Via a project company Everfuel Greenstat Production 1 AS, Danish hydrogen fuel company Everfuel and Norwegian energy company Greenstat have signed an agreement with Norwegian producer Elkem for the long-term lease of land in the Fiskaa industrial area in Kristiansand, Norway, for the construction of a hydrogen facility.
The companies said that, depending on the investment decision for the hydrogen plant, an agreement has been signed for a 30 + 10-year lease.
Everfuel and Greenstat established the Hydrogen Hub Agder project in 2021, and in April 2022, they signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Elkem.
The plant construction is planned to consist of two phases. The first phase is a hydrogen production facility with a 20 MW electrolyser producing around 8 MT of green hydrogen per day and the second phase expands the PtX facility to a 60 MW electrolyser.
Everfuel said that, depending on funding and later permitting, the commissioning of the first phase is expected in late 2024.
According to the companies, the primary focus of the hub is to serve the shipping industry with renewable fuel (where Kristiansand is a major port for both Norwegian coastal traffic and marine traffic) to the rest of the European continent.
Greenstat said that the location at the harbour basin in Kristiansand is ideal for hydrogen supply to the maritime sector using both container swapping and cascade filling in an area that is already regulated for industrial purposes.
It added that a number of forward-looking partners, including Holland-Norway Lines, FFS Marine, and Arriva Shipping, have entered into agreements of intent to use hydrogen in Kristiansand, and both Everfuel and Greenstat are working closely with partners to move forward with concrete delivery contracts.
According to Everfuel, combined with the potential use of excess heat from the facility in collaboration with Elkem Carbon, Everfuel and Greenstat will create a highly energy-efficient PtX-facility.
Greenstat stated that the companies are now working on a progress plan where an investment decision will be made for the project in June this year. Construction is expected to start in August/September with the construction period itself expected to last approximately 1.5 years with the aim of producing hydrogen from Fiskå at the end of 2024.
In June 2022, the project received investment support of NOK 148 million ($14.9 million) from Enova as one of five maritime hubs for hydrogen in Norway.