Hydrogen

Japan’s Panasonic says its new GB-L1CMH1A meter can operate without changing the state of the fuel cell. It says it can also measure a wide range of hydrogen flow rates and concentrations.

Last year was another landmark 12 months for energy storage, with all indicators pointing to a massive surge in demand. Supply chain instability and inflation saw battery prices rise but the industry demonstrated an ability to swiftly react to geopolitical developments. We look at five trends driving the market.

Calvera Hydrogen has claimed that its new 45-foot hydrogen tube trailer has the largest capacity in the world, Universal Hydrogen has unveiled a hydrogen-powered regional aircraft, and Masdar has signed a green hydrogen production deal with Austrian utility Verbund.

South Korean researchers have reported higher performance with a newly proposed BM/BiFeOxHy electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), due to higher lattice vacancies and the amorphous structure. Institutions in the EU, the UK, and Canada, meanwhile, have announced new plans to provide funds for hydrogen projects.

For a long while, it looked as if hydrogen fuel cells would be the technology of choice for emissions-free road transport. However, truck manufacturers and freight forwarders recently turned their attention to battery-electric vehicles. This will require special charging technology and PV looks set to play an important role.

Honda has revealed a new hydrogen strategy, while Air Liquide and TotalEnergies have announced a new hydrogen joint venture.

Japan’s largest oil company, Eneos, has opened a green hydrogen demonstration plant in Brisbane, Australia. The project is relatively small, producing just 20 kilograms of green hydrogen per day, but Eneos Senior Vice President Yuichiro Fujiyama says the company will expand it in the “near future.”

H2i Technology has developed a hydrogen enhancement kit that injects hydrogen into existing diesel engines to reduce diesel use. It is building 10 commercial-ready systems and plans to soon start field testing.

University of Adelaide researchers and their international partners have successfully used seawater with no pre-treatment to produce green hydrogen. They did this by introducing an acid layer over the catalysts in situ.

With energy certification already a must-have for any business which makes green energy claims, Ed Everson, chief executive of England-based, global certification company Evident, makes the case for firms to be required to make full disclosure of their energy sources.