New test facility from European Energy to produce eSAF

Photo: European Energy

European Energy has secured funds to co-finance two new research projects from the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP) in Denmark. The first project will be to establish a test facility that can convert e-methanol to eSAF (sustainable aviation fuel).

“If you look at the Danish usage of aviation fuel for domestic flights, it is around 25,000 tons annually,” said Søren Knudsen Kær, head of technology in the PtX department in European Energy. “This can be provided by one facility in Denmark that is linked to a 150- to 200-megawatt (MW) nearshore wind farm and a solar park with an energy capacity of around 200 to 300 MW. With this funding for a test facility, we are one step closer to realizing the prime minister’s goal of making domestic flights in Denmark run solely on green fuels.”

In the project European Energy is partnering with Vertimass, Kosan Gas, Aalborg University, Port of Aalborg, Aalborg Airport and Hydrogen Valley.

The second project was funded in the previous round of applications to the EUDP program and will focus on the digitalization of solar-panel operations. New solar panels and inverters with greater voltage are replacing current solutions. To mitigate risk factors, new digitalized operation and management (O&M) tools need to be developed.

“Optimizing solar energy production has been instrumental in bringing down the costs of green energy across the globe,” said Jan Vedde, senior project manager in the innovation department in European Energy. “With this funding to find new digitalized operation and management tools for high-current and high-voltage solar panels, we will be able to further bring down the costs of green energy.”

Leading in adaption of new technology, European Energy has been the first solar developer in Denmark to use bifacial solar panels as well as building a solar test center in cooperation with Denmark’s Technical University at the Risø Campus. European Energy has also funded a Ph.D. position at DTU.

The test facility for converting e-methanol to eSAF is planned to be constructed by 2024. The project has received approximately 1.3 million euros from EUDP.

The project to find new digital O&M tools and instrumentation will run from 2022-’23 and is in collaboration with DTU Electro, Emazys and Fraunhofer CSP. The funding will be 1.1 million euros. European Energy is expecting to integrate the new monitoring and fault-detection solution developed by Emazys into its offering of O&M services to external asset owners.