hydrogen

Chinese scientists have developed a new way to split seawater into hydrogen without using a separate desalination process. They incorporated a self-breathable waterproof membrane and a self-dampening electrolyte (SDE) into the electrolyzer, so water migrates from the seawater across the membrane to the SDE, without extra energy consumption.

As Australia’s hydrogen project pipeline doubles in 12 months, Iberdrola announces investment in a green hydrogen and green methanol production plant in Tasmania. Meanwhile, projects in Scandinavia target the shipping industry.

Slovenia’s cumulative PV capacity additions could grow from 466 MW in 2021 to 724 MW by the end of this year. The residential market will account for almost all new capacity, and demand is expected to grow under a net-metering scheme extension until the end of 2023.

Scientists in Spain have assessed the potential of power purchase agreements in ensuring the development of green hydrogen projects powered by utility-scale photovoltaics. They presented an operational multi-state modeling of electrolyzers and showed how solar plants under PPAs could significantly increase their rate of return.

The UK government has publicly submitted a series of proposals for more efficient residential heating. One of them seeks to introduce requirements for all newly installed gas boilers to be “hydrogen-ready” from 2026.

Researchers from RMIT University and the University of Melbourne claim that high-frequency vibrations can release 14 times more hydrogen than standard electrolysis techniques. The discovery has ramifications for the expensive, rare materials currently used in electrolyzers.

The leaders of Spain, Portugal and France have unveiled the H2Med energy interconnection project, which will supply Europe with hydrogen. H2Med, formerly known as BarMar, will be the first green corridor to connect the Iberian Peninsula with the rest of Europe. It will be operational in 2030.

Researchers in the Netherlands have designed a water-splitting system with an electrochemical cell and a 25%-efficient tandem perovskite-silicon solar cell. It can reportedly achieve a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency rating of more than 21%.

South Korean scientists have developed a highly selective palladium composite membrane on porous metal supports to cut the ammonia content of the permeated hydrogen stream. Dutch researchers, meanwhile, have presented two alternatives to this strategy – increasing the thickness of the membrane selective layer, or using a purification unit in the permeate of the membranes.

A proposed 75 MW solar-to-hydrogen facility in California could mark the start of Fusion Fuel’s green hydrogen vision for the United States.