Hydrogen News from Europe
The future of hydrogen: What does the data say?
Green hydrogen production is due to soar, heralding enormous potential for multiple industries on the path to net zero. Research by Primetals Technologies shows how sufficient green hydrogen could lead to a clean steel industry.
Hydrogen is widely seen as a crucial weapon in the fight to avert the catastrophic consequences of a post-2°C world. A world in which, according to the Natural Resources Defence Council, rising global temperatures would cause widespread human and agricultural devastation while disproportionately affecting lower-income communities.
The winding road toward zero-carbon iron
Pre-pandemic, the urgency of facilitating a global switch to green energy across multiple industries led Japan to request a detailed investigation by the International Energy Agency into how hydrogen could be part of the wider solution. Their recommendations included establishing a “role for hydrogen in long-term energy strategies,” and stimulating “commercial demand for clean hydrogen”.
A recent report by Hydrogen Europe detailed how more than 30 countries have already begun implementing their own hydrogen strategies, the main goals of which include reducing emissions, especially in “hard to abate sectors” like “industry, mobility, electricity balancing and heating”, diversifying energy supplies, integrating renewables, fostering economic growth, and more.
Yet despite its potential to be a cost-effective “carbon-free energy carrier” with an array of industrial applications, the report says there is currently “no public infrastructure, no public market and no market regulation for hydrogen”. Instead, hydrogen is mainly used as “feedstock to produce chemical products” like ammonia and methanol, or to de-sulphurise oil producing kerosine, gasoline, and diesel.
Low-carbon hydrogen
According to a report by Inside Energy and Environment, the EU defines low-carbon hydrogen as: “Hydrogen with an energy content that is derived from non-renewable sources, and that meets a GHG emission reduction threshold of 70% compared to fossil-based hydrogen”.
Analysis by power-technology.com of GlobalData’s latest data on low-carbon hydrogen plants shows that global production is primarily powered by natural gas and coal, despite more countries opting for renewable energy.
Global low-carbon hydrogen comes predominantly from natural gas and coal despite more countries opting for renewable energy sources.
Global hydrogen plants by country, primary energy source, and max capacity (ktpa)*
Bar chart showing breakdown of energy types used to create low carbon hydrogen.
Max Capacity (ktpa) Countries
Natural Gas 775 13
Coal 69 269
Solar;Wind 4 23
Based on an analysis of the latest available research and data by GlobalData. Data are non-exhaustive and based on best estimates correct to February 2022.
*Low-carbon hydrogen is defined by the EU as being derived from non-renewable sources, with 70% lower green house gas emissions.
The USA and Canada lead on low-carbon hydrogen capacity
Top ten countries by max capacity (ktpa) of hydrogen production*
Bar chart showing top ten countries by ktpa of low carbon hydrogen production.
United States 429
429
Canada 276
Qatar 118
Bahrain 70
France 36
United Kingdom 32
Egypt 23
Germany 5
Spain 2
Finland 1
Based on an analysis of the latest available data and research by GlobalData. Data are non-exhaustive and based on best estimates correct to February 2022.
*Low-carbon hydrogen is defined by the EU as being derived from non-renewable sources, with 70% lower green house gas emissions.
Hydrogen Europe’s report sketches various ways in which hydrogen produced by natural gas can be effectively decarbonised via the use of modified technologies, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) using autothermal reforming plants, or methane pyrolysis. Yet associated costs and difficulties in achieving 100% CO2 capture make these approaches potentially less promising than alternative longer-term options. Additionally, the colour of hydrogen produced using these methods ranges from grey to turquoise, falling short of the gold standard whereby climate-neutral green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy or biomass.
Future plans
Despite the hydrogen industry only being pregnant with promise, some countries have made bold plans to dramatically scale up green hydrogen production to 2040. According to our analysis of GlobalData’s data, prior to the invasion of Ukraine, Australia and Russia were leading the way with respect to planned capacity; however, current estimates are now subject to considerable uncertainty.
By contrast, although numerous countries plan to increase their total number of green hydrogen plants, this does not necessarily equate to a significant increase in total annual capacity. Russia and Kazakhstan have planned far fewer plants than many other countries yet are due to have much greater annual capacity over the next 15–20 years.
Clean steel
One key hard-to-abate sector thought to be eligible for decarbonisation using green hydrogen is the iron and steel industry. According to a COP26 report by the Leadership Group for Industry Transition, steel production is thought to account for around 10% of global CO2 and 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The paper argues that the industry is expected to grow by up to a third between now and 2050, and that without a radical decarbonisation strategy, future emissions could use up “almost 20% of the remaining global CO2 budget for a 50% chance to keep global warming below 1.5°C.”
Research by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Primetals Technologies found that approximately 70% of current global steel production capacity (i.e. the share currently based on coke and coal) is suitable for a switch to hydrogen power. Producing a tonne of steel requires around 55kg of hydrogen. To successfully decarbonise the industry based on current production figures, this translates into needing 72Mt of annual green hydrogen capacity, with 500GW of electrolyser capacity.
Using this estimate as a benchmark, our analysis of GlobalData’s green hydrogen database shows that even if all currently planned green hydrogen plants become fully operational on schedule, maximum global capacity would fall significantly short of this target. This is especially the case since new green hydrogen capacity will by no means be exclusively reserved for the steel industry.
Practical solutions
Primetals has developed a range of solutions to the challenge of cleaning up the steel industry while global green hydrogen capacity increases. According to recent research, direct reduction technologies hold the greatest promise for rapid decarbonisation. The paper says: “The direct reduction process based on hydrogen is one of the future steel production routes with the highest potential for a substantial reduction of CO2 emissions.”
Primetals’ has a long-standing partnership with MIDREX®, whose technology already has the capacity to produce direct reduced iron from both natural gas, hydrogen or a mixture of both, up to and including 100% H2.
“Primetals Technologies is well positioned because we have a broad portfolio when it comes to direct reduction utilising hydrogen,” saysDr Alexander Fleischanderl, technology officer upstream at Primetals Technologies.
The company is also developing new technologies that complement the likes of MIDREX, which relies on agglomerated iron-ore pellets. “We also have fluidised bed technologies that can feed iron ore directly without pelletising,” says Fleischanderl.
Primetals deployed its FINORED-based fluidised bed technology in Australia and Venezuela at the beginning of the millennium. This technology was also basis of the first process step for FINEX®, jointly developed by Primetals Technologies and POSCO, and now fully operational at a Korean plant run by Posco, which could also utilise hydrogen. Fleischanderl describes another flagship initiative:
“One of our lighthouse development projects where we have just recently commissioned a pilot plant in Austria at Voestalpine is HYFOR (Hydrogen-based fine ore reduction),” says Fleischanderl. “That is a missing portfolio element; no one has ever done this.
“A lot of [iron] ores are extremely fine from the beneficiation; sub-micron iron ores that are difficult to pelletise. We are developing a technology that allows us to feed this ultra-fine iron ore directly based on hydrogen reduction.”
A stepwise switch
By switching to hydrogen, Primetals estimates an immediate CO2 reduction of approximately 91% could be achievable compared with the coal-based BF-BOF baseline. However, as its report also states, decarbonising iron and steel via hydrogen direct reduction requires an entirely renewable electricity system. This represents a significant hurdle on the road to a truly green global economy.
Despite the lack of ideal circumstances, Dr Fleischanderl stresses the importance of not allowing the pursuit of perfection to become the enemy of progress. “Any option is better than sit and wait,” he says. “The first implementations targeting green hydrogen might happen, but meanwhile we have to go for the options.
“At least if we go for direct reduction technology and use natural gas, we already can decarbonise by two-thirds compared to the traditional route of coal-coke based blast furnaces.”
He also describes the benefits of “larger-scale electric arc furnaces” in tandem with renewables and recycled scrap to produce low-carbon steel, and carbon capture combined with direct reduction as viable “bridging technologies” on the road to net zero. Additional short-term optimisation strategies could allow companies to quickly reduce emissions by up to 30%, although this represents an upper limit.
Primetals is also working with MIDREX on numerous ground-breaking efforts to maximise currently available solutions that have intrinsic longevity and adaptability to take advantage of future green hydrogen supplies. Fleischanderl gives the example of two large-scale Russian plants based on an innovative design that can utilise hydrogen whenever it becomes available at scale. They can also gradually alter the proportions of natural gas and hydrogen in a stepwise fashion until both plants run entirely on the latter.
The future of hydrogen and steel
Promising technological solutions to decarbonising steel do not automatically remove numerous barriers threatening to derail the push towards net zero. One of these is the issue of limited raw materials, which thwarts efforts to utilise scrap metal to reduce reliance on iron. According to Fleischanderl, “recycling and melting scrap would be perfect. Unfortunately, scrap is limited so we have to go back to iron ore.”
This leaves the industry with only two options to produce steel involving either carbon or hydrogen, resulting in a circular problem until the latter can be produced at scale. Fleischanderl points to connected issues, such as rising energy prices, and substantial asset lifetimes of around 40 years for ironmaking plants, raising significant challenges for potential investors. To counteract industry hesitancy, he cites initiatives like the European emissions trading system, which may have already galvanised steelmakers into pursuing “accelerated pathways” towards decarbonisation, due to the financial incentives gained by avoiding or reducing associated costs.
Another looming obstacle to using future net-zero hydrogen to decarbonise steel is that the sector faces stiff competition from many other industries looking to leverage the planned uptick in production. Our analysis of GlobalData’s research suggests that nature’s green oil has a whole host of hungry mouths to feed, the most ravenous of which is set to be the transportation sector.
The majority of future green hydrogen plants are geared towards the transportation industry.
Future plants tagged by industry 2022-2040, %*
Transport 42
42
Industrial 17
Power 11
Ammonia 7
Fuel cells 6
Iron & Steel 5
Oil refining 4
Chemicals 4
Synthetic fuel 2
Gas grid 2
Based on an analysis of the latest available research by GlobalData. Accurate to February 2022.
*Percentage of top ten industries expected to benefit from new green hydrogen plants.
This suggests future supply will have to exponentially increase to meet multifaceted demand. Fully decarbonising steelmaking with hydrogen-based direct reduction requires a gigantic effort from all stakeholders to ensure far more future capacity is added to the system, raising considerable challenges related to the parallel need to ramp up renewables between now and 2050. Clean steel made from clean hydrogen needs clean electricity at scale and myriad other measures to enable steelmaking to restructure.
An EU Commission report into the feasibility of decarbonising steel with hydrogen laid out various challenges faced by the sector, such as an estimated initial cost increase of around 33% per ton of steel compared with relying on coal. The report also suggests that a potential knock-on effect of more expensive green steel could lead to increased demand for alternative materials, such as aluminium in the automotive sector or wood in the construction industry. This could lead to enhanced energy efficiency from lighter vehicles and natural carbon capture from sustainable forestry, which could offset global emissions.
Sustainable carbon-neutral clean steel is thought to be theoretically achievable; however, based on the current trajectory this may prove elusive prior to 2050 unless a harmonised plan of action to address the most urgent issues can be successfully forged in a relatively short timeframe. Unprecedented geopolitical, financial and industrial cooperation on a global scale will be necessary to avert the worst effects of the climate crisis haunting the horizon.
For those invested in the clean energy, hydrogen and steelmaking industries who are willing to bet big on the prospect of a truly sustainable economy powered by nature’s green oil, the short-term risks may appear off-putting, yet the potential future rewards are considerable and far-reaching. A cleaner hydrogen-powered future starts now for those who are ready to become industry trailblazers.
EU draws out plan to increase hydrogen production to replace Russian fossil fuels and gas dependency
The European Commission has revealed today (March 8) a brand-new plan in which to phase out dependency on Russian gas and fossil fuels with hydrogen a key aspect of this.
Dubbed REPowerEU, the Commission has stated that the EU’s dependency on Russia, in light of the Ukraine invasion, could accelerate plans to adopt hydrogen and urgently scale the technology.
This can also be done way before 2030, the Commission said.
Fundamental to these plans is the production of larger volumes of renewable hydrogen and imports in which to phase out fossil fuels across various industries.
This hydrogen accelerator, according to Hydrogen Europe, must focus on several key pillars to support the economy, including replacing, repurposing, and reinvesting.
Replacing should focus on outdated technologies driving down emissions and supporting European industrial solutions.
Hydrogen Europe has said that the EU is home to six out of the ten largest electrolyser manufacturers in the world and that it is time clean energy pioneers are supported accordingly.
Repurposing will include natural gas assets and building a hydrogen infrastructure that encompasses storage, terminals and import assets.
Hydrogen Europe said, a clear and forward-looking strategy is essential to identify which gas pipelines must be made available for retrofitting and repurposing to carry pure hydrogen from day one.
Reinvesting revenues from the ETS via the Modernisation and Innovation Funds as well as making use of Carbon Contracts for Difference and State Aid is another focus.
The Hydrogen Accelerator will need enormous funds as the private sector cannot deliver on its own.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said, “We must become independent from Russian oil, coal and gas. We simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us. We need to act now to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices, diversify our gas supply for next winter and accelerate the clean energy transition.
“The quicker we switch to renewables and hydrogen, combined with more energy efficiency, the quicker we will be truly independent and master our energy system. I will be discussing the Commission’s ideas with European leaders at Versailles, and then working to swiftly implement them with my team.”
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, said, “We welcome today’s communication of the European Commission which highlights how hydrogen can ensure clean energy independence. Hydrogenewables are the cornerstone of a resilient economy and energy self-reliance. It is ever more important to repower the EU by replacing, repurposing and reinvesting.”
‘We will produce carbon-negative green hydrogen from non-recyclable waste at zero or below-zero cost’
Boson Energy says it will offset the expense of producing H2 with the income from its production process’ associated revenue streams
A Luxembourg-based technology company says it will soon be able to produce carbon-negative green hydrogen from non-recyclable waste at a cost of zero or below, with income from associated revenue streams offsetting the expense of H2 production.
Boson Energy has developed a plasma-assisted gasification process that uses extremely high temperatures to break down waste into hydrogen, carbon dioxide and a molten slurry that solidifies into a blue/grey glassy rock
The process will essentially create several revenue streams, Boson CEO Jan Grimbrandt tells Recharge. The hydrogen, “green CO2” and rock would be sold for profit, while the company would also receive a “gate fee” from local authorities and recycling companies for treating the waste, and carbon credits for avoiding landfill methane emissions.
Despite being a greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide is an important product used by various industries, including carbonated drinks, food processing, food packaging and greenhouses, and is typically derived from fossil fuels. It could also be used to help cure cement and other construction materials, which would “fix” the CO2, preventing its release into the atmosphere.
The inert glassy rock can be used as industrial aggregate in cement, concrete and road-building.
The income from these revenue streams would essentially be enough to offset the cost of hydrogen production, thereby enabling the zero-carbon gas to be manufactured at zero or even sub-zero costs.
If we do our business development right… we can actually bring the cost of hydrogen to zero or even past zero and go negative because we have other revenue streams,” says Grimbrandt.
According to Boson, the process will produce about 100kg of carbon-negative hydrogen for every tonne of waste — and require six times less renewable electricity per tonne than green H2 derived from water electrolysis.
And with about two billion tonnes of non-recyclable waste being dumped or incinerated globally each year, the potential market is enormous.
“You have 100 million tonnes of waste in Europe going to landfill [every year] and 100 million tonnes going to incineration. So you have 20 million tonnes of hydrogen potential in that waste,” Grimbrandt explains.
To put that volume into context, the European Commission has set a target of producing ten million tonnes of green hydrogen, largely from 40GW of electrolysers by 2030, and importing the sameBoson says that even if the carbon dioxide it produces is released into the atmosphere after use, its process would still be “carbon-negative” due to the avoidance of emissions of landfill methane — which is 86 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2 over a 20-year period.
The company believes that it would make more sense from an energy-security perspective for Europe to produce hydrogen locally from waste or biomass, rather than trying to import it from other parts of world — as Germany, the Netherlands and even the European Commission is planning.
Plus, Boson points out that H2 from waste and biomass can be produced at full capacity around the clock, rather than whenever the wind is blowing or the sun is shining.
How does the process work?
The system Boson has designed — based on 25 years of development — is remarkably simple. Roughly shredded waste enters a vertical “reactor” that is heated from the bottom by electric-powered plasma torches capable of producing temperatures of up to 7,000°C.
The temperature at the top of the reactor is far lower than at the bottom, so the waste goes through ever-increasing heat zones as it travels to the bottom, with each temperature zone performing its own important functions.
In the uppermost zone, the waste is dried and heated. It then moves down to a hotter zone where pyrolysis (decomposition by heat in the absence of oxygen) takes place. Biodegradable matter becomes pyrolytic gas, a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and light hydrocarbons (mostly methane).
In the next zone, the remaining matter — carbon and inorganic materials — is gasified by steam, and all the gases released in all these steps combine into syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO).
The gas leaving the reactor then goes through steam reforming and water gas shift processes, which convert the remaining hydrocarbons and CO into additional H2 and CO2. A final step separates the syngas into H2 and CO2. Left behind is a small amount of “rest gas”, consisting of nitrogen, some CO2 and a small fraction of hydrocarbons, which is used as an energy source for steam production.
The leftover material — mainly inorganic ash and slag — then falls to the bottom vitrification chamber, where it is heated by the plasma torches to 1,500-2,000°C into a molten state. This lava-like liquid is then extracted and allowed to cool into an inert glass-like material that Boson is calling “IMBY rock”.
Project pipeline
A commercial-size proof-of-concept plant has already been built and operated in Israel, which was validated and assessed by the national environmental authority and the engineering services firms SNC Lavalin, Juniper and WSP.
Boson is now developing ten commercial projects across Europe — in Spain, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Poland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg — which are included in the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance’s (ECH2A) pipeline of 750+ projects that meet European Commission criteria.
“Each of the projects have different time schedules,” says Grimbrandt. “One project is already permitted, we hope we will get permitting in place of two more projects this year.”
Boson’s first commercial-size demonstration plant for hydrogen from wood waste is already in construction and on track to be up and running by end of 2022.
The company expects to start up its first commercial plant for non-recyclable waste in 2023 — a project that already has waste supply and H2 offtake lined up.
“We have a project with one of the biggest recycling companies in Scandinavia that we are developing where they take in about two million tonnes of waste per year,” says Boson’s chief communications officer Heike Zatterstrom. “And they have almost a million tons of recycling refuse that they are currently sending for incineration. So they have to pay to get rid of a million tonnes of recycling refuse. But that million tonnes of waste is basically 100,000 tonnes of hydrogen that they are paying to get rid of.”
Grimbrandt points out that the ten ECH2A projects alone would produce 60,000 tonnes of carbon-negative hydrogen per year.
“And if you put that volume in an electrolyser context, it’s basically 1GW of wind-powered electrolysers,” he explains.
Boson’s vision is to work in partnership with local waste management companies and municipalities to jointly build, own and operate small-scale, pollution-free waste-to-hydrogen plants, with each standard facility only having a spatial footprint of 40 by 60 metres and producing 3,500 tonnes of clean H2 every year.
The waste would therefore become a profitable asset, rather than a cost to the taxpayer, as well as reducing each local authority’s greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding landfill methane.
“We call ourselves the in-my-backyard (IMBY – hence the name of the rock) company… we believe in small-scale distributed solutions… part of the concept is to basically allow people and communities to take care of — and benefit from — their own waste, to avoid the Nimby issues that come with all large-scale infrastructure where you have to take care of other people’s problems,” says Zatterstrom.
Boson has calculated that it would take 60,000 of its distributed plants to convert all the world’s annual two billion tonnes of unrecycled waste to hydrogen. And that if all that H2 was used to power electric vehicles — either via onboard fuel cells or off-grid hydrogen-powered EV charging points — it would reduce global energy-related CO2 emissions by 20%.
Boson is now working with partner companies that will supply equipment and systems, including Siemens Energy, Montreal-based PyroGenesis, Vienna-headquartered RHI Magnesita, Norwegian green technology company Haldor-Topsoe and US conglomerate Honeywell.
Why is waste-to-hydrogen better than incineration?
According to European waste-to-energy trade association, ESWET, incinerators that produce “low-emission” power, heat and industrial steam supply 2.4% of the EU’s energy demand every year.
ESWET says that burning waste prevents methane landfill emissions and that the 39TWh of electricity and 90TWh of heat that European incinerators produce annually saves up to 50 million tonnes of CO2 that would otherwise be emitted by fossil fuels.
But while those points are valid, incinerators also emit greenhouse gases — including carbon dioxide and NOx emissions, as well as other pollutants that are harmful to human health.
A 2016 scientific paper, Toxic Pollutants from Plastic Waste – A Review, published in the journal Procedia Environmental Studies, pointed out that about 12% of municipal solid waste consists of plastics, which when burned release “toxic gases like dioxins, furans, mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls into the atmosphere… the toxic substances thus released are posing a threat to vegetation, human and animal health and [the] environment as a whole… polystyrene is harmful to [the] central nervous system… the hazardous brominated compounds act as carcinogens and mutagens”.
It adds: “Dioxins settle on the crops and in our waterways where they eventually enter into our food and hence the body system. These dioxins are the lethal persistent organic pollutants and its worst component, 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), commonly known as Agent Orange, is a toxic compound which causes cancer and neurological damage, disrupts reproductive thyroid and respiratory systems.
“Thus, burning of plastic wastes increases the risk of heart disease, aggravates respiratory ailments such as asthma and emphysema and cause rashes, nausea or headaches, and damages the nervous system.”
So from a human health perspective, incineration isn’t great. Nor is it ideal from an economic perspective, according to Boson.
Zatterstrom points out that not only do waste management businesses have to pay for incineration companies to take away their non-recyclable waste, their sustainability footprints are also “loaded with the CO2 emissions from that waste, and also the ash. And a million tonnes of waste is 250,000 tonnes of ash.”
When incinerated, waste produces fly ash, which is present in flue gases, and bottom ash, which accumulates at the bottom of the incinerator. The latter can be added to tarmac, but the former is a hazardous materials has to be treated and disposed of in mines or quarries at extra cost.
“The other big thing that is coming up against incineration now is the curtailing — the fact that incineration, just like coal and gas, is expected to give way to renewables in the grid,” explains Zatterstrom. “And if you have a coal plant or a gas plant, you can do that. If the grid operator says, ‘okay guys, this weekend, I don’t need you, so no coal power this weekend’, then the plant will say, ‘okay’, and they can just leave the coal sitting in the yard.
“But the incinerator cannot do that. They cannot tell people, ‘okay, this weekend we don’t need waste’, because the waste is produced all the time, and needs to be processed, and they need to keep temperatures in the ovens up for, for environmental compliance reasons, etc, for compliance. So they have to continue to run, but are not able to supply the power. And they are already now at a pretty low profitability. They are making €15-20 per tonne of waste treated today. And already now in a few European markets, they are expected to not produce power for 1,000 hours a year. And they have no idea where this will go. They think it could go to 2,000, to 30,00 hours of not producing power, but you still have to run.
“Shifting over from incineration to [Boson’s] process will bring you from €20 per tonne to €200 per tonne in profit.”
Zatterstrom points out that if we don’t use non-recyclable waste for power or hydrogen production, it will be left to rot in landfills, producing methane that is 84 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2 over a 20-year period. Other potential energy sources don’t have that problem.
“Natural gas, we can choose whether we use it or not. Electricity, we can choose whether we use it or not. The wind and the sun are not gonna kill us if we don’t make energy from them. But the waste will actually kill us.”
Half the cost of green H2′ | Landmark 1GW waste-to-hydrogen project in Egypt ‘very likely to go ahead’
German developer H2-Industries plans to ship up to 300,000 tonnes of hydrogen a year in synthetic fuel or a liquid organic carrier
A landmark gigawatt-scale waste-to-hydrogen project at Egypt’s Suez Canal is “very likely to go ahead” after receiving preliminary approval from local authorities, Recharge has learned.
The 1GW Suez Canal project, being developed by German technology company H2-Industries at East Port Said, aims to convert four million tonnes of organic waste and non-recyclable plastic into 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen every year — roughly the amount that would be produced by a 4GW renewable H2 electrolysis facility.
This H2 will be produced at “half the levelized cost of current green hydrogen production technologies, taking the cost even lower than current levels for low-carbon and grey hydrogen production”, the company said in a statement.
A feasibility study will now be conducted over the next four to six weeks, with final approval from the General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone expected in eight weeks’ time, H2-Industries tells Recharge.
“It is very likely the project will go ahead, as there are plans to be in operation by 2025 and then scale up,” said a company spokeswoman.
The company plans to store the H2 in a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC), or combine it with captured CO2 to produce “low-cost synthetic diesel or sustainable aviation fuel [SAF]”.
H2-Industries is already talking to “off-takers worldwide for green hydrogen and the synthetic fuels eDiesel and SAF”, the company tells Recharge.
H2-Industries has not revealed the exact waste-to-hydrogen technology that would be used, only that it involves an “integrated thermolysis plant”. Thermolysis means chemical decomposition by heating. Other companies in this segment heat waste at high temperatures, in the absence of oxygen, to break the matter into its constituent parts, ending up with hydrogen, solid carbon and ash.
“The Waste-to-Hydrogen plant is a breakthrough in making green hydrogen economically viable, helping not only reduce global CO2 emissions but also reducing the pollution and impairment of water resources in the country [ie, Egypt],” said H2-Industries executive chairman Michael Stusch.
H2-Industries plans to use an LOHC called dibenzyltoluene (C21H20), which is also a commercially available heat-transfer fluid. Adding hydrogen to the DBT converts it to perhydro-dibenzyltoluene (C21H32), which can be transported in the same way as oil — at ambient temperatures and pressures, thus avoiding the drawbacks of liquid and compressed hydrogen. At the end of its journey, the LOHC is heated to 250-300°C at a “release unit”, to extract the stored H2, with the now-dehydrogenated DBT then transported back to its original starting point.
The waste heat from the process can be used to generate power, the company says.
“LOHC is the most favorable and safest possibility to store and transport hydrogen cost-effectively, followed by ammonia, compressed hydrogen and on the last position is liquid hydrogen,” H2-Industries tells Recharge.
UK launches new support scheme for hydrogen produced from biomass and waste with CCS
An initial £5m will be made available for companies, research institutions and universities to conduct feasibility studies, with more funding promised for pilot projects in coming years
The UK government has launched a new funding scheme for the development of technology to produce hydrogen from sustainable biomass and waste while capturing and storing the released carbon.
The first £5m phase of funding in the Hydrogen BECCS Innovation Programme will provide up to £250,000 to companies, research institutions and universities to conduct feasibility studies, with a second phase to follow, which will offer further funding for pilot projects.
BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) offers the possibility of being carbon-negative, ie, removing carbon from the atmosphere, by taking CO2 absorbed by plant matter as it grows, and then storing it indefinitely, often it in a solid form, such as carbon black or biochar.
“This innovative technology offers incredible potential for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, crucial to reaching our net zero goals,” said energy and climate change minister Greg Hands. “This government funding will help support the development of this new technology in the UK, boosting green jobs and investment while slashing carbon emissions.”
Several companies around the world are already progressing with technologies to produce hydrogen from biomass and/or waste, including Ways2H, SGH2, CAC-H2, Mote and Iwatani.
The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is looking for applications across three categories:
1) Feedstock pre-processing: the development of “low cost, energy and material efficient technologies to optimise biomass and waste feedstocks for use in advanced gasification technologies”;
2) Advanced gasification technology components that can convert biomass or waste into aviation fuel, diesel, hydrogen, methane or other hydrocarbons;
3) The development of novel biohydrogen technologies that can be combined with CCS, such as fermentation, anaerobic digestion and waste water treatment.
The funding will come from BEIS’s £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which aims to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies.
Spain starts up flagship industrial green hydrogen plant – and first-ever ‘hydroduct’
Project on Mallorca led by Enagás and Acciona Energía aims to green the Balearic island while providing a reference case for other European countries shifting from gas to H2
Commercial production has started at Spain’s first industrial renewable hydrogen plant, a flagship facility developed by an industrial consortium led by Enagás and Acciona Energía on the Balearic island of Mallorca.
The Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca Project, set up in 2020 in Loseta under the aegis of Spain’s Green Hysland initiative, will produce 330 tonnes of green hydrogen a year powered by the nearby 8.5MW Lloseta and 5.9MW Petra solar arrays.
“This pioneering project inaugurates a technological development that will be very relevant in the coming years, to replace gas of fossil origin with renewable gases, such as biogas, biomethane, and hydrogen obtained with renewable energies,” said regional minister for ecological transition Teresa Ribera, attending the plant’s inauguration along with dignitaries and politicians including the President of the Balearic government, Francina Armengol.
Thanks to these advances we will reduce our dependence on hydrocarbon imports, we will offer a solution for the decarbonisation of sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as industry or heavy transport, and we will create new companies and new jobs in quality.”
Enagás chairman Antonio Llardén stated: “Projects such as Green Hysland and its set up in Mallorca demonstrate the importance of coordinating and cooperating to move the decarbonisation process forward. Thanks to consortium, the entire value chain is represented in the project, which ensures both the deployment of infrastructure for the production of green hydrogen and its end-uses.”
The Mallorca project is expected to become a reference case for other green hydrogen production facilities’ operation, but Acciona president Manuel Entrecanales placed the emphasis on the “industrial and economic opportunity” the market presented for Spain and the EU.
“The public-private collaboration in this project and the support of the different administrations represent a model of how to maximise the outcome of such opportunities,” he said. “The Mallorca project will allow to improve a technology and develop a business model based on renewable hydrogen that will make a qualitative breakthrough in decarbonisation.”
The Spanish island, in the Mediterranean, aims to cut its CO2 emissions by up to 21,000 tonnes a year once its green hydrogen industrial ecosystem is fully developed – which includes the first ‘hydroduct’ pipeline in Spain, planned to link to Mallorca’s gas distribution network.
Green hydrogen will be used to fuel bus fleets and provide heating and electric power generation for commercial and public buildings on Mallorca and the Iberostar hotel group is among commercial businesses aiming to shift away from gas consumption to renewable hydrogen as the plant ramps up production.
Spain published its hydrogen ‘roadmap’ in 2020, setting its ambition of having 4GW of production capacity by 2030, mobilised by a total investment of almost €9bn ($9.9bn).
CIP and Vestas launch 2GW green hydrogen project in Spain – powered by 5GW of wind and solar
Project Catalina will be one of the largest onshore renewable H2 facilities in Europe
Renewables developer and investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has announced plans to build a 2GW green hydrogen project in Spain, in partnership with wind turbine maker Vestas and three other major companies.
Project Catalina, in the northeastern region of Aragon, will be powered by 5GW of wind and solar — a combination of resources that will help to run the 2GW of electrolysers day and night, thus reducing the levelised cost of hydrogen.
It is the second 2GW renewable H2 facility to be announced in Spain this month, following the Repsol-led SHYNE project.
The Catalina partners — including gas transmission system operator Enagás, power and gas utility Naturgy, and fertiliser producer Fertiberia — aim to begin construction of the 500MW first phase, powered by 1.7GW of wind and solar, by the end of next year.
Much of the roughly 40,000 tonnes of green hydrogen produced annually in that first phase will be piped to a new state-of-the-art Fertiberia facility in the eastern region of Valencia, where it will be combined with nitrogen from the air to produce green ammonia. That NH3 will then be upgraded into sustainable fertiliser at an existing Fertiberia plant in the region. Most ammonia produced today is derived from fossil fuels.
Hydrogen from the project would also be used to decarbonise local industrial facilities, as well as being blended into the natural-gas grid.
“Spain, and in particular, Aragon, offers good conditions for the development of this technology due to its excellent solar and wind resource,, the political backing, as well as the proximity to demand centres,” said Søren Toftgard, a partner at CIP, which manages about €16bn ($18bn) of green energy infrastructure funds.
Íñigo Sabater, Vestas’ vice-president of development for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, added: “We expect Catalina to showcase the huge socioeconomical impact that green power-to-X projects can have not only on the decarbonization of our societies but also in terms of economic growth and employment.”
Project Catalina — which is one of the largest onshore renewable H2 projects yet announced in Europe — will form part of CIP’s Energy Transition Fund, which focuses on power-to-X and other next-generation renewable technologies that can help to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors such as agriculture and transport.
Ukraine war | Denmark approves new green hydrogen tender and 4-6GW target for 2030
Nation aims to produce ammonia, methanol and e-kerosene from renewable H2 as part of a bid to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels
Denmark has set a new goal to produce 4-6GW of green hydrogen annually by 2030 — one of the highest targets in Europe — and will also hold a ($184m) tender for renewable H2 production.
The primary aim of the new policy is to produce green fuel from the hydrogen to power aircraft, ships and trucks — a strategy that has taken on new urgency after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The plan had originally been announced in January, and will now move forward after the minority Social Democrat government won backing from all the major parties in the Danish parliament. Such support makes it extremely unlikely that a future government would overturn the agreement.
Climate and energy minister Dan Jørgensen said that the deal will ensure that the country can be a leader in the move away from fossil fuels, and help make Europe “more independent of Russian black energy”.
“With the new agreement, pave the way for the production of new green fuels and a better and more flexible use of our energy system,” said Anne Paulin, climate and energy spokeswoman for the ruling Social Democrats.
The agreement does not appear to define “green fuels” or “PtX”, but it does refer to ammonia, methanol and “e-kerosene” — the latter being chemically identical to existing jet fuel, but produced by combining green hydrogen (derived from electricity, hence the “e-“) with captured carbon dioxide.
Hydrogen itself can also be considered to be a green fuel for trucks and possibly short-distance airplanes and vessels, while ammonia and methanol — both derived from hydrogen — are being discussed as potential shipping fuels. Other potential green fuels include e-methane, synthetic petrol and e-diesel.
All of these e-fuels will be far more expensive than fossil fuels due to their high production costs, the inefficiencies of the conversion processes and the huge amounts of electricity required to power them (which would need to be renewable to ensure significant greenhouse gas reduction).
Nevertheless, the Danish shipping giant Maersk has ordered 12 dual-fuel container vessels from Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries that will be able to run on methanol (CH3OH), and just last week announced deals to source at least 730,000 tonnes of green methanol (derived from renewable H2 and captured CO2) by the end of 2025.
The government agreement also comes a day after Frederik, the Crown Prince of Denmark, launched Danish outfit Stiesdal Fuel Technologies’ new demonstration plant for carbon-negative aviation fuel derived from agricultural waste. The technology is carbon-negative because it uses the CO2 captured by plant matter as it grows, and turns it into a solid carbon called biochar — essentially removing the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
The Danish government has an ambition to use e-kerosene, or synthetic aviation fuel, on at least one domestic flight route by 2025.
Denmark takes first steps towards green hydrogen economy
Denmark pledged to build up to six gigawatts (GW) of electrolysis capacity to convert renewable power into green hydrogen as it looks to wean itself off fossil fuels and boost its energy security, thereby taking the first steps towards a green hydrogen economy.
COPENHAGEN, March 15, 2022 (Reuters) – Denmark on Tuesday pledged to build up to six gigawatts (GW) of electrolysis capacity to convert renewable power into green hydrogen as it looks to wean itself off fossil fuels and boost its energy security.
Hydrogen is categorised ‘green’ when it is made with renewable power and is seen as key to help decarbonise industry, though the technology remains immature and costly.
Danish lawmakers agreed subsidies worth 1.25 billion Danish crowns ($184.83 million) through one tender aimed at supporting production and making green hydrogen more commercially viable.
We have had an economy which has been based primarily on oil but in the future it will be based on hydrogen,” climate and energy minister Dan Jorgensen said.
“This will help us to become independent of fossil fuels,” he said, adding that he had reason to expect a faster approval of the state aid from the European Union given the war in Ukraine.
The EU is currently struggling to wean itself off Russian gas, oil and other commodities.
Denmark’s target hinges on massive development of solar and wind energy but Jorgensen declined to say if the new agreement would trigger new renewable tenders and referred to political negotiations due later this year.
Electrolysis uses electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen which can then be used directly for industrial purposes or as a fuel for heavy road transportation or aviation, which are difficult to electrify with batteries.
The EU targets six GW electrolysis capacity by 2024 and 40 GW by 2030. Only around 0.3 GW of production capacity from electrolysers exists today, data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show.
‘EU at a crossroads’ | Europe needs speed to keep up global hydrogen leadership: study
Potential for bloc to rise into a position of market pre-eminence while boosting energy transition in the region being undermined by slow-moving policy reform, finds research from the Harvard Kennedy School
The EU has the clear potential to rise into a position of global leadership in the emerging hydrogen economy while boosting the sector’s contribution to accelerating the bloc’s climate and energy security agenda, a new study from Harvard has concluded.
But the report, published by the university’s public policy division, the Harvard Kennedy School, warned that to do so, the EU now needed to “quickly define and implement a cohesive long-term strategy” for developing competitive and secure hydrogen markets in the region.
“While hydrogen has been a staple in the energy and chemical industries for decades, renewable hydrogen is now enjoying unprecedented political and business momentum as a versatile and sustainable energy carrier that could be the missing piece in the carbon-free energy puzzle,” said the report’s authors, Alejandro Nuñez-Jimenez and Nicola De Blasio, from the school’s Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs.
“Today, [Europe] is no doubt at the forefront of the global hydrogen race. But to maintain its leadership, the EU needs to quickly define and implement a cohesive long-term strategy for developing competitive and secure hydrogen markets.
“While success is possible, this transformational effort will require close coordination between policy, technology, capital, and society to avoid falling into the traps and inefficiencies of the past.”
The report argues that “only by working together” can the EU properly accelerate the uptake of a hydrogen economy in member states.
“Our prior work on renewable hydrogen’s global geopolitical and market implications shows that while some resource-rich member states, like Spain, can evolve into regional exporters, no member state can become a global export champion.
The study also flags the “significant” role regional partners such as Morocco might grow to have in EU hydrogen markets in the future.
Among the key questions raised by the report, said the authors, were: “What would it require to become hydrogen independent? Where should production be located for cost-competitive supplies? What is the enabling infrastructure that needs to be developed and deployed at scale?”
The EU is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050 with renewable hydrogen playing an increasingly central part in the bloc achieving its energy transition ambitions, with a strategy published in July 2020 that set electrolyser deployment targets to 2030 and scoped-out development of an open and competitive EU hydrogen market.
“The strategy forecasts that renewable hydrogen will reach maturity and be deployed at scale in all hard-to-decarbonise sectors by 2050 but sets no targets beyond 2030 and provides few details on how the EU could meet this hydrogen demand,” said the authors.
“The EU stands at a crossroads. Today, it is no doubt at the forefront of the global hydrogen race. But to maintain its leadership, the EU needs to quickly define and implement a cohesive long-term strategy for developing competitive and secure hydrogen markets.”
Energy alternatives, Deloitte launches an accelerator dedicated to green hydrogen
Until May 5, 2022 a startup call will look for the most effective solutions for the development of green hydrogen and its entire value chain: from production to transport, to storage and use. The aim is to facilitate the energy transition.
Energy transition has been talked about for several years, it is at the center of the most recent European policies on decarbonization, but it has always been fundamentally treated as an issue under the ecological-environmentalist ‘hat’. The latest events regarding Putin’s war in Ukraine made it clear to everyone how difficult the transition to green energy in Italy can be, given the dependence on Russian and Ukrainian gas.
Looking at sustainable energy alternatives also means inserting economic and supply sustainability into the equation. We should look more autonomous from an energy point of view, perhaps leveraging on renewables, given that there is no lack of sun and wind, as claimed by the Future Electricity association, which in recent days has put its finger in the sore, claiming that we are in a serious energy emergency also due to the bureaucracy blocking the authorizations for the construction of the plants and asking the Government to authorize by June 60 gigawatts of renewables to be built in 3 years, by 2024.
Renewables cannot be the only energy alternative, another on which Europe is also betting a lot is green hydrogen. However, the two sectors are much closer than we think, because renewable energy sources are needed to make green hydrogen.
Among the various types of hydrogen, the ‘green’ one is the only one that is truly sustainable as it avoids CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, and is produced through the use of renewable energy sources such as, for example, photovoltaics or wind power.
It contrasts with gray hydrogen, which is produced through the use of natural gas or coal; and blue hydrogen, on the other hand, is produced with low carbon emissions, but is generated through the use of non-renewable energy sources, such as nuclear or natural gas.
This happens because hydrogen, which is the most abundant element in nature, is always combined with something else, it is found in water, methane or other organic compounds. Therefore, it must be separated from other elements through processes that require the use of energy: the most widespread and polluting is steam reforming, the greener one is electrolysis.
An entire hydrogen economy has therefore been created, an industrial ecosystem and services, products, technologies, skills, functional to the development and use of the ‘hydrogen’ resource, in particular the green one. An ecosystem in which ‘hydrogen startups’ also play a very important role.
The GreenHydrogenTech Accelerator is born.
With its innovation workshops, Deloitte launches the GreenHydrogenTech Accelerator, which as the name suggests is an accelerator for startups that have proposals and solutions along the value chain in the green hydrogen economy: from production to transport, from storage to a use created through renewable energies. The Program sees the participation of the Acea Group as Main Partner, the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) as Scientific Partner and the Ecosystem Partner SMAU.
The GreenHydrogenTech Accelerator will have its center in Italy and will focus on the development of concrete industrial projects through the international scouting of the most promising startups, scaleups and research projects in the sector, integrating the vision and technologies of these emerging realities with the skills and the assets provided by the participating players. In summary, it is a classic model of acceleration / open innovation program: the call identifies the startups that will access the program and any growth and business opportunities with partners.
The Call4Startup and the selection of the GreenHydrogenTech Accelerator
Applications from startups, scaleups and research projects will be open from March 3, 2022 until May 5, 2022, the reference for applying and the 9 green hydrogen innovation trends on which the research is based is available on the website.
A digital roadshow will accompany this first phase and will allow the most promising startups, scaleups and research projects to meet the GreenHydrogenTech Accelerator team and evaluate whether the proposed solutions meet the needs of the participating players.
Following the Call4Startup, applications will be analyzed and innovative solutions identified on which to define industrial projects that can benefit from the skills of companies, research centers and the innovative ecosystem. The program will end with the announcement of the winners and their presentation during the final event. The winners will be able to take advantage of a joint mentorship session by the Deloitte experts and the Acea Group team to evaluate technologies and business models and define the subsequent development phases also through industrial projects together with the participating players.
https://energynews.biz/deloitte-launches-an-accelerator-dedicated-to-green-hydrogen/
First Belgian green hydrogen plant expects permit by mid-2022
Engineering firm Sweco is supervising the licensing process for the 25 megawatt production unit for green hydrogen in Zeebrugge. This is a first for Belgium and adds extra strength to our hydrogen ambitions. The client is the Hyoffwind consortium (Virya Energy and Fluxys) that has chosen John Cockerill and BESIX as technology partner and as partner for design and realization.
Sweco is responsible for applying for the required environmental permit (for construction and operation) and the subsidies for this electrolysis installation for green hydrogen. With our energy specialists, we are also involved in other green hydrogen developments in Belgium and the Netherlands, deploying engineering for compression, cooling and storage modalities according to the strict safety requirements for hydrogen under high pressure.
The license application was submitted at the end of 2021 and the consortium expects a license by mid-2022. The final investment decision, which is also subject to the granting of subsidies by the Flemish Government in the context of the recovery plan, will be taken in the course of 2022 Flemish Minister of Economy and Innovation Hilde Crevits has been supporting the project since 2020, because the project fits perfectly within the Flemish hydrogen strategy.
Tom Van Den Noortgaete, Division Director Energy & Environment at Sweco Belgium: “Sweco has strong technical expertise in the engineering of industrial process installations and plays a special, international, pioneering role in hydrogen projects. We are also responsible for the complete design and for applying for permits and subsidies for the two green hydrogen plants of Vision H2 in the port area of North Sea Port. Completing all these installations will make our economy and society more sustainable.”
Sara Vander Beken, Operational Manager Energy Transition at Sweco Belgium: “Hydrogen will play a vital role in Europe’s future energy mix. Belgium has expressed the ambition to become a leader in this field. We are well placed for this due to our central location and our existing industry and infrastructure. Green hydrogen is therefore intended for activities that cannot simply switch to electricity, such as heavy industry, freight traffic and shipping.”
On the way to a hydrogen economy in Belgium and Europe
In a first phase, the planned project will consist of an installation that can convert 25 MW of electricity into green hydrogen, but in the second phase the partners aim to scale up to 100 MW. This pioneering project, combined with the development of hydrogen infrastructure, will make an important contribution to the Flemish, but also Belgian and European hydrogen strategy by taking a first step towards the development of Flanders and Belgium as a European hub for green hydrogen.
Collaboration between partners throughout the entire energy chain
The Hyoffwind project is being developed by a consortium with activities across the entire energy value chain. The consortium consists of Virya Energy (production and commercialization of renewable energy) and Fluxys (transport of green molecules), and aims to develop a power-to-gas installation that can convert renewable electricity into green hydrogen.
Green hydrogen is a crucial building block for a renewable energy economy, as it can be used as a raw material for industrial processes and for a variety of mobility applications. Hyoffwind will also contribute to the flexibility and balance of the energy system by providing an effective solution for the increased variability from renewable electricity production.
Galp projects 200 MW for green H2
In Portugal, Galp has an ongoing 2 MW pilot project to accelerate the production of green hydrogen by 2023. This is part of an ambitious plan to provide hydrogen for heavy-load transport trucks, buses and aviation.
Galp has doubled to 200 megawatts (MW) the production capacity of green hydrogen to be installed in Sines, estimating a final investment decision by 2023, according to the communication of the 2021 results, sent February 2022 to the market.
In June 2021, on its “Capital Markets Day”, Galp reported on a single 100 MW green hydrogen production project in Sines.
According to the presentation sent February 2022 to the Securities Market Commission (CMVM), the company has doubled its ambition for Sines, with projects for two electrolysers of 100 MW each, one of them, remember, in consortium with other companies, including the EDP.
Also in Sines, Galp has a 2 MW pilot project underway to accelerate the technology testing phase.
In an interview with Lusa, in November 2021, Galp’s executive chairman, Andy Brown said that the company saw enormous potential in the area of green hydrogen, having set a target of 0.6 to 1 gigawatts (GW) of capacity by the end of the decade, passing by 100 megawatts(MW) in 2025.
“We believe we can make hydrogen from renewable energy like green hydrogen to reduce CO2 emissions and make the fuels we produce more sustainable,” said Brown.
“That’s the core, but what we want to do is also be able to supply heavy-duty transport trucks, buses within the Portuguese infrastructure, and we also want to work in partnerships on how we can use the main building block of fuels like ammonia. , such as methanol, as sustainable aviation fuels, because we believe that hydrogen will become the new core of this fuel energy system”.
Galp’s CEO concluded that Portugal, “with low-cost renewable energies, has this opportunity to be very strong and to be a leader in this, and the Government strongly supports this”.
Hyundai and Shell partner to develop EV and hydrogen future
Hyundai and Shell are embarking on a new collaboration to explore ways to offer lower carbon emissions products and services and to reduce emissions across their operations.
The new agreement builds on the existing collaboration between the two companies and will draw on the companies’ expertise in electric vehicle (EV) charging, hydrogen, low carbon energy solutions and digital technology as potential opportunities for both companies to reduce carbon emissions.
The partnership will mean Shell Recharge Solutions will become the Charge Point Operator (CPO) and Mobility Service Provider (MSP) for Hyundai’s premium brand, Genesis.
Genesis drivers will be able to charge on-the-go, at home and at destinations with Shell. Initially focusing on the UK, Germany and Switzerland, the ambition is to grow the partnership throughout Europe.
The partnership will also see Hyundai Motor provide fuel cell trucks and Shell offer hydrogen infrastructure for targeted fleet customers.
The collaboration will also explore opportunities for Shell to supply renewable energy at Hyundai’s business facilities and global plants to help Hyundai meet its RE100 targets for renewable electricity.
https://greenfleet.net/news/01032022/hyundai-and-shell-partner-develop-ev-and-hydrogen-future
German port of Wilhelmshaven to be converted into a world-scale hydrogen hub
Tree Energy Solutions (TES) is accelerating the development of a world-scale hydrogen hub in the German port of Wilhelmshaven which will support the growth of the hydrogen sector in Europe.
Green hydrogen will be at the core of the project and will interconnect various corresponding hydrogen hotspots in Germany providing a basis to expand hydrogen operations and its capabilities.
TES believes an acceleration of its project will be fully consistent with and supportive of the strategic priorities of sustainability and diversification of energy supply, by accommodating the handling of gas imports alongside imports of green gas in the early stages.
Jaworzno is the first in Poland to test a hydrogen bus on a regular route
A pilot program begins in Jaworzno, during which PKM Jaworzno will test the ecological hydrogen bus of the Solaris brand for a period of four weeks. Hydrogen-powered buses are the future of public transport.
The initiative carried out by Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji Miejskiej in Jaworzno aims to test the benefits of implementing a zero-emission public transport system.
Hydrogen buses significantly reduce air pollution and reduce car exhaust emissions. Hydrogen-powered buses are more comfortable for passengers.
– We are convinced that our project will inspire other entities in Poland and abroad
– added Jacek Cichosz from Air Products.
The Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen bus tested by PKM Jaworzno is a completely emission-free, very quiet and comfortable vehicle. The bus tests have been planned, among others to handle the most heavily loaded city lines in Jaworzno. The bus will operate seven days a week and will run mainly on lines 303 and 307.
– We want Jaworzno to be perceived as a place supporting new technologies, open to investors and new residents. Efficient public transport is one of the most important aspects of the functioning of the urban organism. Regular public opinion polls show that residents appreciate the high quality of services provided. Over 80 percent of residents use buses, and 88 percent. positively assesses the introduction and development of the electric vehicle fleet – said Paweł Silbert, Mayor of Jaworzno.
The last six electric buses will reach the Jaworznicki PKM in June this year.
– The range of such a vehicle is up to 400 km, which means less gas refilling and greater route flexibility. The refueling process itself is quick and easy, taking less than 10 minutes. Hydrogen buses are more comfortable for passengers due to lower engine vibration, and the capacity of the vehicle itself is greater than that of electric buses, informs AIR PRODUCT.
Mahle begins hydrogen fuel cell development with Ballard
Ballard Power Systems and Mahle Group are working together to build a next-generation hydrogen engine for longhaul commercial trucks. Mahle has taken delivery of a 120-kW module at its hydrogen test center in Stuttgart, Germany. Ballard says it will produce a future platform with power outputs from 180 to 360 kW for longhaul trucks in global markets.
Mahle engineers prepare a Ballard fuel cell for work. (Photo: Mahle)
Mahle is working with Ballard to refine its fuel stack and an integrated engine, to meet industry’s requirements.
“We are committed to fuel cell technology leadership, and to tailoring our fuel cell solutions to our customers’ needs,” said Seungsoo Jung, product director – trucks, Ballard Power. “We are extremely optimistic about the value of our collaboration with Mahle – combining their strength in the automotive value chain with our leadership in hydrogen fuel cell technology and products.”
Mahle will test the concept fuel cell module and integrate it with its own components, which provide thermal management and power electronics.
Everfuel – New Hydrogen Station In Heinenoord Opens To Serve 20 Fuel Cell Buses In The Netherlands
The new hydrogen station in Heinenoord in South Holland was declared open as the station started supplying a fleet of 20 fuel cell buses with green hydrogen.
The new heavy-duty hydrogen refuelling station built by Everfuel in Heinenoord, NL, started dispensing hydrogen for a fleet of 20 hydrogen buses from Connexxion that are co-funded by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership as part of the JIVE 2 project.
The station was realised through a close collaboration between the province of Zuid-Holland, the municipality of Hoeksche Waard, Connexxion who operates the buses and Everfuel who built and operates the station.
Ready for the future
The station has the capacity to accommodate 50+ fuel cell buses in a redundant set-up. The station can be scaled up to accommodate fuelling of other fuel cell vehicles such as trucks in the future.
This is a major step in the energy transition in the province of Zuid-Holland, where the aim is to provide zero emission public transport by 2030. Everfuel will be supplying the station with green hydrogen produced at sites in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark for a minimum of 12 years.
Grand opening
At the opening Connexxion demonstrated how a fuel cell bus is refuelled with hydrogen and Everfuel gave a tour of the station and a look behind the scenes.
Frederik Zevenbergen, regional minister at the province of Zuid-Holland, said:
The opening of the new hydrogen refuelling station is an essential step towards reaching our ambition: zero emission public transport by 2030.
Ben Dwars the regional director at Connexxion, said:
We are delighted to contribute to the decarbonisation of the public transport in the province of Zuid-Holland.
“Adopting new technologies to fight climate change is something we take great pride in, and we look forward to operating the fleet of hydrogen buses.”
Jacob Krogsgaard the CEO at Everfuel, said:
The station in Heinenoord is one of the largest hydrogen stations in Europe.
R“Building such a station with the support of the visionary collaborators, has been a great pleasure. It truly demonstrates that the energy transition is happening now, and that green hydrogen is a sustainable energy carrier on the way to reaching fossil-free transportation.” Thanks for staying up to date with Hydrogen Central.
c)https://hydrogen-central.com/everfuel-hydrogen-station-heinenoord-fuel-cell-buses-netherlands/