Hydrogen

The European Commission has launched the Hydrogen Mechanism to support matching supply and demand under its Energy and Raw Materials Platform, while the US Senate has advanced a budget bill to extend the deadline for 45V hydrogen production tax credits to the end of 2027.

FAW Group’s Hongqi hydrogen fuel cell vehicle program has passed official range and hydrogen consumption tests, achieving 15% lower hydrogen use than competitors, according to the China State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).

France-based Xsun and H3 Dynamics announced a collaboration to develop a solar, hydrogen and battery powered autonomous aerial system with integrated power management and able to navigate at low altitudes.

Georgia Power and Mitsubishi Power have completed a 50% hydrogen fuel blend trial on an advanced-class gas turbine at Plant McDonough-Atkinson in the US state of Georgia, while Proteus Energy and Symbio France have developed a modular 75 kW hydrogen fuel cell system for hybrid and harbor vessels.

Researchers have analyzed the potential implementation of green methanol from CO2 capture in existing industries, based on European GIS data. While they found 9,213 theoretically viable municipalities, the number fell to 3,016 when considering the space needed for a PV installation around the plant.

Scientists in Austria have conducted a risk analysis for four setups for coupled PV-electrolyser systems, and tested them under three use cases. They calculated failure probability as well as the levelized cost of hydrogen and its risk-weighted variant.

Ofgem has awarded GBP 500,000 ($677,000) to a consortium led by National Gas and Gravitricity to develop a lined shaft system for storing up to 100 tons of green hydrogen underground. The six-month project aims to assess feasibility ahead of a potential demonstration in 2026.

New research from Saudi Arabia shows that PV, concentrated solar power (CSP), or hybrid PV-CSP systems could significantly reduce the levelized cost of hydrogen. CSP offers higher capacity factors, but PV-driven electrolysis provides the lowest projected cost for hydrogen production.

A European research team has assessed the levelized cost of hydrogen across 31 African countries and has concluded that importing green hydrogen from Africa to European is economically unfeasible by 2030, with prices ranging from $10.2/kg to $3.8/kg.

Achieving cost-competitiveness for green hydrogen produced via water electrolysis using intermittent renewable energy sources remains a significant challenge. Researchers from LUT University in Finland have shown that considerable cost reductions can be achieved by simultaneously optimizing plant control and design, based on specific hydrogen demand targets and local weather conditions.