For several years, SINTEF worked with Varanger Kraft and Berlevåg municipality in the extreme north of Norway. Berlevåg, a fishing village with a population of a few thousand people, is the site of Raggovidda wind farm, with a production capacity of 45 MW and some of the highest capacity factors worldwide (over 50%). Yet, the total potential of the Varanger peninsula is estimated at 2000 MW, but this cannot be exploited because of export bottlenecks in the grid.
When a relevant opportunity presented itself in a EU call, SINTEF took the lead in a project proposal and involved Varanger Kraft as a partner, exploiting their EU-wide network in hydrogen technology and smart grids.
The resulting project, Haeolus, features a multi-MW demonstration activity of a latest-generation PEM electrolyser by Hydrogenics, with support from Tecnalia (process integration), UBFC (prognostics), UniSannio (smart grids) and KES (communication system), all partners with which SINTEF has previous experience in other EU projects.