The Hydrogen Stream: Singapore sees hydrogen supplying up to half of its power needs by 2050

Singapore presented its national hydrogen strategy, hinging on five points: advanced hydrogen technologies like small-scale ammonia projects for power generation; a total of $184 million investment in research and development; focus on the guarantee of origin certification; new import infrastructures; financing and trading. “Depending on technological developments and the development of other energy sources, hydrogen could supply up to half of our power needs by 2050,” the Ministry of Trade and Industry wrote. The government also said it wants to become a catalyst for the global transition towards greener shipping and aviation.

Jakson Green has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Rajasthan to invest about INR 224,000 million ($ 2.7 billion) in a green hydrogen and ammonia project developed in phases in the 2023-2028 period. “Jakson Green will set up a 3,65,000-tons-per-annum green hydrogen and green ammonia plant along with an integrated hybrid renewable power complex in a phase-wise manner,” wrote the Indian company. Jakson Green is an energy transition platform backed by India's Jakson Group. The government of Rajasthan said it would facilitate the project with registrations, approvals and incentives.

Evos, Hydrogenious and Port of Amsterdam have signed an MoU to jointly realize large-scale import facilities for hydrogen at the Port of Amsterdam. The facilities will comprise storage facilities and a LOHC dehydrogenation plant with a final release capacity of between 100 and 500 tons of hydrogen per day. “The objective is to have the first plants for delivery of hydrogen to local off-takers in operation before 2028, with the potential of further upscale. In total, the handled LOHC volumes will be at least 1 million tons per annum,” the parties wrote. The tank storage company, the LOHC company, and the Port of Amsterdam have completed a feasibility study on different liquid hydrogen carriers, suggesting that thermal oil benzyl toluene (LOHC-BT) technology is a compatible solution with the existing infrastructure at the Port of Amsterdam.

Jericho Energy Ventures and Exogen Hydrogen Solutions have executed an MoU to bring to the EU a hydrogen boiler technology, known as Dynamic Combustion Chamber (DCC) Boiler. “Hydrogen Technologies, a fully owned subsidiary of JEV, has patented a breakthrough method for burning pure hydrogen and oxygen in a vacuum chamber to create high-temperature water and/or steam with zero greenhouse gases,” wrote the North American company. Traditional H2-ready boilers burn H2 in the presence of atmospheric air, generating emissions that must be vented via a smokestack. JEV and the London-based Exogen expect additional industry partners to be announced in the coming months. They expect the first DCC Boiler to be installed and commissioned in Europe in 2023.

Germany received the first blue ammonia shipment from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The 13-metric-ton delivery at the Port of Hamburg was agreed upon during a trip by a German delegation to Abu Dhabi in March. The second delivery will arrive in Hamburg at the beginning of November, with more to follow.

Bakken Energy has signed an MoU with Cummins and Schneider National Carriers to work together on the design of the Heartland Hydrogen Hub to serve the needs of long-haul trucking in the US states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Montana.

Centrica will inject hydrogen into its existing gas-peaking plant in Brigg, Lincolnshire, as part of a 12-month project exploring the role of hydrogen in power production. “During the trial, getting underway in Q3 2023, no more than 3% of the gas mix could be hydrogen, increasing to 20% incrementally after the project,” wrote Centrica. The British energy company teamed up with HiiROC, whose technology converts gas into hydrogen and carbon black through a thermal plasma electrolysis process.