Demo4Grid is an FCH JU project in the vein of H2Future. It was likewise launched in Austria, in March 2017, and just as H2Future, it has been focusing on green hydrogen. The main differences are the test system, now a 4-megawatt high-pressure alkaline electrolyzer, and the location, this time near Therese Mölk, an industrial bakery in Völs.
The project has been subsidized with EUR 2.9 million (at a total investment of EUR 7.7 million). Project partners include Tyrol-based MPreis Warenvertriebs GmbH, FEN Sustain Systems, and Greek and Spanish businesses. The electrolyzer runs on one single stack and was manufactured by Industrie Haute Technologie, Switzerland. Industrie Haute is planning to operate the system jointly with the MPreis grocery chain from 2019 through February 2022.
The hydrogen is said to replace natural gas heating the ovens and may also be used to power the bakery’s delivery vans. Ernst Fleischhacker, the initiator of the project and managing partner of FEN Systems, explained: “There’s growing demand for hydrogen in transportation, as fuel cell units can be used whenever you need to transport heavy loads, refuel quickly and go long distances.”
Demo4Grid will continue the work of two other projects supported by FCH JU, Elygrid (ended in 2014) and ELYntegration (ends in August 2018).