On its way to realizing a revolutionary 30 MW sustainable hydrogen production facility plant at Motor Oil Hellas’ Corinth refinery, the Ephyra project consortium held its 1st General Assembly meeting on June 6 and 7 in Thessaloniki, Greece. An inspiring meeting, hosted by the Centre for Technology & Research Hellas (CERTH), where the project partners discussed the progress of the project and the further implementation strategy.

A snapshot of some of the main achievements that have been presented and discussed during the General Assembly:

• Selection of a vendor for key equipment with detailed engineering set to commence in 2025. This should lead towards integration with the refinery by the project’s next phase;
• An assessment of options to provide carbon-free energy to power the electrolyser has been conducted. Several scenarios have been considered including assessment of ORC integration into the electrolyser and for exploitation of other heat streams in the refinery;
• Cost-benefit analysis for the co-produced oxygen utilization in the refinery claus unit has been conducted. A desktop study for oxygen utilization in other users within the refinery, e.g. oxygen enrichment in the FCC unit, is currently ongoing;
• Assessment and integration of circular & innovative concepts to the refinery’s water systems and seawater desalination facilities for supporting hydrogen manufacturing and the re-use of wastewater in the industrial environment started;
• Design and evaluation of various configurations for plasma based wastewater treatment is ongoing (preliminary analysis is completed);
• Initial process model of the electrolyser system and balance of plant components, including models for subsystems like the ORC, detailed heat exchanger units and RES scenarios have been developed. The model will be fine tuned using data provided by the selected vendor. The process model will be the basis for the development of the digital twin of the 30 MW electrolysis plant;
• Preliminary assessment of market viability, potential replication sites, and socio-economic and environmental sustainability.

Even though major steps have been taken, still a lot needs to be done to ultimately realize our ambitious project goals. That’s why we like to apply the ‘How to eat an elephant’ principle in Ephyra: one bite at a time. Some of the ‘bites’ that have been concretely presented as activities for the year ahead are: refining digital twins and models and finalizing market assessments and business plans for the project’s economic feasibility and sustainability.

A big thank you to all project partners for your dedication and hard work. Together, we are making significant progress toward our goals of advancing renewable hydrogen production and contributing to a sustainable energy future.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to innovate and pave the way towards a greener future! To learn more about our partners and the exciting advancements from the Ephyra project, subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed)!