Smurfit Kappa and the Hyflexpower consortium have completed the first stage of the Hyflexpower project, a research project into the use of renewable energy.
The project, located at the Smurfit Kappa Saillat paper mill, in France, is the first in the world to introduce an integrated hydrogen gas turbine demonstrator, the packaging firm said.
The hydrogen pilot was successfully trialled in November, with a mix of 30% hydrogen and 70% natural gas. The aim of the Hyflexpower project is to clearly demonstrate that renewable energy can be converted into hydrogen and serve as a flexible means of storing energy, which can then be used to power an industrial turbine.
The project involves significant collaboration across several industries, academic bodies and research institutes, including ENGIE Solutions, Siemens Energy, Centrax, Arttic, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and four European universities.
A Hydrogen Strategy for a Climate-Neutral Europe
Smurfit Kappa notes that the project was inspired by a European Commission report, A Hydrogen Strategy for a Climate-Neutral Europe, which outlines the essential role that hydrogen will play within the European Green Deal carbon-neutral and energy transition initiative.
Commenting on the project, the chief sustainability officer of Smurfit Kappa, Garrett Quinn, said, “We are focused on reducing our emissions with the best-available technology today, but, equally, this announcement demonstrates how we are focused on looking beyond 2030 and trialling new technology, such as hydrogen, today.
"This project will allow us and our partners to understand the technical feasibility of using hydrogen with a lot of our existing energy infrastructure. This is an exciting project for us, and industry in general, as we progress on our journey towards net zero.”
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest technology news. Article by Robert McHugh. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
