Decarbonization Sunfire Breaks Ground for Green Hydrogen Test Facility

Sunfire recently broke ground for a new green hydrogen test facility at BASF’s Industrial Park Lausitz site in Schwarzheide, Germany. With this project, Sunfire aims to validate its latest and most powerful SOEC product generation in an industrial environment.

Schwarzheide/Germany – Industrial Park Lausitz and Sunfire officially broke ground on a green hydrogen test facility in the presence of representatives from government, business, and industry. At the BASF site, Sunfire will validate its latest and most powerful SOEC product generation in an industrial environment.

Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC) technology operates at high temperatures of around 850 degrees Celsius and achieves electrical efficiencies of up to 89 % LHV, AC [1]. As a result, Sunfire’s SOEC electrolyzers enable the lowest levelized costs of hydrogen (LCOH). As a pioneer in SOEC development, Sunfire has implemented more industrial SOEC demonstration projects than any other company worldwide. By establishing the SOEC testing facility in Schwarzheide, the project further strengthens the Lausitz region as a location for future technologies.

Nils Aldag, CEO of Sunfire: “Sunfire stands for green hydrogen technologies ‘Made in Germany’. While our pressurized alkaline electrolyzers are already being successfully deployed in large-scale industrial projects across Europe, we also see high-temperature electrolysis as a critical enabler of the energy transition. SOEC technology has the potential to become another key technology for industrial decarbonization. As the global market leader in SOEC, we are playing a key role in shaping this development. With the test facility at BASF’s Schwarzheide site, we are consistently executing our SOEC strategy and advancing the commercialization of this technology. The site offers ideal conditions to further accelerate the market ramp-up of high-temperature electrolysis.”

Christian von Olshausen, CTO of Sunfire: “Our SOEC technology demonstrates the full potential of German engineering expertise. By utilizing available waste heat, high-temperature electrolysis achieves record efficiency levels and can significantly reduce the production costs of green hydrogen and synthesis gas. Breaking ground on the testing facility at Industrial Park Lausitz marks an important milestone. Through validation under real industrial conditions, we are completing the final steps before implementing the first commercial projects. As a leader in high-temperature electrolysis, we are building on our extensive experience from industrial demonstration projects while gaining additional insights through long-term operational testing to successfully scale the technology.”

Jürgen Fuchs, Chairman of the Management Board of BASF Infraservice & Solutions Lausitz: “With Sunfire, we have secured a true industry pioneer and international technology leader for the Industrial Park Lausitz in the future market of hydrogen. This sends a strong signal about the attractiveness of our location. In addition to our high-performance infrastructure and industrial environment, our speed of implementation was a key factor. Thanks to close cooperation between all parties involved, we were able to create the conditions for the test plant’s grid connection in a very short time and implement an ambitious project timetable. Our aim is not only to enable investments, but to turn them into reality faster.”

Anne Francken, Commercial Managing Director of BASF Infraservice & Solutions Lausitz: “The foundation for this project was laid long before today’s groundbreaking ceremony – through a relationship based on trust and a solution-oriented approach. Together with Sunfire, we have created the framework needed to get an ambitious project off the ground. Projects like this can only succeed when all parties contribute their expertise and work together to develop solutions. We are therefore all the more delighted to celebrate this milestone together today.”

[1] Expected efficiency of the 3rd generation of Sunfire’s SOEC electrolyzers. Electrical efficiency of 84 % LHV, AC proven in EU-funded GrInHy2.0 project in 2022 with GEN 1.

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