Norwegian renewable power producer and distributer BKK has started to invest in green hydrogen projects as a means to find more customers for its renewable electricity.

The 100-year old company, which owns 38 hydroelectric power plants in Norway, is a partner in Europe’s first project to produce and distribute liquid green hydrogen directly to end consumers in the local shipping industry. The Aurora project, which also includes Equinor and Air Liquide, aims to produce 6t/d of liquid green hydrogen in a first phase by 2024, with further expansion of the 15MW electrolyser a possibility. The initial production volumes are expected to cover all of western Norway’s liquid hydrogen demand between 2024-26.

1-2GW – Norway’s potential hydrogen electrolysis capacity in 2030

The project, located near Equinor’s Mongstad crude oil refinery, presents BKK’s first array into the green hydrogen market. “One of the things we’ve started to learn is that you do need a zero-emissions solution also for fuels. Everyone can’t just plug into electricity,” BKK’s director of innovation and development, Ingrid von Streng Velken, tells Hydrogen Economist.

The company has set itself the task of becoming Norway’s leading player in electrification. To von Streng Velken this also includes supplying customers indirectly with power. “A zero-emission fuel will be part of the energy system and it is creating additional demand for our main product, renewable energy. [Green hydrogen] is a way of making sure our product gets to new customers who cannot use it in the form in which it is being supplied today,” she says. The company also has its own sustainability targets, aiming to have an in-house zero-emissions vehicle fleet by 2025 and to cut its carbon emissions by 50pc by 2030.

One of BKK’s first customers could be Norwegian shipbuilder Wilhelmsen which is planning to construct the world’s first liquid hydrogen common carriers. The cargo vessels will be fuelled by hydrogen and are also designed to transport the fuel to bunkering stations in western Norway. “They will be our potential first customer,” says BKK’s head of hydrogen, Bjorn Sundland.

First movers

In Norway, which—unlike many other parts in Europe—has a very limited natural gas network to serve the nascent hydrogen market, market growth is likely to focus on the transport and industrial sectors. “The first movers in Norway will be industry and maritime transport and maybe also long-haul transport, but ramp-up of that market is more uncertain,” Sundland says.

One of the things we’ve started to learn is that you do need a zero-emissions solution also for fuels. Everyone can’t just plug into electricity - Ingrid von Streng Velken, BKK

The company is a big supplier of high-speed electric vehicle charging points, but Sundland does not see fuelling passenger cars with hydrogen as an attractive business opportunity for BKK. “We see the development of EV batteries growing so rapidly that the market for fuel cell cars is not something we would prioritise.”

BKK has participated in an industry initiative which estimates Norway could have installed hydrogen electrolysis capacity of 1-2GW by 2030, but Sundland admits that many uncertainty factors could alter this estimate, including carbon taxes and government investment incentives. “Compared to the rest of Europe, we will have more local production and maybe strong hubs of hydrogen that can supply different regions,” Sundland says.

For BKK, the green hydrogen market is uncharted territory and the company’s involvement could still change. “It is a market at a very early stage. Throughout the project’s learning process we will develop what will be the right position for us,” says von Streng Velken. For the time being it aims to be part of consortiums developing and owning green hydrogen production sites.

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Author: Karolin Schaps