Hydrogen

The Canadian provincial government’s Green Economy Plan, launched in November 2020, envisages a 37.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions en route to net zero by mid century.

In other news, Hydrofuel Canada developed hollow hybrid plasmonic nanocages to create an electrocatalyst for ammonia synthesis from nitrogen (N2) and water (H2O) and said green hydrogen could be separated from this ammonia and sold at about $1.50 per kilogram. Furthermore, Norway’s Aker Horizons and Statkraft are exploring green hydrogen and ammonia production opportunities in India and Brazil, targeting local steel and fertilizer industries.

A mixture of home-grown fossil fuels, possibly including fracked shale gas; clean power; nuclear; hydrogen; and smarter grids, apparently in that order, will make up the UK’s proposed energy security response in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While a Japanese team developed a series of Er(Ho)Co2-based magnetic cooling alloys for hydrogen cooling, a US research team used a “simple” acid treatment to increase flow of hydrogen atoms within protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs). Hydrogen-fuelled mobility registered significant developments: the first hydrogen-electric passenger aircraft was piloted between two major airports in Germany, and a 75-passenger ferry service in the San Francisco Bay braces for operations in June.

The hydrogen generation facility will be initially powered by a photovoltaic plant, but Essent may also add wind power for periods when the sun is not shining. The energy company also plans to deploy some battery storage capacity at the plant for the temporary storage of the surplus of solar power that cannot be immediately converted into hydrogen or supplied back to the grid.

Reversible fuel cell systems based on solid oxide cell (SOC) technology may become an efficient tool to cope with price volatility in the energy market, according to new research from Stanford. Through the proposed model, which mainly considered the electricity markets in Germany and Texas, the research group found that the reversible system may be competitive at current hydrogen prices, provided that there is sufficient variation in daily electricity prices.

A new report from IEEFA says green ammonia could help India significantly reduce its trillion-rupee fertilizer subsidy bill and cut dependence on liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports for fertilizer production.

With each of the 10-year network development plans produced by Europe’s electricity transmission system operators years in the making, the latest such publication may already be out of date as the bloc prepares to fast forward its energy security and climate change ambitions.

Natural hydrogen is piquing interest. Sometimes referred to as “gold” or “white” hydrogen, natural hydrogen plants offer smaller carbon footprints than sprawling green hydrogen projects, with faster development times, according to Avon McIntyre, executive director of HyTerra.

Salzgitter has claimed a record efficiency level for its EU-funded GrInHy2.0 hydrogen project, which is based on solid oxide electrolysis cell tech. The high-temperature electrolyzer uses waste heat from the company’s steel production processes.