OVERVIEW - Plug leads in order commitments in quiet Q4 for the electrolyser market

In the fourth quarter of 2023, large conditional electrolyser supply contracts were scarce and the situation with firm orders was even worse. However, there still were some announcements about potential deliveries in the hundreds-of-megawatts range, most notably by Plug Power Inc.

The following overview collects widely-reported deals and contracts for electrolyser supply that were officially announced by the better-known sector players in October-December 2023. They are presented below in alphabetical order.

Do you know we have a daily hydrogen newsletter? Subscribe here for free!

ACCELERA

First on the list is Accelera by Cummins, which disclosed in November a 20-MW electrolyser system order from Gevo and Zero6 Energy for installation next to a biorefinery in Lake Preston, the US state of South Dakota. Accelera noted that this was its first project in the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) field.

Under the terms of the contract, the company will supply a system made up of four HyLYZER-1000 proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers. Together, the units will be able to produce up to 8 tonnes of hydrogen per day.

ASAHI KASEI

In mid-November, Japanese chemicals company Asahi Kasei Corporation reported the completion of a detailed feasibility study for a water electrolysis project in Malaysia that would eventually bring in a supply order for a 60-MW alkaline electrolyser.

The project is a cooperation between Asahi Kasei, the clean energy arm of Petronas, namely Gentari Sdn Bhd, and JGC Holdings Corporation. It is backed by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

Post completion of the feasibility study, this trio has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a front-end engineering design (FEED) study that was scheduled to begin in January 2024. The operation of the electrolysis system is planned for 2027.

BLOOM ENERGY

In the final quarter of 2024, Bloom Energy’s electrolyser-related announcements came from South Korea. At the very end of the year, the company said it sold a 1.8-MW solid oxide electrolyser (SOEC) to SK ecoplant, a unit of Korean conglomerate SK Group. The contract was part of a large-scale green hydrogen demonstration with the Korea Southern Power Co Ltd (KOSPO) that is expected to be initiated in late 2025. It revolves around the use of green hydrogen as transport fuel on Jeju Island.

At the same time, Bloom Energy and SK ecoplant agreed an extension of the terms of their existing preferred distribution agreement, which has been active since 2021. The Korean engineering firm has committed to purchase 500 MW of Bloom Energy’s so-called Energy Servers through 2027. In addition, it will be a preferred distributor globally for Bloom Energy’s solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and its electrolysers in markets where SK ecoplant has a substantial presence and competitive advantage, the announcement says.

The extended partnership is expected to generate some USD 1.5 billion in product revenue and USD 3 billion in service revenue over 20 years for the US company.

CIPHER NEUTRON

Cipher Neutron Inc, a Canadian Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) electrolysers specialist, in mid-November said it got a purchase order for its technology from FuelPositive Corporation, which wants to test the device and potentially integrate it into its FP300 system for green ammonia production. According to the announcement, FuelPositive hopes to manufacture 30 systems of this type over the next 12 to 18 months, which translates into 4.5 MW of AEM electrolyser stacks.

At end-December, Cipher Neutron disclosed that it was negotiating purchase orders, MoUs and collaboration agreements in relation to its AEM electrolyser technology with more than 50 major parties.

ENAPTER

Another AEM specialist, Enapter AG of Germany, announced in late November that it had acquired new international customers both in Europe and Asia. Specifically, the company said it was to supply 40 AEM Electrolysers EL 4 to an unnamed British cleantech company and an additional 20 EL 4 units to an industrial company in Thailand. Furthermore, Czech building materials company Unigranit has ordered an AEM Nexus, formerly AEM Multicore, with a capacity of 500 kW. Eventually, this capacity could be expanded to 1 MW.

Enapter said that the purchased devices belong to both the single-core and multi-core product lines of the company and should be delivered throughout the fiscal year 2024.

FUELCELL ENERGY

In a few October days, FuelCell Energy Inc made a series of announcements in relation to projects in which it is taking part as a technology provider. First, the company said it signed a MoU with the renewable energy subsidiary of Oando Energy Resources (OER) for the development of a power plant project in Nigeria with a capacity of 5 MW to 15 MW. FuelCell Energy noted that it will deliver fuel cells and electrolysers for the project, and, potentially, carbon capture and sequestration technology.

The company also announced it is joining Kinectrics and Bruce Power in a project in the Canadian province of Ontario that will utilise its solid oxide platform to integrate hydrogen production, hydrogen power generation and a hydrogen fuelling station.

Then, FuelCell Energy unveiled it had been contracted by EDF Energy to provide a 1-MW solid oxide electrolyser cell for a project exploring the viability of using pink hydrogen to decarbonise asphalt production. Thus, the company is joining the Bay Hydrogen Hub consortium, which also includes Heidelberg UK, the National Nuclear Laboratory, and Vulcan Burners. This project will take place at the Nuclear Power Plant in Heysham, Northwest England.

Separately, the company entered into a feasibility and feed study with Canadian Nuclear Laboratory (CNL) which involves applying its SOEC platform alongside nuclear power to produce hydrogen for eFuels production.

GREEN HYDROGEN SYSTEMS

In the last quarter of 2023, Green Hydrogen Systems A/S reported just one partnership involving the supply of an electrolyser. It said it signed a letter of intent with Danish circular bioeconomic company BioCirc to collaborate on the testing and supply of a HyProvide X1200 unit, a 6-MW pressurised alkaline electrolyser that can produce 107 kg of high-purity hydrogen per hour.

“The cooperation allows us to take the next step in a potential site testing and supply of an X-Series unit, enabling us to increase our valuable operational experience from on-site hydrogen production,” said chief commercial officer Soren Rydbirk.

The company noted that this partnership is at an early-stage development phase and the actual supply of the electrolyser is subject to receiving several permissions, approvals, and licences, as well as site selection and testing.

At the year-end, GHS’ total order backlog amounted to 15 MW, up from 13 MW at end-2022.

ITM POWER

British electrolyser maker ITM Power Plc announced just one deal in the last quarter of 2023, but it was not an insignificant one. Shell Deutschland GmbH reserved 100 MW of future production capacity for electrolyser stacks of the Trident model. Under the terms of the agreement, the stacks are to be manufactured in the period 2025-2026 in relation to the Refhyne 2 project at the Shell Energy and Chemical Plant in Rhineland, Germany. It should be noted that this project is pending a final investment decision (FID).

ITM’s chief executive Dennis Schulz commented that the particular deal “reflects the upcoming challenge for customers to secure credible large-scale delivery capability within the PEM electrolyser sphere, against a quickly growing demand."

MCPHY ENERGY

Not only did McPhy Energy SAS unveil a new and significant order in the October-December quarter, but it also announced an existing customer’s lifting of a project suspension. More specifically, Siemens Energy formally notified the company of a decision to resume the Centrale Electrique de l’Ouest Guyanais (CEOG) project in October.

McPhy was previously chosen as the provider of a 16-MW Augmented McLyzer electrolyser for the project which is also known as the Western Guiana Power Plant. However, the execution of the order was postponed in April 2023 because of a suspension “beyond McPhy's control.” Now that it has been resumed, the French company expects to deliver the equipment within the second half of 2024.

CEOG combines a solar photovoltaic park, McPhy’s electrolyser, a hydrogen storage unit and high-power fuel cells. This system will produce hydrogen that will be stored under pressure in tanks. It will take place in French Guiana.

Fast forward to December, McPhy disclosed the aforementioned new order, which came from HMS Oil & Gas in Germany. The two signed a contract for the French firm to supply and commission four McLyzer 3200-30 electrolysers with a capacity totaling 64 MW, to be operated as part of a major tie-in point for the hydrogen grid at the Radeland Compression station in Brandenburg.

In Phase One of the contract execution, McPhy will supply one unit with a capacity of 16 MW for commissioning at end-2025. The other three units will be delivered and commissioned in 2027. Once operational, they will run on wind and solar power generated by nearby facilities to produce up to 10,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year. The FID on Phase One is expected this year.

NEL

Norway’s Nel ASA did not announce any new orders between October and December. On the contrary, it said in December that its client HyCC had postponed the realisation of its H2eron project and had therefore cancelled its purchase order with Nel for a 40-MW electrolyser.

“The regulatory framework is taking more time and current market conditions are not yet at the levels required to execute the project at the desired scale. In the interest of the H2eron project we are unfortunately forced to adjust the setup and schedule accordingly,” said Marcel Galjee, Managing Director of HyCC.

Still, the two companies are negotiating the potential use of Nel’s alkaline electrolysers in the new setup for the particular project, which could reach up to 50 MW.

Nel noted it was supposed to fabricate the equipment under the original order in the fourth quarter of 2025 and that the cancellation was estimated to have a negative backlog impact of about EUR 12 million.

NEXT HYDROGEN

Next Hydrogen Solutions Inc had a few fourth-quarter announcements too, though, not all of them related to actual electrolyser supply orders. In October, the Canadian company announced a CAD-7.7-million deal under which it will first conduct design engineering and then deliver an electrolyser for a project involving a specialised nuclear application. The electrolyser order itself is valued at CAD 2.7 million.

The following month, Next Hydrogen unveiled a MoU with GE Vernova’s Power Conversion business that envisages the integration of its electrolysis technology with GE Vernova’s power systems offerings to produce green hydrogen. This collaboration is expected to provide Next Hydrogen’s electrolysers with direct current (DC) power sourced from renewable energy, including solar, wind, and hydro. In the first phase of this partnership, the two companies plan to work on the integration of advanced power systems with the forthcoming generation of Next Hydrogen electrolysers, including installation and rigorous testing. Then, they will proceed with near-term market demonstrations and deployments.

In December, Next Hydrogen also announced it had received a purchase order from Swiss speciality chemicals company Casale SA for the potential integration of next-generation electrolysers for use in the latter’s green ammonia and methanol systems.

PLUG POWER

When it comes to new order announcements, specifically in terms of capacity to be delivered, Plug Power may have had the best quarter among sector players.

The US green hydrogen ecosystem developer said in October that it was chosen as the preferred supplier of 550 MW of PEM electrolysers for West Australian green energy and metals group Fortescue’s proposed Gibson Island Project in Brisbane, Queensland. This contract is subject to final negotiations and approvals and Fortescue’s FID on that project, which was supposed to be taken by the end of December 2023.

Plug and Fortesque now also have a pact in place to evaluate the potential supply of capital equipment such as electrolysers, liquefiers, tanker trailers and stationary storage tanks for green hydrogen projects in North America, including Fortescue Future Industries’ (FFI) proposed 80-MW project near Phoenix, in the city of Buckeye, Arizona. Moreover, they are considering co-investment opportunities.

In the meantime, Plug also secured an order from Arcadia eFuels to supply a 280-MW PEM electrolyser system for a SAF plant in Vordingborg, Denmark. This project calls for the installation of electrolysers to produce about 120 tonnes of green hydrogen per day and combine it with biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce syngas. The project could move to the execution phase by mid-2024 and become operational towards the end of 2026.

THYSSENKRUPP NUCERA

Thyssenkrupp Nucera AG & Co KgaA also had a couple of announcements to make in October-December 2023. Most notably, Finnish refiner and renewable fuels producer Neste Oyj reserved production capacities for a 120-MW green hydrogen project at a refinery on the southern coast of Finland. More specifically, Nucera is expected to supply six standardised 20-MW scalum modules under its third reservation deal within a few months.

“The investment decision readiness is expected to be reached during 2024,” commented Markku Korvenranta, Executive Vice President at Neste Oil Products.

At the time, Nucera noted that it had secured over 3 GW of total electrolysis capacity under binding contracts with companies worldwide.

Later that month, the company also disclosed a contract that had been included in its third-quarter order intake. Chlorine and caustic soda producer Unipar contracted Nucera for the modernisation of its chlor-alkali plant in Brazil with an order that includes the incorporation of electrolysers. The exact size of the order was not mentioned.

TOPSOE

Denmark’s Topsoe A/S is another sector player that did not announce an actual order during the three months but unveiled a partnership that may lead to one being signed. It said in mid-November it had signed a contract with Allied Green Ammonia Pty Ltd to provide the energy infrastructure developer with its dynamic green ammonia technology for an ammonia plant in Gove, Northern Territory, Australia. Moreover, the two were at the time negotiating the supply of an undisclosed quantity of SOEC for the production of green hydrogen. More details were not given.