Norway

The utilization of hydrogen fuel in gas turbines brings significant changes to the thermophysical properties of flue gas including higher specific heat capacities and an enhanced steam content. Therefore hydrogen-fueled gas turbines are susceptible to health degradation in the form of steam-induced corrosion and erosion in the hot gas path. In this context the fault diagnosis of hydrogen-fueled gas turbines becomes indispensable. To the authors’ knowledge there is a scarcity of fault diagnosis studies for retrofitted gas turbines considering hydrogen as a potential fuel. The present study however develops an artificial neural network (ANN)-based fault diagnosis model using the MATLAB environment. Prior to the fault detection isolation and identification modules physics-based performance data of a 100 kW micro gas turbine (MGT) were synthesized using the GasTurb tool. An ANN-based classification algorithm showed a 96.2% classification accuracy for the fault detection and isolation. Moreover the feedforward neural network-based regression algorithm showed quite good training testing and validation accuracies in terms of the root mean square error (RMSE). The study revealed that the presence of hydrogen-induced corrosion faults (both as a single corrosion fault or as simultaneous fouling and corrosion) led to false alarms thereby prompting other incorrect faults during the fault detection and isolation modules. Additionally the performance of the fault identification module for the hydrogen fuel scenario was found to be marginally lower than that of the natural gas case due to assumption of small magnitudes of faults arising from hydrogen-induced corrosion.

The large-scale deployment of technologies that enable energy from renewables is essential for a successful transition to a carbon-neutral future. While photovoltaic panels are one of the main technologies commonly used for harvesting energy from the Sun storage of renewable solar energy still presents some challenges and often requires integration with additional devices. It is believed that hydrogen – being a perfect energy carrier – can become one of the broadly utilised storage alternatives that would effectively mitigate the energy supply and demand issues associated with the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources. Current pathways in the development of green technologies indicate the need for more sustainable material utilisation and more efficient device operation. To address this requirement integration of various technologies for renewable energy harvesting conversion and storage in a single device appears as an advantageous option. From the hydrogen economy perspective systems driven by green solar electricity that allow for (photo)electrochemical water splitting would generate hydrogen with the minimal CO2 footprint. If at the same time one of the device electrodes could store the generated gas and release it on demand the utilisation of critical and often costly elements would be reduced with possible gain in more effective device operation. Although conceptually attractive this cross-disciplinary concept has not gained yet enough attention and only limited number of experimental setups have been designed tested and reported. This review presents the first exhaustive overview and critical examination of various laboratory-scale prototype setups that attempt to combine both the hydrogen production and storage processes in a single unit via integration of a metal hydride-based electrode into a photoelectrochemical cell. The architectures of presented configurations enables direct solar energy to hydrogen conversion and its subsequent storage in a single device which – in some cases – can also release the stored (hydrogen) energy on demand. In addition this work explores perspectives and challenges related with the potential upscaling of reviewed solar-to-hydrogen storage systems trying to map and indicate the main future directions of their technological development and optimization. Finally the review also combines information and expertise scattered among various research fields with the aim of stimulating much-needed exchange of knowledge to accelerate the progress in the development and deployment of optimum green hydrogen-based solutions.

Widespread use of hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels as energy carriers in society may enable the gradual replacement of fossil fuels by renewable energy sources. Although the development and deployment of the associated technologies and infrastructures represent a considerable bottleneck it is generally acknowledged that neither the technical feasibility nor the economic viability alone will determine the extent of the future use of hydrogen as an energy carrier. Public perception beliefs awareness and knowledge about hydrogen will play a significant role in the further development of the hydrogen economy. To this end the present study examines public perception and awareness of hydrogen in Norway. The approach adopted entailed an open-ended question examining spontaneous associations with the term ‘hydrogen’. The question was fielded to 2276 participants in Wave 25 of the Norwegian Citizen Panel (NCP) an on-line panel that derives random samples from the general population registry. The analysis focused on classifying the responses into negative associations (i.e. barriers towards widespread implementation of hydrogen in society) neutral associations (e.g. basic facts) and positive associations (i.e. drivers towards widespread implementation of hydrogen in society). Each of the 2194 responses were individually assessed by five researchers. The majority of the responses highlighted neutral associations using words such as ‘gas’ ‘water’ and ‘element’. When considering barriers vs. drivers the overall responses tend towards positive associations. Many respondents perceive hydrogen as a clean and environmentally friendly fuel and hydrogen technologies are often associated with the future. The negative sentiments were typically associated with words such as ‘explosive’ ‘hazardous’ and ‘expensive’. Despite an increase in the mentioning of safety-related properties relative to a previous study in the same region the frequency of such references was rather low (4%). The responses also reveal various misconceptions such as hydrogen as a prospective ‘source’ of clean energy.

The adoption of liquid hydrogen (LH2) as an energy carrier presents significant opportunities for distributing large quantities of hydrogen efficiently. However ensuring safety of LH2 transfer operations requires the evo lution of suitable technologies and regulatory framework. This study offers an extensive overview of technical considerations and safety aspects pertaining to liquid hydrogen installations and mobile applications. A signif icant lack of regulations specifically tailored for LH2 transfer operations is highlighted. Additionally experi mental findings and outcomes of the modelling activities carried out in previous research are presented shedding light on the combustion and ignition behaviour of liquid hydrogen during accident scenarios. The identification of research gaps and ongoing research projects underscores the importance of continued investigation and development of this critical area.

The Federal Institute of Metrology METAS developed a Hydrogen Field Test Standard (HFTS) that can be used for field verification and calibration of hydrogen refuelling stations. The testing method is based on the gravimetric principle. The experimental design of the HFTS as well as the description of the method are presented here.

Hydrogen is an environmentally friendly fuel that can facilitate the upcoming energy transition. The development of an extensive infrastructure for hydrogen transport and storage is crucial. However the mechanical properties of structural materials are significantly degraded in H2 environments leading to early component failures. Pipelines are designed following defect-tolerant principles and are subjected to periodic pressure fluctuations. Hence these systems are potentially prone to fatigue degradation often accelerated in pressurized hydrogen gas. Inspection and maintenance activities are crucial to guarantee the integrity and fitness for service of this infrastructure. This study predicts the severity of hydrogen-enhanced fatigue in low-alloy steels commonly employed for H2 transport and storage equipment. Three machine-learning algorithms i.e. Linear Model Deep Neural Network and Random Forest are used to categorize the severity of the fatigue degradation. The models are critically compared and the best-performing algorithm are trained to predict the Fatigue Acceleration Factor. This approach shows good prediction capability and can estimate the fatigue crack propagation in lowalloy steels. These results allow for estimating the probability of failure of hydrogen pipelines thus facilitating the inspection and maintenance planning.

The cost of green hydrogen production is very dependent on the price of electricity. A control system that can schedule hydrogen production based on forecast wind speed and electricity price should therefore be advantageous for large-scale wind-hydrogen systems. This work presents a novel price-based control system integrated in a techno-economic analysis of hydrogen production from offshore wind. A polynomial regression model that predicts wind power production from wind speed input was developed and tested with real-world datasets from a 2.3 MW floating offshore wind turbine. This was combined with a mathematical model of a PEM electrolyzer and used to simulate hydrogen production. A novel price-based control system was developed to decide when the system should produce hydrogen and when it should sell electricity to the grid. The model and control system can be used in real-world wind-hydrogen systems and require only the forecast wind speed electricity price and selling price of hydrogen as inputs. 11 test scenarios based on 10 years of real-world wind speed and electricity price data are proposed and used to evaluate the effect the price-based control system has on the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH). Both current and future (2050) costs and technologies are used and the results show that the novel control system lowered the LCOH in all scenarios by 10–46%. The lowest LCOH achieved with current technology and costs was 6.04 $/kg H2. Using the most optimistic forecasts for technology improvements and cost reductions in 2050 the model estimated a LCOH of 0.96 $/kg H2 for a grid-connected offshore wind farm and onshore hydrogen production 0.82 $/kg H2 using grid electricity (onshore) and 4.96 $/kg H2 with an offgrid offshore wind-hydrogen system. When the electricity price from the period 2013–2022 was used on the 2050 scenarios the resulting LCOH was approximately twice as high.

Hydrogen is on the rise as a substitute for fossil fuel in the energy sector. While this substitution does not happen dramatically the steady increase in hydrogen related research might be a good indicator of such desire. As it stands there are issues regarding its safe handling and use; consequently the health and safety subsectors observe the situation conspicuously. As we yet to know the behavior of hydrogen in critical situations uncertainties make these tasks prone to emerging risks. Thus hydrogen safety falls under emerging risk studies. Conventional perspective on safety especially regarding the flammable material focuses on calculating the hypothetical risks of failures in system. Resilience Engineering has another perspective as it focuses on normal operations offering new perspectives to tackle emerging risks from a new angle. Born from the heart of Resilience Engineering the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) captures sociotechnical systems’ essence in a tangible way. In this study FRAM has been used to model a series of experiments done on hydrogen management to analyze its jet fire. FRAM is used to test whether the method could be suitable to model a system in which emerging risks are present. It is the conclusion of this study that FRAM seems promising in raising risk awareness especially when available data is limited.

Many countries have announced hydrogen promotion strategies to achieve net zero CO2 emissions around 2050. The cost of producing low-carbon (green and blue) hydrogen has been projected to fall considerably as production is scaled up although more so for green hydrogen than for blue hydrogen. This article uses a global computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to explore whether the cost reduction of green and blue hydrogen production can mitigate the use of fossil fuels and related carbon emissions. The results show that cost reduction can raise low-carbon hydrogen consumption markedly in relative terms but marginally in absolute terms resulting in a modest decrease in fossil fuel use and related carbon emissions. The cost reduction of low-carbon hydrogen slightly lowers the use of coal and gas but marginally increases the use of oil. If regional CO2 taxes are introduced the increase in green hydrogen production is considerably larger than in the case of low-carbon hydrogen cost reduction alone. However if cost reduction in low-carbon hydrogen is introduced in addition to the CO2 tax the emissions from fossil fuels are only marginally reduced. Hence synergy efects between the two measures on emissions are practically absent. A low-carbon hydrogen cost reduction alone is efective but insufcient to have a substantial climate impact. This study also calls for modeling development to capture special user preferences for low-carbon hydrogen related to climate mitigation when phasing in new energy carriers like hydrogen.

The European Union aims to deploy a high share of renewable energy sources in Europe’s power system by 2050. Large-scale intermittent wind and solar power production requires flexibility to ensure an adequate supply–demand balance. Green hydrogen (GH) can increase power systems’ flexibility and decrease renewable energy production’s curtailment. However investing in GH is costly and dependent on electricity prices which are important for operational costs in electrolysis. Moreover the use of GH for power system flexibility might not be economically viable if there is no hydrogen demand from the hydrogen market. If so questions would arise as to what would be the incentives to introduce GH as a source of flexibility in the power system and how would electrolyzer costs hydrogen demand and other factors affect the economic viability of GH usage for power system flexibility. The paper implements a European power system model formulated as a stochastic program to address these questions. The authors use the model to compare various instances with hydrogen in the power system to a no-hydrogen instance. The results indicate that by 2050 deployment of approximately 140 GW of GH will pay off investments and make the technology economically viable. We find that the price of hydrogen is estimated to be around €30/MWh.