Paper industry first for hydrogen power

Apaper mill in France is pioneering the use of hydrogen-fuelled power as part of a collaborative research project to exploit the benefits of renewable energy.

The Smurfit Kappa paper mill at Saillat is the first in the world to introduce an integrated hydrogen gas turbine demonstrator.

The first stage of the project is being masterminded by the Hyflexpower consortium, a collaboration across a number of industries, academic bodies and research institutes, including Engie Solutions, Siemens Energy, Centrax, Arttic, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and four European universities.

The hydrogen pilot was successfully trialled in November 2022 with a mix of 30 per cent hydrogen and 70 per cent natural gas. The aim of the Hyflexpower project is to demonstrate that renewable energy can be converted to hydrogen and serve as a flexible means of storing energy which can then be used to power an industrial turbine.

The project officially marks the implementation of the world’s first industrial-scale P2X-to-power demonstrator with an advanced hydrogen-fuelled turbine. In 2023, trials will continue to increase the proportion of hydrogen up to 100 per cent.

Sustainability chief at Smurfit Kappa Garrett Quinn commented: “We are focused on reducing our emissions with the best available technology today, but equally this announcement demonstrates how we are focused on looking beyond 2030 and trialling new technology, such as hydrogen, today. This project will allow us and our partners to understand the technical feasibility of using hydrogen with a lot of our existing energy infrastructure. This is an exciting project for us, and industry in general, as we progress on our journey towards net zero.”

The project was inspired by the European Commission’s ‘Hydrogen Strategy for a ClimateNeutral Europe’ report, which outlines the essential role that hydrogen will play within the European Green Deal carbon neutrality and energy transition initiative.

Commenting on the completion of the initial testing, Gaël Carayon, director of subsidiaries at Engie Solutions, said: “Ambitious projects like this one require taking partnerships to the next level and being united in a joint mission to make decarbonisation a reality. Hydrogen will play a crucial role in the interaction between renewables and electricity storage and generation. Engie Solutions is proud to participate in this unique project.”

Bertrand Muguet, mill manager at Smurfit Kappa Saillat, added:

“We are delighted that the initial testing phase of the project was completed successfully at our Saillat paper mill. Smurfit Kappa is proud to be collaborating with our partners on this project which tests new technologies that we believe will form part of our net zero delivery.”

Global director of Hyflexpower at Siemens Energy is Dr Ertan Yilmaz, who said: “With the Hyflexpower project we are showcasing that carbon-neutral and reliable power supply is possible – even for energy-intensive industries. Hydrogen-ready turbines will play a decisive role in climate-neutral energy, so it is very exciting to be looking forward to the next phase of testing.”

The project, first announced in 2020, is funded by the EC with two-thirds of the €15.2 million investment coming from the EU’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The next trials for the project will be carried out in the spring of 2023.

More information from www. hyflexpower.eu

●Smurfit Kappa has won eight WorldStar 2023 Awards.