2018年4月17日、スウェーデン
Cortus EnergyはEngieより木質バイオマスを燃料とする水素プラントの基本エンジニアリングを受注しました。Engieはフランス本社の電気事業者・ガス事業者で、電力・ガスの供給で世界2位の売上高（ € 65 billion）を持つ会社です。本プロジェクトでは、プラント予定地であるフランスのある地域で採れる木材、林地残材、樹皮などから作ったウッドチップを燃料として使い、WoodRoll®のガス化技術によりバイオマスからガスを生成して、グリーン水素（＝再エネ由来水素）を作ります。生成したグリーン水素は、既存の天然ガス由来の水素を置き換え、地産地消型のグリーン水素モデルの見本となります。
水素の製造は2段階で行います。まずWoodRoll®を使い、木質バイオマスをガス化して水素リッチ（＞60％）の生成ガスを作り、水素を分離します。分離後の生成ガスはシフト反応（ CO + H 2 O ⇄ CO 2 + H 2）にて再度水素を回収します。この2段階プロセスにより、水素の回収は最大化できます。水素は浄化後、加圧されガスボトルに充填して、流通できるようにします。また、副産物として食品品質の液体二酸化炭素（炭酸ガス）も回収・販売することで、プロジェクト全体の経済性が向上します。
Engine社は複数の技術の比較検討を経て、WoodRoll®を選定しました。総額€750,000（約1億円）の基本エンジニアリングは数段階に分けて実行され、2018年中には第2ステップのKopingのテストプラントで実証実験を行う予定です。これら結果に基づき、Engieは2019年中には水素プラントの投資判断を行います。
プレスリリース原文
Cortus Energy receive an order for Basic Engineering from Engie for a Renewable Hydrogen Plant
Cortus Energy has received an order from the global energy company Engie for a Basic Engineering of a WoodRoll® plant that will generate renewable hydrogen from local biomass. The order refers to the first step of several for the Basic Engineering. The delivery of the first step is expected to be carried out until mid-2018. The plant is based on the same size and modular design as the WoodRoll® that is now being built in Höganäs, Sweden.
Hydrogen is an important energy carrier in the transition from fossil to renewable energy. There are several strong initiatives worldwide to develop the production and distribution of green hydrogen. Such an initiative is now taken by the global energy company Engie, who selected WoodRoll® as a platform for a commercial-scale demonstration project.
The project is about generate green hydrogen from local biomass in the form of wood chips, wood residues and bark. The green hydrogen is produced by gasification of biomass in Cortus Energy’s patented WoodRoll® process. WoodRoll® generates a hydrogen-rich (> 60%) energy gas from which hydrogen is separated. The residual gas is shifted and additional hydrogen is generated in this second step. In this manner, hydrogen production is maximized. The hydrogen is purified, pressurized and filled on gas bottles for distribution. A valuable by-product of the process is green liquid carbon dioxide of food quality. The preparation for the project shows high profitability for the combination of hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
WoodRoll® was chosen by Engie after careful studies of different solutions. The order applies to the first step of several for a complete Basic Engineering. The order value for the first step amounts to EUR 55,000 of a total of EUR 750,000 for the full Basic Engineering. In connection with the first step, the second step which involve testing at the WoodRoll® test plant in Köping, Sweden for which planning is under way. Basic Engineering is done step by step where the parties’ ambition and goal is to complete this in 2018. Based on the outcome of the preliminary projection, Engie will make an investment decision in 2019. The hydrogen plant will be based on the same size (6 MW) and modular design as of the WoodRoll® plant that is now being built in Höganäs, Sweden, but with subsequent process equipment to extract green hydrogen. The plant’s intended location is in France where hydrogen will replace fossil hydrogen from natural gas in various industrial applications in the local region. The plant will serve as a technology reference and demonstration of how green hydrogen can be generated from local biomass.
“We are very pleased to have been selected for this hydrogen project. Our partner Engie is a respected energy company established on several continents. We see great potential for WoodRoll® in the green hydrogen segment and we are pleased to deliver a Basic Engineering based on the same modular design that we now build in Höganäs, “says Rolf Ljunggren, CEO Cortus Energy.
About Engie
Engie is committed to responsible growth of its businesses (power, natural gas and energy services) in response to the central challenges of the energy transition towards a low-carbon economy: providing access to sustainably generated energy, combating climate change, reducing its effect and making responsible use of natural resources. The group is developing high-performance, innovative solutions for personal customers, urban authorities and companies by applying its expertise in four key sectors: renewables, energy efficiency, liquified natural gas and digital technologies.
Engie employs more than 150,000 people on 5 continents and in 70 countries with head office in Paris, France. Turnover 2017 was € 65 billion. www.engie.com
About Cortus Energy
Cortus Energy develops and markets the unique WoodRoll technology which gasify biomass in a new innovative manner that results in a number of unique advantages over all other existing gasification technology. With the patented WoodRoll technology Cortus Energy offers green energy solutions for power, industrial and transportation applications. WoodRoll has great feedstock flexibility, which means that the process can utilize low-grade renewable feedstock without compromising the process performance.
Cortus Energy’s shares are traded on Nasdaq First North, Stockholm, Sweden. Mangold Fondkommission AB, tel +46 8-503015 50, is the Company’s Certified Adviser.
www.cortusenergy.com
For more information, contact:
Rolf Ljunggren, CEO Cortus Energy (publ), phone +46 8 588 866 30,