Hydrogen

Toyota starts testing hydrogen cartridges for use in mobility, household applications in Shizuoka Prefecture. Meanwhile, China’s Shaanxi Normal University designed an aerogel method to substitute platinum with ruthenium in electrocatalytic water splitting, the US Department of Energy (DOE) is getting closer to fund the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $8 billion program, and UAE-based companies are stepping up cooperation with Azerbaijan, Japan and South Korea.

DNV approved HAV Group’s hydrogen-based energy system for cruise vessels, Rolls-Royce agreed to sell hydrogen-powered mtu fuel cell solutions in Germany, and the Mauritanian government signed a deal with CWP to develop a 30 GW green hydrogen project.

Shipbuilder Hermann Barthel has developed the world’s first push boat to combine battery-electric propulsion with hydrogen and fuel cell technology. Iberdrola and Fertiberia, meanwhile, have commissioned Europe’s largest green hydrogen production plant.

Aurora Energy Research says in a new report that maximum green hydrogen project profitability could be achieved when solar and wind power plants are combined with electrolyzers.

If the EU is going to drive more than half a trillion dollars worth of hydrogen investment over the coming decades, it will need to get investors onside. The European Investment Bank has surveyed financiers to find out what they want.

North Carolina State University (NCSU) has developed an energy-efficient strategy for room-temperature hydrogen release from liquid hydrogen carriers, which uses less rhodium. Elsewhere in the world, Airbus launched its Zero Emission Development Centre in the UK, Toshiba ESS teamed up with Fusion Fuel to target Australian and European markets, and Corfo signed agreements to finance three renewable hydrogen projects with GNL Quintero, iCAP, and Air Liquide in Chile.

Frontier Energy has identified its preferred electrolysis technology as it advances plans to produce green hydrogen powered by the proposed 500 MW Bristol Springs Solar project in Western Australia.

The remarkable results of what is already being called a ‘historic’ 2022 federal election have put Australia “back on the map” in the eyes of big low-carbon investors.

In other news, Shinshu University researchers developed a graphene-wrapped molecular-sieving membrane that is reportedly 100 times more efficient than that of conventional polymer separation membranes. Topsoe aalso nnounced the construction of the “world’s largest electrolyzer production facility,” and Toho Gas said it would produce blue hydrogen in Japan for local consumption.

The World Intellectual Property Organization says China accounted for 69% of the patents filed for transport-related fuel-cell tech in 2020, with road transport significantly dominating applications.