The main aim of project Demo4Grid is the commercial setup and demonstration of a technical solution utilizing “above state of the art” Pressurized Alkaline Electrolyser (PAE) technology for providing grid balancing services in real operational and market conditions. In order to validate existing significant differences in local market and grid requirements Demo4Grid has chosen to setup a demonstration site in Austria to demonstrate a viable business case for the operation of a large scale electrolyser adapted to specific local conditions that will be found throughout Europe. To achieve that, Demo4Grid will demonstrate at this demo site with particular needs for hydrogen as a means of harvesting RE production: I. a technical solution to meet all core requirements for providing grid balancing services with a large scale PAE in direct cooperation with grid operators, II. a market based solution to provide value added services and revenues for the operation strategy to achieve commercial success providing grid services and those profits obtained also from the hydrogen application. III. Aiming at the exploitation of the results after the project ends, Demo4Grid will assess the replicability and viability of various business cases Demo4Grid will be the decisive demonstration stage of previous FCH-JU projects related to the PAE addressed in this proposal. The first project ELYGRID (finished) and the following one ELYntegration (still ongoing) have provided promising results on the development of PAE to provide grid services operating under dynamic profiles (significant results will be shown in this proposal).

The strategic goal of the ELYntegration Project is the design and engineering of a robust, flexible, efficient and cost-competitive single stack Multimegawatt High Pressure Alkaline Water Electrolysis of 4,5 T H2/day capable to provide cutting-edge operational capabilities under highly dynamic power supplies expected in the frame of generation/ transmission/ distribution scenarios integrating high renewable energies (RE) shares. The final design of the MW HP AWE will be achieved on the basis of the development, validation and demonstration of a HP AWE industrial prototype of 250 kW (250 HP AWE) (TRL 7) comprising: - cylindrical stack consisting of industrial size elementary cells (1,600 mm cell diameter) - balance of plant (BOP) - power electronics - advanced communication & control system In the early phase of the development process, great attention will be brought to the identification of end-user’s needs and relevant/critical operational requirements. The target behaviour of the industrial prototype will be thoroughly demonstrated in an operational environment reflecting different on-grid integration schemes using power facilities already available to the Consortium (notably, 635 kW wind and 100 kW photovoltaic power plants). As previously mentioned, the successful demonstration of the industrial prototype will be paving the way towards the implementation and the commercial deployment of the 4.5 T H2/day HP AWE technology in the frame of large scale demonstration projects which shall be the next step after the conclusion of ELYntegration.

The overall objective of the QualyGridS project is the establishing of standardized tests for electrolysers performing electrical grid services. Alkaline electrolysers as well as PEM electrolysers will be considered individually in performance analysis and in an assessment of business cases for these electrolysers’ use. A variety of different grid services will be addressed as well as multiple hydrogen end users. The protocols developed will be applied to alkaline and PEM electrolysers systems, respectively, using electrolyser sizes from 50 kW up to 300 kW. Additionally, a techno-economic analysis of business cases will be performed covering the grid and market situations in the most relevant regions of Europe. The consortium adressing these tasks includes three electrolyser manufacturers and well as research institutions with plenty of experience. Inclusion of a European standardisation institution will allow for maximum impact of the protocols. An advisory committee including TSOs from several countries and a key player in US electrolysis research will support the project with valuable advice. Experience from previous FCH-JU electrolyser projects and national projects is available to the project.