Hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in the future climate-neutral energy mix – as a bridging technology to replace natural gas or fossil fuels. Stargate Hydrogen from Estonia is one player in this sector that supplies containerised turn-key high-performance electrolysers for energy-intensive industries that support industrial decarbonisation.

“The most sustainable and environmentally friendly way to produce “green” hydrogen is to run electrolysis with clean electricity in order to split water into hydrogen and oxygen,” said Jan Grolig, COO of Stargate Hydrogen Solutions, based in Tallinn, Estonia. Stargate is a pioneer in green hydrogen production: it offers electrolysed plants to industrial end users such as refineries, glass and paper manufacturers, green ammonia producers, and utilities.

Stargate Hydrogen is a deep tech company that stands for deep technology and describes companies with a strong research background. They address new, unknown challenges and create new solutions for groundbreaking innovations. This is exemplified by the novel nanoceramic-based electrode materials at the core of Stargate electrolysers.

“They contain no precious metals, such as platinum or iridium, which leads to significantly lower production costs for hydrogen – while maintaining the same high efficiency,” added Jan Grolig. This accelerates broader industrial use of hydrogen.

Containerized turn-key electrolysers for green hydrogen

For example, the Gateway product family uses advanced alkaline technology to provide hydrogen at a high pressure of 30 bar. This eliminates the need for multi-stage hydrogen compressors and lowers the overall cost of the systems. This results in high efficiency at low cost.

Gateway electrolysis plants are containerised and delivered turn-key. The largest plant in the series produces 2000 standard cubic meters (m3/h) per hour and 4.3 tons of hydrogen per day.

“Planning, design and installation of the electrolysers take place in close cooperation with customers after their individual needs have been analysed,” says Grolig. “The plants can be adapted specifically: In glass production, for example, they are designed for energy efficiency, while in power plants supplying green electricity for electrolysis, for example, the focus is on cost efficiency.”

The most sustainable and environmentally friendly way to produce “green” hydrogen is to run electrolysis with clean electricity in order to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Jan Grolig, COO of Stargate Hydrogen Solutions

Cooperation between business and science

Stargate Hydrogen has established its research and development in the Department of Materials and Environmental Engineering at TalTech University, a leading university in the country. This ensures access to modern research infrastructure and analytical instrumentation technology. Stargate and TalTech are working on developing new materials and equipment, manufacturing automation and machine learning solutions.

“The cooperation between Stargate Hydrogen and Taltech exemplifies the collaboration between Estonian business and science,” says Leana Kammertöns, Export Advisor at the business development agency Enterprise Estonia in Berlin. She adds, “Last year, a similar constellation resulted in the world’s first hydrogen vehicle, which combines autonomous driving with fuel cell technology as a power source.”

This public transit shuttle carries up to eight passengers and improves last-mile transportation, such as in shopping districts or residential areas less served by public transport. Called AuveTech, the vehicle is powered by low-temperature hydrogen cells that generate energy from hydrogen directly inside the shuttle.

Estonian companies open for business with industries

With 1,800 companies and 33,000 employees, mechanical and plant engineering is Estonia’s largest industrial sector, with a tradition dating back to the 1870s. “Estonia, with its internationally oriented mechanical engineering ecosystem, is open for business,” said Leana Kammertöns. With their vertical integration and competitive costs, mechanical engineering companies are established in global markets as reliable and resourceful partners.

“As a member of the EU, Estonia applies EU norms and standards for products, processes and services,” mentioned Jan Grolig. This provides legal certainty in cooperation, for example, in immission control law (BImSchG), which protects people and their environment from harmful effects caused by noise and immissions.

GOOD TO KNOW 

• Hydrogen can be used to decarbonise parts of heavy industry or heavy-duty transport. The steel industry in Germany, for example, accounts for about 30% of industrial CO2 emissions.
• Since hydrogen does not occur in its pure form in nature, it usually has to be split off, for example, from natural gas or crude oil – which is not climate-friendly. However, it can also be produced as “green” hydrogen from water using the so-called electrolysis process, which produces it climate-neutrally using green electricity from wind or sun.
• In its study “Hydrogen on the horizon,” the economic consulting firm PwC assumes that the demand for hydrogen as an energy carrier for a global energy turnaround will increase from 76 megatons per year at present to up to 600 megatons per year worldwide by 2050.

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