The energy supply to Longyearbyen, midway between continental Norway and the North Pole, is a hot topic in the climate debate. Longyearbyen is the largest settlement and the administrative centre of Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Today, Longyearbyen obtains its electric power and district heating from its coal power plant, the only one in Norway. A recent study carried out by SINTEF has shown that shipping surplus energy to Svalbard in the form of liquid hydrogen, rather than via a cable, could mean annual savings of more than NOK 100 million.
The estimated costs include the construction of an electrochemical power station in Longyearbyen. A plant of this type would generate electricity from hydrogen without emissions, by means of fuel cells. The ABB energy company estimates that a single cable to the mainland would cost NOK 3 billion, while a more supply-reliable double cable would come to BNOK 5.
“For the price of power supplied by a cable to fall to the level of hydrogen-based power, a cable would also have to supply electricity to offshore installations in the Barents Sea”, says SINTEF’s project manager Anders Ødegård. “But Svalbard needs a long-term solution. It would not be sensible to depend on oil platforms with a lifetime of only a few decades. Our results make it clear that it is important to discuss Svalbard’s future energy supply on a broad basis and not settle on a cable as the only possible zero-emissions solution,” added Ødegård.
In one of SINTEF’ scenarios for the future, Svalbard will supply some energy itself by producing solar power during the summer. As winter approaches, more and more electricity will be generated from hydrogen transported from the mainland.
Ødegård emphasises that any further discussion of Svalbard’s future energy situation should also include other alternatives, such as geothermal energy and continued coal-fired electricity generation, with carbon capture and storage.
SINTEF study has focused on hydrogen, a fuel that could be used by both power stations and vehicles. The energy-rich element is not a source of energy as such, but rather an energy carrier. This is because electrical energy can be stored in the form of hydrogen by passing it through a system that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. If the electrical energy used in such hydrogen generation plants is, for example, wind- or hydro-power, the energy chain will be green in its entirety. This is because power plants and vehicles that use hydrogen emit only pure water.
According to the estimates, if all of Longyearbyen’s electric power were to be generated in a hydrogen power station, electricity bills could be cut by more than NOK 100 million a year.
“If we combine imported hydrogen and local solar power, Svalbard would save a further NOK 0.20 per kWh,” explains Ødegård.
The study is also looking at the possibility of meeting Svalbard’s electricity requirements by installing wind turbines. However, this solution would be more expensive than cable power and, in any case, would scarcely be acceptable on environmental grounds.
The MNOK 100 saving is based on a hydrogen price of about NOK 35 (USD 4) per kilo, CIF Longyearbyen.
“We regard this as a realistic price on the basis of consultations with a number of Norwegian suppliers. However, our study shows that hydrogen would be competitive with cable power even at prices up to around NOK 65 per kilo,” says Ødegård.
At Fantoft, just outside Bergen, Vegard Frihammer heads the energy company Greenstat, which aims to become a national leader in hydrogen production. Frihammer’s company has analysed that hydrogen produced at the Mongstad oil refinery on the west coast of Norway would cost about NOK 22 per kilo.
“Like SINTEF, we are working on a number of studies regarding the liquefaction and transport of hydrogen. But in these areas, there are no public figures we can refer to yet,” says Frihammer.
What he does know, however, is what Norwegian suppliers of hydrogen will need to be prepared for in order to be price-competitive.
“Our aim is that in 2030, green hydrogen from Norway should cost NOK 30 per kg, CIF Japan. This will involve a major effort throughout the value chain, but it ought to be within reach. And if we can reach this goal for supplying Japan, NOK 30 should be a realistic price on Svalbard too.”
Source: SINTEF
