Hydrogen

A Chinese-US research group has designed a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with a hybrid electrocatalyst. The scientists said the device shows remarkable stability and low performance losses.

Researchers from Australia’s University of Wollongong presented a study for alkaline electrolysis where the liquid electrolyte is continuously drawn up a separator, leading to bubble-free operation at the electrodes. Meanwhile, Korean researchers developed a novel heterostructured catalyst, Argentina’s province of Tierra del Fuego presented its hydrogen strategy, Lhyfe and shipyard Chantiers de l’Atlantique are working on the world’s first offshore renewable hydrogen production demonstrator, and Saudi Aramco outlined its hydrogen targets in its first sustainability report.

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory has demonstrated high-flow-rate hydrogen fueling for heavy-duty vehicles, while France’s TotalEnergies has signed a deal with Adani Enterprises to produce green hydrogen in India.

US-based H2 Industries plans to produce hydrogen from organic waste and non-recyclable plastic. pv magazine recently spoke with its executive president, Michael Stusch, about the main technologies behind the project.

Scientists in Norway have managed to run a micro gas turbine plant on pure hydrogen. They claim their experiment paves the way for the use of existing infrastructure to generate heat and power with the green fuel.

Japan’s Rinnai has unveiled what it claims is the world’s first 100% hydrogen combustion technology for residential water heaters. It is currently using the hydrogen water heater in demonstration projects in Australia, prior to commercialization.

In other news, Plug Power revealed plans to build a 35-ton-per-day green hydrogen generation plant at Belgium’s Port of Antwerp-Bruges and UK researchers developed an artificial leaf device made from bismuth oxyiodide that is able to harvest sunlight to produce hydrogen fuels.

Panels will be installed at waste sites in five mining towns as part of the latest, €2.4 billion ($2.57 million) round of investment from a fund set up to help coal-dependent European member states with the energy transition.

The facility is set to become the largest solar plant in Germany and Europe. The project is expected to support agricultural activities and might also be used for green hydrogen generation.

Researchers in Germany have built bipolar plates for electrolyzer stacks without using titanium, which they claim may further reduce green hydrogen costs. They used coated stainless steel and niobium for the stack coating and found these new materials do not affect electrolyzer performance.