The heating plants in Frýdek-Místek and Krnov are the closest to ecological industrial hydrogen production in the Moravian-Silesian Region. They would then primarily like to offer it for sale for use in transport.
The operator of both thermal power plants, Veolia Energie ČR, has now signed a memorandum of cooperation with the University of Mining and Metallurgy - Technical University of Ostrava.
"We will cooperate with VŠB-TUO mainly on testing, optimising the operation of all components of the technology, verifying the quality of the hydrogen produced, and the university will of course gain practical experience," explained Arnošt Gross, head of innovative projects at Veolia Energie ČR, explaining the reasons for signing the memorandum.
Both thermal power plants were chosen mainly because they can produce ecological "green" hydrogen.
"Their environmental friendliness lies in the fact that the hydrogen will be produced from 'green' electricity generated through the combustion of biomass or in combination with photovoltaics, i.e. from renewable sources," Gross added.
"The production of hydrogen itself will not produce any carbon dioxide. Both thermal power plants already use biomass to produce thermal energy and from 2023 will produce heat and electricity completely without coal." The Ostrava University of Technology wants to act as a link between development, use and production in this project.
"We are trying to develop low-carbon technologies in the region so that the region can undergo full decarbonisation by 2050," explained Stanislav Mišák, Director of the Centre for Energy and Environmental Technologies (CEET) at VŠB. "We are preparing a kind of cookbook on how to go through this process, and hydrogen is one of the components we want to use in this process," he added.
In Frýdek-Místek and Krnov, Veolia intends to use already known production processes using electrolysis. Here, hydrogen is to be produced using electricity from cogeneration units with the help of residual heat for heating.
Other similar processes are also being investigated by scientists at VŠB. "We are trying to go beyond the already known method of hydrogen production by electrolysis to produce hydrogen from waste using pyrolysis or plasma gasification, which is not yet widely implemented in our country," commented Mišák on other possibilities of cooperation. "It's a great opportunity to bring waste back into play and reduce landfill."
Currently, VŠB operates similar facilities on an experimental basis. "Within five years, these facilities must be operating on a commercial basis. We want to be a guarantor in the strategy as well as in the development of the technologies and their installation for real use in cooperation with the practice," the CEET director added.
Several hydrogen filling stations are planned in the region in the next few years, which could be used for refuelling hydrogen buses, for example.
The region is ordering their operation, for the time being on the Ostrava-Havířov line, and the Ostrava transport company is also buying hydrogen buses. From 2028, fourteen pairs of hydrogen trains should run on the lines between Krnov, Bruntál, Jeseník and Olomouc.