Hydrogen

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.

South Korean researchers have developed an atomic cobalt-based catalyst technology that is suitable for catalyst development in a range of fields, including fuel cells, water electrolysis, solar cells, and petrochemicals. The European Commission, meanwhile, has announced plans to support green hydrogen.

Kore, an energy startup in California, has developed a new way to produce hydrogen from biogas, and is now poised to build a commercial-scale demonstration facility in Los Angeles. It said half of the carbon in the feedstock can be converted into gas, while the other half can be converted into solid elemental carbon char.

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory has shared its findings on the use of perovskite materials to produce renewable hydrogen, while a number of entities have announced new projects in Europe, North America, and China.

A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cornell University, and Wuhan University have presented a completely precious metal–free alkaline fuel cell with enhanced performance using a carbon-coated nickel anode. Meanwhile, the Port of Rotterdam has offered to supply northwestern Europe with 4.6 million tonnes of hydrogen by 2030. According to RMI, Europe will import green hydrogen between 2024 and 2030. RenewableUK sees room for hydrogen exports from the UK to the EU.