The project forms part of an integrated renewable energy and hydrogen system involving a 17 MW building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) installation and two 5 MW (1000 Nm³/h) AEM electrolysers. The green hydrogen produced will be injected into the gas pipeline feeding Rockcheck Steel’s blast furnace operations, with the aim of reducing coal consumption and carbon emissions.
Horizon reports that its AEM system reduces power consumption by 10–20% compared to conventional alkaline technology and expects it to deliver a lower levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH). When deployed at scale, the capital cost of AEM systems is also projected to become competitive with that of alkaline electrolysers.
Following this steel project, the company is targeting green ammonia production as the next application area for large-scale AEM electrolysis, noting the growing interest in ammonia as both a hydrogen carrier and direct fuel for decarbonising power generation and shipping.
