Offtake will be used for fuelling hydrogen-powered traffic
OKG, owner and operator of the Oskarshamn nuclear power station in Sweden has signed an agreement with Hynion for the delivery of clean hydrogen from the Oskarshamn-3 reactor.
Hynion is a company which specialises in hydrogen refuelling stations throughout Sweden. It said the partnership will increase the availability of hydrogen and prepare for increasing hydrogen-powered traffic in not only Sweden but wider Scandinavia a statement said.
The partnership represents “a crucial part of Hynion’s strategy to reduce dependence on individual suppliers”.
OKG, owned by energy group Uniper, has used electricity produced by Oskarshamn to produce hydrogen through electrolysis of water since 1992.
This hydrogen was initially produced to meet the nuclear power plant's own needs. It was added to the reactor coolant of the station’s three boiling water reactors to reduce the risk of stress corrosion cracking of the reactor piping by reducing the amount of free oxygen in the coolant.
Units 1 and 2 at Oskarshamn were permanently shut down in 2017 and 2016 respectively, so the hydrogen produced at the facility is now only needed for Unit 3.
Hynion has hydrogen refuelling stations in a number of Swedish regions. Transport group MaserFrakt recently agreed to refuel its first hydrogen-powered trucks at Hynion’s Swedish facilities.
Hydrogen, which is said to have zero emissions, can be used as a fuel for most transport applications, but is particularly well suited to larger vehicles where batteries are less viable.
The Hydrogen UK industry group says hydrogen is expected in future to be the dominant choice for heavy good vehicles, aircraft and ships. Hydrogen will also be used for buses, trains and larger vans and cars that have high utilisation or require longer ranges.
