Germany
Analyzing the Future Potential of Defossilizing Industrial Specialty Glass Production with Hydrogen by LCA
Mar 2022
Publication
The glass industry is part of the energy-intensive industry with most of the energy needed to melt the raw materials. To produce glass temperatures between 1000 and 1600 °C are necessary. Presently mostly fossil natural gas is the dominant energy source. As direct electrification is not always possible in this paper a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for specialty glass production is conducted where the conventional fossil-based reference process is compared to a hydrogen-fired furnace. This hydrogen can be produced on-site in an water electrolyzer using not only the hydrogen for the combustion but also the produced oxygen. Hydrogen can be produced alternatively off-site in a large scale electrolyzer to facilitate economy of scale. For the transport and distribution of this hydrogen different options are available. A rather new option are liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) which bind the hydrogen in a chemical substance. However temperatures around 300 °C are necessary to separate the hydrogen from the LOHC after transport. At the glass trough waste heat is available at the required temperature level to facilitate the dehydrogenation. The comparison is completed by the production of off-site hydrogen transported to the glass trough as conventional liquefied hydrogen in cooling tanks by truck or in hydrogen pipelines. In this assessment to power the electrolyzers the national grid mix of Germany is used. A time frame from 2020 till 2050 and its changing energy system towards defossilisation is analyzed. Regarding climate change on-site hydrogen production causes the least impact for specialty glass production in 2050. However negative trade-offs for other environmental impact categories e.g. Metal depletion are recorded.
The Sector Coupling Concept: A Critical Review
Jun 2020
Publication
Pursued climate goals require reduced greenhouse gas emissions by substituting fossil fuels with energy from renewable sources in all energy-consuming processes. On a large-scale this can mainly be achieved through electricity from wind and sun which are subject to intermittency. To efficiently integrate this variable energy a coupling of the power sector to the residential transport industry and commercial/trade sector is often promoted called sector coupling (SC). Nevertheless our literature review indicates that SC is frequently misinterpreted and its scope varies among available research from exclusively considering the use of excess renewable electricity to a rather holistic view of integrated energy systems including excess heat or even biomass sources. The core objective of this article is to provide a thorough understanding of the SC concept through an analysis of its origin and its main purpose as described in the current literature. We provide a structured categorization of SC derived from our findings and critically discuss its remaining challenges as well as its value for renewable energy systems. We find that SC is rooted in the increasing use of variable renewable energy sources and its main assets are the flexibility it provides for renewable energy systems decarbonization potential for fossil-fuel-based end-consumption sectors and consequently reduced dependency on oil and gas extracting countries. However the enabling technologies face great challenges in their economic feasibility because of the uncertain future development of competing solutions.
Efficiency and Optimal Load Capacity of E-Fuel-Based Energy Storage Systems
Apr 2023
Publication
This work evaluates the effectiveness of chemical-based solutions for storing large amounts of renewable electricity. Four “Power-to-X-to-Power” pathways are examined comprising hydrogen methane methanol and ammonia as energy carriers. The pathways are assessed using a model scenario where they are produced with electricity from an onshore wind farm stored in suitable facilities and then reconverted to electricity to meet the energy demand of a chemical site. An energy management and storage capacity estimation tool is used to calculate the annual load coverage resulting from each pathway. All four pathways offer a significant increase in load coverage compared to a scenario without storage solution (56.19%). The hydrogen-based pathway has the highest load coverage (71.88%) and round-trip efficiency (36.93%) followed by the ammonia-based (69.62% 31.37%) methanol-based (67.85% 27.00%) and methane-based (67.64% 26.47% respectively) pathways. The substantially larger storage capacity required for gaseous energy carriers to ensure a steady supply to the consumer could be a decisive factor. The hydrogen pathway requires a storage volume up to 10.93 times larger than ammonia and 16.87 times larger than methanol. Notably ammonia and methanol whose load coverages are only 2.26 and 4.03 percentage points lower than that of hydrogen offer the possibility of implementing site-specific storage solutions avoiding potential bottlenecks due to limited pipeline and cavern capacities.
THyGA - Test Report on Mitigation Solutions for Residential Natural Gas Appliances Not Designed for Hydrogen Admixture
Apr 2023
Publication
This report from the WP5 “Mitigation” provides information and test results regarding perturbations that hydrogen could cause to gas appliances when blended to natural gas especially on anatural draught for exhaust fumes or acidity for the condensates. The important topic of on-site adjustment is also studied with test results on alternative technologies and proposals of mitigation approaches.
The Potential Role of a Hydrogen Network in Europe
Jul 2023
Publication
Europe’s electricity transmission expansion suffers many delays despite its significance for integrating renewable electricity. A hydrogen network reusing the existing gas network could not only help to supply the demand for low-emission fuels but could also balance variations in wind and solar energies across the continent and thus avoid power grid expansion. Our investigation varies the allowed expansion of electricity and hydrogen grids in net-zero CO2 scenarios for a sector-coupled European energy system capturing transmission bottlenecks renewable supply and demand variability and pipeline retrofitting and geological storage potentials. We find that a hydrogen network connecting regions with low-cost and abundant renewable potentials to demand centers electrofuel production and cavern storage sites reduces system costs by up to 26 bnV/a (3.4%). Although expanding both networks together can achieve the largest cost reductions by 9.9% the expansion of neither is essential for a net-zero system as long as higher costs can be accepted and flexibility options allow managing transmission bottlenecks.
Evaluation of Surplus Hydroelectricity Potential in Nepal until 2040 and its Use for Hydrogen Production Via Electrolysis
May 2023
Publication
The abundant hydro resources in Nepal have resulted in the generation of electricity almost exclusively from hydropower plants. Several hydropower plants are also currently under construction. There is no doubt that the surplus electricity will be significantly high in the coming years. Given the previous trend in electricity consumption it will be a challenge to maximize the use of surplus electricity. In this work the potential solutions to maximize the use of this surplus electricity have been analysed. Three approached are proposed: (i) increasing domestic electricity consumption by shifting the other energy use sectors to electricity (ii) cross-border export of electricity and (iii) conversion of electricity to hydrogen via electrolysis. The current state of energy demand and supply patterns in the country are presented. Future monthly demand forecasts and surplus electricity projections have been made. The hydrogen that can be produced with the surplus electricity via electrolysis is determined and an economic assessment is carried out for the produced hydrogen. The analysis of levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) under different scenarios resulted values ranging from 3.8 €/kg to 4.5 €/kg.
Energy Management of Hydrogen Hybrid Electric Vehicles—Online-Capable Control
May 2024
Publication
The results shown in this paper extend our research group’s previous work which presents the theoretically achievable hydrogen engine-out NOeo x (H2-NOeo x ) Pareto front of a hydrogen hybrid electric vehicle (H2-HEV). While the Pareto front is calculated offline which requires significant computing power and time this work presents an online-capable algorithm to tackle the energy management of a H2-HEV with explicit consideration of the H2-NOeo x trade-off. Through the inclusion of realistic predictive data on the upcoming driving mission a model predictive control algorithm (MPC) is utilized to effectively tackle the conflicting goal of achieving low hydrogen consumption while simultaneously minimizing NOeo x . In a case study it is shown that MPC is able to satisfy user-defined NOeo x limits over the course of various driving missions. Moreover a comparison with the optimal Pareto front highlights MPC’s ability to achieve close-to-optimal fuel performance for any desired cumulated NOeo x target on four realistic routes for passenger cars.
Techno-Economic Evaluation of Hydrogen-Based Cooking Solutions in Remote African Communities—The Case of Kenya
Apr 2023
Publication
Hydrogen has recently been proposed as a versatile energy carrier to contribute to archiving universal access to clean cooking. In hard-to-reach rural settings decentralized produced hydrogen may be utilized (i) as a clean fuel via direct combustion in pure gaseous form or blended with Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) or (ii) via power-to-hydrogen-to-power (P2H2P) to serve electric cooking (e-cooking) appliances. Here we present the first techno-economic evaluation of hydrogen-based cooking solutions. We apply mathematical optimization via energy system modeling to assess the minimal cost configuration of each respective energy system on technical and economic measures under present and future parameters. We further compare the potential costs of cooking for the end user with the costs of cooking with traditional fuels. Today P2H2P-based e-cooking and production of hydrogen for utilization via combustion integrated into the electricity supply system have almost equal energy system costs to simultaneously satisfy the cooking and electricity needs of the isolated rural Kenyan village studied. P2H2P-based e-cooking might become advantageous in the near future when improving the energy efficiency of e-cooking appliances. The economic efficiency of producing hydrogen for utilization by end users via combustion benefits from integrating the water electrolysis into the electricity supply system. More efficient and cheaper hydrogen technologies expected by 2050 may improve the economic performance of integrated hydrogen production and utilization via combustion to be competitive with P2H2P-based e-cooking. The monthly costs of cooking per household may be lower than the traditional use of firewood and charcoal even today when applying the current life-line tariff for the electricity consumed or utilizing hydrogen via combustion. Driven by likely future technological improvements and the expected increase in traditional and fossil fuel prices any hydrogen-based cooking pathway may be cheaper for end users than using charcoal and firewood by 2030 and LPG by 2040. The results suggest that providing clean cooking in rural villages could economically and environmentally benefit from utilizing hydrogen. However facing the complexity of clean cooking projects we emphasize the importance of embedding the results of our techno-economic analysis in holistic energy delivery models. We propose useful starting points for future aspects to be investigated in the discussion section including business and financing models.
Investigation of Different Load Characteristics, Component Dimensioning, and System Scaling for the Optimized Design of a Hybrid Hydrogen-Based PV Energy System
Jul 2023
Publication
The realization of a carbon-neutral civilization which has been set as a goal for the coming decades goes directly hand-in-hand with the need for an energy system based on renewable energies (REs). Due to the strong weather-related daily and seasonal fluctuations in supply of REs suitable energy storage devices must be included for such energy systems. For this purpose an energy system model featuring hybrid energy storage consisting of a hydrogen unit (for long-term storage) and a lithium-ion storage device (for short-term storage) was developed. With a proper design such a system can ensure a year-round energy supply by using electricity generated by photovoltaics (PVs). In the energy system that was investigated hydrogen (H2) was produced by using an electrolyser (ELY) with a PV surplus during the summer months and then stored in an H2 tank. During the winter due to the lack of PV power the H2 is converted back into electricity and heat by a fuel cell (FC). While the components of such a system are expensive a resource- and cost-efficient layout is important. For this purpose a Matlab/Simulink model that enabled an energy balance analysis and a component lifetime forecast was developed. With this model the results of extensive parameter studies allowed an optimized system layout to be created for specific applications. The parameter studies covered different focal points. Several ELY and FC layouts different load characteristics different system scales different weather conditions and different load levels—especially in winter with variations in heating demand—were investigated.
THyGA - Long Term Effect of H2 on Appliances Tested
May 2023
Publication
The goals of the long-term tests were to see the impact of blends of hydrogen and natural gas on the technical condition of the appliances and their performance after several hours of operation. To do so they were run through an accelerated test program amounting to more than 3000 testing hours for the boilers and more than 2500 testing hours for the cookers. The percentage of hydrogen in the test gas was 30% by volume. Three boilers and two cookers were tested by DGC and two boilers by GWI. This report describes the test protocol the results and analysis on the seven appliances tested.
Implications of Hydrogen Import Prices for the German Energy System in a Model-comparison Experiment
Mar 2024
Publication
With its ability to store and transport energy without releasing greenhouse gases hydrogen is considered an important driver for the decarbonisation of energy systems. As future hydrogen import prices from global markets are subject to large uncertainties it is unclear what impact different hydrogen and derivative import prices will have on the future German energy system. To answer that research question this paper explores the impact of three different import price scenarios for hydrogen and its derivatives on the German energy system in a climate-neutral setting for Europe in 2045 using three different energy system models. The analysis shows that the quantities of electricity generated as well as the installed capacities for electricity generation and electrolysis increase as the hydrogen import price rises. However the resulting differences between the import price scenarios vary across the models. The results further indicate that domestic German (and European) hydrogen production is often cost-efficient.
Derivation and Validation of a Reference Data-based Real Gas Model for Hydrogen
Mar 2023
Publication
Hydrogen plays an important role for the decarbonization of the energy sector. In its gaseous form it is stored at pressures of up to 1000 bar at which real gas effects become relevant. To capture these effects in numerical simulations accurate real gas models are required. In this work new correlation equations for relevant hydrogen properties are developed based on the Reference Fluid Thermodynamic and Transport Properties Database (REFPROP). Within the regarded temperature (150e400 K) and pressure (0.1e1000 bar) range this approach yields a substantially improved accuracy compared to other databased correlations. Furthermore the developed equations are validated in a numerical simulation of a critical flow Venturi nozzle. The results are in much better accordance with experimental data compared to a cubic equation of state model. In addition the simulation is even slightly faster.
Highly Efficient Solar Hydrogen Production through the Use of Bifacial Photovoltaics and Membrane Electrolysis
Jul 2020
Publication
T The large-scale implementation of solar hydrogen production requires an optimal combination of photovoltaic systems with suitably-designed electrochemical cells possibly avoiding power electronics for DC-DC conversion to decrease costs. Here a stable solar-driven water splitting system is presented obtained through the direct connection of a state-of-the-art proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer to a bifacial silicon hetero junction (SHJ) solar module of three cells in series with total area of 730 cm2 . The bifaciality of the solar module has been optimized through modeling in terms of the number of cells module height and inclination. During outdoor operation in the standard monofacial configuration the system is able to produce 3.7 gr of H2 h 1 m 2 with an irradiation of 1000 W m 2 and a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency (STH) of 11.55%. The same system operating in bifacial mode gives rise to a higher H2 flux and STH efficiency reaching values of 4.2 gr of H2 h 1 m 2 and STH of 13.5%. Such a noticeable difference is achieved through the collection of albedo radiation from the ground by the bifacial PV system. The system has been tested outdoors for more than 55 h exhibiting very good endurance with no appreciable change in production and eff
Underground Hydrogen Storage to Balance Seasonal Variations in Energy Demand: Impact of Well Configuration on Storage Performance in Deep Saline Aquifers
Mar 2023
Publication
Grid-scale underground hydrogen storage (UHS) is essential for the decarbonization of energy supply systems on the path towards a zero-emissions future. This study presents the feasibility of UHS in an actual saline aquifer with a typical dome-shaped anticline structure to balance the potential seasonal mismatches between energy supply and demand in the UK domestic heating sector. As a main requirement for UHS in saline aquifers we investigate the role of well configuration design in enhancing storage performance in the selected site via numerical simulation. The results demonstrate that the efficiency of cyclic hydrogen recovery can reach around 70% in the short term without the need for upfront cushion gas injection. Storage capacity and deliverability increase in successive storage cycles for all scenarios with the co-production of water from the aquifer having a minimal impact on the efficiency of hydrogen recovery. Storage capacity and deliverability also increase when additional wells are added to the storage site; however the distance between wells can strongly influence this effect. For optimum well spacing in a multi-well storage scenario within a dome-shaped anticline structure it is essential to attain an efficient balance between well pressure interference effects at short well distances and the gas uprising phenomenon at large distances. Overall the findings obtained and the approach described can provide effective technical guidelines pertaining to the design and optimization of hydrogen storage operations in deep saline aquifers.
Evaluating Partners for Renewable Energy Trading: A Multidimensional Framework and Tool
Apr 2024
Publication
The worsening climate crisis has increased the urgency of transitioning energy systems from fossil fuels to renewable sources. However many industrialized countries are struggling to meet their growing demand for renewable energy (RE) through domestic production alone and therefore seek to import additional RE using carriers such as hydrogen ammonia or metals. The pressing question for RE importers is therefore how to select trading partners i.e. RE exporting countries. Recent research has identified a plethora of different selection criteria reflecting the complexity of energy systems and international cooperation. However there is little guidance on how to reduce this complexity to more manageable levels as well as a lack of tools for effective partner evaluation. This article aims to fill these gaps. It proposes a new multidimensional framework for evaluating and comparing potential RE trading partners based on four dimensions: economy and technology environment and development regulation and governance and innovation and cooperation. Focusing on Germany as an RE importer an exploratory factor analysis is used to identify a consolidated set of composite selection criteria across these dimensions. The results suggest that Germany’s neighboring developed countries and current net energy exporters such as Canada and Australia are among the most attractive RE trading partners for Germany. A dashboard tool has been developed to provide the framework and composite criteria including adjustable weights to reflect the varying preferences of decision-makers and stakeholders. The framework and the dashboard can provide helpful guidance and transparency for partner selection processes facilitating the creation of RE trade networks that are essential for a successful energy transition.
How to Make Climate-neutral Aviation Fly
Jul 2023
Publication
The European aviation sector must substantially reduce climate impacts to reach net-zero goals. This reduction however must not be limited to flight CO2 emissions since such a narrow focus leaves up to 80% of climate impacts unaccounted for. Based on rigorous life-cycle assessment and a time-dependent quantification of non-CO2 climate impacts here we show that from a technological standpoint using electricity-based synthetic jet fuels and compensating climate impacts via direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) can enable climate-neutral aviation. However with a continuous increase in air traffic synthetic jet fuel produced with electricity from renewables would exert excessive pressure on economic and natural resources. Alternatively compensating climate impacts of fossil jet fuel via DACCS would require massive CO2 storage volumes and prolong dependence on fossil fuels. Here we demonstrate that a European climate-neutral aviation will fly if air traffic is reduced to limit the scale of the climate impacts to mitigate.
Industrial Decarbonization Pathways: The Example of the German Glass Industry
Nov 2022
Publication
Mitigating anthropogenic climate change and achieving the Paris climate goals is one of the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century. To meet the Paris climate goals sector-specific transformation pathways need to be defined. The different transformation pathways are used to hypothetically quantify whether a defined climate target is achievable or not. For this reason a bottom-up model was developed to assess the extent of selected industrial decarbonization options compared to conventionally used technologies from an emissions perspective. Thereby the bottom-up model is used to analyze the German container and flat glass industries as an example. The results show that no transformation pathway can be compatible with the 1.5 °C based strict carbon dioxide budget target. Even the best case scenario exceeds the 1.5 °C based target by approximately +200%. The 2 °C based loose carbon dioxide budget target is only achievable via fuel switching the complete phase-out from natural gas to renewable energy carriers. Furthermore the results of hydrogen for flat glass production demonstrate that missing investments in renewable energy carriers may lead to the non-compliance with actually achievable 2 °C based carbon dioxide budget targets. In conclusion the phase-out from natural gas to renewable energies should be executed at the end of the life of any existing furnace and process emissions should be avoided in the long term to contribute to 1.5 °C based strict carbon dioxide budget target.
Economic Evaluation of Renewable Hydrogen Integration into Steelworks for the Production of Methanol and Methane
Jun 2022
Publication
This work investigates the cost-efficient integration of renewable hydrogen into steelworks for the production of methane and methanol as an efficient way to decarbonize the steel industry. Three case studies that utilize a mixture of steelworks off-gases (blast furnace gas coke oven gas and basic oxygen furnace gas) which differ on the amount of used off-gases as well as on the end product (methane and/or methanol) are analyzed and evaluated in terms of their economic performance. The most influential cost factors are identified and sensitivity analyses are conducted for different operating and economic parameters. Renewable hydrogen produced by PEM electrolysis is the most expensive component in this scheme and responsible for over 80% of the total costs. Progress in the hydrogen economy (lower electrolyzer capital costs improved electrolyzer efficiency and lower electricity prices) is necessary to establish this technology in the future.
H2-powered Aviation at Airports – Design and Economics of LH2 Refueling Systems
Feb 2022
Publication
In this paper the broader perspective of green hydrogen (H2) supply and refueling systems for aircraft is provided as an enabling technology brick for more climate friendly H2-powered aviation. For this two H2 demand scenarios at exemplary airports are determined for 2050. Then general requirements for liquid hydrogen (LH2) refueling setups in an airport environment are derived and techno-economic models for LH2 storage liquefaction and transportation to the aircraft are designed. Finally a cost tradeoff study is undertaken for the design of the LH2 setup including LH2 refueling trucks and a LH2 pipeline and hydrant system. It is found that for airports with less than 125 ktLH2 annual demand a LH2 refueling truck setup is the more economic choice. At airports with higher annual LH2 demands a LH2 pipeline & hydrant system can lead to slight cost reductions and enable safer and faster refueling. However in all demand scenarios the refueling system costs only mark 3 to 4% of the total supply costs of LH2. The latter are dominated by the costs for green H2 produced offsite followed by the costs for liquefaction of H2 at an airport. While cost reducing scaling effects are likely to be achieved for H2 liquefaction plants other component capacities would already be designed at maximum capacities for medium-sized airports. Furthermore with annual LH2 demands of 100 ktLH2 and more medium and larger airports could take a special H2 hub role by 2050 dominating regional H2 consumption. Finally technology demonstrators are required to reduce uncertainty around major techno-economic parameters such as the investment costs for LH2 pipeline & hydrant systems.
Improving the Efficiency of PEM Electrolyzers through Membrane-Specific Pressure Optimization
Feb 2020
Publication
Hydrogen produced in a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer must be stored under high pressure. It is discussed whether the gas should be compressed in subsequent gas compressors or by the electrolyzer. While gas compressor stages can be reduced in the case of electrochemical compression safety problems arise for thin membranes due to the undesired permeation of hydrogen across the membrane to the oxygen side forming an explosive gas. In this study a PEM system is modeled to evaluate the membrane-specific total system efficiency. The optimum efficiency is given depending on the external heat requirement permeation cell pressure current density and membrane thickness. It shows that the heat requirement and hydrogen permeation dominate the maximum efficiency below 1.6 V while above the cell polarization is decisive. In addition a pressure-optimized cell operation is introduced by which the optimum cathode pressure is set as a function of current density and membrane thickness. This approach indicates that thin membranes do not provide increased safety issues compared to thick membranes. However operating an N212-based system instead of an N117-based one can generate twice the amount of hydrogen at the same system efficiency while only one compressor stage must be added.
Hydrogen-Assisted Cracking in GMA Welding of High-Strength Structural Steel—A New Look into This Issue at Narrow Groove
Jun 2021
Publication
Modern arc processes such as the modified spray arc (Mod. SA) have been developed for gas metal arc welding of high-strength structural steels with which even narrow weld seams can be welded. High-strength joints are subjected to increasingly stringent requirements in terms of welding processing and the resulting component performance. In the present work this challenge is to be met by clarifying the influences on hydrogen-assisted cracking (HAC) in a high-strength structural steel S960QL. Adapted samples analogous to the self-restraint TEKKEN test are used and analyzed with respect to crack formation microstructure diffusible hydrogen concentration and residual stresses. The variation of the seam opening angle of the test seams is between 30° and 60°. To prevent HAC the effectiveness of a dehydrogenation heat treatment (DHT) from the welding heat is investigated. As a result the weld metals produced at reduced weld opening angle show slightly higher hydrogen concentrations on average. In addition increased micro- as well as macro-crack formation can be observed on these weld metal samples. On all samples without DHT cracks in the root notch occur due to HAC which can be prevented by DHT immediately after welding.
Hydrogen Technology Towards the Solution of Environment-Friendly New Energy Vehicles
Aug 2021
Publication
The popularity of climate neutral new energy vehicles for reduced emissions and improved air quality has been raising great attention for many years. World-wide a strong commitment continues to drive the demand for zero-emission through alternative energy sources and propulsion systems. Despite the fact that 71.27% of hydrogen is produced from natural gas green hydrogen is a promising clean way to contribute to and maintain a climate neutral ecosystem. Thereby reaching CO2 targets for 2030 and beyond requires cross-sectoral changes. However the strong motivation of governments for climate neutrality is challenging many sectors. One of them is the transport sector as it is challenged to find viable all-in solutions that satisfy social economic and sustainable requirements. Currently the use of new energy vehicles operating on green sustainable hydrogen technologies such as batteries or fuel cells has been the focus for reducing the mobility induced emissions. In Europe 50% of the total emissions result from mobility. The following article reviews the background ongoing challenges and potentials of new energy vehicles towards the development of an environmentally friendly hydrogen economy. A change management process mindset has been adapted to discuss the key scientific and commercial challenges for a successful transition.
Decarbonizing the German Industrial Thermal Energy Use with Solar, Hydrogen, and Other Options - Recommendations for the World
Nov 2022
Publication
This paper is based on a position paper of the German Industry Association Concentrated Solar Power e.V. to the German government and discusses options on how to decarbonize the heat demand of the domestic industry. Among other option concentration solar collectors are a suitable option in Germany which has not been expected by many experts. The paper derives requirements that are needed to ensure a quick and sustainable way to decarbonize industrial heat demand. They are considered to also be relevant for many other countries that follow the same ambition to become climate neutral in the next decades. They major statements are: A mix of different renewable energy technologies in conjunction with efficiency measures is needed to ensure a secure climate-friendly and cost-efficient heat supply for the industry; The different technology options for the provision of heat from renewable sources through electrification and through hydrogen can and must be combined and integrated with each other. In this context concentrating solar thermal represents an important part of the hybrid supply portfolio of a decarbonized industry This requires: The definition of an expansion target for process heat and the flanking measures; Ensuring the equivalence of renewable heat renewable electricity and green hydrogen - also as hybrid solutions; The promotion of concentrating solar thermal reference projects as an impetus for market ramp-up in Germany; The launch of an information campaign for heat consumers and the establishment of a pool of consultants.
Setting Thresholds to Define Indifferences and Preferences in PROMETHEE for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of European Hydrogen Production
Jun 2021
Publication
The Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) is a proven method for sustainability assessment. However the interpretation phase of an LCSA is challenging because many different single results are obtained. Additionally performing a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is one way—not only for LCSA—to gain clarity about how to interpret the results. One common form of MCDAs are outranking methods. For these type of methods it becomes of utmost importance to clarify when results become preferable. Thus thresholds are commonly used to prevent decisions based on results that are actually indifferent between the analyzed options. In this paper a new approach is presented to identify and quantify such thresholds for Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) based on uncertainty of Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods. Common thresholds and this new approach are discussed using a case study on finding a preferred location for sustainable industrial hydrogen production comparing three locations in European countries. The single LCSA results indicated different preferences for the environmental economic and social assessment. The application of PROMETHEE helped to find a clear solution. The comparison of the newly-specified thresholds based on LCIA uncertainty with default thresholds provided important insights of how to interpret the LCSA results regarding industrial hydrogen production.
Development of a Flashback Correlation for Burner-stabilized Hydrogen-air Premixed Flames
Feb 2022
Publication
With a growing need for replacing fossil fuels with cleaner alternatives hydrogen has emerged as a viable candidate for providing heat and power. However stable and safe combustion of hydrogen is not simple and as such a number of key issues have been identified that need to be understood for a safe design of combustion chambers. One such issue is the higher propensity of hydrogen flames to flashback compared to that for methane flames. The flashback problem is coupled with higher burner temperatures that could cause strong thermal stresses in burners and could hinder their performance. In order to systematically investigate flashback in premixed hydrogen-air flames for finding a global flashback criteria in this study we use numerical simulations as a basic tool to study flashback limits of slit burners. Flashback limits are found for varying geometrical parameters and equivalence ratios and the sensitivity of each parameter on the flashback limit and burner temperatures are identified and analyzed. It is shown that the conventional flashback correlation with critical velocity gradient does not collapse the flashback data as it does not take into account stretch induced preferential diffusion effects. A new Karlovitz number definition is introduced with physical insights that collapses the flashback data at all tested conditions in an excellent manner.
AI Agents Envisioning the Future: Forecast-based Operation of Renewable Energy Storage Systems Using Hydrogen with Deep Reinforcement Learning
Feb 2022
Publication
Hydrogen-based energy storage has the potential to compensate for the volatility of renewable power generation in energy systems with a high renewable penetration. The operation of these storage facilities can be optimized using automated energy management systems. This work presents a Reinforcement Learning-based energy management approach in the context of CO2-neutral hydrogen production and storage for an industrial combined heat and power application. The economic performance of the presented approach is compared to a rule-based energy management strategy as a lower benchmark and a Dynamic Programming-based unit commitment as an upper benchmark. The comparative analysis highlights both the potential benefits and drawbacks of the implemented Reinforcement Learning approach. The simulation results indicate a promising potential of Reinforcement Learning-based algorithms for hydrogen production planning outperforming the lower benchmark. Furthermore a novel approach in the scientific literature demonstrates that including energy and price forecasts in the Reinforcement Learning observation space significantly improves optimization results and allows the algorithm to take variable prices into account. An unresolved challenge however is balancing multiple conflicting objectives in a setting with few degrees of freedom. As a result no parameterization of the reward function could be found that fully satisfied all predefined targets highlighting one of the major challenges for Reinforcement Learning -based energy management algorithms to overcome.
Strategies for the Sampling of Hydrogen at Refuelling Stations for Purity Assessment
Aug 2021
Publication
Hydrogen delivered at hydrogen refuelling station must be compliant with requirements stated in different standards which require specialized sampling device and personnel to operate it. Currently different strategies are implemented in different parts of the world and these strategies have already been used to perform 100s of hydrogen fuel sampling in USA EU and Japan. However these strategies have never been compared on a large systematic study. The purpose of this paper is to describe and compare the different strategies for sampling hydrogen at the nozzle and summarize the key aspects of all the existing hydrogen fuel sampling including discussion on material compatibility with the impurities that must be assessed. This review highlights the fact it is currently difficult to evaluate the impact or the difference these strategies would have on the hydrogen fuel quality assessment. Therefore comparative sampling studies are required to evaluate the equivalence between the different sampling strategies. This is the first step to support the standardization of hydrogen fuel sampling and to identify future research and development area for hydrogen fuel sampling.
Is Iridium Demand a Potential Bottleneck in the Realization of Large-Scale PEM Water Electrolysis?
Jul 2021
Publication
Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is a key technology for future sustainable energy systems. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis cells use iridium one of the scarcest elements on earth as catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction. In the present study the expected iridium demand and potential bottlenecks in the realization of PEMWE for hydrogen production in the targeted GW a−1 scale are assessed in a model built on three pillars: (i) an in-depth analysis of iridium reserves and mine production (ii) technical prospects for the optimization of PEM water electrolyzers and (iii) PEMWE installation rates for a market ramp-up and maturation model covering 50 years. As a main result two necessary preconditions have been identified to meet the immense future iridium demand: first the dramatic reduction of iridium catalyst loading in PEM electrolysis cells and second the development of a recycling infrastructure for iridium catalysts with technical end-of-life recycling rates of at least 90%.
Hydrogen Supply Chains for Mobility—Environmental and Economic Assessment
May 2018
Publication
Hydrogen mobility is one option for reducing local emissions avoiding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and moving away from a mainly oil-based transport system towards a diversification of energy sources. As hydrogen production can be based on a broad variety of technologies already existing or under development a comprehensive assessment of the different supply chains is necessary regarding not only costs but also diverse environmental impacts. Therefore in this paper a broad variety of hydrogen production technologies using different energy sources renewable and fossil are exemplarily assessed with the help of a Life Cycle Assessment and a cost assessment for Germany. As environmental impacts along with the impact category Climate change five more advanced impact categories are assessed. The results show that from an environmental point of view PEM and alkaline electrolysis are characterized by the lowest results in five out of six impact categories. Supply chains using fossil fuels in contrast have the lowest supply costs; this is true e.g. for steam methane reforming. Solar powered hydrogen production shows low impacts during hydrogen production but high impacts for transport and distribution to Germany. There is no single supply chain that is the most promising for every aspect assessed here. Either costs have to be lowered further or supply chains with selected environmental impacts have to be modified.
Nested Decomposition Approach for Dispatch Optimization of Large-Scale, Integrated Electricity, Methane and Hydrogen Infrastructures
Apr 2022
Publication
Energy system integration enables raising operational synergies by coupling the energy infrastructures for electricity methane and hydrogen. However this coupling reinforces the infrastructure interdependencies increasing the need for integrated modeling of these infrastructures. To analyze the cost-efficient sustainable and secure dispatch of applied large-scale energy infrastructures an extensive and non-linear optimization problem needs to be solved. This paper introduces a nested decomposition approach with three stages. The method enables an integrated and full-year consideration of large-scale multi-energy systems in hourly resolution taking into account physical laws of power flows in electricity and gas transmission systems as boundary conditions. For this purpose a zooming technique successively reduces the temporal scope while first increasing the spatial and last the technical resolution. A use case proves the applicability of the presented approach to large-scale energy systems. To this end the model is applied to an integrated European energy system model with a detailed focus on Germany in a challenging transport situation. The use case demonstrates the temporal regional and cross-sectoral interdependencies in the dispatch of integrated energy infrastructures and thus the benefits of the introduced approach.
Sector Coupling and Business Models Towards Sustainability: The Case of the Hydrogen Vehicle Industry
Mar 2022
Publication
The concept of sector coupling has been gaining increased momentum in political discourses during 18 the past few years but it has only recently received the attention of international academics. The 19 private sector is particularly relevant to foster sector coupling through entrepreneurial action – 20 specifically innovative business models for more sustainable technologies are needed to promote a 21 transition towards more sustainability. So far however the literature on business models from a 22 sector coupling perspective is scarce yet strongly emerging. To address the identified research gaps 23 and enhance the current knowledge on the emerging hydrogen vehicle industry and sector coupling 24 this study adopts a qualitative and exploratory research approach and builds on information gained 25 in 103 semi-structured interviews to discuss emerging business models in Germany. In particular 33 26 business cases have been analyzed. Anchoring business model theory to the concept of sector 27 coupling this study identifies 12 business model archetypes in the emerging hydrogen vehicle 28 industry and its value chain. It can be shown that while the market is still emerging and the market 29 players are not defined and are evolving companies are currently engaged in finding their position 30 along the value chain fostering vertical integration and promoting cooperation between the 31 different sectors. While this study is relevant for both the academia and the industry it is particularly 2 32 interesting for policy makers shaping the future of sustainable development specifically considering 33 integrated energy systems.
Cost-effective Technology Choice in a Decarbonized and Diversified Long-haul Truck Transportation Sector: A U.S. Case Study
Dec 2021
Publication
Achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 will require accelerated efforts that include decarbonizing long-haul truck transportation. In this difficult-to-decarbonize low-margin industry economic transparency on technology options is vital for decision makers seeking to eliminate emissions. Battery electric (BET) and hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks (FCET) can represent emission-free alternatives to diesel-powered trucks (DT). Previous studies focus on cost competitiveness in weight-constrained transportation even though logistics research shows that significant shares of transportation are constrained by volume and analyze cost only for selected technologies hence impeding a differentiated market segmentation of future emission-free trucks. In this study the perspective of a rational investor is taken and it is shown that under current conditions in the U.S. BETs outperform FCETs in various long-haul use cases despite charging times and cargo deficits and will further increase their technological competitiveness to DTs. While future energy and fueling prices are decisive for BET competitiveness the analysis reveals that autonomous driving may change the picture in favor of FCETs.
Hydrogen-powered Aviation and its Reliance on Green Hydrogen Infrastructure - Review and Research Gaps
Oct 2021
Publication
Aircraft powered by green hydrogen (H2) are a lever for the aviation sector to reduce the climate impact. Previous research already focused on evaluations of H2 aircraft technology but analyses on infrastructure related cost factors are rarely undertaken. Therefore this paper aims to provide a holistic overview of previous efforts and introduces an approach to assess the importance of a H2 infrastructure for aviation. A short and a medium-range aircraft are modelled and modified for H2 propulsion. Based on these a detailed cost analysis is used to compare both aircraft and infrastructure related direct operating costs (DOC). Overall it is shown that the economy of H2 aviation highly depends on the availability of low-cost green liquid hydrogen (LH2) supply infrastructure. While total DOC might even slightly decrease in a best LH2 cost case total DOC could also increase between 10 and 70% (short-range) and 15e102% (medium-range) due to LH2 costs alone.
An Overview of Promising Alternative Fuels for Road, Rail, Air, and Inland Waterway Transport in Germany
Feb 2022
Publication
To solve the challenge of decarbonizing the transport sector a broad variety of alternative fuels based on different concepts including Power-to-Gas and Power-to-Liquid and propulsion systems have been developed. The current research landscape is investigating either a selection of fuel options or a selection of criteria a comprehensive overview is missing so far. This study aims to close this gap by providing a holistic analysis of existing fuel and drivetrain options spanning production to utilization. For this purpose a case study for Germany is performed considering different vehicle classes in road rail inland waterway and air transport. The evaluated criteria on the production side include technical maturity costs as well as environmental impacts whereas on the utilization side possible blending with existing fossil fuels and the satisfaction of the required mission ranges are evaluated. Overall the fuels and propulsion systems Methanol-to-Gasoline Fischer–Tropsch diesel and kerosene hydrogen battery-electric propulsion HVO DME and natural gas are identified as promising future options. All of these promising fuels could reach near-zero greenhouse gas emissions bounded to some mandatory preconditions. However the current research landscape is characterized by high insecurity with regard to fuel costs depending on the predicted range and length of value chains.
The Evolution and Structure of Ignited High-pressure Cryogenic Hydrogen Jets
Jun 2022
Publication
The anticipated upscaling of hydrogen energy applications will involve the storage and transport of hydrogen at cryogenic conditions. Understanding the potential hazard arising from leaks in high-pressure cryogenic storage is needed to improve hydrogen safety. The manuscript reports a series of numerical simulations with detailed chemistry for the transient evolution of ignited high-pressure cryogenic hydrogen jets. The study aims to gain insight of the ignition processes flame structures and dynamics associated with the transient flame evolution. Numerical simulations were firstly conducted for an unignited jet released under the same cryogenic temperature of 80 K and pressure of 200 bar as the considered ignited jets. The predicted hydrogen concentrations were found to be in good agreement with the experimental measurements. The results informed the subsequent simulations of the ignited jets involving four different ignition locations. The predicted time series snapshots of temperature hydrogen mass fraction and the flame index are analyzed to study the transient evolution and structure of the flame. The results show that a diffusion combustion layer is developed along the outer boundary of the jet and a side diffusion flame is formed for the near-field ignition. For the far-field ignition an envelope flame is observed. The flame structure contains a diffusion flame on the outer edge and a premixed flame inside the jet. Due to the complex interactions between turbulence fuel-air mixing at cryogenic temperature and chemical reactions localized spontaneous ignition and transient flame extinguishment are observed. The predictions also captured the experimentally observed deflagration waves in the far-field ignited jets.
Building the Green Hydrogen Market - Current State and Outlook on Green Hydrogen Demand and Electrolyzer Manufacturing
Jul 2022
Publication
Over the past two years requirements to meet climate targets have been intensified. In addition to the tightening of the climate targets and the demand for net-zero achievement by as early as 2045 there have been discussions on implementing and realizing these goals. Hydrogen has emerged as a promising climate-neutral energy carrier. Thus over the last 1.5 years more than 25 countries have published hydrogen roadmaps. Furthermore various studies by different authorities have been released to support the development of a hydrogen economy. This paper examines published studies and hydrogen country roadmaps as part of a meta-analysis. Furthermore a market analysis of electrolyzer manufacturers is conducted. The prospected demand for green hydrogen from various studies is compared to electrolyzer manufacturing capacities and selected green hydrogen projects to identify potential market ramp-up scenarios and to evaluate if green hydrogen demand forecasts can be filled.
The Role of Renewable Energies, Storage and Sector-Coupling Technologies in the German Energy Sector under Different CO2 Emission Restrictions
Aug 2022
Publication
This study aimed to simulate the sector-coupled energy system of Germany in 2030 with the restriction on CO2 emission levels and to observe how the system evolves with decreasing emissions. Moreover the study presented an analysis of the interconnection between electricity heat and hydrogen and how technologies providing flexibility will react when restricting CO2 emissions levels. This investigation has not yet been carried out with the technologies under consideration in this study. It shows how the energy system behaves under different set boundaries of CO2 emissions and how the costs and technologies change with different emission levels. The study results show that the installed capacities of renewable technologies constantly increase with higher limitations on emissions. However their usage rates decreases with low CO2 emission levels in response to higher curtailed energy. The sector-coupled technologies behave differently in this regard. Heat pumps show similar behaviour while the electrolysers usage rate increases with more renewable energy penetration. The system flexibility is not primarily driven by the hydrogen sector but in low CO2 emission level scenarios the flexibility shifts towards the heating sector and electrical batteries.
Underground Bio-methanation: Concept and Potential
Feb 2020
Publication
As a major part of the energy turn around the European Union and other countries are supporting the development of renewable energy technologies to decrease nuclear and fossil energy production. Therefore efficient use of renewable energy resources is one challenge as they are influenced by environmental conditions and hence the intensity of resources such as wind or solar power fluctuates. To secure constant energy supply suitable energy storage and conversion techniques are required. An upcoming solution is the utilization and storage of hydrogen or hydrogen-rich natural gas in porous formations in the underground. In the past microbial methanation was observed as a side effect during these gas storage operations. The concept of underground bio-methanation arised which uses the microbial metabolism to convert hydrogen and carbon dioxide into methane. The concept consists of injecting gaseous hydrogen and carbon dioxide into an underground structure during energy production peaks which are subsequently partly converted into methane. The resulting methane-rich gas mixture is withdrawn during high energy demand. The concept is comparable to engineered bio-reactors which are already locally integrated into the gas infrastructure. In both technologies the conversion process of hydrogen into methane is driven by hydrogenotrophic methanogenic archaea present in the aqueous phase of the natural underground or above-ground engineered reactor. Nevertheless the porous medium in the underground provides compared to the engineered bio-reactors a larger interface between the gas and aqueous phase caused by the enormous volume in the underground porous media. The following article summarizes the potential and concept of underground methanation and the current state of the art in terms of laboratory investigations and pilot tests. A short system potential analysis shows that an underground bio-reactor with a storage capacity of 850 Mio. Sm3 could deliver methane to more than 600000 households based on a hydrogen production from renewable energies.
The More the Merrier? Actors and Ideas in the Evolution of Germany Hydrogen Policy Discourse
Feb 2023
Publication
Hydrogen has set high hopes for decarbonization due to its flexibility and ability to decarbonize sectors of the economy where direct electrification appears unviable. Broad hydrogen policies have therefore started to emerge. Nevertheless it is still a rather niche technology not integrated or adopted at scale and not regulated through particular policy provisions. The involved stakeholders are thus still rushing to set the agenda over the issue. All this plays out publicly and shapes the public discourse. This paper explores how the composition of stakeholders their positions and the overall discourse structure have developed and accompanied the political agenda-setting in the early public debate on hydrogen in Germany. We use discourse network analysis of media where stakeholders' claims-making is documented and their positions can be tracked over time. The public discourse on hydrogen in Germany shows the expected evolution of statements in connection with the two milestones chosen for the analyses the initiation of the Gas 2030 Dialogue and the publication of the National Hydrogen Strategy. Interestingly the discourse was comparatively feeble in the immediate aftermath of the respective milestones but intensified in a consolidation phase around half a year later. Sequencing the discourse and contextualizing its content relative to political societal and economic conditions in a diachronic way is essential because it helps to avoid misinterpreting the development of stakeholders' standpoints as conflict-driven rather than mere repositioning. Thus we observed no discourse “polarization” even though potentially polarizing issues were already present in the debate.
Green Hydrogen Production and Use in Low- and Middle-income Countries: A Least-cost Geospatial Modelling Approach Applied to Kenya
May 2023
Publication
With the rising threat of climate change green hydrogen is increasingly seen as the high-capacity energy storage and transport medium of the future. This creates an opportunity for low- and middle-income countries to leverage their high renewable energy potential to produce use and export low-cost green hydrogen creating environmental and economic development benefits. While identifying ideal locations for green hydrogen production is critical for countries when defining their green hydrogen strategies there has been a paucity of adequate geospatial planning approaches suitable to low- and middle-income countries. It is essential for these countries to identify green hydrogen production sites which match demand to expected use cases such that their strategies are economically sustainable. This paper therefore develops a novel geospatial cost modelling method to optimize the location of green hydrogen production across different use cases with a focus on suitability to low- and middle-income countries. This method is applied in Kenya to investigate the potential hydrogen supply chain for three use cases: ammonia-based fertilizer freight transport and export. We find hydrogen production costs of e3.7–9.9/kgH2 are currently achievable across Kenya depending on the production location chosen. The cheapest production locations are identified to the south and south-east of Lake Turkana. We show that ammonia produced in Kenya can be cost-competitive given the current energy crisis and that Kenya could export hydrogen to Rotterdam with costs of e7/kgH2 undercutting current market prices regardless of the carrier medium. With expected techno-economic improvements hydrogen production costs across Kenya could drop to e1.8–3.0/kgH2 by 2030.
Storage Batteries in Photovoltaic-electrochemical Device for Solar Hydrogen Production
Aug 2021
Publication
Hydrogen produced by water electrolysis and electrochemical batteries are widely considered as primary routes for the long- and short-term storage of photovoltaic (PV) energy. At the same time fast power ramps and idle periods in PV power generation may cause degradation of water splitting electrochemical (EC) cells. Implementation of batteries in PV-EC systems is a viable option for smoothening out intermittence of PV power. Notably the spreading of PV energy over the diurnal cycle reduces power of the EC cell and thus its overpotential loss. We study these potential advantages theoretically and experimentally for a simple parallel connected combination of PV EC and battery cells (PV-EC-B) operated without power management electronics. We show feasibility of the unaided operation of PV-EC-B device in a relevant duty cycle and explore how PV-EC-B system can operate at higher solar-to-hydrogen efficiency than the equivalent reference PV-EC system despite the losses caused by the battery.
Fostering Macroeconomic Research on Hydrogen-Powered Aviation: A Systematic Literature Review on General Equilibrium Models
Feb 2023
Publication
Hydrogen is a promising fuel to decarbonize aviation but macroeconomic studies are currently missing. Computable general equilibrium (CGE) models are suitable to conduct macroeconomic analyses and are frequently employed in hydrogen and aviation research. The main objective of this paper is to investigate existing CGE studies related to (a) hydrogen and (b) aviation to derive a macroeconomic research agenda for hydrogen-powered aviation. Therefore the well-established method of systematic literature review is conducted. First we provide an overview of 18 hydrogen-related and 27 aviation-related CGE studies and analyze the literature with respect to appropriate categories. Second we highlight key insights and identify research gaps for both the hydrogen and aviation-related CGE literature. Our findings comprise inter alia hydrogen’s current lack of cost competitiveness and the macroeconomic relevance of air transportation. Research gaps include among others a stronger focus on sustainable hydrogen and a more holistic perspective on the air transportation system. Third we derive implications for macroeconomic research on hydrogen-powered aviation including (I) the consideration of existing modeling approaches (II) the utilization of interdisciplinary data and scenarios (III) geographical suitability (IV) the application of diverse policy tools and (V) a holistic perspective. Our work contributes a meaningful foundation for macroeconomic studies on hydrogen-powered aviation. Moreover we recommend policymakers to address the macroeconomic perspectives of hydrogen use in air transportation.
Technical Evaluation of the Flexibility of Water Electrolysis Systems to Increase Energy Flexibility: A Review
Jan 2023
Publication
The goal of achieving water electrolysis on a gigawatt scale faces numerous challenges regarding technological feasibility and market application. Here the flexibility of operation scenarios such as load changes and capacity of electrolysis plays a key role. This raises the question of how flexible electrolysis systems currently are and what possibilities there are to increase flexibility. In order to be able to answer this question in the following a systematic literature research was carried out with the aim to show the current technical possibilities to adapt load and capacity of electrolysis technologies and to determine limits. The result of the systematic literature research is an overview matrix of the electrolysis types AEL PEMEL HTEL and AEMEL already applied in the market. Technical data on the operation of the respective electrolysis stacks as well as details and materials for the respective stack structure (cathode anode electrolyte) were summarized. The flexibility of the individual technologies is addressed by expressing it in values such as load flexibility and startup-times. The overview matrix contains values from various sour1ces in order to make electrolysis comparable at the stack level and to be able to make statements about flexibility. The result of the overview article shows the still open need for research and development to make electrolysis more flexible.
Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Neutrality Strategies on Gas Infrastructure and Costs: Implications from Case Studies Based on French and German GHG-neutral Scenarios
Sep 2022
Publication
The European Union’s target to reach greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050 calls for a sharp decrease in the consumption of natural gas. This study assesses impacts of greenhouse gas neutrality on the gas system taking France and Germany as two case studies which illustrate a wide range of potential developments within the European Union. Based on a review of French and German GHG-neutral scenarios it explores impacts on gas infrastructure and estimates the changes in end-user methane price considering a business-as-usual and an optimised infrastructure pathway. Our results show that gas supply and demand radically change by mid-century across various scenarios. Moreover the analysis suggests that deep transformations of the gas infrastructure are required and that according to the existing pricing mechanisms the end-user price of methane will increase driven by the switch to low-carbon gases and intensified by infrastructure costs.
Strategic Policy Targets and the Contribution of Hydrogen in a 100% Renewable European Power System
Jul 2021
Publication
The goal of the European energy policy is to achieve climate neutrality. The long-term energy strategies of various European countries include additional targets such as the diversification of energy sources maintenance of security of supply and reduction of import dependency. When optimizing energy systems these strategic policy targets are often only considered in a rudimentary manner and thus the understanding of the corresponding interdependencies is lacking. Moreover hydrogen is considered as a key component of a fully decarbonized energy system but its role in the power sector remains unclear due to the low round-trip efficiencies. This study reveals how fully decarbonized European power systems can benefit from hydrogen in terms of overall system costs and the achievement of strategic policy targets. We analyzed a broad spectrum of scenarios using an energy system optimization model and varied model constraints that reflect strategic policy targets. Our results are threefold. First compared to power systems without hydrogen systems using hydrogen realize savings of 14–16% in terms of the total system costs. Second the implementation of a hydrogen infrastructure reduces the number of infeasible scenarios when structural policy targets are considered within the power system. Third the role of hydrogen is highly diverse at a national level. Particularly in countries with low renewable energy potential hydrogen plays a crucial role. Here high levels of self-sufficiency and security of supply are achieved by deploying hydrogen-based power generation of up to 46% of their annual electricity demand realized via imports of green hydrogen.
Blast Wave Generated by Delayed Ignition of Under-Expanded Hydrogen Free Jet at Ambient and Cryogenic Temperatures
Nov 2022
Publication
An under-expanded hydrogen jet from high-pressure equipment or storage tank is a potential incident scenario. Experiments demonstrated that the delayed ignition of a highly turbulent under-expanded hydrogen jet generates a blast wave able to harm people and damage property. There is a need for engineering tools to predict the pressure effects during such incidents to define hazard distances. The similitude analysis is applied to build a correlation using available experimental data. The dimensionless blast wave overpressure generated by delayed ignition and the follow-up deflagration or detonation of hydrogen jets at an any location from the jet ∆Pexp/P0 is correlated to the original dimensionless parameter composed of the product of the dimensionless ratio of storage pressure to atmospheric pressure Ps/P0 and the ratio of the jet release nozzle diameter to the distance from the centre of location of the fast-burning near-stoichiometric mixture on the jet axis (30% of hydrogen in the air by volume) to the location of a target (personnel or property) d/Rw. The correlation is built using the analysis of 78 experiments regarding this phenomenon in the wide range of hydrogen storage pressure of 0.5–65.0 MPa and release diameter of 0.5–52.5 mm. The correlation is applicable to hydrogen free jets at ambient and cryogenic temperatures. It is found that the generated blast wave decays inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the fast-burning portion of the jet. The correlation is used to calculate the hazard distances by harm thresholds for five typical hydrogen applications. It is observed that in the case of a vehicle with onboard storage tank at pressure 70 MPa the “no-harm” distance for humans reduces from 10.5 m to 2.6 m when a thermally activated pressure relief device (TPRD) diameter decreases from 2 mm to a diameter of 0.5 mm.
On the Road to Sustainable Transport: Acceptance and Preferences for Renewable Fuel Production Infrastructure
Sep 2022
Publication
To abate climate change and ameliorate the air quality in urban areas innovative solutions are required to reduce CO2 and pollutant emissions from traffic. Alternative fuels made from biomass or CO2 and hydrogen can contribute to these goals by substituting fossil gasoline or diesel in combustion engines. Using a conjoint analysis approach the current study investigates preferences of laypeople (n = 303) for fuel production facilities in terms of siting location plant size raw material used in the production and raw material transport. The location was most decision-relevant followed by raw material transport whereas plant size and type of raw material played a less prominent role for the preference choice. The best-case scenario from the point of view of acceptance would be the installation of a rather small bio-hybrid fuel production plant in an industrial area (instead of an agricultural or pristine environment). No transport or transport via underground pipeline were preferred over truck/tank car or overground pipeline. The findings can be used as a basis for planning and decision-making for designing production networks for new fuel types.
Underground Storage of Green Hydrogen—Boundary Conditions for Compressor Systems
Aug 2022
Publication
The large-scale storage of hydrogen in salt caverns modelled on today’s natural gas storage is a promising approach to storing renewable energy over a large power range and for the required time period. An essential subsystem of the overall gas storage is the surface facility and in particular the compressor system. The future design of compressor systems for hydrogen storage strongly depends on the respective boundary conditions. Therefore this work analyses the requirements of compressor systems for cavern storage facilities for the storage of green hydrogen i.e. hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources using the example of Lower Saxony in Germany. In this course a hydrogen storage demand profile of one year is developed in hourly resolution from feed-in time series of renewable energy sources. The injection profile relevant for compressor operation is compared with current natural gas injection operation modes
Is Blue Hydrogen a Bridging Technology? - The Limits of a CO2 Price and the Role of State-induced Price Components for Green Hydrogen Production in Germany
Jun 2022
Publication
The European Commission aims to establish green hydrogen produced through electrolysis using renewable electricity and in a transition phase hydrogen produced in a low-carbon process or blue hydrogen. In an extensive cost analysis for Germany up to 2050 based on scenario data and a component-based learning rate approach we find that blue hydrogen is likely to establish itself as the most cost-effective option and not only as a medium-term low-carbon alternative. We find that expected CO2 prices below €480/tCO2 have a limited impact on the economic feasibility of electrolysis and show that substantial increases in excise tax on natural gas could lead blue hydrogen to reach a sufficient cost level for electrolysed hydrogen. Unless alternatives for green hydrogen supply through infrastructure and imports become available at lower cost electrolysed hydrogen may require long-term subsidies. As blue hydrogen comprises fugitive methane emissions and financing needs for green hydrogen support have implications for society and competition in the internal market we suggest that policymakers rely on hydrogen for decarbonising only essential energy applications. We recommend further investigations into the cost of hydrogen infrastructure and import options as well as efficient subsidy frameworks.
The Role of Hydrogen in a Greenhouse Gas-neutral Energy Supply System in Germany
Sep 2022
Publication
Hydrogen is widely considered to play a pivotal role in successfully transforming the German energy system but the German government’s current “National Hydrogen Strategy” does not specify how hydrogen utilization production storage or distribution will be implemented. Addressing key uncertainties for the German energy system’s path to greenhouse gas-neutrality this paper examines hydrogen in different scenarios. This analysis aims to support the concretization of the German hydrogen strategy. Applying a European energy supply model with strong interactions between the conversion sector and the hydrogen system the analysis focuses on the requirements for geological hydrogen storages and their utilization over the course of a year the positioning of electrolyzers within Germany and the contributions of hydrogen transport networks to balancing supply and demand. Regarding seasonal hydrogen storages the results show that hydrogen storage facilities in the range of 42 TWhH2 to 104 TWhH2 are beneficial to shift high electricity generation volumes from onshore wind in spring and fall to winter periods with lower renewable supply and increased electricity and heat demands. In 2050 the scenario results show electrolyzer capacities between 41 GWel and 75 GWel in Germany. Electrolyzer sites were found to follow the low-cost renewable energy potential and are concentrated on the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts with their high wind yields. With respect to a hydrogen transport infrastructure there were two robust findings: One a domestic German hydrogen transport network connecting electrolytic hydrogen production sites in northern Germany with hydrogen demand hubs in western and southern Germany is economically efficient. Two connecting Germany to a European hydrogen transport network with interconnection capacities between 18 GWH2 and 58 GWH2 is cost-efficient to meet Germany’s substantial hydrogen demand.
No more items...