Serbia’s EPS examining green hydrogen production

State-owned Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) is analyzing options for the production and use of green hydrogen, including as an alternative fuel for coal-fired power plants, according to the power company’s representatives.

EPS CEO Dušan Živković said the Serbian utility has launched an analysis of the possibility and feasibility of production and storage of hydrogen as well as the use of hydrogen-based fuel in its production capacities.

The analysis will show EPS’s possibilities and how the company can start using hydrogen for its needs, Živković said at the 2nd Belgrade International Conference on Hydrogen, organized by the Cluster for the Development of Hydrogen Projects and Energija Balkana.

The aim is to determine potential locations, size, and method of use of production facilities. It would reveal options to store energy, diversify storage, reduce use of fossil fuel for energy production, integrate variable renewables and optimize the company’s power balance, the CEO underlined.

The best locations for hydrogen production are in thermal power plants

EPS’s Head of Ancillary Services Aleksandar Latinović explained that the best conditions for the production of green hydrogen are at the utility’s thermal power plants Nikola Tesla A (TENT A), Kostolac A, TE-TO Novi Sad, and TE-TO Zrenjanin.

The locations include facilities for chemical water treatment, connections to district heating systems and a strong grid, he added.

At the same time, EPS has significant opportunities for hydrogen consumption. The analysis includes the replacement of backup fuels in thermal power plants, such as fuel oil, with hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels.

“If we were to build a facility for the production of hydrogen in TENT A, which we would use as backup fuel instead of fuel oil, we would need a 97 MW electrolyzer, which would be operational close to 9,000 hours a year,” Latinović explained.

Of note, EPS is analyzing several options for using alternative fuels in its coal-fired power plants.

The thermal sector will be the backbone of the power sector for several decades

In his words, hydropower plants currently carry the biggest burden in running the system, but it will slowly transition to thermal power plants, work regimes will change and the use of fuel oil will increase.

He does not doubt that the thermal sector would be the backbone of the power industry for several more decades. The integration of renewable energy sources will only increase the role of thermal power plants. They will be required to provide flexibility as well as start and terminate production more often, with consumption of fuel oil increased, Latinović claimed.

He stressed EPS would analyze in detail the use of hydrogen from several aspects – the economic one, environmental protection and increasing the flexibility of thermal power plants and energy independence, because hydrogen would be produced on site.