Topsoe has announced its final investment decision to construct the world's largest solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) manufacturing plant in Herning, Denmark. The plant will have a manufacturing capacity of 500 MW per year, with the option to expand to 5 GW. The company has already secured a first offtake agreement and plans to invest over DKK 2 billion in the facility. Topsoe aims to lead the scaling of power-to-x technology to drive the energy transition and hopes the facility will attract further investment. The plant is expected to be operational in the second half of 2022 and will create 170 jobs.
- The Board of Topsoe has now taken final investment decision (FID) to begin construction of the world’s largest SOEC electrolyzer manufacturing plant in Herning, Denmark.
- Plant manufacturing capacity is 500 MW per year with an option to expand to 5 GW.
- First offtake agreement in place.
Topsoe CEO, Roeland Baan, said: “The case for using electrolysis to produce green fuels is now well established, but manufacturing capacity has always been the challenge. We are facing this challenge head on. We are dedicated to taking the lead on scaling power-to-x technology to help drive the energy transition, and we are investing over DKK 2 billion to meet this demand and address this fundamental supply weakness. This is the single biggest investment in the company’s history, clearly highlighting our commitment to driving the energy transition, and we hope this huge facility will act as a catalyst for new investment in the future.”
Sundus Cordelia Ramli, CCO of Topsoe’s Power-to-X division, said:
“There is a genuine trust in us and our cutting edge SOEC electrolyzer technology, built on years of technological excellence. With this new state of the art manufacturing facility, we are taking power-to-x technology into a commercially competitive position, ultimately making the case for decarbonization unarguable. We already have 500 MW of pre-sold capacity and are in discussions with other potential offtake partners as well, who find our electrolyzer technology attractive, and look forward to being able to make more announcements in due course.”
At 500 MW capacity per year, the new facility will be the world’s largest SOEC manufacturing plant. This is a rapid acceleration not just for Topsoe, but also Denmark, and the EU towards a green energy transition while reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
Topsoe is also delivering on its REPowerEU ambitions when, in May 2022, a Joint Declaration was signed along with other industry leaders and the European Commission to commit to a tenfold increase of European electrolyzer manufacturing capacity by 2025.
Roeland Baan added: “This is a major statement of intent from Topsoe, but it is also a reality that industry cannot lead this energy transition alone. We look towards the EU and the Danish government for long-term incentives and supportive framework conditions to continue to accelerate the green hydrogen market and anchor large-scale electrolyzer production right here in the EU.”
About the production plant
- Final Investment Decision was taken on August 24, 2022
- The plant will be built in Herning, Denmark and construction set to start in second half of 2022.
- Capacity of 500 megawatt electrolyzers per year and with an option to expand to 5 gigawatt.
- SOEC consumes less electricity than alkaline and PEM technologies, since the process requires less power overall; with the integration of a steam feed, the SOEC process becomes even more efficient.
- Jobs: When fully operational, 170 people will work on the site.