In order to lower manufacturing costs and increase hydrogen production, the Swedish-Swiss technology corporation ABB has introduced its energy management system for the green hydrogen market.

Real-time awareness of energy use across operations is made possible by the program known as ABB Ability OPTIMAX.

The cost of producing green hydrogen needs to decrease by 50% to less than $2/kg by 2026 in order to scale up production capacity to the 50 times needed, according to the Green Hydrogen Catapult, a global project made up of top energy businesses.

As previously stated, the new ABB solution helps with this by supporting every stage of the lifespan of a hydrogen plant, from simulation during the design and engineering phases to real-time visualization and monitoring during operation.

The program measures the two-way power flows and carbon dioxide emissions and provides operators with contextual data to help them decide on the ideal energy consumption levels needed to support plant operations and reduce waste.

By controlling each module’s speed and ensuring that it is only utilized when necessary, the transparency provided by the solution can also be used to improve the effectiveness and safety of each electrolyzer module being run inside the plant, according to ABB.

Operators can use OPTIMAX to construct a circular energy system based on projections of renewable energy availability against demand, taking into account market electricity pricing, and planning ahead to trade competitively with the grid.

The approach can also be used to improve how green hydrogen is integrated into already-existing hydrogen networks and any potential future infrastructure.

According to Sleman Saliba, global product manager for energy management at ABB Process Automation, “Scaling up green hydrogen generation needs significant capital investment as well as high operating costs.”