“The key is to manufacture it here, originally, with our sun, our wind and our seawater. But the answer is a resounding yes.” The professor of Physics and representative of the University of La Laguna in the study, Ricardo Guerrero, to the question of whether it is possible for hydrogen to be the axis of a future island energy system in Tenerife. The pilot project will have its development in Mallorca (Balearic Islands) and the academic institution participates in the initiative, called Green Hysland. Guerrero emphasizes that “of course it is possible on our Island. In fact, I think that it is the only way forward, that of green hydrogen, alone or combined with renewables.” He adds that “demand is currently being created for so-called fuel cells – today handcrafted – to power public buildings, hotels or transportation, both public and car rental.” The initiative that unites the initial private impulse with the subsequent development from public policies, proposes, says Guerrero, “new savings values, about 15 kilowatt hours in 100 kilometers on average.” The professor, a native of Puerto de la Cruz, highlights that “hydrogen is the fuel with the highest energy density per unit mass.” I mean, it’s very heavy.
The expert recalls its “green” status because “it is generated from photovoltaic energy and through a hydrolysis process – a chemical reaction in which water molecules are divided into their component atoms (hydrogen and oxygen)–”. Guerrero warns: “The European Union (EU) points out in recent studies that what would enter as a storage system is the battery (electricity) and then it would be challenged a bit to leave the gap free for hydrogen.” He sums it up like this: “The immediate future lies in the combination of electricity and hydrogen.” Apostille: «We will have to correct the storage factor but also the power to avoid extreme situations such as, for example, the various energy zeros that Tenerife has experienced in recent years». Manufacture, store and distribute. That is the path, according to Ricardo Guerrero, of green hydrogen as the axis of a future insular energy system. Alone or combined with other fuels such as ammonia, renewable methane or methanol.
Decarbonization
Guerrero emphasizes: «The path to decarbonizing the island’s energy system is to approach 95% penetration of renewables, especially the sun and wind, but with the other 5% supplied by hydrogen, alone or mixed with aforementioned fuels. Guerrero recalls that “we don’t always have those resources on the Island because there are calm times during the year in terms of both meteorological phenomena, along with other periods in which they converge strongly, such as in the summer.” In this regard, the expert states: «Manufacture hydrogen with our wind, our sun, our sea and also with a fourth added element that would be our waste. Although that is the subject of another debate. The ULL participates in this project, the Green Hysland Project that studies hydrogen as a source of energy on the islands. The experts consider that there is potential for 95% of the energy to be generated through photovoltaic and wind plants; hydrogen would complete the remaining 5%. It is financed through the Horizon 2020 program of the European Union with 17 million euros and aims to study the potential penetration of hydrogen as an alternative energy source in island systems. It is managed through a consortium made up of 30 public and private institutions from Spain, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Greece, Chile and Morocco, including the University of La Laguna.
In mallorca
The objective is to install a hydrogen production system on the island of Mallorca to introduce the use of this renewable energy source in the island’s supply system. Mallorca is in an ideal position to develop the first renewable hydrogen hub in southern Europe, a pioneering example of an island economy based on green hydrogen. The project will also include the development of studies and business models to replicate it on other islands inside and outside the European Union. Once the Balearic plant is up and running, the other participating institutions located in Tenerife, Madeira and the Frisian Islands (several countries), among others, will try to replicate the installation in their territories with the necessary adaptations. Guerrero is the researcher linked to this project in Tenerife. He details that in Mallorca hydrogen will be produced in two photovoltaic plants to which an electrolyser will be placed so that, in combination with purified water, they generate hydrogen, which will be distributed through a gas pipeline to be mixed with natural gas. “Our role at the ULL is to be replicators,” he clarifies, adding: “We will learn the lessons of the project in Mallorca –what technologies are used, how it is integrated into the electricity grid or the economic analysis– and from there we will study how to replicate it in Tenerife”. The professor points out that the technical challenge on this island “will be greater, since it lacks a natural gas pipeline like the one in the Balearic Islands.” For this reason, he starts from an absent conditioning factor in the territory of the pilot test.
Potential
Guerrero explains that, in the case of Tenerife, there is potential for 95% of the energy to be generated through photovoltaic and wind plants, and that hydrogen could supply the remaining 5%. “Really, everything could be generated with existing energies, but that 5% with solar and wind power would be very expensive because it would force a lot of energy to be wasted; that is why it is so interesting to consider hydrogen,” he maintains. Green Hysland is a five-year project that began in 2021 and consists of seven work packages: administrative, planning with material procurement, installation, facility management, economic measures, replicability, and outreach. Guerrero estimates that it is currently between phases two and three already in the first year, which indicates that the project is advancing at a good pace. The ULL researcher points out that his participation in this consortium comes from a previous work of similar characteristics on the study of the potential of different renewable fuels in Tenerife, including hydrogen. The idea was always that, after this first study, they would go to international calls to finance the following phases, and from there the opportunity to join Green Hysland was urgent.
