The Hydrogen Stream: More large scale hydrogen for Port of Rotterdam

Germany-based Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers has signed a supply contract with Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell for a large scale hydrogen project in the Port of Rotterdam. “Under the contract, Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers will engineer, procure and fabricate a 200MW electrolysis plant based on their large scale, 20MW alkaline water electrolysis module,” wrote the German business yesterday. “First construction work for the electrolyzers will likely begin in spring 2022. Shell’s final investment decision to build the Holland Hydrogen I [green hydrogen production project] is expected in 2022, after which the intended start of production will be in 2024.” Holland Hydrogen I will cover two hectares and produce green hydrogen for industry and transport sector, using electricity from offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust (Noord). “The hydrogen can be transported through a pipeline with a length of about 40km that will run from the plant to Shell’s Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam,” added Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers.

French renewable hydrogen startup Lhyfe is building and operating an electrolyzer in Luckau Brandenburg, in Germany. “For the production of the green hydrogen, the company [will co-operate] with the Hamburg-based company Enerparc,” wrote Lhyfe yesterday, adding the two companies are coupling the electrolyzer with a 20MW photovoltaic plant in the Spreewald area of Germany. “The electrolyzer, with an output of 5MW, thus enables the production of up to 1,200kg of green hydrogen daily,” reads a press release which stated the energy carrier will be used in industrial processes and transport in the region. The first green hydrogen is set to be produced at the end of next year. “In France and Denmark, we are already involved in a large number of projects,” said Luc Graré, head of international business at Lhyfe. “Now we are setting up broadly in Germany as well.”

Los Angeles-based Southern California Gas has teamed up with South Korean hydrogen fuel cell business Doosan Mobility Innovation (DMI) and U.S. non-profit research body the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) to launch DMI's first-of-its-kind hydrogen drone tech to monitor the LA power company's gas grid. With the support of SoCalGas and GTI, DMI will be demonstrating its DS30 drone. The device offers up to 120 minutes of flight time and up to 11lb maximum payload. “SoCalGas plans to use the DS30 drone to assist with natural gas pipeline inspections,” read a press release issued last week. “Drone usage provides unparalleled imagery and aerial mapping services to further improve pipeline system maintenance. The DS30 demonstration will provide close-up digital photography for locations that are difficult or hazardous to access and [will also] provide imagery for aerial mapping and three-dimensional topographic models, which [allow] for deeper insight on [terrain] surrounding the utility's operations.” Doosan Mobility was one of the stars of the recent CES tech event in Las Vegas, one of the most high-profile in the world.

Canada-based Hydrogen Optimized says it has signed a letter of intent with an unnamed large industrial company to provide more than 40MW of RuggedCell water electrolyzer capacity for hydrogen production. The commitment indicates the installed systems could be scaled up as demand for hydrogen grows. “More and more potential clients tell us they are looking for a water electrolysis system that can be economically deployed in the tens of megawatts [capacity range] and can be expanded at a relatively low incremental cost as the megawatt rating of [a] project grows,” said Hydrogen Optimized CEO Andrew Stuart.

Missouri-based electricals and tech manufacturer Emerson is developing software and systems to enable operations at the Poshydon project which is being planned in Dutch North Sea waters and has been described as “the world’s first offshore green hydrogen production process on an operational gas platform.” Poshydon will attempt to demonstrate the feasibility of integrating wind power, natural gas, and hydrogen production at sea. The Q13a-A oil production platform operated by London-based energy company Neptune Energy will host the project, which will provide insights into electrolyzer efficiency from a variable power supply. “Green electricity will be used to simulate the fluctuating supply from wind turbines and power the production process, which will convert sea water into de-mineralized water and then safely produce hydrogen via electrolysis,” Emerson wrote today. “The hydrogen is then blended with the natural gas and transported to the coast via the existing gas pipeline and fed into the national gas grid. The 1MW electrolyzer is expected to produce up to three tons of hydrogen per week.”

Hydrogen fuel cells were the first products mentioned by the British government when it announced the U.K. registered a 9% year-on-year increase in exports to South Korea in the year to June. The government cited a deal between Horsham-based next-generation fuel cell tech business Ceres Power and Korean conglomerate Doosan to build a 50MW factory to produce the former's cells. London is also betting on hydrogen mobility in its export strategy. For instance, U.K. fuel cell manufacturer Intelligent Energy has partnered with South Korean electric bus maker Edison Motors. Loughborough-based Intelligent Energy will reportedly “also work with [South Korea's] Hogreen Air to test its fuel cell technology for [the latter company's] drones.”

Namibia’s president, Hage Geingob, has said his country wants to become a global decarbonization champion by betting on hydrogen. That was the conclusion he drew after the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow in November and it appears the strategy will involving selling off the rights to create hydrogen in the Southern African nation. “In 2022, we shall secure the first NAD100 million (€5.64 million) in concession fees from the preferred bidder … translating the vision of a synthetic fuels industry into immediate foreign direct investment flows,” said Geingob in his new year speech. “We shall deliver Namibia’s green hydrogen strategy, outlining a clear pathway to unlocking even greater investments.”

Danish tech company Haldor Topsøe has signed a €45 million loan agreement with the European Investment Bank to support its research into “innovative green hydrogen technologies.” The company intends to invest in the development of new catalysts and catalytic technologies.