United States

How do we get green hydrogen (and green ammonia) production to scale and make it cost competitive? It's a great question and we ask it all the time on the show. Well Alicia Eastman Co-founder & Managing Director of InterContinental Energy (ICE) may be one of the best authorities in the world on this topic and she joins us on this episode of EAH to tell the team all about her and ICE's work developing the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH). Located in Western Australia the AREH when completed will be the largest renewable energy project by total generation capacity on the planet. At 26 GW it surpasses even the likes of the Three Gorges Dam and will act as a central production and distribution point for huge quantities of clean hydrogen and ammonia for offtakers and customers across APAC and beyond. The AREH is a truly massive project that has global implications for the global energy landscape of the future.

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On this week's show we speak with Trevor Best CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics a Houston area startup who is a pioneer in the field of photocatalytic based hydrogen production. The company has recently closed its series A funding round. We discuss with Trevor the potential applications of the Syzygy approach and where they are aiming to engage the market first as well as his view of the evolution of the hydrogen market today. All this and more on the show!

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On this week's episode of Everything About Hydrogen the team are catching up with Astrid Behaghel the Energy Transition expert on hydrogen for BNP Paribas. On the show the team discuss how BNP Paribas see the emerging role of hydrogen in the energy transition how the financing of hydrogen projects differs for newer hydrogen initiatives and why BNP Paribas joined the Hydrogen Council. We also dive into the question of what role can (or even should) Banks play in the evolution and development of the emerging hydrogen market and BNPs plans to expand its activities in this sector. All this and more!

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On this week's episode of Everything About Hydrogen the team are celebrating the show's one year anniversary with Randy MacEwen the CEO of Ballard Power Systems. On the show the team ask Randy to explain the stunning rise of hydrogen over the last 12-24 months how the use cases for hydrogen are evolving and how the growing capitalisation of listed businesses like Ballard is driving a change in the investor base across the hydrogen & fuel cell sector. We also dive into the future for Ballard where the challenges and focuses for the business lie while the team reflect on what has been a very intense year for the show and the hydrogen industry. All this and more!

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On today's show the EAH team will be joined by Brendan Norman to talk about deployment of sustainable FCEV technologies across many different segments of the transport sector and utility vehicles. Brendan is the CEO of H2X a new vehicle manufacturing company based in Sydney with a manufacturing facility in Port Kembla will deliver its first hydrogen FCEVs to market beginning in 2022 before expanding its vehicle offerings in subsequent years. Brendan joined the EAH team via SquadCast from Kuala Lumpur to talk fuel cells with us and you don't want to miss the excellent discussion that we had on this week's episode.

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2020 has been a year for the history books! Some good most of it not so good; but 2020 has been a boom year for the future of hydrogen technologies. Patrick Chris and Andrew do their level best on this episode to talk about all the stories and the highlights of 2020 in under 50 minutes. Have a listen and let us know if we missed anything in our penultimate episode of 2020!

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Quantron AG was created in 2019 as a high-tech spin-off of the well-known Haller GmbH & Co. KG with the vision of paving the way for e-mobility in inner-city and regional passenger and cargo transportation. Quantron AG combines innovative ability and expertise in e-vans e-trucks and e-buses with the long-standing knowledge and experience of Haller GmbH & Co. KG in the commercial vehicle sector. The company's approach to e-Mobility is defined by its commitment to leveraging the most effective zero-emission vehicle technology for the use case which means Quantron is building both hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for its clients.

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The main objective of this paper is to select the optimal configuration of a ship’s power system considering the use of fuel cells and batteries that would achieve the lowest CO2 emissions also taking into consideration the number of battery cycles. The ship analyzed in this work is a Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) used to support oil and gas offshore platforms transporting goods equipment and personnel. The proposed scheme considers the ship’s retrofitting. The ship’s original main generators are maintained and the fuel cell and batteries are installed as complementary sources. Moreover a sensitivity analysis is pursued on the ship’s demand curve. The simulations used to calculate the CO2 emissions for each of the new hybrid configurations were developed using HOMER software. The proposed solutions are auxiliary generators three types of batteries and a protonexchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with different sizes of hydrogen tanks. The PEMFC and batteries were sized as containerized solutions and the sizing of the auxiliary engines was based on previous works. Each configuration consists of a combination of these solutions. The selection of the best configuration is one contribution of this paper. The new configurations are classified according to the reduction of CO2 emitted in comparison to the original system. For different demand levels the results indicate that the configuration classification may vary. Another valuable contribution of this work is the sizing of the battery and hydrogen storage systems. They were installed in 20 ft containers since the installation of batteries fuel cells and hydrogen tanks in containers is widely used for ship retrofit. As a result the most significant reduction of CO2 emissions is 10.69%. This is achieved when the configuration includes main generators auxiliary generators a 3119 kW lithium nickel manganese cobalt (LNMC) battery a 250 kW PEMFC and 581 kg of stored hydrogen.

Traditional high-pressure mechanical compressors account for over half of the car station’s cost have insufficient reliability and are not feasible for a large-scale fuel cell market. An alternative technology employing a two-stage hybrid system based on electrochemical and metal hydride compression technologies represents an excellent alternative to conventional compressors. The high-pressure stage operating at 100–875 bar is based on a metal hydride thermal system. A techno-economic analysis of the metal hydride system is presented and discussed. A model of the metal hydride system was developed integrating a lumped parameter mass and energy balance model with an economic model. A novel metal hydride heat exchanger configuration is also presented based on minichannel heat transfer systems allowing for effective high-pressure compression. Several metal hydrides were analyzed and screened demonstrating that one selected material namely (Ti0.97Zr0.03)1.1Cr1.6Mn0.4 is likely the best candidate material to be employed for high-pressure compressors under the specific conditions. System efficiency and costs were assessed based on the properties of currently available materials at industrial levels. Results show that the system can reach pressures on the order of 875 bar with thermal power provided at approximately 150 ◦C. The system cost is comparable with the current mechanical compressors and can be reduced in several ways as discussed in the paper.

For our 40th episode of the Everything About Hydrogen podcast the gang are joined by hydrogen luminary Marco Alverà the CEO of Snam. Founded in 1941 and listed on the Italian stock exchange since 2001 Snam is a leader in the European gas market and operator of over 41000km of transport networks. Hailed as a visionary who has led the pivot of the world’s 2nd largest gas distribution company towards a clean gas trajectory Marco is widely recognized as a thought leader and a key figure driving the transition towards hydrogen. On the show the team discuss why Marco decided to lead Snam's pivot towards hydrogen what he sees as the role of hydrogen in the energy transition and how blue hydrogen can sit alongside green hydrogen as part of the solution to a decarbonized gas network.

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Pipeline failure caused by Hydrogen-Induced Cracking (HIC) also known as Hydrogen Embrittlement (HE) is a pressing issue for the oil and natural gas industry. Bursts in pipelines are devastating and extremely costly. The explosive force of a bursting pipe can inflict fatal injuries to workers while the combined loss of product and effort to repair are highly costly to producers. Further pipeline failures due to HIC have a long lasting impact on the surrounding environment. Safe use and operation of such pipelines depend on a good understanding of the underlying forces that cause HIC. Specifically a reliable way to predict the growth rate of hydrogen-induced cracks is needed to establish a safe duration of service for each length of pipeline. Pipes that have exceeded or are near the end of their service life can then be retired before the risk of HIC-related failures becomes too high. However little is known about the mechanisms that drive HIC. To date no model has been put forth that accurately predicts the growth rate of fractures due to HIC under extreme pressures such as in the context of natural gas and petroleum pipelines. Herein a mathematical model for the growth of fractures by HIC under extreme pressures is presented. This model is derived from first principles and the results are compared with other models. The implications of these findings are discussed and a description of future work based on these findings is presented.

A technoeconomic analysis of photoelectrochemical (PEC) and photovoltaic-electrolytic (PV-E) solar-hydrogen production of 10 000 kg H₂ day⁻¹ (3.65 kilotons per year) was performed to assess the economics of each technology and to provide a basis for comparison between these technologies as well as within the broader energy landscape. Two PEC systems differentiated primarily by the extent of solar concentration (unconcentrated and 10× concentrated) and two PV-E systems differentiated by the degree of grid connectivity (unconnected and grid supplemented) were analyzed. In each case a base-case system that used established designs and materials was compared to prospective systems that might be envisioned and developed in the future with the goal of achieving substantially lower overall system costs. With identical overall plant efficiencies of 9.8% the unconcentrated PEC and non-grid connected PV-E system base-case capital expenses for the rated capacity of 3.65 kilotons H₂ per year were $205 MM ($293 per m² of solar collection area (m_S⁻²) $14.7 W_H2P⁻¹) and $260 MM ($371 mS−2 $18.8 W_H2P⁻¹) respectively. The untaxed plant-gate levelized costs for the hydrogen product (LCH) were $11.4 kg⁻¹ and $12.1 kg⁻¹ for the base-case PEC and PV-E systems respectively. The 10× concentrated PEC base-case system capital cost was $160 MM ($428 m_S−2 $11.5 WH₂P⁻¹) and for an efficiency of 20% the LCH was $9.2 kg−1. Likewise the grid supplemented base-case PV-E system capital cost was $66 MM ($441 _mS⁻² $11.5 W_H2P⁻¹) and with solar-to-hydrogen and grid electrolysis system efficiencies of 9.8% and 61% respectively the LCH was $6.1 kg⁻¹. As a benchmark a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) based grid-connected electrolysis system was analyzed. Assuming a system efficiency of 61% and a grid electricity cost of $0.07 kWh⁻¹ the LCH was $5.5 kg⁻¹. A sensitivity analysis indicated that relative to the base-case increases in the system efficiency could effect the greatest cost reductions for all systems due to the areal dependencies of many of the components. The balance-of-systems (BoS) costs were the largest factor in differentiating the PEC and PV-E systems. No single or combination of technical advancements based on currently demonstrated technology can provide sufficient cost reductions to allow solar hydrogen to directly compete on a levelized cost basis with hydrogen produced from fossil energy. Specifically a cost of CO₂ greater than ∼$800 (ton CO₂)−1 was estimated to be necessary for base-case PEC hydrogen to reach price parity with hydrogen derived from steam reforming of methane priced at $12 GJ⁻¹ ($1.39 (kg H₂)⁻¹). A comparison with low CO₂ and CO₂-neutral energy sources indicated that base-case PEC hydrogen is not currently cost-competitive with electrolysis using electricity supplied by nuclear power or from fossil-fuels in conjunction with carbon capture and storage. Solar electricity production and storage using either batteries or PEC hydrogen technologies are currently an order of magnitude greater in cost than electricity prices with no clear advantage to either battery or hydrogen storage as of yet. Significant advances in PEC technology performance and system cost reductions are necessary to enable cost-effective PEC-derived solar hydrogen for use in scalable grid-storage applications as well as for use as a chemical feedstock precursor to CO₂-neutral high energy-density transportation fuels. Hence such applications are an opportunity for foundational research to contribute to the development of disruptive approaches to solar fuels generation systems that can offer higher performance at much lower cost than is provided by current embodiments of solar fuels generators. Efforts to directly reduce CO₂ photoelectrochemically or electrochemically could potentially produce products with higher value than hydrogen but many as yet unmet challenges include catalytic efficiency and selectivity and CO₂ mass transport rates and feedstock cost. Major breakthroughs are required to obtain viable economic costs for solar hydrogen production but the barriers to achieve cost-competitiveness with existing large-scale thermochemical processes for CO₂ reduction are even greater.

In the field of energy storage recently investigated nanocomposites show promise in terms of high hydrogen uptake and release with enhancement in the reaction kinetics. Among several carbonaceous nanovariants like carbon nanotubes (CNTs) fullerenes and graphitic nanofibers reveal reversible hydrogen sorption characteristics at 77 K due to their van der Waals interaction. The spillover mechanism combining Pd nanoparticles on the host metal-organic framework (MOF) show room temperature uptake of hydrogen. Metal or complex hydrides either in the nanocomposite form and its subset nanocatalyst dispersed alloy phases illustrate the concept of nanoengineering and nanoconfinement of particles with tailor-made properties for reversible hydrogen storage. Another class of materials comprising polymeric nanostructures such as conducting polyaniline and their functionalized nanocomposites are versatile hydrogen storage materials because of their unique size high specific surface-area pore-volume and bulk properties. The salient features of nanocomposite materials for reversible hydrogen storage are reviewed and discussed.

Recent interest in biomass-based fuel blendstocks and chemical compounds has stimulated research efforts on conversion and upgrading pathways which are considered as critical commercialization drivers. Existing pre-/post-conversion pathways are energy intense (e.g. pyrolysis and hydrogenation) and economically unsustainable thus more efficient process solutions can result in supporting the renewable fuels and green chemicals industry. This study proposes a process including biomass conversion and bio-oil upgrading using mixed fast and slow pyrolysis conversion pathway as well as sono-catalytic transfer hydrogenation (SCTH) treatment process. The proposed SCTH treatment employs ammonium formate as a hydrogen transfer additive and palladium supported on carbon as the catalyst. Utilizing SCTH bio-oil molecular bonds were broken and restructured via the phenomena of cavitation rarefaction and hydrogenation with the resulting product composition investigated using ultimate analysis and spectroscopy. Additionally an in-line characterization approach is proposed using near-infrared spectroscopy calibrated by multivariate analysis and modelling. The results indicate the potentiality of ultrasonic cavitation catalytic transfer hydrogenation and SCTH for incorporating hydrogen into the organic phase of bio-oil. It is concluded that the integration of pyrolysis with SCTH can improve bio-oil for enabling the production of fuel blendstocks and chemical compounds from lignocellulosic biomass.

The use of hydrogen as a clean and renewable alternative to fossil fuels requires a suite of flammability mitigating technologies particularly robust sensors for hydrogen leak detection and concentration monitoring. To this end we have developed a class of lightweight optical hydrogen sensors based on a metasurface of Pd nano-patchy particle arrays which fulfills the increasing requirements of a safe hydrogen fuel sensing system with no risk of sparking. The structure of the optical sensor is readily nano-engineered to yield extraordinarily rapid response to hydrogen gas (<3 s at 1 mbar H2) with a high degree of accuracy (<5%). By incorporating 20% Ag Au or Co the sensing performances of the Pd-alloy sensor are significantly enhanced especially for the Pd80Co20 sensor whose optical response time at 1 mbar of H2 is just ~0.85 s while preserving the excellent accuracy (<2.5%) limit of detection (2.5 ppm) and robustness against aging temperature and interfering gases. The superior performance of our sensor places it among the fastest and most sensitive optical hydrogen sensors.

Several carbon sequestration technologies have been proposed to utilize carbon dioxide (CO2 ) to produce energy and chemical compounds. However feasible technologies have not been adopted due to the low efficiency conversion rate and high-energy requirements. Process intensification increases the process productivity and efficiency by combining chemical reactions and separation operations. In this work we present a model of a chemical-electrochemical cyclical process that can capture carbon dioxide as a bicarbonate salt. The proposed process also produces hydrogen and electrical energy. Carbon capture is enhanced by the reaction at the cathode that displaces the equilibrium into bicarbonate production. Literature data show that the cyclic process can produce stable operation for long times by preserving ionic balance using a suitable ionic membrane that regulates ionic flows between the two half-cells. Numerical simulations have validated the proof of concept. The proposed process could serve as a novel CO2 sequestration technology while producing electrical energy and hydrogen.

Producing hydrogen by water electrolysis suffers from the kinetic barriers in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) that limits the overall efficiency. With spin-dependent kinetics in OER to manipulate the spin ordering of ferromagnetic OER catalysts (e.g. by magnetization) can reduce the kinetic barrier. However most active OER catalysts are not ferromagnetic which makes the spin manipulation challenging. In this work we report a strategy with spin pinning effect to make the spins in paramagnetic oxyhydroxides more aligned for higher intrinsic OER activity. The spin pinning effect is established in oxideFM/oxyhydroxide interface which is realized by a controlled surface reconstruction of ferromagnetic oxides. Under spin pinning simple magnetization further increases the spin alignment and thus the OER activity which validates the spin effect in rate-limiting OER step. The spin polarization in OER highly relies on oxyl radicals (O∙) created by 1st dehydrogenation to reduce the barrier for subsequent O-O coupling.

Polygeneration energy systems (PES) have the potential to provide a flexible high-efficiency and low-emissions alternative for power generation and chemical synthesis from fossil fuels. This study aims to assess the economic value of fossil-fuel PES which rely on hydrogen as an intermediate product. Our analysis focuses on a representative PES configuration that uses coal as the primary energy input and produces electricity and fertilizer as end-products. We derive a series of propositions that assess the cost competitiveness of the modeled PES under both static and flexible operation modes. The result is a set of metrics that quantify the levelized cost of hydrogen the unit profit-margin of PES and the real option values of ‘diversification’ and ‘flexibility’ embedded in PES. These metrics are subsequently applied to assess the economics of Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) a PES currently under development in California. Under our technical and economic assumptions HECA’s levelized cost of hydrogen is estimated at 1.373 $/kgh. The profitability of HECA as a static PES increases in the share of hydrogen converted to fertilizer rather than electricity. However when configured as a flexible PES HECA almost breaks even on a pre-tax basis. Diversification and flexibility are valuable for HECA when polygeneration is compared to static monogeneration of electricity but these two real options have no value when comparing polygeneration to static monogeneration of fertilizers.

This paper compares the well-to-wheel (WTW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of representative vehicle types–internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) battery electric vehicle (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV)–in the future (2030) based on a WTW analysis for the present (2017) and an analysis of various energy policies that could affect future emissions. South Korea was selected as the target region because it has detailed energy policies related to alternative vehicles. The WTW analysis for the present was performed based on three sets of subordinate analyses: (1) life cycle analyses of eight base fuels; (2) life cycle analyses of electricity and hydrogen; and (3) analyses of the fuel economies of seven vehicle types. From the WTW analysis for the present the national average WTW GHG emissions of ICEV-gasoline ICEV-diesel ICEV-liquefied petroleum gas HEV PHEV BEV and FCEV were calculated as 225 233 201 159 133 109 and 55 g-CO₂-eq./km respectively. For calculating the WTW GHG emissions in the future two policies regarding electricity production and three policies regarding hydrogen production were analysed. Three cases with varying the degrees of improvements in fuel economies were considered. Six future scenarios were constructed and each scenario represented the case in which each energy policy is enacted. In the reference scenario for compact car the WTW GHG emissions of ICEVs-gasoline HEV PHEV BEV-200 mile FCEV were analysed as 161 110 97 86 and 91 g-CO₂-eq./km respectively. The differences between ICEV/HEV and BEV were predicted to decrease in the future mainly due to larger improvements of ICEV/HEV in fuel economies compared to that of BEV. The future life cycle GHG emissions of electricity and hydrogen were calculated according to energy policy. Both two policies regarding power generation were confirmed to increase the benefits of utilizing BEVs but current energy policy regarding hydrogen production were confirmed to decrease the benefits of utilizing FCEVs. Based on the comprehensive results of this study a framework was proposed to evaluate the impacts of an energy policy regarding electricity and hydrogen production on the benefits of using BEVs and FCEVs compared to using HEVs and ICEVs. This framework can also be utilized in other countries when they assess and establish their energy policies.

The NASA Safety Standard which establishes a uniform process for hydrogen system design materials selection operation storage and transportation is presented. The guidelines include suggestions for safely storing handling and using hydrogen in gaseous (GH2) liquid (LH2) or slush (SLH2) form whether used as a propellant or non-propellant. The handbook contains 9 chapters detailing properties and hazards facility design design of components materials compatibility detection and transportation. Chapter 10 serves as a reference and the appendices contained therein include: assessment examples; scaling laws explosions blast effects and fragmentation; codes standards and NASA directives; and relief devices along with a list of tables and figures abbreviations a glossary and an index for ease of use. The intent of the handbook is to provide enough information that it can be used alone but at the same time reference data sources that can provide much more detail if required.

Reducing the cost of delivering hydrogen to fuelling stations and dispensing it into fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) is one critical element of efforts to increase the cost-competitiveness of FCEVs. Today hydrogen is primarily delivered to stations by trucks. Pipeline delivery is much rarer: one urban U.S. station has been supplied with 800-psi hydrogen from an industrial hydrogen pipeline since 2011 and a German station on the edge of an industrial park has been supplied with 13000-psi hydrogen from a pipeline since 2006. This article compares the economics of existing U.S. hydrogen delivery methods with the economics of a high-pressure scalable intra-city pipeline system referred to here as the “HyLine” system. In the HyLine system hydrogen would be produced at urban industrial or commercial sites compressed to 15000 psi stored at centralized facilities delivered via high-pressure pipeline to retail stations and dispensed directly into FCEVs. Our analysis of retail fuelling station economics in Los Angeles suggests that as FCEV demand for hydrogen in an area becomes sufficiently dense pipeline hydrogen delivery gains an economic advantage over truck delivery. The HyLine approach would also enable cheaper dispensed hydrogen compared with lower-pressure pipeline delivery owing to economies of scale associated with integrated compression and storage. In the largest-scale fuelling scenario analyzed (a network of 24 stations with capacities of 1500 kg/d each and hydrogen produced via steam methane reforming) HyLine could potentially achieve a profited hydrogen cost of $5.3/kg which is approximately equivalent to a gasoline cost of $2.7/gal (assuming FCEVs offer twice the fuel economy of internal combustion engine vehicles and vehicle cost is competitive). It is important to note that significant effort would be required to develop technical knowledge codes and standards that would enable a HyLine system to be viable. However our preliminary analysis suggests that the HyLine approach merits further consideration based on its potential economic advantages. These advantages could also include the value of minimizing retail space used by hydrogen compression and storage sited at fuelling stations which is not reflected in our analysis.

The computational thermodynamic analysis of a samarium oxide-based two-step solar thermochemical water splitting cycle is reported. The analysis is performed using HSC chemistry software and databases. The first (solar-based) step drives the thermal reduction of Sm2O3 into Sm and O2. The second (non-solar) step corresponds to the production of H2 via a water splitting reaction and the oxidation of Sm to Sm2O3. The equilibrium thermodynamic compositions related to the thermal reduction and water splitting steps are determined. The effect of oxygen partial pressure in the inert flushing gas on the thermal reduction temperature (TH) is examined. An analysis based on the second law of thermodynamics is performed to determine the cycle efficiency (ηcycle) and solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiency (ηsolar´to´fuel) attainable with and without heat recuperation. The results indicate that ηcycle and ηsolar´to´fuel both increase with decreasing TH due to the reduction in oxygen partial pressure in the inert flushing gas. Furthermore the recuperation of heat for the operation of the cycle significantly improves the solar reactor efficiency. For instance in the case where TH = 2280 K ηcycle = 24.4% and ηsolar´to´fuel = 29.5% (without heat recuperation) while ηcycle = 31.3% and ηsolar´to´fuel = 37.8% (with 40% heat recuperation).

Biomass is plant or animal material that stores both chemical and solar energies and that is widely used for heat production and various industrial processes. Biomass contains a large amount of the element hydrogen so it is an excellent source for hydrogen production. Therefore biomass is a sustainable source for electricity or hydrogen production. Although biomass power plants and reforming plants have been commercialized it remains a difficult challenge to develop more effective and economic technologies to further improve the conversion efficiency and reduce the environmental impacts in the conversion process. The use of biomass-based flow fuel cell technology to directly convert biomass to electricity and the use of electrolysis technology to convert biomass into hydrogen at a low temperature are two new research areas that have recently attracted interest. This paper first briefly introduces traditional technologies related to the conversion of biomass to electricity and hydrogen and then reviews the new developments in flow biomass fuel cells (FBFCs) and biomass electrolysis for hydrogen production (BEHP) in detail. Further challenges in these areas are discussed.

Hydrogen Fuelling Infrastructure Research and Station Technology (H2FIRST) is a project initiated by the DOE in 2015 and executed by Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to address R&D barriers to the deployment of hydrogen fuelling infrastructure. One key barrier to the deployment of fuelling stations is the land area they require (i.e. ""footprint""). Space is particularly a constraint in dense urban areas where hydrogen demand is high but space for fuelling stations is limited. This work presents current fire code requirements that inform station footprint then identifies and quantifies opportunities to reduce footprint without altering the safety profile of fuelling stations. Opportunities analyzed include potential new methods of hydrogen delivery as well as alternative placements of station technologies (i.e. rooftop/underground fuel storage). As interest in heavy-duty fuelling stations and other markets for hydrogen grows this study can inform techniques to reduce the footprint of heavy-duty stations as well.



This work characterizes generic designs for stations with a capacity of 600 kg/day hydrogen dispensed and 4 dispenser hoses. Three base case designs (delivered gas delivered liquid and on-site electrolysis production) have been modified in 5 different ways to study the impacts of recently released fire code changes colocation with gasoline refuelling alternate delivery assumptions underground storage of hydrogen and rooftop storage of hydrogen resulting in a total of 32 different station designs. The footprints of the base case stations range from 13000 to 21000 ft².



A significant focus of this study is the NFPA 2 requirements especially the prescribed setback distances for bulk gaseous or liquid hydrogen storage. While the prescribed distances are large in some cases these setback distances are found to have a nuanced impact on station lot size; considerations of the delivery truck path traffic flow parking and convenience store location are also important. Station designs that utilize underground and rooftop storage can reduce footprint but may not be practical or economical. For example burying hydrogen storage tanks underground can reduce footprint but the cost savings they enable depend on the cost of burial and the cost land. Siting and economic analysis of station lot sizes illustrate the benefit of smaller station footprints in the flexibility and cost savings they can provide. This study can be used as a reference that provides examples of the key design differences that fuelling stations can incorporate the approximate sizes of generic station lots and considerations that might be unique to particular designs.

Twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steels have higher strength and ductility than conventional steels. Deformation mechanisms producing twins that prevent gliding and stacking of dislocations cause a higher ductility than that of steel grades with the same strength. TWIP steels are considered to be within the new generation of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS). However some aspects such as the corrosion resistance and performance in service of TWIP steel materials need more research. Application of TWIP steels in the automotive industry requires a proper investigation of corrosion behavior and corrosion mechanisms which would indicate the optimum degree of protection and the possible decrease in costs. In general Fe−Mn-based TWIP steel alloys can passivate in oxidizing acid neutral and basic solutions however they cannot passivate in reducing acid or active chloride solutions. TWIP steels have become as a potential material of interest for automotive applications due to their effectiveness impact resistance and negligible harm to the environment. The mechanical and corrosion performance of TWIP steels is subjected to the manufacturing and processing steps like forging and casting elemental composition and thermo-mechanical treatment. Corrosion of TWIP steels caused by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors has posed a serious problem for their use. Passivity breakdown caused by pitting and galvanic corrosion due to phase segregation are widely described and their critical mechanisms examined. Numerous studies have been performed to study corrosion behaviour and passivation of TWIP steel. Despite the large number of articles on corrosion few comprehensive reports have been published on this topic. The current trend for development of corrosion resistance TWIP steel is thoroughly studied and represented showing the key mechanisms and factors influencing corrosion processes and its consequences on TWIP steel. In addition suggestions for future works and gaps in the literature are considered.