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Twitter: Green #hydrogen has a key role to play in the #EnergyTransition. And we're proud to play our role in making it increasingly affordable. Check out this article for a great overview on hydrogen:
Green #hydrogen has a key role to play in the #EnergyTransition. And we're proud to play our role in making it increasingly affordable. Check out this article for a great overview on hydrogen:https://t.co/wgKmaNjLHJ
— Nel Hydrogen (@nelhydrogen) October 15, 2019
Twitter: Interesting read:
Interesting read: https://t.co/DsqP75xqWD
— Nel Hydrogen (@nelhydrogen) October 15, 2019
Twitter: Are you at @ASM_HeatTreat today? Don't forget to swing by booth 1215 to chat with us about #hydrogen!
Are you at @ASM_HeatTreat today? Don't forget to swing by booth 1215 to chat with us about #hydrogen! pic.twitter.com/kf4S1eLL2m
— Nel Hydrogen (@nelhydrogen) October 15, 2019
For the love of all that is holy, don’t take this as a challenge
October 14, 2019
Yes, what you’re seeing is a person, on a treadmill, breathing car exhaust as they do their usual training routine. That person is Hyundai Spain’s brand ambassador and an Olympic athlete, and that vehicle is a Hyundai Nexo – a purely hydrogen-powered vehicle that Hyundai says emits absolutely zero emissions. Of course, that’s not exactly true as hydrogen-powered vehicles emit water vapor, but we’ll leave that argument for another time.
The reason this actually works is because as the vehicle breaks down the hydrogen, it creates water vapor. The Nexo, however, also purifies the air it emits, which means that person in the gas bubble is most likely breathing cleaner air than you right now. Weird, huh? As weird as it seems, I should probably point out that you shouldn’t try this at home. Doing this with a normal vehicle will result in a permanent loss of life that you don’t want. And, you probably shouldn’t try it with your own NEXO either, if you happen to own one. The whole point is to prove that the Nexo – and hydrogen-powered vehicles as a whole – are safe for the environment… and people… obviously people.
Oddly enough, hydrogen-fueled vehicles have yet to take off, even in the limited capacity that electric cars have. Where electric cars have long recharge times, a hydrogen vehicle can be refilled in nearly the same amount of time it takes to fill a take of gasoline or diesel. But, there are two downsides, the first being that hydrogen fuel cells don’t tend to work in cold temperatures, and the other being that there is a serious lack of hydrogen fueling stations. For what it’s worth, Hyundai does say that the Nexo can operate in temperatures as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit. For now, enjoy the video, and, as I said before, don’t take this is as some stupid challenge. If you try it and kick the bucket, we’ll be forced to say you fell victim to natural selection.
https://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/hyundai-gas-chambered-an-olympic-athlete-to-prove-hydrogen-cars-are-better-for-the-environment-ar186777.html
Siemens extends support to Mega Green Hydrogen Project in Australia
October 14, 2019
In order to produce renewable hydrogen for potential exports to Asia, Siemens AG has announced to partner on a 5000 megawatt combining solar and wind farm in Western Australia.
Based on a joint statement from developer Hydrogen Renewables Australia (HRA), the Murchison facility will use electrolyser technology for converting power from solar energy and wind units into hydrogen. Furthermore the project will take place in the north of the coastal town of Kalbarri. Sources claim the location is the “most cost-effective” in Australia to produce clean energy.
Furthermore, HRA has six more years to augment the project and thus increase the exports to South Korea and Japan, in order to assure full capacity by 2028. According to a statement released by the Chief Executive Officer Terry Kallis, HRA could thus supply about 10% of Asia’s hydrogen demand. Reports estimate the total investment to be about A$10 billion ($6.75 billion).
Since Australia has announced the launch of hydrogen projects, Murchison has been the latest addition. The project is expected to increase the exports into South Korea and Japan. Based on a report from 2018, the industry could be worth $1 billion annually by 2030.
The project will be developed in stages. The first phase is a demonstration phase which will provide hydrogen for transport fuels. The second phase will witness the process of blending natural gas in the nearby Dampier-to-Bunbury pipeline. The third and final stage will involve the expansion to produce hydrogen for Asian markets.
Reports allege, HRA has initiated preliminary talks with the federal and state governments. Consultation process with stakeholders will allegedly begin in November.
“Australia has potential like no other country in the world for hydrogen production and export, as long as we act upon the opportunity quickly,” commented Siemens Australia Pacific CEO Jeff Connolly.
https://www.xaralite.com/2019/10/14/siemens-extends-support-to-mega-green-hydrogen-project-in-australia/
World first: 300-tonne truck to run on hydrogen
October 14, 2019
ENGIE and Anglo American have announced their agreement to co-create and fuel the first hydrogen-powered mining haul truck.
This collaboration marks the first time a truck of this size and load capacity (300 metric tons) will be converted to run on hydrogen.
In a company statement, ENGIE noted this project is part of their strategy to promote renewable hydrogen to help its customers decarbonise their operations. It is aligned with Anglo American’s initiatives towards mining with zero climate impact.
ENGIE will provide the hydrogen generation solutions while Anglo American will develop the truck.
The modifications to the existing truck include replacing the diesel tank with hydrogen tanks and replacing the engine with hydrogen fuel cells and a battery pack. The hydrogen will be provided by the solar power generation capacity at the mining site.
The first motion of the hydrogen-powered truck is expected in 2020, followed by a testing and validation programme at Anglo American’s Mogalakwena Platinum Group Metals mine in South Africa, after which additional trucks are expected to be rolled out at other Anglo American operations.
“We are delighted to join forces with Anglo American to design the first solution that aims to decarbonise heavy-duty mobility in the mining sector.
"This is part of ENGIE’s strategy to develop industrial-scale hydrogen-based solutions to help our energy-intensive customers in their journey to carbon neutrality," said Michèle Azalbert, CEO of ENGIE’s Hydrogen Business Unit.
Tony O’Neill, Technical Director of Anglo American, commented: “We are extremely pleased to be partnering with ENGIE, and we look forward to developing and implementing this step-change technology.”
The agreement was signed onboard the ENERGY OBSERVER during its London stopover. The first fully electric vessel travelling around the world, powered exclusively by hydrogen and renewable energies, the ENERGY OBSERVER demonstrates a full decarbonisation solution that ENGIE is developing on an industrial scale.
https://www.esi-africa.com/industry-sectors/future-energy/world-first-300-tonne-truck-to-run-on-hydrogen/
Toyota plans 10-fold boost to hydrogen bet with restyled sedan
Oct 13, 2019
As other automakers plan battery-powered crossover SUVs and trucks, Toyota Motor Corp.’s vision for the future of driving remains a hydrogen-sipping sedan.
The Japanese behemoth will begin sales late next year of the second-generation Mirai, its fuel cell-powered four-door, and ramp up annual production by 10-fold from the current model. Toyota’s bet that it can position a hydrogen sedan for more of a mass market flies in the face of rivals wagering on putting batteries into the bigger-bodied vehicles consumers are buying.
Toyota has been slower than peers to embrace EVs, citing uncertain demand in key markets including the U.S. and technical hurdles that limit battery range and recharging times. While the company has pledged to offer an electrified version of every model in the next five years, and 10 fully electric vehicles by early the next decade, it’s also going to keep coaxing consumers to give hydrogen a try.
“Toyota won’t be putting all our eggs in one technology basket,” Doug Murtha, Toyota’s U.S. group vice president for corporate strategy and planning, said at a briefing in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Toyota’s near-term electrification goals in the U.S. center on its gas-electric hybrid powertrains. It currently sells six hybrid vehicles and said Thursday it will add a plug-in hybrid version of its RAV4 crossover next year.
The company plans to increase sales of hybrid cars and SUVs in the U.S. to 25% of deliveries by 2025, up from about 9% today.
Toyota began developing hydrogen-powered cars more than 20 years ago, but progress has been slow due to high material costs and steep hurdles to setting up refueling infrastructure. Recent technological advances halved the cost of fuel cell stacks that mix hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, allowing the carmaker to boost global output from 3,000 a year in 2018 to 30,000 next year and 200,000 by 2025, Taiyo Kawai, general manager of the company’s hydrogen efforts, told reporters during a briefing in London.
Rival automakers such as General Motors Co. in the U.S. and BMW AG in Europe have invested in fuel cell technology but are prioritizing EVs in their current and future zero-emission products. In the U.S., only Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. sell fuel cell-powered passenger cars — and only at a handful of dealers due to the scarcity of hydrogen stations.
Fuel cell vehicles offer several advantages over battery-powered cars, including quicker refueling times and longer driving ranges. But they remain a novelty, accounting for less than 0.1% of the nearly 100 million vehicles produced each year, according to research by the National Academy of Sciences.
“Unfortunately, despite years of education efforts, hydrogen cars are still a mystery to most people,” said Jackie Birdsall, a senior engineer at Toyota’s R&D center in Gardena, California. “The good news is that fuel cell technology is gaining momentum around the world,” she said.
Improvements have been made to shrink the size of hydrogen fuel tanks and reduce the amount of costly platinum needed for fuel cell stacks. But there’s still more to do, including replacing platinum with cheaper synthetic materials, said Shawn Litster, a mechanical engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
Toyota, which loses money on the current Mirai, hasn’t said when it plans to break even with a future version. The company showed a near production-ready model to reporters this week in Greensboro, but wouldn’t say when the car will make its official public debut.
The first Mirai — which means “future” in Japanese — debuted in late 2014, but availability in the U.S. has been limited to California and Hawaii. California has spent about $100 million over the past several years to build out a network of hydrogen stations. The state currently lists just 38 retail locations that are operational; another 22 are in various stages of development.
The first-generation car’s oddball looks, $58,500 sticker price and cramped interior made it a hard sell for dealers. Most U.S. drivers lease the Mirai, and experiences with the futuristic vehicle have been mixed.
Lawrence Kopp, a 42-year-old San Diego area resident, traded his Mirai in for a gasoline-powered Ford SUV in August after two years of headaches. Too few hydrogen pumps and a lack of cabin space wasn’t a good fit for a father with young children. “It was such a hassle I was ready to go back to a gas vehicle,” the corporate real estate executive said.
The new version of the Mirai is sleeker and more coupe-like, with a lower, longer and wider stance. It has room inside for five passengers, one more than the current model, and sports racier 20-inch wheels.
Toyota says the Mirai will make a 30% leap from the existing model’s 312-mile range. Pricing won’t be announced until later, but it will be sold as a premium vehicle under the Toyota brand. Sales may be expanded to some states in the Northeast and Northwest, pending their buildup of hydrogen station networks.
Toyota’s U.S. executives said that while they may prefer to have an SUV to sell, the company has stuck with a sedan body style to compete with premium models where passenger cars are still popular. In addition to Japan, Europe and the U.S., the Mirai will be sold in China, Australia and parts of the Middle East.
“If I were king, we might have gone for something larger,” Murphy said. “But this needed to be a vehicle for global markets, not just us here.”
https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/foreign/2019/10/13/toyota-new-hydrogen-sipping-mirai/40303509/
EU companies propose solar PV manufacturing project for hydrogen production
OCTOBER 14, 2019
At the Hydrogen for Climate Conference in Brussels on 10 October, EU companies Hydrogenics from Belgium, Meyer Burger from Germany, Ecosolifer from Hungary, and European Energy from Denmark presented their joint proposal for the European Union’s Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), SolarPower Europe said.
The project proposal entitled Silver Frog foresees the construction of a cutting-edge 2 GW/year solar PV manufacturing facility.
According to SolarPower Europe, this factory would provide over 10 GW of installed PV capacity, also including wind, for the production of 100% renewable hydrogen, transported by gas pipelines to hard-to-decarbonise industries, such as steel and chemicals.
Over a period of eight years, the project is estimated to produce 800,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen, and reduce 8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, each year – approximately the CO2 footprint of the whole city of Brussels. At least 6,000 jobs are expected to be created as a result of the project.
In the proposal, Belgium’s Hydrogenics Europe would supply the water electrolysis technology, Germany’s Meyer Burger would supply the solar PV manufacturing line, Hungary’s Ecosolifer would produce the modules and focus on heterojunction technology (HJT), while Denmark’s European Energy would act as the energy developer. SolarPower Europe would offer support to its members throughout the project.
“Solar is crucial in delivering fully renewable electricity throughout Europe. The ‘Silver Frog’ project reveals how solar can facilitate the development of renewable hydrogen,” SolarPower Europe CEO Walburga Hemetsberger said. “Further, this project’s emphasis on the integration of PV manufacturing facilities sends a strong signal to the European Commission that any discussions surrounding renewable hydrogen will require a robust renewable industrial strategy,” Hemetsberger added.
Thomas Hengst, head of Global Sales at Meyer Burger, noted that the Silver Frog project has the aim of helping to deliver the EU’s Green Deal, with a focus on hard-to-decarbonise sectors. “The crucial element of our project is to develop a new European manufacturing capacity for solar PV cells and modules. The new technology has been developed in Europe and has the potential to establish sustainable and globally-competitive solar cell and module production thanks to its very high efficiency. By focusing on the production and transportation of renewable hydrogen, we can address existing and future demand, as well as offering the concept as an integrated solution,” Hengst said.
Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on hydrogen includes eight ambitious proposals, all of which aim to develop the hydrogen sector, with projects surrounding the generation, transportation, and innovation of green hydrogen. The final selection for the IPCEI will take place in 2020, SolarPower Europe said.
The Hydrogen for Climate Action conference on 9 October in Brussels was co-organised by the European Commission’s DG GROW and Hydrogen Europe. Over 450 stakeholders from all across Europe attended the event and 1366 followed the web streaming.
The projects presented during the event will mean an investment of more than €60 billion over the next 5-10 years and, once completed, they will save 35 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
“The IPCEI projects presented at the conference showed in an impressive way that hydrogen technologies are ready today for deployment. No need to wait another 10 years to reap the benefits for climate action.” said Christian Weinberger, senior adviser on Advanced Industrial Technologies and Hydrogen Coordinator, DG GROW, European Commission.
These strategic value chains are interlinked and integrated industrial activities with great potential to contribute to Europe’s green and digital transformation and to improve Europe’s competitiveness.
As such, hydrogen has been seen as having a significant role to play in decarbonising the industrial, transport and energy sectors, as it enables the production, storage and consumption of energy without emissions whilst contributing to the EU’s technological leadership, Hydrogen Europe said, adding that it can also support the EU’s efforts towards energy independence, as hydrogen-based energy can be generated within EU borders, complementing existing solar and wind energy capacities.
Furthermore, hydrogen can play a significant role globally and more specifically with other continents such as Africa and the Middle East in terms of jobs creation and climate mitigation potential, Hydrogen Europe said.
The conference attendees also witnessed the joint call from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), Hydrogen Europe and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) for the accelerated deployment of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure across the EU.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/eu-companies-propose-solar-pv-manufacturing-project-for-hydrogen-production/
European majors back plan for PV factory to power green hydrogen push
Oct 11, 2019
A large PV factory could be the starting point of a major supply chain that would deliver renewable hydrogen to Europe’s heavy industries, under a scheme backed by some of the continent's top names.
At an EU event earlier this week, Meyer Burger, Hydrogenics, Ecosolifer and European Energy put forward a scheme to build a 2GW-a-year PV manufacturing plant somewhere in the continent.
The Silver Frog scheme, presented at the Hydrogen for Climate Conference, would use the PV factory to equip a major downstream solar portfolio meant to power hydrogen generation at a later stage.
Up to 10GW in solar farms could be equipped by the 2GW-a-year factory for PV modules and cells, a production involving Meyer Burger and Hungarian PV maker Ecosolifer.
In a presentation, Silver Frog’s proponents explained the 10GW downstream solar portfolio could be split between 20 sites of around 500MW, adding that it will be installed in Italy and others.
The Southern European state – chosen because of its “excellent” solar resource – too offers sound wind potential and will also be the home of a new 5GW wind power portfolio, the promoters said.
Together, both renewable sources will power the production of hydrogen via a 10GW fleet of water electrolysis plants, the latter equipped by a separate 2GW-a-year electrolyser factory.
The annual 800,000 tonnes of hydrogen resulting from the process will be shipped via gas pipelines to steelmakers, refineries, chemical plants and the rest of Europe’s most carbon-intensive industries.
The overall project would run for eight years and require overall investment of €12-15 billion (US$13.2-16.5 billion), according to its proponents.
EU bets on hydrogen to reverse PV manufacturing downfall
Backed by PV body SolarPower Europe, Silver Frog is being proposed with IPCEI status, which if granted would see the project become eligible for EU funding support.
The scheme’s proponents believe the new supply chain could create 6,000 jobs and bring annual CO2 savings – 8 million tonnes – equal to the footprint of the city of Brussels.
The European blueprint strongly mirrors a plan put forward in Australia this very week, meant to install 5GW of wind and solar to power the making of hydrogen for domestic and foreign use.
Germany’s Siemens will supply its electrolysers to the Murchison scheme in Western Australia, which will export some of its output to Japan, Korea and other hydrogen-hungry Asian markets.
Over in Southern Australia, clean energy firm Neoen is too tapping into hydrogen, with plans to add 50MW production capacity to a 275MW solar-plus-wind-plus-storage hub in the making.
In Europe, the focus on a continent-made supply chain comes after the PV manufacturing ecosystem was decimated by last year’s EU decision to phase out the MIP tariffs for Chinese imports.
In the intervening months, parties including the new EU-body the European Solar Manufacturing Council and French president Emmanuel Macron have sought to revive European PV makers.
As found by a recent PV Tech Power feature, market operators are split on whether Macron’s plan to bring back upstream “champions” will at all succeed against the dominance of cheaper Asian rivals.
“I don’t think it makes sense to manufacture in Europe … it doesn’t necessarily create the high-tech jobs Europeans want,” was the response of Jenny Chase, solar analyst at BloombergNEF.
The feature examining the odds of success of attempts to revive European solar makers was part of PV Tech Power's Volume 20, which you can subscribe to here
The prospects and challenges of solar's new era in Europe and beyond will take centre stage at Solar Media's Solar Finance & Investment Europe (London, 5-6 February) and Large Scale Solar Europe 2020 (Lisbon, on 31 March-1 April 2020).
https://www.pv-tech.org/news/european-majors-back-plan-for-pv-factory-to-power-green-hydrogen-push
Car makers urge EU to invest in hydrogen filling stations
10 Oct, 2019
European Union called on to "ramp up" hydrogen stations in the face of "severely lacking" infrastructure
Car makers have urged the European Union to "ramp up" investment in hydrogen filling stations, as the current infrastructure is "severely lacking."
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) says "a strategic plan for the pan-European deployment of infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles needs to be put in place", with the organisation also calling for consideration to be given to the requirements of hydrogen lorries.
• Electric cars vs hydrogen cars
The majority of the focus on provision for alternatively fuelled vehicles has been around electric cars and their charging points, with hydrogen vehicles left behind.
Some 17 new hydrogen stations were opened in Germany last year, bringing the total number in the country to 60; that compares to roughly 25,000 EV chargers. In the UK, there are around 15,000 EV chargers, against just 17 hydrogen stations.
Critics of hydrogen cars point to their expense (the Hyundai Nexo and Toyota Mirai both cost upwards of £60,000) as well as their rarity and complexity. Generating hydrogen fuel, meanwhile, is also problematic, with the majority of the element captured using fossil fuels.
But hydrogen advocates cite the fuel's advantages, namely that cars running on hydrogen can be refulled as quickly as models with petrol and diesel engines and offer similar range. The cars themselves produce no tailpipe emissions other than water.
Hydrogen generation methods, meanwhile, could in theory move away from fossil fuels in future years, just as electricty generation has, to some extent. Research by Auto Express, meanwhile, found that some organisations were covering higher mileage in hydrogen cars compared to EVs.
• Best electric cars to buy
The ACEA’s director general, Eric-Mark Huitema, said: “Along with other alternatively-powered vehicles, fuel cell vehicles hold a strong potential to help make the transition to zero-emission mobility.
“But their ability to reach this potential depends on a network of hydrogen refuelling stations being built up right across Europe. Today, there are just 125 hydrogen stations in the EU, so there is much work to be done in the coming years.”
Hydrogen cars will overtake electric cars, expert claims
Electric power for cars “has its limits” and cars will be hydrogen-powered from 2030, an automotive-industry expert has said.
Dr Felix Gress, head of corporate communications and public affairs at automotive technology firm Continental, told an audience in Germany that electric cars represent poor value for money compared to petrol or diesel alternatives.
“For the customers, it will be difficult to accept such a car in the market - you pay a higher price, you get less of a car, so it will be a tough sell.”
And, while EVs may be grabbing the headlines and industry attention, Gress predicted that focus will be reversed within a decade or so. “The fuel cell is not ready to kick in yet,” Gress added. “By 2030, we’ll see that coming, especially in passenger cars that run long distances, or trucks.”
Gress added that manufacturers need to focus on electric cars in order to lower their fleet emissions and meet upcoming regulations in various markets, many of which have plans to limit or ban the sale of new conventionally powered petrol and diesel cars.
While these motivations may be driving the automotive industry, Gress warned drivers may not actually buy electric cars large numbers, partly due to what he perceives as their inherent limitations. “The battery technology, according to our estimations, has its limits,” he admitted, adding that “it doesn’t generate enough range” for some people’s needs.
Circling back around to the topic of hydrogen vehicles, Gress said this was something Continental is considering. “Fuel cell is not out of reach, I would say. The question is when it would kick in. We are working on that area, too.”
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/107297/car-makers-urge-eu-to-invest-in-hydrogen-filling-stations
Hydrogen vessel’s wingsails now on cargo ship
October 10, 2019
The OceanWings system pioneered on the research vessel Energy Observer is going to be an essential part of a new 121 m / 400 ft cargo ship for transporting components of a space launcher rocket from Europe to French Guiana.
OceanWings® are automated and reefable soft wingsails developed by yacht designers VPLP. They were added to the hydrogen-powered Energy Observer to improve the efficiency of the wind aspect of her quest to circle the globe with zero emission of carbon or fine particles.
Reduces emissions by 30%
To be clear, this new cargo ship is not an electric or hydrogen powered ship, but it is a great illustration of the way new technology proves its value on experimental vessels like Energy Observer and then makes its way into real life applications in helping reduce carbon emissions.
The 4 wingsails – each 30m / 100ft high to make up a total surface area of 1425 square meters / 15,000 sq. ft. – assist the ship’s main propulsion system to reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by an average of 30%.
The ship design came about when rocket manufacturer ArianeGroup put out a call for tenders for transportation of the various parts of their Ariane 6 launcher from Europe to the launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana. The contract to build was awarded to the maritime company Alizés a joint venture between includes offshore service firm Jifmar and a young company specializing in carbon-free transport, Zéphyr & Borée. They in turn brought in VPLP Design to help design a ship using OceanWIngs as part of its propulsion system.
For VPLP the project is the fruit of a long labour of love that started in 2010 with BMW Oracle’s America’s Cup victory using a VPLP trimaran with a rigid wingsail. Development continued, with advances in both the wing construction and how they are controlled.
The OceanWings addition to Energy Observer has helped prove the efficiency of the system and its ease of use for even a small crew. When the automated sailwings are in use propelling the 30m catamaran its hydrogen/electric motor reverses to become a turbine and charge the vessel’s batteries. In turn this electricity is used to extract hydrogen from seawater that can then drive the motor when there is no wind. (EO also has solar panels).
Increasing pressure for clean shipping solutions
When it come to this application of OceanWings in the rapidly changing world of marine cargo, Marc Van Peteghem (the VP in VPLP) said “Shipping is facing new challenges, because it alone is responsible for 5% of greenhouse gasses, a figure that is set to double by the year 2050. Pressure from institutions and the general public for clean transport is increasing and stricter regulations are coming into force.”
This is a great step forward in proving the economics of reduced carbon shipping, and the focus for VPLP isn’t just on cargo vessels or just OceanWings. VPLP is already looking into passenger ferries equipped with hydrofoils, similar to some of the high speed ferries (from other companies) unveiled in Norway.
The innovations are taking place all over the world, with dozens of companies looking at ways to move everything from huge cargo ships to personal watercraft across the water without fossil fuels. VPLP definitely sees a future in their designs, a new company, Ayro, has been set up for the specific purpose of developing Oceanwings®.
https://plugboats.com/hydrogen-vessels-wingsails-now-on-cargo-ship/
Italy's Snam looking to raise hydrogen mix in its pipelines
OCTOBER 10, 2019
MILAN (Reuters) - Italy’s Snam is planning to inject more hydrogen into its gas pipeline network and will be able to count on the backing of Rome as the new government rolls out its new climate package.
Green hydrogen, produced by electrolysis using solar and wind power sources, is seen by many as a possible replacement for fossil fuels such as natural gas since it does not produce carbon dioxide when burnt.
Europe’s biggest gas transport group said on Thursday it would blend 10% of hydrogen with natural gas in its network in a test area in southern Italy before the end of the year.
That compares to a 5% mix the group has already tested on parts of its network near the southern city of Salerno.
At a conference in Rome, Snam Chief Executive Marco Alverà said the use of hydrogen could cover almost a quarter of national energy consumption by 2050.
“And it is precisely the regions in the south of Italy, rich in renewable energy, that could help affirm hydrogen as a new clean energy vector,” he said.
The International Energy Agency says hydrogen may be an essential part of the tool kit needed to achieve the deep decarbonisation targets governments set under climate deals.
Snam, controlled by state lender CDP, is one of several gas infrastructure players in Europe looking to bulk up the amount of green hydrogen in their systems on the chance it could one day replace natural gas.
Alverà said the hydrogen market worldwide could be worth $2.5 trillion in 2050 if industry embraced the fuel.
Italy is currently working on a green new deal package to help improve its environment credentials and boost growth.
Italy’s 5-Star Movement, one of the government’s two ruling coalition parties, has said it wants an end to coal-fired power plants by 2025 and is keen to phase out fossil fuels by 2050.
On Thursday Italy’s Industry Minister Stefano Patuanelli, a leading figure in 5-Star, said hydrogen was a key part of the government’s drive to boost renewable energy and circular economy technologies.
“Green hydrogen is an attractive prospect due to the capillarity of the gas network ... that can be used for long-term storage and conversion into power,” he said.
reuters.com/article/us-snam-hydrogen/italys-snam-looking-to-raise-hydrogen-mix-in-its-pipelines-idUSKBN1WP2KZ
World’s first self-sufficient hydrogen ship gases into London
Already 18,000 miles into its six-year-long journey around the globe, the zero-emission Energy Observer is being moored by Tower Bridge for 10 days to celebrate the end of the European leg of its voyage
Friday 11 October 2019
The world’s first ship able to travel the seas powered by hydrogen produced directly onboard has docked in London.
Already 18,000 miles into its six-year-long journey around the globe, the zero-emission Energy Observer is being moored by Tower Bridge for 10 days to celebrate the end of the European leg of its voyage.
The 30-metre-long catamaran uses electricity from solar panels to electrolyse seawater, in order to generate hydrogen and oxygen.
The oxygen is then released into the atmosphere, while the hydrogen is burned to generate power, emitting only water vapour as it does so.
Along with direct power from the panels and with the help of modern sail structures, the clean gas allows the ship to travel at speeds of up to seven knots.
Its creators hope it can demonstrate that the shipping sector can be decarbonised, in order to tackle the growing threat of climate change.
Jon Hunt, Manager of Alternative Fuels at Toyota, said: “What we’re showing here is again, back to the fact that it [hydrogen] can be used in a real environment, a very harsh environment, safely and practically and durably.”
https://www.energylivenews.com/2019/10/11/self-sufficient-hydrogen-ship-gases-into-london/
Coming soon: The world’s largest hydrogen mine-haul truck to an Anglo mine
10 October 2019
Global diversified miner Anglo American has partnered with ENGIE, an energy services company, to build the world’s largest hydrogen-powered mine truck. That means 350-tonne diesel monsters will be replaced by 350-tonne hydrogen beasts that will be cleaner, quieter and require less maintenance.
Anglo American has been touting hydrogen fuel cells – which require platinum as a catalyst and hydrogen as the fuel – for some time now. So it came as no surprise on Thursday 10 October when the company announced that it was partnering with energy services company ENGIE to develop a hydrogen truck for its mines.
But the scale suggests the technology is being taken to a new level as the vehicle in question will be the world’s largest mine haul truck. Anglo American said in a statement that:
“‘First motion of the hydrogen-powered truck is expected in 2020, followed by a testing and validation programme at Anglo American’s Mogalakwena platinum group metals mine in South Africa, after which the trucks are expected to be deployed at other Anglo American operations.”
Mogalakwena, the cash-spinning jewel in the crown of Anglo American’s platinum unit, Amplats, is an open cast operation that utilises 350-tonne trucks. Anglo spokesman James Wyatt-Tilby confirmed to Business Maverick that the hydrogen versions will be the same size and the operational capacity of the converted trucks is expected to be the same or better than the diesel ones being replaced. On top of that, the emissions will be far cleaner, there will be less noise (which is an occupational hazard for miners), and the maintenance costs are expected to be lower.
This is part of Anglo American’s strategy to eventually operate a “carbon-neutral mine”. The company has also been pushing hydrogen-fuel cell technology because it uses platinum as a catalyst. Platinum, of course, is also used as a catalyst for diesel engines, which are falling out of favour in the face of tightening emissions standards in many countries and regions.
“As one of the world’s leading suppliers of PGMs, we see platinum-containing hydrogen-powered Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs), as an important innovation. It is one that builds our future in a truly sustainable way through zero tailpipe emissions and the use of an endless fuel source - hydrogen,” Anglo American says on its website.
It is early days yet but it will be interesting to see a 350-tonne hydrogen-powered monster lumbering (quietly?) across the Mogalakwena landscape. And Anglo American can at least say it is utilising a technology that it has also been promoting, and it is using it on a grand scale. BM
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-10-10-coming-soon-the-worlds-largest-hydrogen-mine-haul-truck-to-an-anglo-mine/
Only with hydrogen can we save the climate
There is no alternative to using hydrogen for climate protection. Climate change and its ensuing measures require a lot of effort, money, and above all the right solutions. Therefore, a meaningful project, which will be perceived worldwide as a model for complete technological change, is key. That is what the Bonn Climate Project and the CTC Bonn stand for! We can already see great steps towards a hydrogen economy being taken in Germany. Steps are good, but not enough; we need the implementation of a hydrogen economy now!
OCTOBER 11, 2019
We need the OPEC states
The OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) states are necessary for the transition to a hydrogen economy, in particular the Gulf countries and North Africa. This is because without a supply of hydrogen from these places, an immediate conversion is just not possible.
These countries have a unique opportunity to supply Europe and the world with pure (CO2-free) hydrogen, instead of hydrocarbons. This is possible from North Africa via the existing natural gas pipelines, or from the Gulf countries by means of liquid hydrogen by tanker. Thus, the business models of these oil-exporting states do not have to change; the share of export quantities of green or blue hydrogen will, rather, increase as Germany and other EU countries substitute coal with hydrogen.
Green hydrogen is hydrogen from electrolysis, with electricity from renewable energies in accordance with electricity criteria for green hydrogen, or from biomass produced in a certified green thermochemical or biological conversion process. Blue hydrogen is climate-neutral hydrogen from natural gas with CO2 capture and storage.
The Gulf countries are the ideal future producer and supplier of green hydrogen, due to the very cheap production of electricity from solar power plants. The enormous demand for green hydrogen for transport, industry and housing cannot be produced from sources available in Germany and Europe alone. In this way, the Gulf countries can already counteract a possible decline in prices and the loss of importance of crude oil and natural gas by steadily increasing electromobility and (over-) compensate for this by supplying hydrogen.
Increasing importance of hydrogen
The increasing importance of hydrogen as an energy source will inevitably lead to the market establishment of hydrogen technologies. This establishment will, in turn, drive further demand. Participation of the Gulf countries in this cycle has a socio-political and socio-economic dimension (as already stated by the author in “Hydrogen Economy for Arab Countries: Perspectives” July 27, 2018):
„The Arab world is facing major sustainability challenges in achieving social, economic and environmental goals. A hydrogen economy can help Arab governments, companies, and citizens to save billions of dollars each year from reduced energy bills and sustainable waste management, while at the same time reducing carbon footprints– a win-win solution. Extremely arid climate, acute water scarcity, high energy consumption and polluting oil and gas industry present a unique challenge in Arab countries. Almost one-fifth of the Arab population is dependent on non-commercial fuels for different energy uses. All sectors of the economy — residential, commercial, transport, service and agriculture — demands modern energy services. Gaseous emissions from the exploration and burning of fossil fuels is heavily polluting the atmosphere in the Arab world. Waste management has emerged as a major environmental issue with mountains of wastes accumulating in big cities across the Arab world. Compared to other countries, Arab countries are experiencing higher emissions of oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide and volatile organic compounds.
“More than 40% of the Arab population in rural and urban poor areas do not have adequate access to energy services. It is also noted that almost one-fifth of the Arab population relies on non-commercial fuels for different energy uses.
“Basic principles at a glance
“Water/hydro is life, energy and a fuel:
Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen.
Water changes its state into hydrogen and oxygen, and then back to water.
Nothing is lost in the world. Everything only changes its status and can be used over and over again: from a solid to a liquid to a gas. This is the hydro-logic and hydrogen circle.
Our energy is utilized in the form of oil, gas, coal, or wood; all are hydrocarbon elements and compounds.
Take away the carbon and use only the hydrogen as C02-free energy for universal use.”
Against this background, the following conclusions can be drawn
The Gulf countries are already far ahead of most other nations, because of their significant commitment to climate change. They can further strengthen their position through the cheap export of hydrogen. If the Gulf countries now work in parallel with Germany and the EU to introduce a hydrogen economy, this will be a great success. Then we can still save our climate – and with it our world.
The Bonn Climate Project
ICEPS CTC Bonn has been a member of the “Network of Experts Hydrogen Fuel Cell” since it was founded by the state government in 2000; since then it has been developing the “Bonn Climate Project”. Already in 2000, it could be foreseen that only water/hydro (gen) unlike all other sources of energy, could be used for climate protection. Hydrogen-based energy supply is much more economical and efficient compared to fossil fuels, which are not regenerative and have high CO2 emissions.
As a Bonn-based entrepreneur who works on international projects, Heinz J. Sturm understands the need to establish a link between the Bonn Climate Project and the UN Climate Change Secretariat, in order to develop a holistic approach to using hydrogen for climate change mitigation. This is the only way through which it can be made economically viable and be used to accelerate energy access in developing countries with barely any energy infrastructure.
Against this background, he has been actively involved in climate protection issues for years. He advises the UN Climate Change Secretariat and some African and Arab governments from the Climate Technology Center in Bonn, and has been an advocate of holistic approaches for years. It is not the single technology, nor the individual drive that determines the success of hydrogen for climate protection and for clean energy supply, but the “thinking through” of a society and hydrogen economy.
Germany / North Rhine-Westphalia and Bonn are addressing climate protection worldwide. The UN Climate Secretariat also sets international standards, known as the Carbon Development Mechanism (CDM). It is clear that the UN City of Bonn is increasingly operating in the field of climate protection with the CTC Bonn, not only nationally, but also internationally, thereby attaining an outstanding position. In addition, the Bonn Climate Project is a multi-faceted climate project that is fully developed and formulated. As described in H2 Strategies, it can be displayed on a large scale within a very short time at its Bonn location in conjunction with CTC Bonn, and then replicated worldwide.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2019/10/11/only-with-hydrogen-can-we-save-the-climate/
Multi-million euro investment into hydrogen
October 10, 2019
As part of the Energiewende, Germany’s transition to non-nuclear, sustainable power sources, the Ministry of Education and Research will pump at least 300 million euros more into research on green hydrogen by 2023.
180 million euros in ministry funds were already allocated to such research in the coming years. The new influx of funds comes after the government cabinet approved it's draft legislative “climate package.”
“We will increase the intensity of our research into green hydrogen, that is, hydrogen produced by the sun and wind,” said Federal Minister of Education and Research Anja Karliczek.
“Green hydrogen is the energy carrier of the future and a key foundation needed for us to meet our climate goals.”
In July, Federal Economic Affairs and Energy Minister Peter Altmaier announced 300 million euros of his own to support hydrogen research and has promised that Germany will become the “world number one” in hydrogen technologies.
“By the end of this year, the government will decide on a hydrogen strategy with which we will create the conditions enabling businesses to further develop its industrial potential,” Altmaier said on Wednesday.
With Wednesday’s announcements, the two ministries have pledged 780 million euros to this research.
https://www.smart-energy.com/industry-sectors/new-technology/multi-million-euro-investment-into-hydrogen/
Water + air + electricity = hydrogen peroxide
October 10, 2019
The production of hydrogen peroxide can be much safer and simpler through a process developed at Rice University.
A reactor developed by Haotian Wang and his colleagues at Rice's Brown School of Engineering requires only air, water and electricity to make the valuable chemical in the desired concentration and high purity.
Their electrosynthesis process, detailed in Science, uses an oxidized carbon nanoparticle-based catalyst and could enable point-of-use production of pure hydrogen peroxide solutions, eliminating the need to transport the concentrated chemical, which is hazardous.
By using a solid electrolyte instead of traditional liquid electrolyte, it also eliminates the need for product separation or purification used in current processes, so no contaminating ions will be involved.
"If we have electricity from a solar panel, we can literally get hydrogen peroxide from just sunlight, air and water," said Wang. "We don't need to involve organics or fossil fuel consumption. Hydrogen peroxide synthesis by traditional, huge chemical engineering plants generates organic wastes, consumes fossil fuels and emits carbon dioxide. What we're doing is green synthesis."
Hydrogen peroxide is widely used as an antiseptic, a detergent, in cosmetics, as a bleaching agent and in water purification, among many other applications. The compound is produced in industrial concentrations of up to 60% solution with water, but in many common uses, the solution is far more diluted.
"Industrial hydrogen peroxide has to be transported in high concentrations to maximize the economics," Wang said.
"Transportation is hazardous and costly because the concentrated compound is unstable. Hydrogen peroxide also degrades over time, and has to be stored once it gets to its destination.
"Our technology delocalizes the production of hydrogen peroxide," he said. "As renewable electricity input gets cheaper, air is free and water is also cheap, our product should be competitive in terms of price.
"Instead of storing containers of hydrogen peroxide, hospitals that use it as a disinfectant could in the future turn on a spigot and get, for instance, a 3% solution on demand," Wang said. "Instead of storing chemicals to disinfect pool water, homeowners can flick a switch and turn on the reactor to clean their pools."
The Rice reactor is somewhat similar to a fuel cell, with electrodes on either side to process hydrogen (or water) and oxygen (from air), feeding them to catalysts on two electrodes sandwiching an ionically conductive porous solid electrolyte.
"A fuel cell minimizes the production of hydrogen peroxide to produce just water with maximized energy efficiency," said Rice postdoctoral researcher and lead author Chuan Xia. "In our case, we want to maximize hydrogen peroxide instead, and have tuned our catalyst to do so."
The low-cost carbon black catalyst, set in a solid electrolyte and oxidized to enhance its reactivity, shifts the oxygen reduction pathway towards the desired chemical at rates and concentrations determined by the applied voltage, air and water feedstock and a steady supply of deionized water. The reaction takes place under ambient temperatures and pressures.
Co-lead author Yang Xia, a second-year graduate student in the Wang lab, said the catalyst proved robust enough to synthesize pure solution of 1%-by-weight hydrogen peroxide over 100 continuous hours in the lab with negligible degradation.
Wang said the lab plans to engineer both larger reactors and plug-and-play components with an eye toward testing with industrial partners. He sees great promise for industrial-scale applications like municipal water purification systems. The Rice lab has tested low concentrations of its product on campus rainwater and proved its ability to remove organic carbon contaminants.
"There are so many potential applications," he said. "Before this, electrochemical synthesis of hydrogen peroxide was limited by its product separation or purification process, but we've solved the big barrier to practical applications."
Rice graduate student Peng Zhu and academic visitor Lei Fan are co-authors of the paper. Wang is the William Marsh Rice Trustee Chair, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and a 2019 CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar.
Rice University and the J. Evans Attwell-Welch Postdoctoral Fellowship provided by the Smalley-Curl Institute supported the research.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191010142156.htm
For Toyota, hydrogen still the route forward
OCT 11, 2019
SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN – As others automakers plan battery-powered SUVs and trucks, Toyota Motor Corp.’s vision for the future of driving remains a hydrogen-sipping sedan.
The Japanese behemoth will begin sales late next year of its second-generation Mirai, a fuel cell-powered four-door, and will ramp up annual production by tenfold from the current model.
Toyota’s bet — that it can position a hydrogen sedan for more of a mass market — flies in the face of rivals wagering on putting batteries into the bigger-bodied vehicles consumers are buying.
The firm has been slower than peers to embrace EVs, citing uncertain demand in key markets including the U.S. along with technical hurdles that limit battery range and recharging times. While the company has pledged to offer an electrified version of every model in the next five years, and 10 fully electric vehicles by early the next decade, it’s also going to keep coaxing consumers to give hydrogen a try.
“Toyota won’t be putting all our eggs in one technology basket,” said Doug Murtha, Toyota’s U.S. group vice president for corporate strategy and planning, at a briefing in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The company’s near-term electrification goals in the U.S. center on its gas-electric hybrid powertrains. It currently sells six hybrid vehicles, and said Thursday it will add a plug-in hybrid version of its RAV4 crossover next year.
The firm plans to increase sales of hybrid cars and SUVs in the U.S. to 25 percent of deliveries by 2025, up from about 9 percent today.
Toyota began developing hydrogen-powered cars more than 20 years ago, but progress has been slow due to high material costs and steep hurdles to setting up refueling infrastructure.
Recent technological advances halved the cost of the fuel cell stacks that mix hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity. That has allowed the carmaker to boost global output from 3,000 a year in 2018 to 30,000 next year, and 200,000 by 2025, according to Taiyo Kawai, general manager of the company’s hydrogen efforts, who spoke to reporters during a briefing in London.
Rival automakers such as General Motors Co. in the U.S. and BMW AG in Europe have invested in fuel cell technology but are prioritizing EVs in their current and future zero-emission products. In the U.S., only Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. sell fuel cell-powered passenger cars — and only at a handful of dealers due to the scarcity of hydrogen stations.
Fuel cell vehicles offer several advantages over battery-powered cars, including quicker refueling times and longer driving ranges. But they remain a novelty, accounting for less than 0.1 percent of the nearly 100 million vehicles produced each year, according to research by the National Academy of Sciences.
“Unfortunately, despite years of education efforts, hydrogen cars are still a mystery to most people,” said Jackie Birdsall, a senior engineer at Toyota’s R&D center in Gardena, California. “The good news is that fuel cell technology is gaining momentum around the world,” she said.
Improvements have been made to shrink the size of hydrogen fuel tanks and reduce the amount of costly platinum needed for fuel cell stacks. But there’s still more to do, including replacing platinum with cheaper synthetic materials, said Shawn Litster, a mechanical engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
Toyota, which loses money on the current Mirai, hasn’t said when it plans to break even with a future version. The company showed a near production-ready model to reporters this week in Greensboro, but wouldn’t say when the car would make its official public debut.
The first Mirai — which means “future” in Japanese — debuted in late 2014, but availability in the U.S. has been limited to California and Hawaii. California has spent about $100 million over the past several years to build out a network of hydrogen stations. The state currently lists just 38 retail locations that are operational; another 22 are in various stages of development.
The first-generation car’s oddball looks, $58,500 sticker price and cramped interior made it a hard sell for dealers. Most U.S. drivers lease the Mirai, and experiences with the futuristic vehicle have been mixed.
Lawrence Kopp, a 42-year-old San Diego area resident, traded in his Mirai for a gasoline-powered Ford SUV in August after two years of headaches. Too few hydrogen pumps and a lack of cabin space wasn’t a good fit for a father with young children. “It was such a hassle I was ready to go back to a gas vehicle,” the corporate real estate executive said.
The new version of the Mirai is sleeker and more coupe-like, with a lower, longer and wider stance. It has room inside for five passengers — one more than the current model — and sports racier 20-inch wheels.
Toyota says the Mirai will make a 30 percent leap from the existing model’s 312-mile range. Pricing won’t be announced until later, but it will be sold as a premium vehicle under the Toyota brand. Sales may be expanded to some states in the Northeast and Northwest, pending their buildup of hydrogen station networks.
Toyota’s U.S. executives said that while they may prefer to have an SUV to sell, the company has stuck with a sedan body style to compete with premium models where passenger cars are still popular. In addition to Japan, Europe and the U.S., the Mirai will be sold in China, Australia and parts of the Middle East.
“If I were king, we might have gone for something larger,” Murphy said. “But this needed to be a vehicle for global markets, not just us here.”
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/11/business/corporate-business/toyota-hydrogen-mirai-sedan/#.XaBwdUYzaM8
Twitter: ACEA, Hydrogen Europe and IRU have signed a statement urging the next European Commission and newly-elected MEPs to provide the right framework to support the roll-out of #hydrogen infrastructure across the entire EU. Want to learn more? https://bit.ly/2p9Au1w
ACEA, Hydrogen Europe and IRU have signed a statement urging the next European Commission and newly-elected MEPs to provide the right framework to support the roll-out of #hydrogen infrastructure across the entire EU. Want to learn more? https://t.co/NOtrB8FLHA
— Nel Hydrogen (@nelhydrogen) October 11, 2019
Twitter: We were glad to be a part of this important event. If you missed it, be sure to check out the links below for more info.
We were glad to be a part of this important event. If you missed it, be sure to check out the links below for more info. https://t.co/2zYT7Xlijy
— Nel Hydrogen (@nelhydrogen) October 11, 2019
DOE and US Army collaborate on hydrogen-powered emergency relief
Oct 09, 2019
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has collaborated the with the Department of Defence’s US Army Ground Vehicle Systems Centre and the US Army Corps of Engineers to develop hydrogen fuel cell vehicle technology for emergency disaster relief.
Under the collaboration, project partners will develop and demonstrate a ‘H2Rescue’ emergency relief truck, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.
The project will also include a feasibility study and the development of a joint plan for demonstration to ensure the emergency relief truck meets the needs of users in the emergency management field.
Recent disasters such as fires in California and Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, have promoted interest in speciality disaster and emergency relief vehicles.
The announcement supports DOE’s H2@Scale initiative that enables affordable and reliable hydrogen generation, transport storage, and utilisations in the US across multiple sectors.
https://www.h2-view.com/story/doe-and-us-army-collaborate-on-hydrogen-powered-emergency-relief/
Is This The Next $170 Billion Energy Industry In The US?
Oct 08, 2019
Hydrogen is the simplest element on earth and most abundant element in the universe. It is an energy carrier as it has high energy content per unit of weight. And it has the potential to become a mainstream energy technology and a key clean fuel source in the future that could also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The development of hydrogen research and technology in the next few decades could make hydrogen a multi-billion industry in the United States alone, Jeffrey Rissman, Industry Program Director & Head of Modeling at climate policy think tank Energy Innovation, writes in Forbes. By 2050, the hydrogen industry could generate as much as US$170 billion in annual revenues and make combined profits of more than US$100 billion, if hydrogen demand as a vehicle fuel results in 5 percent hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road in 2050, and if hydrogen is made entirely from electrolysis—the process of splitting hydrogen from water using an electric current.
This scenario is one of three possible pathways for hydrogen that Energy Innovation examined. This is the ‘hydrogen demand plus electrolysis (HD+E)’ scenario.
Source: Energy Innovation Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) scenarios
This scenario assumes that hydrogen will be produced without greenhouse gas emissions and using electricity from renewable sources for the electrolysis.
The other two scenarios are ‘business as usual’, in which hydrogen is not expected to be a game-changer, and ‘hydrogen demand’, where hydrogen demand in cars and industry is similar to the HD+E scenario, but 95 percent of hydrogen will still be produced from natural gas.
In the HD+E case, emissions could be reduced by as much as 120 million metric tons (Mt) of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent annually in 2050. This would be comparable to removing 25 million passenger vehicles from U.S. roads, Energy Innovation’s Rissman says.
Related: ‘’Tesla May Lose 80% of Its Value’’
The HD+E scenario, however, contains one bold assumption—that hydrogen will be produced entirely from electrolysis with no emissions.
At present, hydrogen is typically produced from natural gas and coal—not exactly the cleanest alternative source of energy.
That’s why scientists call this type of hydrogen ‘grey’ hydrogen because its production is not zero emission.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), around 70 Mt of hydrogen are produced today in the world, 76 percent of which from natural gas and almost all the rest from coal.
In the U.S.—which produces nearly one-seventh of global supply—95 percent of the hydrogen is currently produced from natural gas. That’s not only because natural gas is abundant in the U.S.—hydrogen production from natural gas is currently a lot cheaper than from electrolysis.
In terms of consumption, nearly all of the hydrogen consumed in the United States is used by industry for refining petroleum, treating metals, producing fertilizers, and processing foods.
Globally, hydrogen use is also dominated by industrial applications, with the top four single uses of hydrogen being oil refining (33 percent), ammonia production (27 percent), methanol production (11 percent) and steel production via the direct reduction of iron ore (3 percent), IEA estimates show.
Global hydrogen production today is responsible for 830 Mt of CO2 emissions annually, equal to the annual CO2 emissions of Indonesia and the United Kingdom combined, the IEA says, noting that if hydrogen production were to become emission-free, hydrogen could really be a green technology.
Related: Greta Thunberg’s Not-So-Little Carbon Footprint
That’s because hydrogen, unlike other fuel sources, is used to generate power using a chemical reaction rather than combustion, producing only water and heat as byproduct.
The so-called ‘green hydrogen’ produced from renewable energy sources has been a promising concept but no breakthrough in this field has taken place yet.
But scientists are already developing various technologies to find a cheap, environmentally friendly, and feasible way to produce hydrogen—out of thin air and sunlight. The challenge is to turn those successful small-scale experiments into a large-scale cost-effective process.
The U.S. Department of Energy is studying and supporting various ways to produce hydrogen in a cost-effective and an environmentally friendly way. The DOE believes that there is potential to study hydrogen production from electrolysis, biomass gasification, thermochemical water splitting, photoelectrochemical water splitting, photobiological processes, and microbial biomass conversion.
In view of hydrogen’s potential to be a multi-billion industry of a zero-carbon energy source, Energy Innovation’s Rissman calls for more research into clean hydrogen technology:
“Even as the U.S. deploys proven, emissions-reducing technologies today – including solar power, wind power, and energy efficiency – we must invest in research and development, to ensure that hydrogen technology is ready to transform the last few, difficult-to-decarbonize elements of the energy system in the coming decades.”
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Is-This-The-Next-170-Billion-Energy-Industry-In-The-US.html
Siemens and Hydrogen Renewables Australia partner on green hydrogen project
Oct 09, 2019
Siemens and Hydrogen Renewables Australia are partnering to develop a 5GW solar and wind farm in Western Australia that will produce renewable hydrogen for potential export to Asia.
The Murchison Renewable Hydrogen Project is proposed to be developed in three stages: firstly a demonstration phase providing hydrogen for transport fuels; secondly an expansion to blend with natural gas in the nearby Dampier to Bunbury pipeline; and thirdly a large expansion to produce hydrogen for the Asian markets, notably Japan and Korea.
“We believe that Murchison Renewable Hydrogen Project’s location is the best in Australia for combined solar and wind, making it one of the most cost-effective spots to produce clean energy,” said Terry Kallis, Executive Chairman of Hydrogen Renewables Australia.
“We also believe that the project will contribute significantly to the national, state and local objectives for new investment, new jobs, renewable energy sources and new export markets.”
“This project will not only help local industry but also the growing demand for green hydrogen from Asian and other markets. Imagine exporting West Australian sunshine and wind to the world in the form of hydrogen.”
Siemens Australia Pacific CEO Jeff Connolly said, “Australia has potential like no other country in the world for hydrogen production and export – as long as we act upon the opportunity quickly.”
“It’s heartening to see strong recent bipartisan leadership at both federal and state levels for hydrogen. There is a clear appetite for hydrogen around the world due to the energy transition away from fossil fuels and the need to decarbonise industry, transport systems and more. Not only Asia, but also Europe and other parts of the world are eyeing Australia as potential giant in hydrogen.”
The project’s initiatives are also aligned with Western Australia’s Renewable Hydrogen Strategy designed to help put the state at the forefront of what will be a major new global energy industry.
The strategy cites hydrogen as a means to export the state’s world-class solar and wind resources to help international trading partners meet their emissions reduction goals, as well as supporting local industries transition to a lower carbon future.
Hydrogen Renewables Australia has undertaken preliminary discussions with key representatives of the Western Australian and Commonwealth Governments, the local Northampton Shire Council, the local Nanda Aboriginal Corporation and several other key local stakeholders.
The project has received favourable initial response from key stakeholders. A comprehensive communications and stakeholder engagement process with the local community is being planned to commence in Kalbarri for November 2019.
https://www.h2-view.com/story/siemens-and-hydrogen-renewables-australia-partner-on-green-hydrogen-project/
Thailand botanical garden demonstrates hydrogen
Oct 09, 2019
A 600-acre botanical garden and scientific research centre in Thailand is displaying hydrogen as an energy storage solution to demonstrate it is independent from the local grid and fossil fuels.
Nongnooch Tropical Botanical Garden is working in collaboration with hydrogen electrolyser manufacturer Enapter in a bid to “save the future and provide blueprints and knowledge” to “push towards zero emission energy”.
Kampon Tansacha, the owner of the garden, shared his commitment to hydrogen technology by hosting a related seminar yesterday (8th October) as part of Enapter’s ‘The Big Thing’ hydrogen technology conference.
The hands-on workshop, organised by Enapter, demonstrated how to build an entire microgrid running on solar and using a hydrogen-based energy storage.
“Green hydrogen is a valuable resource and experts anticipate it to enable the future of energy storage,” said Tanascha.
The workshop welcomed participants from all around the world who learned how to build a hydrogen energy system.
They reached a common understanding of how to use hydrogen as a safer and cleaner alternative energy source and built the solar-hydrogen energy system that was presented in Nongnooch Garden.
“This unique garden and the conservation ideals set forth by its stewards provide an ideal setting for us to illustrate the Enapter system,” said Sebastian-Justus Schmidt, Chairman of Enapter.
“We believe hydrogen is a solution to replace fossil fuels and has great implications for both the future of energy and the preservation of our planet. We are proud to be able to provide a hands-on demonstration of this to everyone who participated in the workshop.”
The world-famous Nongnooch Tropical Botanical Garden, built by Tansacha, is known for its research centre on prehistorical seed plants and was created with a clear intent to preserve tropical flowers and plants.
https://www.h2-view.com/story/thailand-botanical-garden-demonstrates-hydrogen/
Linde supplies first liquid hydrogen pump in California
8 October 2019
Linde Hydrogen FuelTech is supplying its proprietary cryopump technology for the first public hydrogen station in California based on liquid hydrogen.
The core component of the station delivered by the Linde subsidiary is the CP 90, which was optimised by Linde Hydrogen FuelTech engineers to the specific local conditions and efficiently compresses hydrogen to an outlet pressure of up to 900 bar and has a capacity of 900kg per day.
Including its low-pressure storage tank capacity of 800kg, the station occupies an area of only 33’ length and 9’ 22’’ width.
With these compact measurements, the hydrogen fuelling station can be fully integrated into an existing fuelling station infrastructure where it operates according to the highest safety standards.
The station is owned by FirstElement Fuel, who is committed to making safe, reliable, retail hydrogen available through its True Zero brand for the world’s next generation of vehicles powered by fuel cells.
“Compared to gaseous hydrogen, liquid hydrogen has a much higher energy density that allows storage of greater amounts of hydrogen in a smaller footprint,” Linde explained in a statement.
“This is important considering the logistics for supplying hydrogen refuelling stations in urban areas where space is usually limited.”
“At present, Linde is the only company that provides technical solutions for pumping liquid hydrogen to high outlet pressures and will soon sell eleven additional stations of this kind in California.”
https://www.gasworld.com/linde-supplies-first-liquid-hydrogen-pump-in-california/2017902.article
Clean Logistics converts diesel trucks to hydrogen
Oct 09, 2019
Clean Logistics, a joint venture start-up, has received a notice of approval from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure for the conversion of its heavy diesel trucks to hydrogen hybrid drives.
The conversion will see the Winsen-based company produce HyBat trucks with emission-free fuel cell technology and high-performance batteries for energy storage.
“With a total volume of six million euros for the development of this new technology, we are now in a position to put the first converted vehicles on the road as early as the third quarter of 2020, much faster than expected,” said Dirk Lehmann and Dirk Graszt, Managing Directors of Clean Logistics.
Following the approval, Clean Logistics will convert its existing heavy trucks into HyBat trucks using its recently developed conversion concept for heavy freight transportation.
Commenting on the truck conversion, Lehmann and Graszt, said, “This is where we rely on the use of hydrogen fuel cells in conjunction with an electric rear axle drive.”
The first HyBat trucks will have a range of 400 to 500km, using onboard hydrogen tanks with a total capacity of 45kg per truck based of H35 technology. Future vehicles are expected to achieve a significantly higher range depending on configuration and customer requirements.
In order to produce the required hydrogen, Clean Logistics is also aiming for a tax-exempt and independent supply of hydrogen from wind energy. The hydrogen produced from the wind power will then be filled into suitable tank trailers and transported to the nearest depot and exchanged for an empty trailer.
The HyBat trucks will then be filled with hydrogen from the full trailers via a mobile tank system. From leasing, Clean Logistics and its partners will be the operators of the wind turbines, resulting in fully tax-exempt fuel.
As well as hydrogen, every HyBat truck will also feature a battery system which guarantees a range of over 100km.
The Clean Logistics joint venture was founded by Höpen, HARY and Proton Motors to promote the development, design and marketing of alternative drives for the logistics industry.
https://www.h2-view.com/story/clean-logistics-converts-diesel-trucks-to-hydrogen/
Twitter: Interested in learning about #hydrogen? Check out the latest @inspiratia podcast featuring @bjornsimonsen!
Interested in learning about #hydrogen? Check out the latest @inspiratia podcast featuring @bjornsimonsen! https://t.co/vmTNAa4lFn
— Nel Hydrogen (@nelhydrogen) October 9, 2019
Twitter: Are you at the #Hydrogen for #ClimateAction conference in Brussels today? If not, you can catch it via live stream. Nel CEO @jonandrelokke joins the 'Hydrogen: Why Now?' panel this afternoon. Don't miss it!
Are you at the #Hydrogen for #ClimateAction conference in Brussels today? If not, you can catch it via live stream. Nel CEO @jonandrelokke joins the 'Hydrogen: Why Now?' panel this afternoon. Don't miss it!https://t.co/SmtVMh3FwP
— Nel Hydrogen (@nelhydrogen) October 9, 2019
Twitter: Fun to be invited for a conversation on my favorite subject and @nelhydrogen on the podcast @AboutHydrogen. Lots of other good insights into the hydrogen industry on the podcast as well - definitely worth exploring!
Fun to be invited for a conversation on my favorite subject and @nelhydrogen on the podcast @AboutHydrogen. Lots of other good insights into the hydrogen industry on the podcast as well - definitely worth exploring! https://t.co/ut9Rkx0oWo
— Bjørn Simonsen (@bjornsimonsen) October 9, 2019
Twitter: At the #Interferry conference, Norled AS presented about #hydrogen ferries... an industry #gamechanger! We agree! What do you think?
At the #Interferry conference, Norled AS presented about #hydrogen ferries... an industry #gamechanger! We agree! What do you think?https://t.co/95pxN1CaEy
— Nel Hydrogen (@nelhydrogen) October 9, 2019
Twitter: Full house at the #Hydrogen4Climate conference in Brussels #nel #nelhydrogen #hydrogen
Full house at the #Hydrogen4Climate conference in Brussels #nel #nelhydrogen #hydrogen pic.twitter.com/VdN60lpTbW
— Jon Andre Løkke (@jonandrelokke) October 9, 2019
Twitter: Nel CEO ?@jonandrelokke? talking about #hydrogen and why we need it... now! At the #hydrogen4climate conference in Brussels. https://www.hydrogen4climateaction.eu/
Nel CEO @jonandrelokke talking about #hydrogen and why we need it... now! At the #hydrogen4climate conference in Brussels. https://t.co/SmtVMh3FwP pic.twitter.com/T2NgRYkFEg
— Nel Hydrogen (@nelhydrogen) October 9, 2019
Air Liquide to build new hydrogen production plant in Las Vegas
9 October 2019
Air Liquide will build a new plant that produces renewable liquid hydrogen in Las Vegas, Nevada, to serve the western US mobility market.
Hydrogen will be produced in part from renewable natural gas upgraded from biogas using Air Liquide’s advanced separation membrane technology.
Air Liquide said the large-scale project will include production of 30 tonnes of liquid hydrogen per day and represents the first step expanding hydrogen supply to the region, enabling the market in California to continue its growth to an expected 200 stations by 2025.
The French industrial gas giant made the announcement yesterday in celebration of National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day – a day raising awareness of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies that contribute to the US energy transition.
https://www.gasworld.com/air-liquide-to-build-hydrogen-plant/2017909.article
Photocatalytic hydrogen production from water
OCTOBER 9, 2019
NUS chemists have developed carbon-conjugated covalent organic frameworks for visible light-driven catalytic production of hydrogen gas from water.
Hydrogen gas is becoming important as a storage medium for sustainable energy applications. The use of sunlight, a renewable and sustainable energy source to decompose water into hydrogen gas is attracting significant scientific interest. However, this conversion from water to hydrogen gas does not happen spontaneously. It requires a complex system that involves a flow of free electrons generated by the light source that acts as an electric current to split the water molecule.
The research team led by Prof JIANG Donglin from the Department of Chemistry, NUS has developed a new class of photocatalysts using carbon-conjugated covalent organic frameworks (COF) for hydrogen gas production from water using solar energy. The research team constructed an organic yet robust material in which carbon-based building blocks are connected by specific bonds in a topologically predesigned ordered manner. This unique molecular structure looks like stacked layers of two-dimensional networks and is able to harvest sunlight efficiently. The researchers inserted platinum nanoparticles as reaction centres into the COF and under visible light irradiation (≥ 420 nm), hydrogen gas was generated at a steady rate of 1,360 µmol h-1g-1 over a period of five hours.
The newly developed photocatalyst has several molecular mechanisms that allow it to produce hydrogen gas from water efficiently. It consist of sp2 carbon frameworks that are p-conjugated with low energy bandgaps. This allows the absorption of light from the visible to the near infrared spectrum. The researchers also engineered the periphery (outermost edge position) of the layered two-dimensional lattice with electron-deficient units to synthetically control the electronic and photoelectric properties of the photocatalyst. Moreover, as the structure has dense and ordered columnar p-arrays, these provide pathways to facilitate excitons (an exciton is a bound state of an electron-hole pair) migration and charge transport.
Prof Jiang said, "Nanoparticles such as platinum can be loaded in the pores or on the surface of the photocatalyst to act as reaction centres. This shortens the electron transfer distance and promotes the accumulation of electrons, improving the conversion performance."
"We anticipate that this work may offer the structural and mechanistic base for scalable and sustainable fuel production from water and sunlight," added Prof Jiang.
https://phys.org/news/2019-10-photocatalytic-hydrogen-production.html
Germany should aim to be a leader in hydrogen technology: minister
3 MIN READ
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany should aim to be a leader in technologies needed to make and utilize hydrogen, which offers a green alternative to fossil fuels in the shift toward a low carbon economy, the economy minister said on Wednesday.
The government has been pushing renewables and other technologies to help cut Germany’s carbon emissions by 55% of their 1990 level by 2030 and by 80% to 95% by 2050. But it is already set to miss a target of a 40% cut in emissions by 2020.
“We have to set the course so that Germany becomes the No. 1 in the world in hydrogen technologies,” Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said in a statement.
“Now is the time for hydrogen and the technologies that are necessary for it,” he said after a meeting in Berlin to discuss Germany’s 2030 targets and its strategy for hydrogen usage.
Hydrogen gas has long been viewed as a potential alternative to fossil fuels because it emits water when it burns in oxygen rather than CO2, the greenhouse gas that coal, oil and natural gas emit.
But there are challenges to using hydrogen. Although the gas can be produced from water by electrolysis, this requires large amounts of electricity which Germany mostly generates from fossil fuels, although Berlin is expanding sources.
Germany aims to use more natural gas, which produces less greenhouse gas emissions than coal or oil, as a transition fuel in the shift towards a low carbon economy.
Existing infrastructure for natural gas, such as pipelines and storage tanks, could also be used for hydrogen, if the fuel became available in commercial quantities, analysts say.
Pipeline operators have said the German network could be slowly adjusted so that it carries 10% hydrogen and 90% natural gas by 2030, rising to 20% to 30% hydrogen in the longer term, helping reduce emissions from gas combustion.
Germany has pilot projects to test ways to produce hydrogen from water using electrolysis but these are not yet commercially viable. Major industries have also been working on projects that could use hydrogen as fuel in manufacturing.
To encourage hydrogen usage, the Economy Ministry has proposed creating European and international certification for hydrogen technologies, exploring ways to market those technologies and seeking partner countries.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-hydrogen-government/germany-should-aim-to-be-a-leader-in-hydrogen-technology-minister-idUSKBN1WO27V
Tractebel unveils windpower-to-hydrogen breakthrough
10.7.19
Engineers from Tractebel claim to have developed a technology to produce hydrogen from offshore windpower at an industrial scale using electrolysis.
A joint team from Tractebel Engineering and Tractebel Overdick have repurposed an offshore platform and state that the concept can deliver up to 400 MW and is already at the stage where it could be put into practice in areas such as the North Sea.
“In large-scale offshore wind farms in the German North Sea and other locations there is enormous potential for CO2-neutral production of green hydrogen,” said Klaas Oltmann, Director of Business Development at Tractebel Overdick.
He said the new type of platform designed by the Tractebel team “accommodates all the technical components required to produce ‘green’ hydrogen. This includes the electrolysis units and transformers for the transformation of the electricity supplied by the offshore wind turbines, along with desalination plants for producing high-purity water required for electrolysis.”
Tractebel –part of the Engie Group – says the methods for transporting the hydrogen “are diverse and flexible. Offshore-generated hydrogen can be transported in both pipelines and ships. In this way, offshore H2 production could make further expansion of wind turbines possible without straining current limited electrical grid capacity. Moreover, hydrogen can also make an important contribution on the mainland too, by providing relief for the situation with regards to the distribution of electricity from north to south.”
Tractebel Project Engineer Felix Knicker said that compared to the costs of production of so-called ‘grey’ hydrogen from fossil sources, the costs for ‘green’ hydrogen are currently higher. “On the basis of the economies of scale that we are currently observing in large-scale electrolysis plants and a higher tax on CO2 emissions, that will change,” he adds, “which will put the different technologies on a level footing with each other in terms of opportunities.”
The critical cost factor is the design of the system and the efficiency of the plants for the production of green hydrogen. “Our concept includes the appropriate solutions for cost-optimised designs and efficient operation,” observes Knicker.
Dr Hubert Schillings, Business Development Manager at Tractebel, said future demand will also increase the competitiveness of the new technologies. “Offshore wind power is the only source for renewable energy in Germany which provides sufficient potential for expansion. Wind farms at sea will be installed at ever greater distances from the coast and in much deeper water in the future. That leads to higher costs for the construction of the plants and transport via high-voltage cables. We can offer an alternative which is attractive in economic terms.”
The German federal government is currently preparing invitations to tender for test fields for the conversion of electricity into hydrogen (Power-to-X) in the regional development plan for the North Sea and Baltic Sea area. This provides the opportunity for the development of offshore hydrogen production platforms on a scale of several hundred MW. Investments such as these could be attractive for wind farm operators and energy suppliers or industrial companies which use hydrogen in their production processes.
“We anticipate that it could be possible for offshore H2 platforms to be constructed and put into operation starting in 2025. Individual demonstration plants could even be built before then,” added Schillings.
https://www.powerengineeringint.com/2019/10/07/tractebel-unveils-windpower-to-hydrogen-breakthrough/?topic=44271
The need for a robust infrastructure & strong ambitions for hydrogen in Norway
October 7, 2019
Norway has set out a clear ambition to reduce the emissions from the transport, maritime and industry sectors. This requires multiple solutions where hydrogen plays a vital role. There is a strong focus to reduce emissions within the maritime sector and hydrogen is seen as a vital part of the solution
Norway has set out a clear ambition to reduce the emissions from the transport, maritime and industry sectors. This requires multiple solutions where hydrogen plays a vital role. Within the transport sector, the government has indicated that from 2025, no fossil cars can be sold. To achieve this, hydrogen cars in addition to battery electric vehicles, need to be a part of the solution. In addition, there is a strong push to decarbonise heavy-duty vehicles, such as buses and trucks. This will require robust infrastructure and a steady supply of green hydrogen at reasonable prices.
Strong hydrogen ambitions in many sectors
There is a strong focus to reduce emissions within the maritime sector and hydrogen is seen as a vital part of the solution. The first hydrogen ferry is under construction and will be in operation by 2021. In addition, other vessel types such as express boats and offshore vessels being prepared for hydrogen propulsion.
Within the land-based industry, a zero-emission roadmap has been developed towards 2050 and this shows the need for green hydrogen as a part of the solution. Projects like TiZir titanium production plant in Tyssedal will require large amounts of hydrogen to replace coal in its production. This plant alone will lead to a demand for up to 30 tons of hydrogen per day.
Hydrogen station accident, a bump in the road, but also a wake-up call for the government
The hydrogen deployment around the world has been done in a safe manner although some incidents have been reported. There was a significant setback for the Norwegian hydrogen industry when a hydrogen station in Sandvika exploded in June this year. The root cause of the incident was a leakage from a valve that had not been installed according to procedures. All other stations were shut down as a result and the leading player in the deployment of hydrogen stations, UNO X seems reluctant to proceed with further hydrogen projects until the situation is further investigated.
Late in 2018, HYOP; the other company operating hydrogen stations in Norway, had to shut down their stations due to the lack of funding. Hence the hydrogen infrastructure development is far from robust and makes it highly risky for potential users to invest in hydrogen vehicles. As of August 2019, no hydrogen can be purchased in Norway and all the 150+ hydrogen cars are parked until the stations are reopened. The car manufactures Hyundai and Toyota have generously offered replacement cars to everyone affected by the situation. This has been necessary but is not a permanent solution.
Despite the dramatic situation for car owners and operators of the hydrogen stations, it seems like the momentum and political support for hydrogen is in place. If lessons are learned from this accident, better and even safer hydrogen stations will be the result. It must also be used as a wakeup call for the government as the development of a robust infrastructure to support the transport, maritime and industry sectors can hardly be done by private companies on a project-to-project base. An overall roadmap and system plan must be in place with substantial public funding to ensure that volume is achieved. Enova has been given this role, but even though the focus and funding targeting hydrogen have been increased the last years, Enova has failed to take on the role as the public funding partner of the national hydrogen infrastructure.
Public involvement and strong partnerships are vital
Different models for hydrogen infrastructure projects and roadmaps have been developed in other countries and a strong collaboration between the government, car manufacturers, hydrogen industry and energy companies has been seen as important in public/private partnerships all over the world. In Japan, California, Denmark and the UK, these types of models have been put in place and provided the necessary funding for an early phase development. On the discussion of whether you need cars or stations first, it is clear that without a robust infrastructure that allows users to fill hydrogen at a reasonable price, no vehicles will be sold. And with the shutdown of the hydrogen stations in mind, the robustness of the infrastructure will be a critical factor for future customers investing in hydrogen cars, ships or solutions for the industry.
At Greenstat, we remain strong in our focus on hydrogen as a zero-emission energy carrier needed to reach our climate goals. The industry and consumers are more than ready to invest in projects and hydrogen solutions. We hope that the government will provide a road map for the development of a robust hydrogen infrastructure and that it will follow up with the necessary funding.
https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/hydrogen-in-norway/75014/
GenComm supports Irish hydrogen goals
Oct 07, 2019
GenComm, a member of Hydrogen Mobility Ireland, has welcomed Ireland’s goals for hydrogen mobility highlighted in the recently released report ‘A Hydrogen Roadmap for Irish Transport 2020-2030.’’
Hydrogen Mobility Ireland releases roadmap
GenComm Project Manager, Paul McCormack, showed his support at the launch of the report, “The GenComm project welcomes the launch of the Hydrogen Mobility Strategy for Ireland,” McCormack commented.
“Decarbonising transport fuels and the electricity supply are prime requirements under the Paris agreement.”
“As Ireland plans and develops a successful energy transition away from fossil fuels and towards the widespread use of secure renewable energy supply it will require the exploitation and implementation of existing and new technology with industry stakeholders/customers having commercial confidence in them.”
“This strategy forms the building blocks of this confidence required by the market and illustrates how hydrogen can be part of the future green energy mix for Ireland.”
The Gencomm project led by Belfast Met aims to develop three pilot facilities fuelled by solar power in Germany, wind power in Northern Ireland, and bioenergy in Scotland, to produce and store hydrogen.
The hydrogen produced from the plants will be used to generate heat, power and transport fuel for the respective communities in Germany, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
https://www.h2-view.com/story/gencomm-supports-irish-hydrogen-goals/
$NLLSF for the win $$$
World’s first hydrogen-powered ship docks in London as part of zero-emissions global tour
25 minutes ago
The world’s first hydrogen-powered ship has arrived in London as part of a six-year, zero emissions voyage around the world.
The 30-metre long Energy Observer catamaran has already travelled 18,000 miles since leaving Saint Malo on the west coast of France and will remain stationed by Tower Bridge for 10 days as it finishes its European tour.
Crew say they want their “floating laboratory” to show that shipping can be decarbonised, emphasising that this needs to happen urgently to avoid catastrophic levels of climate change.
The Toyota-sponsored vessel is the first in the world to create its own hydrogen fuel by sucking up sea water as it sails along at speeds of up to 7.12 knots.
Water is desalinated – which means salt and minerals are removed – before it goes through an electroliser that breaks water into its elements, hydrogen and oxygen.
Oxygen is released and the hydrogen is compressed and kept in two storage facilities on either side of the ship.
“In total it can store 62kg of hydrogen which is the equivalent of two megawatts of energy. This is the annual consumption of an average household – so a lot of energy,” Energy Observer crew-member Amélie Conty told The Independent.
Renewable energies are known as fluctuant energies which means they cannot always be relied upon. Engineers decided to use hydrogen to plug the gap.
“We use renewable energies all day long to charge our batteries and propel the boat. When we don’t have enough of those renewable energies we have our own hydrogen on board that we use to propel the boat,” Ms Conty said.
The ship – which has six crew members – relies on approximately 52 per cent of its energy from the sun, 42 per cent from its wings and six per cent from hydrogen.
The vessel itself is 35 years old and already sailed around the world several times before it was renovated with the new technology at a cost of $4.7m (£3.8m).
“We got it when it was a wreck and transformed it into the Energy Observer. The whole idea was to find a way to propel a boat without emitting any CO2 or greenhouse gases or any pollution,” Ms Conty said.
The Oceanwing sails are 12 metres long and can rotate 360 degrees so they catch as much wind as possible. Engineers hope in the future the sails – which are completely automated – could be put on cargo ships to make them up to 42 per cent more energy efficient.
The aim of the expedition is to develop a commercial product which Ms Conty said should be available to vessels around the world in five to 10 years.
The boat, which is being led by founder and captain Victorien Erussard and Jérôme Delafosse, will visit 50 countries and 101 ports during its six-year journey. It was designed by the CEA-Liten research institute in Grenoble.
“We’re finishing our European tour in London for many reasons. The main reason why we stop is to talk about the boat and the environment and the sustainable development goals of the UN,” Ms Conty said.
“Today is quite a special day because of the big Extinction Rebellion protests which obviously we totally agree with and it’s sad we can’t be there with them. We really support what they’re doing and they are in our thoughts.”
Crew say they want to prove that shipping can be made significantly more environmentally friendly.
They believe their energy mix could not only transform the shipping industry but could also be used for energy grids on land too.
Ms Conty said: “It’s daunting when you realise to be honest, it’s time we get a move on, it’s almost too late. There’s no more time for debating if it’s true or not, it’s now and that’s it. I can’t stress that enough.
“In the Mediterranean we sailed on a sea that is almost dead. There are hardly any fish in it any more, half the time we tried to fish we ended up fishing plastic. When we did catch fish they were very small. Since we’ve been in the boat we’ve seen the effects of climate change everywhere.
“The consequences of climate change are really really visible. The situation is dire, and it’s easy for us to think: ‘It’s far away, it’s not going to affect us.’ But it is going to affect us and it’s actually affecting us now. We really have to find solutions. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/energy-observer-hydrogen-powered-zero-emissions-ship-london-climate-a9146571.html
Hydrogen Could Become A $130 Billion U.S. Industry By 2050. Could It Also Cut Emissions?
Oct 7, 2019
As countries seek to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while providing cost-effective energy to businesses and consumers, hydrogen is emerging as a key technology – and it could soon be a multi-billion industry in the United States.
Two scenarios in the Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) illustrate pathways in which hydrogen becomes a major part of the U.S. energy mix, earning revenue of $130-170 billion per year by 2050 while lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20 or 120 million metric tons (Mt) of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) annually.
But to achieve even a small fraction of this level of hydrogen technology deployment, increased support for research and development will be crucial.
Hydrogen Poised for Global Expansion
Hydrogen, a flammable gas, emits no carbon dioxide (CO2) when it burns. This makes hydrogen different from fossil fuels like natural gas and petroleum, whose combustion is responsible for the vast majority of GHG emissions today.
Hydrogen technologies are not yet widely used, but some countries are investing heavily in their future. Japan, which sees hydrogen as a way to reduce costly energy imports, hopes to have 800,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2030 and to reduce the cost of hydrogen production by 90% by 2050 – making it cheaper than natural gas.
In March, China announced a plan to develop its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle industry and subsidize hydrogen fueling station construction. California has a target of 200 hydrogen fueling stations and over 47,000 hydrogen vehicles by 2025 and is hoping that hydrogen will help balance its electric grid.
Yet, hydrogen’s greatest potential may be in the industrial sector, which uses the overwhelming majority of today’s hydrogen, particularly in oil refining and in ammonia, methanol, and steel production. Today, hydrogen is commonly used as a chemical feedstock, but there is potential for it to also be burned for heat. Many industrial processes require high temperatures, including firing of kilns for cement, ceramics, or glass; forging steel; and heating boilers to produce steam. In many high-heat processes, it is difficult or costly to replace fossil fuels with electricity with today’s technology. Hydrogen combustion offers a route by which industries can obtain high heat without direct GHG emissions.
The extent to which hydrogen prevents GHG emissions depends on how that hydrogen is made. Of the 70 Mt of hydrogen produced each year worldwide today, 76% comes from reforming natural gas, 22% from coal gasification, and 2% from electrolysis, in which electricity is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen with zero emissions. The 98% of hydrogen production from fossil fuels emits 830 Mt of CO2 per year, equivalent to the annual emissions from the energy used by 100 million U.S. homes.
Possible Hydrogen Pathways
A new release of the U.S. EPS, a free and open-source computer model that estimates the impacts of energy technologies and policies, allows users to explore the future of hydrogen in the U.S. Three scenarios highlight some of the most interesting results:
A business-as-usual case (BAU) shows modest growth in hydrogen vehicles, in line with predictions from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Hydrogen is not used in industry except as a feedstock. U.S. hydrogen production remains dominated by fossil fuels (where 95% comes from natural gas and 5% from electrolysis).
A hydrogen demand (HD) case gradually increases the share of newly-sold, hydrogen-powered on-road vehicles to 5% (cars and light trucks) or 10% (buses, medium trucks, and heavy trucks) by 2050. Also, industry shifts 10% of its non-feedstock fossil energy use to hydrogen by 2050. However, hydrogen production remains dominated by reforming natural gas (95% natural gas, 5% electrolysis).
A hydrogen demand plus electrolysis (HD+E) case includes growth in hydrogen demand in the transportation and industry sectors identical to the HD case, and hydrogen production gradually transitions to 100% electrolysis by 2050.
The HD and HD+E scenarios illustrate the potential impacts of large-scale hydrogen deployment and are not meant to realistically predict future decarbonization pathways. In reality, many non-hydrogen technologies (such as vehicle and industry electrification, increased energy and material efficiency, etc.) will also play important roles in reducing emissions.
Both the HD and HD+E scenarios reduce total GHG emissions relative to the BAU case (Fig 1). By 2050, the HD case reduces GHG emissions by 20 Mt of CO2e per year, while the HD+E case reduces GHG emissions by over 120 Mt CO2e per year in 2050 – comparable to removing 25 million passenger vehicles from U.S. roads.
In the HD scenario, U.S. hydrogen supply becomes a $130 billion per year industry by 2050 (Fig 2). Hydrogen sector revenues and profits rise rapidly through the early 2030s, with revenue growth slowing only slightly due to technology-driven declines in the cost of hydrogen production (and, hence, retail prices). Energy expenditures remain low, due to the low cost of natural gas and relatively high efficiency of transforming natural gas into hydrogen.
Note that non-energy expenditures (the blue lines in Figures 2 and 3) include capital equipment to produce hydrogen, as well as operations and maintenance costs for that equipment. They do not include the costs of building or maintaining hydrogen distribution infrastructure, such as new pipelines, tanker trucks, or storage tanks. Some industrial facilities may generate their hydrogen on-site, and it is possible to transform hydrogen into other high-energy molecules that are compatible with existing energy infrastructure (such as ammonia or methane) with modest energy losses, both approaches that could minimize the need for new distribution infrastructure.
In the HD+E scenario, the hydrogen supply sector sees much higher energy expenditures than in the HD scenario (Fig 3, red line), because it is more expensive to purchase electricity for electrolysis than to purchase natural gas for steam reforming. Electricity costs more than natural gas per unit energy, and less energy is required to convert natural gas to hydrogen than to split water, as natural gas consists of high-energy molecules (primarily methane), while water is a low-energy molecule.
However, hydrogen suppliers are able to pass these increased energy costs on to hydrogen buyers, as the increases in hydrogen demand in the HD and HD+E scenarios are fixed (i.e. hydrogen demand does not respond to changes in hydrogen’s retail price in these scenarios), and a lack of hydrogen import/export availability prevents the influence of a global market that could hold down hydrogen prices.
Therefore, increased revenue for hydrogen suppliers offsets their higher fuel expenditures, and they achieve a profit of over $100 billion per year by 2050 in the HD+E scenario, similar to their profit in the HD scenario.
Costs to hydrogen buyers could be lower if technology breakthroughs lower the costs or improve the efficiency of electrolysis, if electricity prices are lower than expected, if a robust import/export market for hydrogen develops, or if alternative zero-carbon hydrogen production technologies (such as thermochemical water splitting) are commercialized and surpass electrolysis in cost-effectiveness.
Achieving a hydrogen-powered future
No one fuel or technology is by itself the solution to climate change, but hydrogen has the potential to be an important part of a decarbonized energy system.
Hydrogen shows particular promise in decarbonizing industrial processes that are not amenable to electrification. Though industrial facilities would generally need new equipment to burn hydrogen, as noted above, hydrogen may be transformed into other high-energy molecules that are compatible with existing industrial equipment. This could allow for a gradual transition to hydrogen, avoiding early equipment retirements or write-offs. Working in harmony with industry’s equipment replacement cycles and minimizing factory downtime will be important for rolling out this new technology.
This transition depends upon high-quality research and development into hydrogen technologies, particularly in developing cheaper and more efficient ways to produce GHG-free hydrogen. While many clean energy technologies are cost-effective today (such as wind and solar power, battery electric cars, smart thermostats, and more), hydrogen technology needs more research to achieve its full potential.
There are crucial ways governments can support research and development, including long-term funding commitments, partnerships between national labs and the private sector, and immigration and education systems that provide companies with the high-level STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) talent they need.
Even as the U.S. deploys proven, emissions-reducing technologies today – including solar power, wind power, and energy efficiency – we must invest in research and development, to ensure that hydrogen technology is ready to transform the last few, difficult-to-decarbonize elements of the energy system in the coming decades.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2019/10/07/how-hydrogen-could-become-a-130-billion-us-industry-and-cut-emissions-by-2050/#20cbb0542849
Twitter: “We see #hydrogen playing a role in achieving Ireland’s climate targets in transport, heating, energy and storage. Our aim is to connect hydrogen with all sectors of energy and society, creating a new clean, zero-emission economy.”
“We see #hydrogen playing a role in achieving Ireland’s climate targets in transport, heating, energy and storage. Our aim is to connect hydrogen with all sectors of energy and society, creating a new clean, zero-emission economy.” https://t.co/aYNOGJsbHH via @IrishTimesBiz
— Nel Hydrogen (@nelhydrogen) October 7, 2019
Meet the CEO who's building 14K hydrogen semitrucks
September 12, 2019
Nikola Motor Co., a 5-year-old firm in Phoenix that most Americans have never heard of, says it has an order to lease 14,000 semitrucks that will run on hydrogen, an assertion that, if realized, could mark the start of a significant slowdown in transportation carbon emissions.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), "the growth in oil demand from trucks has outpaced all other sectors since 2000" and is projected to result in a "significant increase in CO2 emissions by 2050."
Nikola plans to start full production of its semitrucks in 2021 and have 14,000 rigs on the road by 2028. It's also starting to build a network of 700 hydrogen stations across the country to refuel its new fleet. Company executives say the network should be complete by 2028. That goal alone is remarkable. Currently, there are only 400 hydrogen stations worldwide, according to IEA.
The stations will use electricity from renewable energy sources to extract hydrogen fuel from water. The result, the company asserts, will make its electric trucks clean-burning, more powerful and economically competitive with diesel-powered semitrucks.
As if that weren't enough, the company has aligned itself with the King of Beers.
Anheuser-Busch Cos., the North American brewer of Budweiser, has ordered 800 trucks from Nikola, and it will help finance 28 of the initial hydrogen stations, putting them on routes that serve its major breweries. It wants to justify a message on its cans and bottles that says the beer is made from "100% renewable electricity."
After decades of business as usual, new technologies are brewing among truck engine makers. Daimler Trucks North American LLC — which claims to be the world's biggest manufacturer of truck engines — has introduced an electric battery-powered semi. Indiana-based Cummins Inc. is building an engine for a battery-powered urban freight delivery truck. Tesla Inc., the pioneer of modern electric cars, is working on its own version of a battery-powered truck engine. Hyundai Motor Co. is working on a system of fuel-cell trucks in Switzerland. And on April 22, Toyota unveiled its semiengine powered by a fuel cell in California.
Nikola beat the Japanese automaker by four days when it rolled out a family of fuel-cell trucks, including one being designed for Europe.
"Think about Europe with no more diesel trucks," said Trevor Milton, the founder and CEO of Nikola, after riding to the announcement in Scottsdale, Ariz., on an old-fashioned beer wagon pulled by a team of Budweiser's famous Clydesdale horses. "The roads will be clean, quiet and beautiful."
Governments in Europe and Asia have a lot to do with this growing truck race. One reason is that electric trucks are likely to get a competitive edge over diesel-powered semis in countries with carbon taxes. Another reason applies in the United States: Many European and Asian companies are seeking new technologies and setting emissions reduction goals on their overseas subsidiaries.
"We have 14,000 trucks on order right now," said Milton, a college dropout who founded six companies before he created Nikola in 2015. "We're sold out for about eight years. Over time we'll be able to build more scalability, but we don't have it yet," he explained in an interview.
To describe Milton, 38, as being competitive is probably an understatement. He sometimes refers to himself as a "serial entrepreneur" and admits that three of his first six companies failed. "But a .500 batting average is great for baseball," he pointed out.
While Tesla took its identity from the last name of Nikola Tesla — a Serbian-American inventor who created electric motors among many other things — Milton grabbed naming rights for the inventor's first name in 2014.
Milton is a big fan of the late Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., and once told a zero-emissions conference in Norway that American entrepreneurs go after futuristic ideas because they make more money than their European counterparts. "So if we can make zero emissions and make more money, that's the holy grail," he said.
He has described his company as being privately held. In his interview with E&E News, he said he is unable to identify the companies that have ordered Nikola trucks until they comment on their orders publicly.
But he added that Chattanooga, Tenn.-based U.S. Xpress Inc., which describes itself as the second-largest privately held trucking company in the United States, had placed a larger order than Anheuser-Busch's. In a 2016 press release, Max Fuller, the CEO of U.S. Xpress, said his company made the move to "raise the bar on how truck carriers can embrace green, sustainable solutions."
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1061113811
B.C. startup is developing unique technology for cheaper hydrogen storage systems
October 7, 2019
Hydrogen in Motion is working on tackling one of biggest challenges in the hydrogen fuel industry.
Grace Quan, the CEO of British Columbia, Canada-based startup, Hydrogen in Motion, a company that is developing hydrogen storage systems, says that storing hydrogen is one of the biggest challenges holding up the growth of the hydrogen economy.
It is expensive to store and transport hydrogen.
While scientists are researching more affordable ways to produce hydrogen and to do so cleanly with renewable sources, costly, bulky and heavy hydrogen storage systems have been another costly hurdle that has held up the progression of this clean fuel technology.
“As soon as I looked to see what was holding up the hydrogen economy, it was right there: hydrogen storage,” Quan, who is also the co-founder of Hydrogen in Motion (H2M), said, reports the Vancouver Sun.
“What nobody was looking at in 2012 was how to move it. As a pressurized gas it makes no sense.”
It takes an incredible amount of pressure to compress hydrogen, approximately 10,000 pounds per square inch. This means the tanks must be exceptionally heavy and dense to store it.
“That makes it expensive to store and expensive to transport,” Quan explained. “The tanks you might put in your car would cost around $5,000. What does a gas tank cost, $200? You can’t sell a $30,000 car if the fuel tank alone costs $5,000.”
On top of that, hydrogen often “boils off” at a rate of nearly 1% a day, which means consumers have to deal with constant fuel loss.
Hydrogen in Motion has devised a unique and sensible hydrogen storage system.
H2M has created a nano-material that functions like a sponge, allowing it to absorb hydrogen for easy storage at a relatively low pressure. Once the pressure is released, the hydrogen simply flows out.
The company is only emerging from the research and development phase of its technology. The next step of the process is to construct a lab in Burnaby to scale up the technology.
Quan said that there is a lot of interest in H2M’s hydrogen storage system technology. However, the company hydrogen storage systems - blue bottle - waterhas only just reached the process of raising funds for the prototype plant. From there, they will then require funding for a large-scale plant.
http://www.hydrogenfuelnews.com/b-c-startup-is-developing-unique-technology-for-cheaper-hydrogen-storage-systems/8538397/
Hydrogen economy: Chemicals giant Linde snaps up stake in ITM Power
07 October 2019
Linde now owns 20 per cent of ITM Power as two firms enter a joint venture to deliver green hydrogen to industrial sites
Multinational chemicals giant Linde has taken a 20 per cent stake in UK hydrogen firm ITM Power, as commercial interest in the hydrogen sector continues to heat up.
The investment - worth £38m - was announced last week and forms part of a wider fundraise from ITM Power, which banked £140m from investors in support of plans to switch to larger manufacturing facilities. ITM Power wants to build and produce 5MW electrolysers, which use electricity to generate hydrogen.
Linde and ITM Power have also teamed up to form a 50/50 joint venture, which they said will focus on delivering 'green' hydrogen produced via electrolysis powered by renewable electricity to industrial sites.
"The major strategic investment from Linde cements a five year relationship between us and provides ITM Power with a world leading partner that brings deep expertise in engineering, procurement and construction and a global customer base," said Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power. "The joint venture will enable us to focus on our core competency of the development and sale of electrolysers, and with Linde as our partner to deliver green hydrogen at scale. The successful fundraising provides the financial resources to exploit this exciting opportunity to the full."
Hydrogen is mainly produced using a thermochemcial conversion powered by fossil fuels, negating some of the environmental benefits associated with its use as a zero emission gas. Electrolysis is the only way to produce hydrogen without using fossil fuels, but to date the green hydrogen sector has been hampered by relatively high costs.
Nevertheless, growing numbers of companies - particularly those working in heavy industry or transportation - see hydrogen as their best bet for decarbonising. The UK's climate watchdog, the Committee on Climate Change, has said hydrogen will likely have a key role to play if the UK is to meet its decarbonisation targets.
"We are seeing increasing global demand for hydrogen as a solution to renewable energy storage needs and the decarbonisation of major industrial processes," Cooley added. "The fundraising and our partnership with Linde will help us to meet this demand on a growing scale, deliver efficiencies throughout our supply chain and represents a significant step on our pathway to medium-term profitability."
In related industry news, oil giant Shell last week named Nanosun - a firm which is developing a low-cost hydrogen refueller - as the 'best start-up' in its New Energy Challenge.
Nanosun will recieve €100,000 in rewards through Shell's Gamechanger programme as a result of winning the competition. According to Shell, Nanosun's technology could cut the cost of hydrogen refuelling, enabling the mass rollout of hydrogen technologies.
https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3082305/chemicals-giant-linde-snaps-up-stake-in-hydrogen-player
Zero-emission hydrogen vehicles could be on our roads as early as 2023
October 3 2019
YOU could be driving a zero-emission hydrogen vehicle in little more than three years - if government and business back radical plans.
According to a new report, hydrogen cars, buses and trucks can be on our roads as early as 2023 with as many as 39,000 being driven within a decade.
Authors of the report, Hydrogen Mobility Ireland, claim that such a level of use would remove 300,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.
Fuel cell vehicles combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity. The electricity runs a motor which drives the vehicle. The only by-product is water so it is emissions free while hydrogen itself is a low carbon gas.
The Hydrogen Mobility Ireland group includes leading transport and energy companies. It is making a business case for government and private sector backing to make hydrogen a viable fuel for car, bus and truck drivers.
Their report, published today with Environment Minister Richard Bruton in attendance, wants the government to give hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles similar incentives to those bestowed on battery electric vehicles (BEVs). That would help make hydrogen vehicles cost-competitive with conventional fuel vehicles by 2025 or so.
The group see buses, vans and taxis leading the way as the fuel cell is particularly suitable for heavier vehicles. The gas will be produced in Ireland.
The report says hydrogen models can complement battery electric vehicles as they offer “greater range and faster refuelling”.*
It recommends building clusters of refuelling stations and suggests a pilot project of two hydrogen production sources and three refuelling stations. That would cost €34m and needs €14m government funding.
Looking further ahead, the group envisages a network of 76 stations by 2030. That would mean half the current population would live in a town with a hydrogen refuelling station. A 27-strong network of what they call ‘electrolysers’ would be located with renewable generators (mostly wind farms) to supply the hydrogen.
All that would translate into a national fuel-cell fleet of 2,000 lorries, 880 bus/coaches, 6,800 vans and 29,000 cars by 2030.
Mr Bruton said the research was “a valuable insight into a potential pathway for the introduction of hydrogen vehicles in Ireland between now and 2030”. He said the Climate Action Plan, launched earlier this year, is designed to adapt to emerging new technologies.
Hydrogen Mobility Ireland chairman, Mark Teevan, said: “The challenge is to get started since not only is a new infrastructure needed but also the production of a new fuel.” He said the next part of the challenge is to implement the findings.
Dr James Carton, DCU, said the group sees hydrogen playing a role in achieving Ireland's climate targets in transport, heating, energy and storage.
*(One of the best examples of a hydrogen vehicle is the Toyota Mirai which I have driven and refuelled at a filling station on the continent. There was no appreciable difference in driving compared with an electric vehicle.)
https://www.independent.ie/life/motoring/car-news/zeroemission-hydrogen-vehicles-could-be-on-our-roads-as-early-as-2023-new-report-38559752.html
The liquid hydrogen-powered superyacht that comes with a helipad and infinity pool
07 October 2019
Currently, the majority of yachts around the world use either diesel or petrol, which is now becoming unfashionable. The Aqua is a new superyacht concept that uses eco-friendly hydrogen to power itself.
If the Frankfurt Motor Show taught us anything, it is that fuel-powered vehicles are becoming a thing of the past. Electric vehicles are starting to replace fuel-powered ones entirely, with brands like Volkswagen and Porsche having a major electric focus. Turns out, the naval industry is no exception, as a Dutch company has set its sights to working on a new eco-friendly superyacht.
The yacht company Sinot is working on a yacht entirely powered by hydrogen, meaning that its only emission will be water. It is hoped to operate at a top speed of 17 knots, with a range of 3,750 nautical miles.
Created in collaboration with Lateral Naval Architects, the yacht will measure 112 metres long and be powered by liquid hydrogen providing electrical energy to the fuel cells. Named Aqua, the yacht is hoped to direct the industry into more eco-friendly practices.
"For development of Aqua we took inspiration from the lifestyle of a discerning, forward-looking owner, the fluid versatility of water and cutting-edge technology, to combine this in a 112-meter superyacht with truly innovative features," designer Sander Sinot said.
"Our challenge was to implement fully operational liquid hydrogen and fuel cells in a true superyacht that is not only groundbreaking in technology, but also in design and aesthetics."
The energy converted to the fuel cells will be transferred to the on board switchboards, where it will be distributed throughout the vessel to areas such as the auxiliary systems, entertainment systems, and propulsion systems.
Apart from being cutting-edge, the vessel is also uncompromisingly luxurious, with an infinity pool, helipad, spa, and indoor pool. The interior and exterior of the boat took over five months to conceptualise and show a space-age style design. Sadly, right now the Aqua is little more than a concept, with no plans to roll out the yacht to enviroment-attuned superich.
https://www.esquireme.com/content/39721-the-liquid-hydrogen-powered-superyacht-that-comes-with-a-helipad-and-infinity-pool
Hyundai Motor, Doosan Fuel Cell join hands for hydrogen fuel cell development
Oct 7, 2019
Hyundai Motor Group and Doosan Fuel Cell have agreed to co-develop and jointly study hydrogen fuel cell systems and generation networks, the two firms said Monday.
According to the companies, Hyundai Motor Group, Doosan Fuel Cell and a state-run automotive parts innovation center called Ulsan TechnoPark signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on hydrogen-based microgrid demonstration project, aimed to create an independent hydrogen fuel cell energy network.
They will develop new business model for distributed generation of hydrogen fuel cells and demonstrate hydrogen-based generation system that can respond to fluctuating loads.
Each company will manufacture two different fuel cell models. Hyundai Motor will create polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), while Doosan Fuel Cell will make phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC).
Ulsan TechnoPark, where the related system will be established, will be in charge of the construction and management.
Hyundai Motor Group said the partnership with Doosan Fuel Cell, which has experience of commercializing power fuel cell, will create synergy with the company’s plan for hydrogen fuel cell industry development and vitalization of supplying fuel cell for power.
Doosan Fuel Cell, a fuel cell material business unit under Doosan, has been going through a spin off procedure since July to become an independent entity and seek further growth in the areas.
The company, whose customers are mostly power generators, surpassed 1 trillion won in orders for the first time last year since its establishment in 2014.
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20191007000712
CNH Investment Deal Boosts Nikola Motor and Hydrogen Transport
October 03, 2019
Despite strong marketing, a large self-reported order book and important industry partners such as Bosch, hydrogen fuel cell truck developer Nikola Motor still needs to get the trucking industry to take it seriously.
Comparisons with Tesla and its location in the notoriously conservative U.S. truck market haven’t helped its position. Still, the recent $1 billon investment round in the Phoenix, Ariz., startup led by London-based CNH Industrial, parent of truck maker IVECO, is an encouraging move. That vote of confidence by a global industry player should temper those who question the ability of Nikola to execute on its business model and introduce hydrogen-fueled heavy-duty trucks.
NIKOLA BENEFITS
Nikola will benefit significantly from production expertise, purchasing power, verified parts and logistics through this new venture. This is a major advantage for Nikola, which is looking to scale and build credible products. Other start-ups may be seeking similar major brand investments. This may spark future tie-ups or consolidation within the start-up space.
CNH Industrial has lagged behind other commercial truck companies with its vehicle electrification development. A fuel cell truck uses an electric powertrain. But it replaces the battery with a fuel cell stack that converts hydrogen into electricity to power the vehicle.
CNH has pursued a strategy focusing on natural gas to meet emission goals. With the increasing number of low and zero-emission zones, particularly in Europe, and ever-tightening regional emission norms, CNH now views electrification as the most viable option for the future. The Nikola investment gives CNH access to a raft of technologies from Nikola that will help jump-start its electrification program.
Notably, Nikola’s advances in software-over-the air and infotainment will give CNH an advantage with regard to vehicle connectivity and intelligence, a coming battleground for commercial vehicle vendors. Nikola, or fleet owners, will add functionality and fix issues remotely. This means less downtime and the ability to add functionality or integrate fleet management directly into the truck. Errors with software are a major cause of vehicles requiring service.
CNH’S GLOBAL REACH
CNH’s experience and network in Europe will provide a channel for Nikola to grow in a market where its products will have stronger demand. One of the key challenges for start-ups in the commercial vehicle space is providing regional service and support. By partnering with CNH, Nikola lessens the risks for customers. The partnership gives Nikola access to an established, regional vehicle sales and support network. This is an approach taken by Chanje in the U.S., where it has partnered with Ryder System to provide national sales and service support.
The partnership offers other advantages to CNH. Just as it helps Nikola enter the European market, CNH needs an entry into the U.S. where it lacks a commercial vehicle business. That puts CNH at a disadvantage to its European commercial vehicle rivals – Daimler and Volvo. Both have significant U.S. market share through their respective ownership of the Freightliner and Mack brands. CNH now has a starting point to compete in the U.S.
Moreover, CNH Industrial’s experience with its CNG network provides an advantage in building a hydrogen fuel network – particularly with site optimization and also existing facilities that are capable of being used for liquid hydrogen refueling.
Forecasters expect the uptake of hydrogen fuel cell trucks to be slow out to 2023, with a significant ramp-up out to 2030. The move by CNH to bring the hydrogen fuel cell capability of Nikola into Europe is likely to drive the adoption of the technology and possibly accelerate market adoption.
LOW AND ZERO EMISSION ZONES
Broadly speaking, U.S. 2010 and Euro 6 engine emission standards are comparable in stringency for NOx and particulate matter. The U.S. has a green-house gas standard in place. Europe has only just agreed to implement a program of CO2 reduction out to 2030. However, one major – and constantly changing – difference is the prevalence of low and zero-emission zones in Europe. With the exception, perhaps, of California, North America has no specific regions or cities with low or zero-emission zones. By comparison, Europe has multiple cities with existing or proposed low or zero-emission zones.
These zones are typically political in nature – driven by the desire of local elected officials to respond to poor air quality. Several major cities have announced plans to phase out diesel and gasoline vehicles completely within the next ten years. For the commercial vehicle market, this is helping to drive the transition to electric powertrains in Europe. Fleet operators will have to pick between paying penalties/daily fees to enter particular cities or cease using those routes, an unlikely option. This is driving operators to invest in cleaner vehicles.
HYDROGEN IN OTHER APPLICATIONS
Researchers are developing hydrogen fuel cell technology for trains and marine applications in Europe. Porterbrook and The University of Birmingham will test a hydrogen train – HydroFLEX – in the UK.
Alstom is running hydrogen trains in Germany, GE and Holland’s Nedstack have entered into a partnership to develop hydrogen fuel cell power systems for cruise vessels. Ballard Power Systems is establishing a Marine Center of Excellence dedicated to fuel cell marine applications in Denmark. ABB will provide a power and propulsion solution for a newbuild vessel operating along the Rhône river in France to run entirely on hydrogen fuel cells. And ABB and SINTEF are testing/modeling the technology needed to scale fuel cell power technology such that it can be used for main propulsion power in commercial and passenger ships.
These trials and commercial programs matter to the truck market because they simultaneously prove the technology at a very large scale and in extreme environments. They also provide impetus to increase fuel cell production and reduce costs. This type of technology transference provides a boot-strap whereby the fuel cell industry can benefit from exposure to multiple applications, driving down costs and validating the technology more quickly.
CHEAP AND CLEAN HYDROGEN
The unfortunate problem for proponents of hydrogen is that much – over 90 percent – of global hydrogen is produced by the reformation of natural gas, coal or oil. This so-called brown hydrogen requires the extraction of natural resources and the emission of CO2. While vehicles powered by this hydrogen are locally green, they are reliant on a process that harms the environment at the fuel source.
Producers make only a small fraction of hydrogen via electrolysis – the splitting of water molecules to produce hydrogen using electricity. But this is not without issues. It is expensive and therefore difficult to justify economically versus diesel or natural gas. The electricity used in the electrolysis process may come from a non-renewable source such as a coal-fired power plant. This makes the use of hydrogen less than a perfect choice.
The good news is that recent research shows that hydrogen produced via electrolysis is currently cost-competitive with natural gas in niche applications and will be cost-competitive when produced from renewable energy in 2030. The drivers of this are two-fold. The cost of technology required for electrolysis is falling significantly. At the same time, the price of renewable power, particularly from wind, is declining.
FLEET PURCHASES
In Europe, there are already plans in place to introduce thousands of heavy commercial vehicles fuelled by hydrogen. Hyundai announced an agreement with H2 Energy to establish the Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility joint venture in Europe. The automaker will deliver about 1600 commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in Switzerland by 2025.
Greenstat, a company based in Norway, wants to get 1,000 fuel-cell electric long-haul trucks on Norwegian roads by 2023. A grant €40 million from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility supports the project, which totals 600 buses. The grant will deploy 200 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses in each of Denmark, Latvia and the UK by 2023.
These fleet commitments give credibility to the technology. And that gives other fleet operators the confidence to invest in the technology.
https://www.trucks.com/2019/10/03/cnh-investment-boosts-nikola-motor-hydrogen-transport/
TOTAL TO INSTALL SUNFIRE HYDROGEN TECHNOLOGY AT GERMAN REFINERY
October 3, 2019
Sunfire GmbH (Dresden, Germany; www.sunfire.de) has signed a cooperation agreement with the French major energy company Total S.A. (Paris, France; www.total.com). Sunfire will provide a megawatt-scale high temperature electrolyzer for use in industrial environments as part of the E-CO2MET research and development project. The company will also be responsible for the integration at the site as well as the operation and maintenance of the electrolyzer, which will be the first step for the industrial-scale production of synthetic methanol from renewables and industrial concentrated CO2 from the Total Raffinerie Mitteldeutschland GmbH in Leuna, Germany.
Total has chosen to install the Sunfire-HyLink 200 system. The production of green methanol and hydrogen from renewable energies offers great opportunities for the global energy and transport transition. “Total is delighted to develop efficient technologies to re-use CO2 to chemicals, materials and fuels. Carbon capture, utilization and storage is going to play an essential role in achieving carbon neutrality without curbing economic and social growth,” said Marie-Noelle Semeria, Senior Vice President, Group Chief Technology Officer at Total.
The advantage of the high-temperature electrolyzer is its ability to directly use economically produced steam or waste heat from industrial and synthesis processes. With this method, the use of valuable green electricity can be reduced. It is the most efficient process on the market for converting electricity into hydrogen. The high efficiency of over 80 % also significantly reduces the overall cost of the integrated process.
The cooperation heralds a new era for the industrial use of renewable hydrogen and methanol in refineries.
“The use of a high-temperature electrolyzer at one of the largest oil companies in the world confirms our years of hard work driving decarbonization in large-scale industries. This technology can become the core building block for energy sectors that cannot source electricity directly from renewables. With the transformation into renewable gases and fuels and the use of existing infrastructures, we can make the transport sector and the chemical industry climate-neutral,” said Nils Aldag, Managing Director, Sunfire
During the collaboration with Total, Sunfire’s electrolyzer will be involved in various research and development projects. Various operative studies will be carried out at its location in Leuna to evaluate the performance of the system, as well as in relation to volatile renewable energy supply. The evaluation of the results will be undertaken by Total according to quality and qualification guidelines for new technologies. Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures, the venture capital arm of Total SA, has been a minority equity shareholder in Sunfire since 2014.
https://www.chemengonline.com/total-to-install-sunfire-hydrogen-technology-at-german-refinery/
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