"Let's get down to business."
Esbjerg's mayor, Jesper Frost Rasmussen, just cut the first section of pipe for a new energy storage facility that will be built in the autumn of 2023 in a warehouse at Semco Maritime in the Port of Esbjerg.
The ceremony is known as the first steel cut and is to the energy sector what breaking the ground is to construction.
"As the energy metropolis of Northern Europe, it's good to see new, innovative projects for the future energy system of Esbjerg, and the molten salt energy storage system is a concrete example of this. To succeed in the green transition, we need to be able to store renewable energy over time, which can benefit both the climate and the companies that will deliver energy technology solutions to the global market," Jesper Frost Rasmussen says.
Green power in drain cleaner
The new energy storage facility is being built as a demonstration plant and will store green power from wind turbines in molten hydroxide salt – also known as drain cleaner. The energy storage is being developed in an innovative collaboration between a number of partners in a project supported by the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP).
Among the partners is Hyme Energy, which has developed the energy storage technology.
"The energy storage facility in Esbjerg is a milestone for Hyme and a culmination of years of work to mature the technology. I'm proud that we can work with established industry players to demonstrate our technology. There is a lot of interest in our energy storage solution in the industrial and utility sectors, and it's critical that we get to market quickly. The world and the climate cannot wait," says Ask Emil Løvschall-Jensen, CEO and co-founder of Hyme Energy.
The partners in the innovation project, titled Molten Salt Storage – MOSS, are Alfa Laval Aalborg, KIRT X THOMSEN, SULZER, Seaborg, Aalborg University, Energy Cluster Denmark, Hyme Energy, and DIN Forsyning from Esbjerg.
Semco Maritime to store green power
In the spring of 2023, the project partners entered a collaboration with Semco Maritime who will contribute to the design, construction, and control system implementation.
Semco Maritime will also house the demonstration plant, which could eventually become a new business for the company.
"We are delighted with the excellent collaboration with Hyme Energy and the partners in the groundbreaking MOSS project, which can make a huge difference in the green energy transition and is now really taking off here in Esbjerg. For Semco Maritime, the project is a cornerstone in our Sustainable Growth strategy and a great opportunity to bring our technological know-how from decades of oil and gas experience into play in the service of the green transition," says Anders Benfeldt, Senior Vice President at Semco Maritime.
Facts
Molten Salt Storage (MOSS) has received DKK 13.2 million in support from the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP). The total budget is DKK 24.7 million.
In the innovation project, the partners will develop and build the first MW-scale thermal energy storage facility based on molten hydroxides in the world. A commercial facility will be able to store green power in molten hydroxide salt heated to up to 700 degrees Celsius at GWh-scale.
The technology will play a significant role in the energy transition by enabling industry and utilities to replace fossil fuels with green power for heat and steam production. Heat consumption is equivalent to half of global energy consumption and accounts for 40% of global carbon emissions. Following the work on the demonstration plant in Esbjerg, the plan is to commercialise the solution in 2026.
The project began in 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2024.