electrolyzers

With South Africa holding 63,000 of the world’s estimated 69,000 metric tons of platinum reserves – according to the Statista.com website – and Russia and Zimbabwe a further 5,100 between them, the European Commission has cited the metal as an example of a potential supply chain bottleneck that could handicap its grand plans for renewables-powered hydrogen production.

BP, Iberdrola and Enagás will power a 20 MW electrolyzer with 40 MW of solar in Spain. Automotive manufacturers Hyundai, Stellantis, Toyota and BMW sent a letter to European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans asking to support the continued expansion of a 700 bar hydrogen refuelling network in Europe.

Big German conglomerates such as Siemens, RWE and Vattenfall keep pushing for green hydrogen development through different projects. Germany’s first offshore hydrogen pipeline is being planned by RWE itself, Shell, Gascade and Gasunie, and should be commissioned in 2035. Siemens is planning hydrogen projects in the 5 MW to 50 MW range, for industrial and mobility applications.

French train manufacturer Alstom said that its Coradia iLint train is now ready for commercial deployment and the Chilean government launched a call for green hydrogen projects. Furthermore, several developments for fuel cell electric vehicles were announced.

The two Italian energy giants have joined forces to bring online 20 MW of hydrogen capacity between 2022 and 2023. Two 10 MW pilot electrolyzers will be built at unspecified Eni refineries.

An EU-funded research project coordinated by German research institute Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has tested several configurations for solar-powered hydrogen generation. First results showed which may be the most suitable PV technologies for electrolysis.