BIG HIT

The Orkney Islands of Scotland are hosting an innovative €10.9 million EU supported hydrogen project, called BIG HIT: Building Innovative Green Hydrogen systems in an Isolated Territory. BIG HIT is a six-year demonstration project with 12 partners from across Europe that will help to overcome the issues of curtailed renewable energy.

The Orkney Islands have over 50 MW of installed wind, wave and tidal capacity, and produce over 100% of their electricity demand from renewables on an annual basis. However, their electricity output is often limited by grid constraints, which reduces output and lowers income for local communities. With BIG HIT this otherwise curtailed capacity is used instead to produce ‘green’ hydrogen from electrolysis. This hydrogen is transported across the islands and used for mobility, heat and power end-uses in the community.

Renewable electricity generated on the islands of Eday and Shapinsay is used by two PEM electrolysers (2MW) to produce hydrogen, that is stored as high-pressure gas in 5 tube trailers, which can be transported to mainland Orkney, or consumed locally to produce heat using hydrogen catalytic boilers in the islands of Shapinsay (local school) and Eday. The hydrogen acts as an energy-storage medium which can later be converted back into heat and power for buildings and vessels in Kirkwall harbour, a 75 kW hydrogen fuel cell supplies heat and power for several harbour buildings, a marina and 3 ferries (when docked) in Kirkwall. And additionally, a hydrogen refuelling station in Kirkwall fuels 5 Symbio hydrogen fuel cell road vehicles for Orkney Islands Council.