Hydrogen

The European Commission has sent the European Green Deal on its way and a preliminary version of its anticipated hydrogen strategy has been leaked. The plan does not lack ambition, as the EU seeks to assert tech leadership in green hydrogen through coordinated efforts across the value chain.

The EU appears poised to roll out battery storage capacity to provide flexibility to systems with more variable renewables. The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy has also noted policies that must be addressed to establish a level playing field for storage.

A German research team has developed a new photovoltaic-electrochemical device for alkaline water electrolysis. The prototype has an initial solar‐to‐hydrogen efficiency of approximately 7.7%.

Chinese developer Panda Green says it has negotiated exclusive rights to develop a $1.41 billion project in Xinjiang which will feature PV and photothermal generation, hydrogen production and energy storage.

PV manufacturers unable to live with proposed new quality guidelines and project developers alike are set to be squeezed out by the state in the world’s biggest solar market, according to Frank Haugwitz, who has compiled a market update as preparations for the next five-year plan gather pace.

The Japanese marque has laid out plans to hold a controlling stake in a JV planned in Beijing this year which will also involve four state-owned carmakers.

An Ieefa report has suggested the cost of generating electricity from solar will be near zero in the world’s sunniest regions by 2030-40 – despite what the naysayers at the International Energy Agency might think.

A €15.2 million power-to-X-to-power hydrogen storage facility is being planned in Saillat-sur-Vienne, in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The project partners want to use renewable energy from the grid and water to produce and store electrolyzed hydrogen. It would then be mixed with natural gas to power an upgraded, 12 MW Siemens SGT-400 industrial gas turbine which previously generated steam for local manufacturing and would be able to return power to the grid to meet demand.

The International Energy Agency has acknowledged dramatic falls in energy investment caused by the Covid-19 crisis but said renewables, including PV, offered an attractive proposition to investors as the dust settled, given their enticing economics and short turnaround times.

The material was used by scientists in the U.S. in electrochemical cells which use electricity to separate steam into hydrogen and oxygen. The researchers say the oxide of perovskite used in the electrode improves cell performance and reduces operating temperatures.