Belgium

The FCH 2 JU launched the European Hydrogen Safety Panel (EHSP) initiative in 2017. The mission of the EHSP is to assist the FCH 2 JU both at programme and at project level in assuring that hydrogen safety is adequately managed and to promote and disseminate H2 safety culture within and outside of the FCH 2 JU programme. The EHSP is composed of a multidisciplinary pool of safety experts grouped in ad-hoc working groups (task forces) according to the tasks to be performed and to expertise. The scope and activities of the EHSP are structured around four main areas:

The Hydrogen Incident and Accident Database (HIAD) is being developed as a repository of systematic data describing in detail hydrogen-related undesired events (incidents or accidents). It is an open web-based information system serving various purposes such as a data source for lessons learnt risk communication and partly risk assessment. The paper describes the features of the three HIAD modules – the Data Entry Module (DEM) the Data Retrieval Module (DRM) and the Data Analysis Module (DAM) – and the potential impact the database may have on hydrogen safety. The importance of data quality assurance process is also addressed.

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis has demonstrated its potentialities in terms of cell efficiency (energy consumption ≈ 4.0-4.2 kW/Nm3 H2) and gas purity (> 99.99% H2). Current research activities are aimed at increasing operating pressure up to several hundred bars for direct storage of hydrogen in pressurized vessels. Compared to atmospheric pressure electrolysis high-pressure operation yields additional problems especially with regard to safety considerations. In particular the rate of gases (H2 and O2) cross-permeation across the membrane and their water solubility both increase with pressure. As a result gas purity is affected in both anodic and cathodic circuits and this can lead to the formation of explosive gas mixtures. To prevent such risks two different solutions reported in this communication have been investigated. First the chemical modification of the solid polymer electrolyte in order to reduce cross-permeation phenomena. Second the use of catalytic H2/O2 recombiners to maintain H2 levels in O2 and O2 levels in H2 at values compatible with safety requirements.

The report calls for a focus on new advanced alternative fuels in particular synthetic kerosene (efuels) which have the capacity to substantially reduce emissions and be scaled up to meet the fuel demands of the sector.

For aviation to reach zero emissions sustainable advanced fuels are needed to replace fossil kerosene currently used by the sector. The European Green Deal (EGD) includes a legislative proposal which would bring about a long overdue development and uptake of such fuels for the sector that legislative proposal is now being developed under the EU’s ReFuelEU initiative. However this initiative will only succeed if its support is limited to those fuels which can truly deliver emission reductions and which can be scaled up sustainably to meet the demand from the aviation sector. The paper recommends how such objectives can be achieved.

The ReFuelEU proposal should focus on these fuels with an ambitious programme combining mandates with financial support so that Europe's aviation sector is put on a pathway to net zero emissions.

Link to document download on Transport & Environment Website

This report shows that low-carbon hydrogen supply at scale is economically and environmentally feasible and will have significant societal benefits if the right localised approach and best-practices for production are used. The report also demonstrates that there is not one single hydrogen production pathway to achieve low lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but rather the need for a fact-based approach that leverages regional resources and includes a combination of different production pathways. This will achieve both emission and cost reductions ultimately helping to decarbonize the energy system and limit global warming.

In 2020 more than 15 countries launched major hydrogen plans and policies and industry players announced new projects of more than 35GW until 2030. As this hydrogen momentum accelerates it is increasingly clear that decision makers must put the focus on decarbonization to ensure hydrogen can fulfil its potential as a key solution in the global clean energy transition making a significant contribution to net zero emissions. To support this effort the two-part Hydrogen Council report provides new data based on an assessment of the GHG emissions generated through different hydrogen supply pathways and the lifecycle GHG emissions for different hydrogen applications (see report part 1 – A Life-cycle Assessment). In addition the report explores 3 hypothetical hydrogen supply scenarios to measure the feasibility and impact of deploying renewable and low-carbon hydrogen at scale (report part 2 – Potential Supply Scenarios).

The report outlines that there are many ways of producing hydrogen and although GHG emissions vary widely very high CO2 savings can be achieved across a broad range of different hydrogen production pathways and end-uses. For example while “green” hydrogen produced through water electrolysis with renewable power achieves the lowest emissions “blue” hydrogen produced from natural gas with high CO2 capture rate and storage can also achieve low emissions if best technologies are used and best practices are followed. Across eight illustrative pathways explored in the report analysis shows that if hydrogen is used significant GHG emission reductions can be made: as much as 60-90% or more compared to conventional fossil alternatives. The study also looked into the gross water demand of hydrogen supply pathways. Water electrolysis has a very low specific water demand of 9 kg per kg of hydrogen compared to cooling of thermal power plants (hundreds of kg/kg) or biomass cultivation (hundreds to thousands of kg/kg).

Furthermore low-carbon hydrogen supply at scale is fully achievable. Having investigated two hypothetical boundary scenarios (a “green-only” and a “blue-only” scenario) to assess the feasibility and impact of decarbonized hydrogen supply the report found that both scenarios are feasible: they are not limited by the world’s renewables potential or carbon sequestration (CCS) capacities and they do not exceed the speed at which industry can scale. In the Hydrogen Council’s “Scaling up” study a demand of 21800 TWh hydrogen has been identified for the year 2050. To achieve this a compound annual growth rate of 30-35% would be needed for electrolysers and CCS. This deployment rate is in line with the growth of the offshore wind and solar PV industry over the last decade.

Hydrogen Council data released in January 2020 showed that a wide range of hydrogen applications can become competitive by 2030 driven also by falling costs of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen[1]. The new study indicates that a combination of “green” and “blue” production pathways would lead to hydrogen cost reductions relative to either boundary scenario. By making use of the near-term cost advantage of “blue” while also scaling up “green” hydrogen as the most cost-efficient option in many regions in the medium and long-term the combined approach lowers average hydrogen costs between now and 2050 relative to either boundary scenario.

Part 1 – A Life-cycle Assessment

• The life-cycle assessment (LCA) analysis in this study addresses every aspect of the supply chain from primary energy extraction to end use. Eight primary-energy-to-hydrogen value chains have been selected for illustrative purposes.
• Across the hydrogen pathways and applications depicted very high to high GHG emission reduction can be demonstrated using green (solar wind) and blue hydrogen.
• In the LCA study renewables + electrolysis shows strongest GHG reduction of the different hydrogen supply pathways assessed in this study with a best-case blue hydrogen pathway also coming into the same order of magnitude.

Part 2 – Potential Supply Scenarios

• Currently the vast majority of hydrogen is produced by fossil pathways. To achieve a ten-fold build-out of hydrogen supply by 2050 as envisaged by the Hydrogen Council in its ‘Scaling Up’ report (2017) the existing use of hydrogen – and all its many potential new roles – need to be met by decarbonized sources.
• Three hypothetical supply scenarios with decarbonized hydrogen sources are considered in the study: 1) a “green-only” renewables-based world; 2) a “blue-only” world relying on carbon sequestration; and 3) a combined scenario that uses a region-specific combination of green and blue hydrogen based on the expected regional cost development of each source.
• The study finds that a decarbonized hydrogen supply is possible regardless of the production pathway: while both the green and blue boundary scenario would be highly ambitious regarding the required speed of scale-up they do not exceed the world’s resources on either renewable energy or carbon sequestration capabilities.
• A combination of production pathways would result in the least-cost global supply over the entire period of scale-up. It does so by making best use of the near-term cost advantage of “blue” in some regions while simultaneously achieving a scale-up in electrolysis.
• In reality the decarbonized supply scenario will combine a range of different renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production pathways that are optimally suited to local conditions political and societal preferences and regulations as well as industrial and cost developments for different technologies.

You can download the full reports from the Hydrogen Council website

Hydrogen Council Report- Decarbonization Pathways Part 1: Life Cycle Assessment here

Hydrogen Council Report-Decarbonization Pathways Part 2: Supply Scenarios here

An executive summary of the whole project can be found here

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is a promising method for power production with integrated CO₂ capture with almost no direct energy penalty. When integrated into a natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) plant however CLC imposes a large indirect energy penalty because the maximum achievable reactor temperature is far below the firing temperature of state-of-the-art gas turbines. This study presents a techno-economic assessment of a CLC plant that circumvents this limitation via an added combustor after the CLC reactors. Without the added combustor the energy penalty amounts to 11.4%-points causing a high CO₂ avoidance cost of $117.3/ton which is more expensive than a conventional NGCC plant with post-combustion capture ($93.8/ton) with an energy penalty of 8.1%-points. This conventional CLC plant would also require a custom gas turbine. With an added combustor fired by natural gas a standard gas turbine can be deployed and CO2 avoidance costs are reduced to $60.3/ton mainly due to a reduction in the energy penalty to only 1.4%-points. However due to the added natural gas combustion after the CLC reactor CO₂ avoidance is only 52.4%. Achieving high CO₂ avoidance requires firing with clean hydrogen instead increasing the CO₂ avoidance cost to $96.3/ton when a hydrogen cost of $15.5/GJ is assumed. Advanced heat integration could reduce the CO₂ avoidance cost to $90.3/ton by lowering the energy penalty to only 0.6%-points. An attractive alternative is therefore to construct the plant for added firing with natural gas and retrofit the added combustor for hydrogen firing when CO₂ prices reach very high levels.

The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) has the ambitious objective to place Europe at the forefront of the development commercialization and deployment of fuel cells and hydrogen technologies as of 2015. About €470 million over a six year period have been granted by the European Union to achieve this and private funds are being attracted to support the same ambition as part of the global European effort embedded in the multi-annual implementation plan MAIP (2008-2013).

As of 2003 15 hydrogen refuelling stations (HRSs) have been deployed in the Netherlands. To become established the HRS has to go through a permitting procedure. An important document of the permitting dossier is the quantitative risk assessment (QRA) as it assesses the risks of the HRS associated to people and buildings in the vicinity of the HRS. In the Netherlands a generic prescribed approach exists on how to perform a QRA however specific guidelines for HRSs do not exist. An intercomparison among the QRAs of permitted HRSs has revealed significant inconsistencies on various aspects of the QRA: namely the inclusion of HRS sub-systems and components the HRS sub-system and component considerations as predefined components the application of failure scenarios the determination of failure frequencies the application of input parameters the consideration of preventive and mitigation measures as well as information provided regarding the HRS surroundings and the societal risk. It is therefore recommended to develop specific QRA guidelines for HRSs.

Hydrogen is widely recognised as a promising option for storing large quantities of renewable electricity over longer periods. For that reason in an energy future where renewables are a dominant power source opportunities for Power to- Hydrogen in the long-term appear to be generally acknowledged. The key challenge today is to identify concrete short-term investment opportunities based on sound economics and robust business cases. The focus of this study is to identify these early business cases and to assess their potential replicability within the EU from now until 2025. An essential part and innovative approach of this study is the detailed analysis of the power sector including its transmission grid constraints.

On the occasion of its 10th Stakeholder forum the FCH JU published a unique and exclusive book. This book sets out the story behind both the FCH JU and fuel cell and hydrogen technology in Europe. It reviews the events leading to its creation and examines the achievements that have allowed Europe to take a leading role in fuel cell and hydrogen excellence. It also looks at what this investment in fuel cell technology will mean for the EU in the coming years