Provaris Energy moving forward with its hydrogen projects in Europe

Australian Provaris Energy has been making progress with its development activities in Norway and commercialization activities for compressed hydrogen supply chains in Europe using the company’s proprietary storage and carrier solutions.

The company stated that a key milestone was achieved for its ‘Prototype Tank’ program underway in Norway, with Norwegian technology company Prodtex completing the design for a multi-layered carbon-steel prototype tank to be constructed and tested in the first quarter of 2024.

The successful completion of the testing program is the final requirement for class approval of the H2Neo carrier to be provided by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Det Norske Veritas (DNV), who will survey the construction and participate in the testing of the prototype tank, Provaris said, adding that the prototype testing will be performed by SINTEF, a research facility in Norway.

Upon successful completion of the prototype testing, Provaris said the company will achieve a final class approval stage for the ship designs, which will complete a 4-year development program to have a construction-ready hydrogen carrier for maritime transportation.

Planning for the prototype construction activity is underway, including the digital twin and the ordering of carbon steel and stainless steel materials for the tank, Provaris added, noting that the construction and testing remain on schedule for the first quarter of 2024 at Prodtex’s production facility in Fiskå, Norway.

In regard to R&D activity related to the technical collaboration with Prodtex, Provaris said that one of the goals is to address a gap in the market for safe and affordable static storage solutions required for renewable hydrogen projects or industry applications that have a requirement for alternative long-duration storage solutions with a capacity greater than 1 ton of hydrogen.

The company pointed out that through an extension of the prototype tank design, Provaris had developed initial concepts that will have relevance to a range of hydrogen applications. The initial design concepts will have a capacity of 1, 5 and 10 tons of gaseous hydrogen, Provaris said, noting that being made of carbon steel, the tanks will not target the mobility market for transport, however it can have applications in areas such as, but not limited to, maritime (hydrogen as fuel), mobility (storage at refuelling station), and as buffer storage at the battery limits of industry and power generation (to complement pipeline connections) as an alternative to containerized composite solutions available in the market today.

Provaris further revealed that the company continues to advance discussions with major European port operators, energy utilities, and potential hydrogen end-buyers which have an interest in Provaris hydrogen delivery value chain.

To this end, the Australian major signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an unnamed European energy utility to jointly evaluate Provaris’ full hydrogen delivery chain, including H2Leo for storage and H2Neo carriers, for delivery of gaseous hydrogen to regional Europe and potentially assist the utility’s planned hydrogen importation portfolio.

Managing Director and CEO of Provaris Martin Carolan commented: “Provaris’ focus on development and R&D activity out of Norway continues to advance across the full value chain for Europe. Our dialogue with stakeholders from the supply of hydrogen through to import continues to increase the awareness of compression.”

“Techno-economic qualification of the benefits when it comes to flexibility and delivered cost for hydrogen import is now resulting in increasing focus on compression’s inclusion in a portfolio of import alternatives. German government policy continues to roll out legislation, funding initiatives and infrastructure to meet an increasing reliance on hydrogen to cut emissions and achieve the latest target of 3-4 mtpa required in 2030, of which 70% is stated to come from imports.”

CTO of Provaris Per Roed added: “Provaris’ R&D activity in Norway for the construction and testing of a prototype tank remains on schedule for our final class approval milestone. Our program has also developed a new and potentially significant opportunity to extend our unique containment tank design to meet a requirement for small-scale storage tanks with a capacity of 1 to 10 tons.”

“Discussions with the industry reinforce the demand for a low-capex alternative to high-pressure composite storage solutions which are suitable for onshore buffer storage and maritime applications. The proposal to manufacture these tanks in Norway also delivers a new industry that supports regional economic activity.”

To remind, in the summer of 2023, Provaris appointed Germany-based DGWA, the German Institute for Asset and Equity Allocation and Valuation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Wertpapieranalyse GmbH) as its investor relations advisor in Europe.

At the time, Provaris stated that DGWA will assist the company to engage with retail, institutional, and family office investors in the German-speaking DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) as well as the rest of Europe and the UK. In addition, DGWA is expected to assist Provaris in increasing European investor and stakeholder awareness of the company’s activities in Norway and the Nordic regions.