German green hydrogen player HH2E has ordered 93MWh of high-capacity batteries from BASF that will form part of its electrolyser system in the hope of mitigating the effect of intermittent renewables.
In addition to the order, the company has reserved production capacity for a further 140MWh worth of the sodium sulfur batteries.
By integrating high-capacity batteries with electrolysers, the HH2E system will store excess renewable energy during periods of sun or wind to later be used for the production of green hydrogen or heat.
Aimed to maximise the use of green electrons, the approach is hoped to minimise the curtailing of renewables.
Frank Prechtl, Managing Director of BASF Stationary Energy Storage, said, due to high safety standards, the company’s NAS® batteries are “optimal” for co-location with hydrogen production. “By combining battery storage and electrolysis, HH2E will transform the variable input of sun and wind energy into a stable flow of carbon-free hydrogen, heat and electricity,” Prechtl said. “I see this first contract as a start of the CO2-free hydrogen age in Germany.”
The battery order comes after Nel in January (2023) announced it would supply HH2E with up to 120MW of electrolyser capacity, agreeing to a front end engineering and design (FEED) study and signed a Letter of Intent for two 60MW electrolyser plants in Germany.