Written by丨Guo Xiaozhuoer
Produced by丨First Element Network
Recently, Chinese electrolyzer manufacturer Peric signed an agreement to license its pressurized alkaline technology to be produced by Swedish technology company Metacon.
The company, which manufactures green hydrogen energy systems, is studying different financing options, including available subsidies, for giant plants in Sweden and other EU member states.
Peric Energy Technology Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Industry Purification Equipment Research Institute.
The company is mainly engaged in the research, design, manufacturing of hydrogen production systems, as well as the utilization and research and development of hydrogen energy. With an annual production capacity of 350 sets of alkaline hydrogen generators and 120 sets of PEM hydrogen generators, a major capacity expansion project is currently underway.
It is reported that Metacon is currently investigating the conditions and financing possibilities for building factories in Sweden or other EU countries. This is Sweden's first hydrogen plant and is expected to be one of the largest in Europe in the coming years.
Vast market
Currently, Metacon has resold Peric's electrolyzers produced in China to the European market.
It is understood that the facility will initially have an electrolyser capacity of 500MW per year, after which the company plans to expand the capacity to 1GW per year.
While the exact date of the plant's operation has not yet been disclosed, Metacon has hinted that it will be able to meet Europe 1 if it can build up 1GW of annual capacity within 4-5 years5% -3% demand.
In July 2020, the EU proposed a hydrogen strategy and announced the establishment of a Clean Hydrogen Alliance.
With the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in May 2022, the EU announced the RepowerEU plan to try to get rid of Russian energy imports, and by October last year, at the EU Council of Ministers, EU countries approved the mandatory use targets for industry and transportation, and member states agreed that by 2030, 42% of industrial hydrogen and 1% of transportation fuels must be renewable.
Demand for green hydrogen in EU countries has also soared.
This also brings an opportunity for electrolyzer manufacturers from China, with a special budget of 800 million euros (about 6.2 billion yuan) for the first round of hydrogen auctions of the European Hydrogen Bank, which was launched on November 23, 2023.
The auction, which was intended to provide financial support to EU green hydrogen producers, has sparked a flurry of discontent against Chinese electrolyser producers.
They generally believe that the advantages will crush the European electrolyser manufacturing industry due to factors such as cost and quality, after all, according to Metacon's plan**, the cost of each 5MW Peric electrolyser produced and sold is around 40 million to 50 million kroner ($3.8 million to $4.8 million).
But it's still much cheaper than Western-made equipment, which has an average ** estimate of $1.7 million megawatts, butThis is still more than three times the 5MW electrolyzer** (US$1.1 million) that partner Perry Hydrogen Energy participated in the tender for energy projects in China.
Just hold on
But it may also confirm the claims of Western developers and electrolyzer manufacturers that Chinese equipment can only be manufactured in the home market at a very low cost, and that if it meets European standards, the cost will be higher.
Previously, according to BloombergNEF data, the production cost of electrolyzers in China is only one-third of that in Europe or the United States, and in the alkaline electrolysis of water to hydrogen technology route (ALK), the production cost of alkaline electrolyzers in China is about $350 kilowatts, while the production cost of alkaline electrolyzers in Europe and the United States is about $1,200 kilowatts.
Behind the sour grapes is the truth of the fox's strong support.
Many of the companies that strangled the European solar PV industry in the 2010s are now expanding into electrolyser manufacturing, with Europe offering "the largest electrolyser market potential by 2030, with plans to 'install' more than 90GW of capacity," the German technology association VDE noted in a release from the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. ”
The European Union, which could not deceive itself, faced a strong low-price competitor, and countries also took measures to deal with it, but with little success.
Previously, after obtaining approval from the European Union, Italy planned to allocate 100 million euros (about 1. ) in the form of a direct grantUS$5.8 billion) to subsidize the country's electrolyzer production.
However, although in the face of China's cheap electrolyzer competition, the EU is like a great enemy, but it includesThe target is to use 40% of electrolyzers with equipment produced in EuropeThe European Commission's Zero Emission Industry Act is still in the EU's lengthy legislative process.
And [the EU] has no mechanism to ensure that this is achieved, other than a commitment to significantly speed up the timing of factory permits.
At the end of last year, Metacon AB, a Swedish manufacturer of green hydrogen energy systems, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Shipbuilding (Handan) Peric Hydrogen Technologies, and the two parties will establish a strategic partnership to jointly produce and sell Metacon's electrolyzers in the Chinese market.
It is reported that the signing of the MOU is seen as an important milestone in Metacon's global expansion strategy, which sets out the principles of agreement for production and sales in China.
The partnership means that CSSC Perry will be authorized by the original equipment manufacturer to manufacture and sell Metacon's hydrogen generators (HHG systems) based on Metacon's patented conversion technology for the production of hydrogen from various non-electric energy sources such as biogas, ethanol, ammonia, etc., in the Chinese market.