Sunfire to build new solid oxide electrolyser test facility at BASF site

Electrolyser manufacturer Sunfire will build a new pilot solid oxide electrolysis facility at chemical major BASF’s facility in Schwarzheide, Germany, to de-risk the green hydrogen production technology.

Targeting commission by the end of the year, the Dresden-based firm will construct the system at BASF Infraservice & Solutions’ Industriepark Lausitz, which provides infrastructure services for chemical and industrial operations.

The planned system’s capacity has not been announced. H2 View has contracted Sunfire for confirmation.

Sunfire’s solid oxide systems produce hydrogen through steam electrolysis at around 800°C use waste heat from industrial processes or renewable energy systems to reduce electrolytical inputs.

Industriepark Lausitz already features high-capacity power connections – including from an onsite 24MW solar park – alongside water and waste heat streams for the technology’s operation.

Sunfire is already producing around 60kg of green hydrogen a day at a solid oxide at the port of Rotterdam at Neste’s oil refinery on the site.

Christian von Olshausen, CTO of Sunfire, said the new facility will contribute valuable insights into practical, long-term operation under industrial conditions.

Solid oxide’s heat integration can result in lower hydrogen production costs, particularly in industrial environments where waste heat is accessible.

However, the technology remains nascent, with no large-scale installations operating globally. High-temperature electrolysis can suffer from accelerated degradation due to thermal cycling.

Sunfire a new 50MW standardised alkaline electrolyser system and was also recently selected to supply 100MW worth of systems for two separate Repsol .