The Hydrogen Stream: Ignited hydrogen-fueled engine from China

Machinery company Yuchai ignited YCK16H, the hydrogen-fueled engine with the largest displacement (15.93 liters) and horsepower (560 hp) in China. “The ignited YCK16H adopts advanced fuel high-pressure common rail, high-pressure in-cylinder direct injection technology and dual-channel turbocharging technology, which can realize homogeneous combustion or stratified combustion in the cylinder as required,” wrote the company, adding that the engine is smaller and lighter than similar products. The platform can adapt to fuel purity, switching between different fuels. The natural gas engine YCK15N, which is based on this platform, has reportedly completed bench tests and vehicle road tests. Mass production is expected by the end of 2022. It can operate at -40 C. “The development of YCK16H provides a good technical platform for the application of single fuel of ammonia or methanol, ammonia-hydrogen blended fuel and diesel-methanol blended fuel, and lays a technical foundation for China to develop zero-carbon emission internal combustion engines.” The engine targets tractors and other heavy commercial vehicles in mountainous or plateau areas. 

Sunfire is installing a 2.6 MW high-temperature electrolyzer at Neste’s renewable products refinery in Rotterdam. The German company called it the world’s first multi-megawatt high-temperature electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen. Sunfire, which expects commissioning in early 2023, has delivered the first two electrolysis modules. “In total, the company will install 12 electrolysis modules on site, adding up to the world’s largest high-temperature electrolyzer installed in an industrial environment,” wrote the company. The electrolyzer is based on Sunfire’s SOEC (solid oxide electrolysis cell) technology. It operates at temperatures of 850 C, and produces more than 60 kg of green hydrogen per hour. “By using industrial off-heat, the electrolyzer processes water steam to hydrogen at highest conversion efficiencies. As the steam reduces electricity demand, Sunfire’s SOEC technology is the most efficient electrolysis solution on the market.” The Dresden-based company reportedly demonstrated an electrical efficiency of 84%.

Améthyste, ArianeGroup, Cetim, HDF Energy, Rubis Terminal, and Sofresid engineering have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop Elemanta H2, a multi-service power barge designed to supply green electricity and hydrogen to large ships at births. The French project aims to deploy mobile solutions providing shore-to-ship power services from green or low-carbon hydrogen, complementing the electrical grid, for container ships, cruise ships, and tankers. Elemanta H2, which will also enable hydrogen bunkering, will be commissioned in 2025. “The partners have identified the Port of Rouen and the Rubis Terminal location as a pioneer site because of its strategic position close to Paris,” wrote the companies. HDF Energy will manufacture the hydrogen fuel cell system to be embedded in the demonstration barge. “The objective is to standardize and replicate the solution, with higher power levels, in the main European ports, including future large hydrogen hub projects.”

A detailed joint feasibility study by bp and BOC, a unit of  Linde, has concluded that distribution of hydrogen as compressed gas via road trailer is the best option to stimulate the UK market for hydrogen fuel for heavy-duty transport in the near term. “Over the longer term, as the market expands into new geographies, both liquid and gaseous hydrogen have potential to play a role,” the companies wrote. bp and BOC are looking into collaboration opportunities to deploy an initial network for heavy-duty transport hydrogen refuelling infrastructure in the UK. They did not provide a timeline for the deployment.

Georgia Power, Mitsubishi Power, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), validated fuel blending of hydrogen and natural gas at both partial and full load at Georgia Power’s Plant McDonough-Atkinson in Smyrna, Georgia. “The demonstration project was the first to validate 20% hydrogen fuel blending on an advanced class gas turbine in North America, and the largest test of this kind to date,” wrote the American company. 

Electric and hydrogen truck company Tevva launched the first hydrogen fuel cell-supported heavy goods vehicle (HGV) to be manufactured, designed and mass-produced in the UK. “Tevva’s 7.5-tonne hydrogen electric truck comfortably meets (and exceeds) demanding duty cycles for nearly all urban and extra-urban use cases,” wrote the company. The trucks, with a range of up to 310 miles (500 kilometers), are aimed for the European and, eventually, North American markets. 

Hyundai Motor has signed a multilateral MoU with public and private parties from South Korea and the Czech Republic to support establishing a hydrogen mobility ecosystem in the European country. The Czech Republic aims to introduce 50,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2030.

German development agency GIZ is partnering with the government of Tunisia on hydrogen production. As part of the initiative, Tunisia has launched H2vert.TUN, the country’s first green hydrogen project. “Over the next months, GIZ and the Tunisian Ministry of Energy will start by developing the national green hydrogen strategy — based on international best practice, multi-stakeholder consultations, and state-of-the-art technical studies,” wrote GIZ’s Sven Schuppener.