HyBex is an ambitious project of Fluxys, Hinicio and Port of Antwerp-Bruges to enable a hydrogen market in Belgium. By setting up a pilot hub, HyBex aims to develop the necessary commercial tools to meet storage, flexibility, certification and balancing requirements.
Fluxys
Fluxys is well-experienced in R&D projects related to energy transition. The company has a proven track record of multi-partner initiatives and has the necessary experience to successfully execute the HyBex project. Fluxys aims to become the essential infrastructure partner for speeding up the energy transition and establishing Belgium as a hydrogen hub; the HyBex project perfectly fits within this company objective.
Hinicio
Hinicio SA is a strategy consulting firm founded in 2006 with a focus on sustainable energy and mobility, and more specifically projects related to hydrogen and fuel cells. They have extensive experience with hydrogen-related projects in Europe. The mission of Hinicio is to support its clients with their transition towards the future energy systems and help them achieve their climate objectives. Hinicio’s headquarters are located in Brussels and the firm has dedicated competence centers on hydrogen in Europe, Asia and the Americas, distributed over 9 locations.
Port of Antwerp-Bruges
Port of Antwerp-Bruges is an active pioneer in the hydrogen economy and aims to become a leading import hub for green hydrogen in Europe. The port is home to a multitude of (future) projects related to hydrogen supply, infrastructure and offtake. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges cluster is an ideal location for the pilot included in the HyBex project as it is already connected to a private hydrogen network and that connection has sparked a local hydrogen industry.
This project will be realised with federal support from the Energy Transition Fund (FOD Economie) and will be completed in the course of 14 months, starting on September 1st 2023.
What is HyBex?
HyBex is a pioneering project with the objective to enable a competitive renewable and low-carbon hydrogen market in Belgium that is well integrated into the European network. It aims to do this by developing and pilot-testing a hydrogen (commodity) trading hub and by studying the required dimension and infrastructure and certification requirements for a balanced and compliant nation-wide hydrogen network. This project aligns fully with the objectives of the Belgian federal Hydrogen Strategy, which expressed the ambition to position Belgium as an import and transit hub for renewable molecules, and to establish an emerging hydrogen market as from 2025.
Four project steps
HyBex will be structured around 4 project steps, each with a set of specific objectives. The tasks included in each project step are described in detail in the following sections.
1. Mapping and pre-analysis
Step 1 starts with an analysis of the hydrogen-related regulatory requirements, market needs and initiatives in neighboring countries. Next, a simulation of the (early) hydrogen market and target market design will be performed in order to delineate the scenario definitions for the dispatching model. This model will then be set up and will be a critical tool for the further development of the HyBex platform.
2. Commercial and balancing products
Step 2 starts with defining and testing several scenario’s of the dispatching model from step 1 in order to simulate the system behavior and have a view on how the market will behave under normal and Security of Supply conditions. For each scenario, 5 cases representing system imbalances will be simulated. Based on the analysis of the storage and flexibility requirements of the system, commercial tools required to enable a continuously balanced system will be defined. In addition, grid infrastructure solutions will be identified and designed to enable operator and commercial balancing.
3. Market platform pilot
Step 3 concerns the development of a pilot for the market platform. After alignment with the requirements from steps 1 and 2, the preferential provider can start developing the tools and additional elements needed for an operational pilot, in close collaboration with the HyBex project team. Finally, the pilot will be realized, tested with the market, and continuously optimized based on feedback provided.
4. Coordination and reporting
Step 4 concerns all phases of the project and includes coordination of the project and interaction with project holders and external stakeholders for reporting and obtaining necessary feedback. Finally, an indicative roadmap will be defined, related to inputs for the Belgian market, and intermediate and final reports of the project will be drawn up and published.
Contact HyBex
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