative to direct electrification, including heavy industry and maritime operations.

The HEROES (Heat and Energy Recovery of Electrolyzer Systems) project addresses this challenge by examining how energy recovery and system integration can reduce energy requirements across the hydrogen production process.

Consortium combines complementary expertise
Danfoss is leading the project through its Fossil Free Future Veturi program, which is funded by Business Finland. The consortium includes VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the University of Vaasa, Convion, Hitachi Energy and Elcogen, together with other partners.

The cooperation brings together expertise covering power electronics, energy systems, heat recovery and hydrogen technologies. This combination is intended to address the efficiency of the complete system rather than focusing on an individual component of the electrolyzer.

Integrated energy recovery approach
HEROES focuses on developing and demonstrating an integrated hydrogen production system in which heat and energy recovery are considered as part of the overall system architecture. The approach examines how energy generated or released within the production process can be recovered and reused to reduce overall energy consumption.

The partners contribute different areas of research and industrial expertise to investigate system-level improvements and their practical implementation. The project is intended to generate technical knowledge that can support the integration of energy recovery technologies into future hydrogen production systems.

Applications and expected impact
The consortium is targeting hydrogen applications in sectors where direct electrification is technically difficult. Higher production efficiency could reduce the amount of renewable electricity required for a given quantity of hydrogen and improve the energy utilization of the production system.

The project aims to demonstrate a highly energy-efficient hydrogen production system and develop capabilities that can support further deployment of green hydrogen technologies. The work is also expected to provide technical knowledge for integrating power, heat and hydrogen systems at larger scales.

Edited by Sucithra Mani, Induportals editor – adapted by AI.

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