Hydrogen

Airbus sees hydrogen-powered fuel cell engines as a potential solution for its zero-emissions aircraft, which will go service by 2035. Meanwhile, Honda, meanwhile, has announced plans to produce fuel cell electric vehicles in the United States from 2024.

Australia-based Woodside Energy has beat Fortescue Future Industries for the opportunity to deliver the proposed 600 MW Southern Green Hydrogen megaproject in New Zealand. It will produce green hydrogen for export using power from partner Meridian Energy’s hydroelectric plant.

South Korean scientists have developed a highly selective palladium composite membrane on porous metal supports to cut the ammonia content of the permeated hydrogen stream. Dutch researchers, meanwhile, have presented two alternatives to this strategy – increasing the thickness of the membrane selective layer, or using a purification unit in the permeate of the membranes.

A proposed 75 MW solar-to-hydrogen facility in California could mark the start of Fusion Fuel’s green hydrogen vision for the United States.

A group of German companies plans to set up a 500 MW electrolyzer for a 1 GW green hydrogen project in the North Sea. US scientists, meanwhile, have engineered a light-activated nanomaterial to convert ammonia into hydrogen, and Canadian researchers have unveiled a new way to structure catalysts for fuel cells.

Three import deals signed by the EU at Sharm El Sheikh during this month’s COP27 summit show the European Union is serious about harnessing green hydrogen for its heavy industry, and about distributing the fruits of the energy transition on an equitable basis.

Globeleq has revealed plans to build a green hydrogen facility in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, and Air Liquide has agreed to run a hydrogen production unit for TotalEnergies in France. Doosan Fuel Cell, meanwhile, has said it will export 105 MW of hydrogen fuel cells to China by 2026.

Germany has decided to build its first green ammonia import terminal in Hamburg, in collaboration with Air Products. Egypt, meanwhile, has signed $85 billion of hydrogen framework agreements.

As Longi and other solar manufacturers kick off massive growth in hydrogen generation capacity, expect large price decreases resulting from steep learning curves, echoing the rapid advances experienced by the solar power industry since the 1970s.

Australian independent power producer ReNu Energy has signed a deal with the developers of a proposed 3.5 GW solar-plus-storage facility in Indonesia to explore the potential large-scale production of green hydrogen for supply into Southeast Asia and beyond.