Green Power Stored at Semco Maritime

Hyme Energy initiates the installation of a new energy storage system based on molten salt. This is done in collaboration with several project partners and Semco Maritime, which will host the facility in Esbjerg.

“Let’s get down to business.”

Esbjerg’s mayor, Jesper Frost Rasmussen, has just cut the first piece of pipe for a new energy storage system, which is scheduled to be built in a warehouse at Semco Maritime on the harbor in Esbjerg in the fall of 2023.

The steel-cutting ceremony, known as the first steel cut, is to the energy sector what the groundbreaking ceremony is to construction.

“As Northern Europe’s energy metropolis, it is good to see new, innovative projects for the future energy system in Esbjerg – and the salt energy storage is a concrete example of this. To achieve the goal of green transition, we need to be able to store renewable energy over time, which can benefit both the climate and our companies that need to deliver energy technological solutions to the global market,” says Jesper Frost Rasmussen.

Green power in drainage cleaning

The new energy storage system is being built as a demonstration facility and will store green power from wind turbines in molten hydroxide salt – also known as drainage cleaning. The energy storage system is being developed in an innovative collaboration between several partners in a project supported by the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP).

One of the partners is Hyme Energy, which has developed the technology for the energy storage system.

“The facility for energy storage in Esbjerg is a milestone for Hyme and a culmination of several years of work to mature the technology. I am proud that we can collaborate with established players in the industry to demonstrate our technology. There is great interest in our energy storage solution in the industry and utility sector, and it is critical that we enter the 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, include Alfa Laval Aalborg, KIRT X THOMSEN, SULZER, Seaborg, Aalborg University, Energy Cluster Denmark, Hyme Energy, and DIN Forsyning from Esbjerg.

Semco Maritime to Store the Green Power

In the spring of 2023, the partners in the project entered into a collaboration with Semco Maritime, which will assist the project with a range of deliveries. This includes collaboration on design, construction of the facility, and implementation of the control system.

Semco Maritime will also host the demonstration plant, which could eventually become a new business segment for the company.

“We are pleased with the excellent collaboration with Hyme Energy and the partners in the groundbreaking MOSS project, which can make a big difference in the green energy transition and now truly gains momentum here in Esbjerg. For Semco Maritime, the project is a cornerstone in our Sustainable Growth strategy and a fantastic opportunity to apply our technological know-how from decades of oil and gas experience in the service of the green transition,” says Anders Benfeldt, Senior Vice President at Semco Maritime.

Facts

The Molten Salt Storage (MOSS) project is supported by the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP) with 13.2 million Danish kroner. The total budget is 24.7 million Danish kroner.

In the innovation project, the partners will develop and build the world’s first MW-scale thermal energy storage. Eventually, a commercial facility could store green power in up to 700 degrees melted hydroxide salt on a GWh scale.

The technology will play a significant role in the energy transition by enabling industries and utility companies to replace fossil fuels with green power for heat and steam production. Heat consumption accounts for half of the global energy consumption and constitutes 40% of global CO2 emissions. Following the work with the demonstration plant in Esbjerg, the plan is to commercialize the solution in 2026.

The project started in 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2024.

Questions about the MOSS project?

Hyme Energy: Karine Blandel, Senior Business Developer, +45 51 52 21 90

Semco Maritime: Anders Benfeldt, Senior Vice President, +45 40 13 80 97

Energy Cluster Denmark: Jonas Nørholm Larsen, Senior Communications Manager, +45 21 22 43 04