Danish technology company Topsoe plans to build a $288mn solid-oxide electrolyser manufacturing plant at Herning in central Denmark with an initial capacity of 500MW/yr and the option to scale up to 5GW/yr.

Construction of the plant, which Topsoe says will be the largest and most advanced of its type in the world, is scheduled to start in the second half of this year, pending approval by the company’s board and by regulators. The facility is expected to be operational in 2024 and will have a workforce of 170.

Topsoe says it is already in advanced talks with potential partners over future offtake agreements and commitments to reserve capacity produced at the plant. The facility will produce solid-oxide electrolyser cells, which have a higher energy efficiency than competing technologies, according to the firm.

“We are willing and able to support society’s green ambitions and the need to accelerate the energy transition, and we have the technology to do it,” says Topsoe CEO Roeland Baan.

“With our new electrolyser production plant, we lead the way in speeding up commercial-size power-to-X solutions, and we do it with our highly innovative technology that outmatches technologies currently in the market.”

500MW/yr – Initial production capacity

Topsoe’s announcement comes as the EU steps up its support for the electrolyser manufacturing sector to try to head off a potential capacity shortfall as the bloc seeks to raise green hydrogen production sharply between now and 2030.

Achieving production goals set by the EU under its new RepowerEU energy plan would require an increase of electrolyser production to around 25GW/yr and an installed electrolyser capacity of 90-100GW. Current European manufacturing capacity is 1.75GW/yr.

Manufacturers have agreed to raise capacity to 17.5GW/yr by 2025, followed by further increases in line with demand to 2030, in exchange for a raft of supportive financial and regulatory measures agreed with the industry at a summit in Brussels earlier this month.

Separately, the governments of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium last week agreed to invest more in offshore wind to achieve a tenfold increase in capacity by 2050.

“The political agreement ensures significant availability of the renewable power needed to supply future power-to-X facilities in the EU,” adds Baan.

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Author: Stuart Penson