The Hydrogen Stream: Electrolysis is cost-efficient in all climates, says Finnish team

Share

A research team from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland found that hydrogen was a significant energy vector in all future energy systems based on renewables. “Electrofuel storages were needed in all systems and their capacity was the highest in the northern Hemiboreal system. Absence of cavern storage potential did not hamper the significance of electrofuels but increased the role of ammonia and led to average 5.5 % systemic cost increase,” the researchers said in their paper “Impact of climate and geological storage potential on feasibility of hydrogen fuels,” published in Applied Energy. The term hemiboreal refers to areas halfway between the temperate and subarctic zones. In their optimization-based framework for centralized planning of energy systems relying on renewable power generation, the Finnish team found that “with the adopted cost assumptions electrolysis was a cost-efficient technology in all of the studied climates.” In almost all systems, hydrogen use for direct power generation was insignificant but important for sectors that are hard or expensive to electrify directly, the researchers found. The results also showed that in some regions where cavern storages are unavailable, liquid hydrogen could assume the role of energy storage.

Fusion Fuel entered into a €2.46 million ($2.71 million) equipment supply contract with Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) for a 550 kW solar-to-green hydrogen project in Zaragoza, Spain. The project comprises the development of on-premises green hydrogen production and dispensing system for mobility in Zaragoza, along with supplementary solar photovoltaic generation and an energy storage system. The project will be developed in cooperation with Zoilo Ríos service stations. Fusion Fuel will supply 22 of its HEVO-Solar units, along with the balance of plant equipment for water purification and hydrogen compression and storage to 500 bar. The company expects to deliver the equipment to the project in the third quarter of 2023. “Our business development team is focused on our core markets in Portugal and Spain as well as some of the priority markets that we have previously identified, like North America and Italy,” Fusion Fuel told pv magazine. The PEM electrolyzer technology company explained that they perceive a disconnect in terms of project execution and technology deployment. “We are making a concerted effort to focus more on actionable projects and to communicate them to market once they have reached a sufficient level of development.”

AW-Energy and Kaoko Green Energy Solutions have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for hydrogen production in Namibia. “The MoU is devoted to the development of renewable energy and aims to produce green hydrogen from renewable energy sources including wave energy,” said the near-shore wave energy technology company. Namibia enjoys an “energetic and consistent wave resource,” added AW-Energy CEO Christopher Ridgewell.

CWP Global and Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies have signed an MoU for a joint feasibility study in 2023 that will explore a 500-tons-per-day hydrogen transport chain from Morocco to Europe using Hydrogenious' liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) technology. “The 15 GW AMUN project near the city of Tan Tan in Morocco will be explored as a starting point in the feasibility study. This project is focused on producing ammonia locally from green hydrogen to support the decarbonization of fertilizer and maritime shipping,” said the German LOHC technology company. 

Popular content

Nikola Corporation and Voltera signed a definitive agreement to develop up to 50 hydrogen refueling stations throughout North America over the next five years. “This partnership underpins Nikola's prior announced plans to develop 60 stations by 2026,” wrote the transportation company. Voltera will site, build, own, and operate the stations, while Nikola will supply the hydrogen fuel and provide technical expertise.

EWE and Salzgitter signed a declaration of intent to cooperate in the hydrogen sector. “As part of the planned cooperation, EWE and Salzgitter have agreed that EWE will produce and supply green hydrogen, which Salzgitter will use for virtually CO2-free steel production,” said the Oldenburg-based energy service provider.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.