Publications

This article presents findings from a representative survey fielded through the Norwegian Citizen Panel examining public perceptions of hydrogen fuel and its different production methods. Although several countries including Norway have strategies to increase the production of hydrogen fuel our results indicate that hydrogen as an energy carrier and its different production methods are still unknown to a large part of the public. A common misunderstanding seems to be confusing ‘hydrogen fuel’ in general with environmentally friendly ‘green hydrogen’. Results from a survey experiment (N = 1906) show that production method is important for public acceptance. On a five-point acceptance scale respondents score on average 3.9 for ‘green’ hydrogen which is produced from renewable energy sources. The level of acceptance is significantly lower for ‘blue’ (3.2) and ‘grey’ (2.3) hydrogen when respondents are informed that these are produced from coal oil or natural gas. Public support for hydrogen fuel in general as well as the different production methods is also related to their level of worry about climate change gender and political affiliation. Widespread misunderstandings regarding ‘green’ hydrogen production could potentially fuel public resistance as new ‘blue’ or ‘grey’ projects develop. Our results indicate a need for clearer communication from the government and developers regarding production methods to avoid distrust and potential public backfire.

Conventional fuels for vehicular applications generate hazardous pollutants which have an adverse effect on the environment. Therefore there is a high demand to shift towards environment-friendly vehicles for the present mobility sector. This paper highlights sustainable mobility and specifically sustainable transportation as a solution to reduce GHG emissions. Thus hydrogen fuel-based vehicular technologies have started blooming and have gained significance following the zero-emission policy focusing on various types of sustainable motilities and their limitations. Serving an incredible deliverance of energy by hydrogen fuel combustion engines hydrogen can revolution various transportation sectors. In this study the aspects of hydrogen as a fuel for sustainable mobility sectors have been investigated. In order to reduce the GHG (Green House Gas) emission from fossil fuel vehicles researchers have paid their focus for research and development on hydrogen fuel vehicles and proton exchange fuel cells. Also its development and progress in all mobility sectors in various countries have been scrutinized to measure the feasibility of sustainable mobility as a future. This paper is an inclusive review of hydrogen-based mobility in various sectors of transportation in particular fuel cell cars that provides information on various technologies adapted with time to add more towards perfection. When compared to electric vehicles with a 200-mile range fuel cell cars have a lower driving cost in all of the 2035 and 2050 scenarios. To stimulate the use of hydrogen as a passenger automobile fuel the cost of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV) must be brought down to at least the same level as an electric vehicle. Compared to gasoline cars fuel cell vehicles use 43% less energy and generate 40% less CO2.

Hydrogen energy is an excellent carrier for connecting various renewable energy sources and has many advantages. However hydrogen is flammable and explosive and its density is low and easy to escape which brings inconvenience to the storage and transportation of hydrogen. Therefore hydrogen storage technology has become one of the key steps in the application of hydrogen energy. Solid-state hydrogen storage method has a very high volumetric hydrogen density compared to the traditional compressed hydrogen method. The main issue of solid-state hydrogen storage method is the development of advanced hydrogen storage materials. Metal borohydrides have very high hydrogen density and have received much attention over the past two decades. However high hydrogen sorption temperature slow kinetics and poor reversibility still severely restrict its practical applications. This paper mainly discusses the research progress and problems to be solved of metal borohydride hydrogen storage materials for solid-state hydrogen storage.

Due to the important role of ammonia as a fertilizer in the agricultural industry and its promising prospects as an energy carrier many studies have recently attempted to find the most environmentally benign energy efficient and economically viable production process for ammonia synthesis. The most commonly utilized ammonia production method is the Haber-Bosch process. The downside to this technology is the high greenhouse gas emissions surpassing 2.16 kgCO2-eq/kg NH3 and high amounts of energy usage of over 30 GJ/tonne NH3 mainly due to the strict operational conditions at high temperature and pressure. The most widely adopted technology for sustainable hydrogen production used for ammonia synthesis is water electrolysis coupled with renewable technologies such as wind and solar. In general a water electrolyzer requires a continuous supply of pretreated water with high purity levels for its operation. Moreover for production of 1 tonne of hydrogen 9 tonnes of water is required. Based on this data for the production of the same amount of ammonia through water electrolysis 233.6 million tonnes/yr of water is required. In this paper a critical review of different sustainable hydrogen production processes and emerging technologies for sustainable ammonia synthesis along with a comparative life cycle assessment of various ammonia production methods has been carried out. We find that through the review of each of the studied technologies either large amounts of GHG emissions are produced or high volumes of pretreated water is required or a combination of both these factors occur.

Background: The widespread use of sustainable energy technologies is a key element in the transformation of the energy system from fossil-based to zero-carbon. In line with this technology acceptance is of great importance as resistance from the public can slow down or hinder the construction of energy technology projects. The current study assesses the social acceptance of three energy technologies relevant for the German energy transition: stationary battery storage biofuel production plants and hydrogen fuel station. Methods: An online survey was conducted to examine the public’s general and local acceptance of energy technologies. Explored factors included general and local acceptance public concerns trust in relevant stakeholders and attitudes towards financial support. Results: The results indicate that general acceptance for all technologies is slightly higher than local acceptance. In addition we discuss which public concerns exist with regard to the respective technologies and how they are more strongly associated with local than general acceptance. Further we show that trust in stakeholders and attitudes towards fnancial support is relatively high across the technologies discussed. Conclusions: Taken together the study provides evidence for the existence of a “general–local” gap despite measuring general and local acceptance at the same level of specifcity using a public sample. In addition the collected data can provide stakeholders with an overview of worries that might need to be addressed when planning to implement a certain energy project.

Consumption of fossil fuels especially in transport and energy-dependent sectors has led to large greenhouse gas production. Hydrogen is an exciting energy source that can serve our energy purposes and decrease toxic waste production. Decomposition of methane yields hydrogen devoid of COx components thereby aiding as an eco-friendly approach towards large-scale hydrogen production. This review article is focused on hydrogen production through thermocatalytic methane decomposition (TMD) for hydrogen production. The thermodynamics of this approach has been highlighted. Various methods of hydrogen production from fossil fuels and renewable resources were discussed. Methods including steam methane reforming partial oxidation of methane auto thermal reforming direct biomass gasification thermal water splitting methane pyrolysis aqueous reforming and coal gasification have been reported in this article. A detailed overview of the different types of catalysts available the reasons behind their deactivation and their possible regeneration methods were discussed. Finally we presented the challenges and future perspectives for hydrogen production via TMD. This review concluded that among all catalysts nickel ruthenium and platinum-based catalysts show the highest activity and catalytic efficiency and gave carbon-free hydrogen products during the TMD process. However their rapid deactivation at high temperatures still needs the attention of the scientific community.

Although hydrogen has been used in industry for many years as a chemical commodity its use as a fuel or energy carrier is relatively new and expert knowledge about its associated risks is neither complete nor consensual. Public awareness of hydrogen energy and attitudes towards a future hydrogen economy are yet to be systematically investigated. This paper opens by discussing alternative conceptualisations of risk then focuses on issues surrounding the use of emerging technologies based on hydrogen energy. It summarises expert assessments of risks associated with hydrogen. It goes on to review debates about public perceptions of risk and in doing so makes comparisons with public perceptions of other emergent technologies—Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Genetically Modified Organisms and Food (GM) and Nanotechnology (NT)—for which there is considerable scientific uncertainty and relatively little public awareness. The paper finally examines arguments about public engagement and "upstream" consultation in the development of new technologies. It is argued that scientific and technological uncertainties are perceived in varying ways and different stakeholders and different publics focus on different aspects or types of risk. Attempting to move public consultation further "upstream" may not avoid this because the framing of risks and benefits is necessarily embedded in a cultural and ideological context and is subject to change as experience of the emergent technology unfolds.

Blending hydrogen with natural gas up to 20 % mol/mol has been identified as a key enabler of hydrogen deployment within the UK gas network. This work outlines the evidence base generated to form the basis of safety submitted to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to justify a demonstration of hydrogen blending on a live public gas network within the UK supplying a hydrogen blend to 668homes over the  course of 10 months. An evidence base to demonstrate that gas users are not prejudiced by the addition of hydrogen is required by the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations [1] to allow hydrogen distribution above the 0.1 mol% limit specified within the regulations. The technical evidence generated to support the safety case presented to the HSE concerned the implications of introducing a hydrogen blend on appliance operation materials gas characteristics and operational procedures. The outputs of the technical evidence workstreams provided input data to a Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) of the GB gas distribution network. The QRA was developed in support of the safety case to allow a causal understanding of public risk to be understood where harm due to gas usage was defined as risk to life caused either by carbon monoxide poisoning or as a result of fires/explosions. Public records were used to calibrate and validate the base risk model to understand the dynamics of public risk due to natural gas usage. The experimental and analytical results of the technical workstreams were then used to derive risk model inputs relating to a hydrogen blend. This allowed a quantified comparison of risk to be understood to demonstrate parity of safety between natural gas and a hydrogen blend. This demonstration of risk parity is a condition precedent of allowing the distribution and utilisation of hydrogen blends within the GB gas network.

The lack of hydrogen (H2) transportation infrastructure restricts the development of the H2 industry. Owing to the high investment of building specific facilities using existing natural gas (NG) pipelines to transport a blend of H2 and NG (H2NG) is a viable means of transportation and approach for large-scale long-time storage. However variation in the thermo-physical properties of an H2NG blend will impact the performance of pipeline appliances. To address the gaps in H2 transmission via an NG system in the context of energy consumption in the present paper a one-dimensional pipeline model is proposed to predict the blended flow in a real existing pipeline (Shan–Jing I China). The data of NG components were derived from real gas fields. Furthermore the influence of H2 fractions on pipeline energy coefficient and the layout of pressurization stations are comprehensively analyzed. In addition the case of intermediate gas injection is investigated and the effects of injection positions are studied. This study serves as a useful reference for the design of an H2NG pipeline system. The present study reveals that with the increasing in H2 fraction the distance between pressure stations increases. Furthermore when the arrangement of original pressure stations is maintained overpressure occur. Intermediate gas injection results in the inlet pressure of subsequent pressurization stations reducing. Using existing pipeline network to transport H2NG it is necessary to make appropriate adjustment.

There is growing interest in utilizing existing infrastructure for storage and distribution of hydrogen. Gaseous hydrogen for example could be added to natural gas in the short-term whereas entire systems can be converted to transmission and distribution networks for hydrogen. Many active programs around the world are exploring the safety and feasibility of adding hydrogen to these networks. Concerns have been raised about the structural integrity of materials in these systems when exposed to hydrogen. In general the effects of hydrogen on these materials are grossly misunderstood. Hydrogen unequivocally degrades fatigue and fracture resistance of structural steels in these systems even for low hydrogen partial pressure (-l bar). In most systems however hydrogen effects will not be apparent because the stresses in these systems remain very low. Another misunderstanding results from the kinetics of the hydrogen  effects:  hydrogen  degrades   fatigue  and  fracture  properties  immediately  upon  exposure  to gaseous hydrogen and those effects disappear when the hydrogen environment is removed even after prolonged exposure. There is also a misperception that materials selection can mitigate hydrogen effects. While some classes of materials perform better in hydrogen environments than other classes for most practical   circumstances  the  range  of  response  for  a  given  class  of  material  in  gaseous  hydrogen environments is rather narrow. These observations can be systematically characterized by considering the  intersection  of  materials  environmental  and  mechanical  variables   associated  with  the  service application. Indeed any safety assessment of a hydrogen pressure system must quantitatively consider these aspects. In this report we quantitatively evaluate the importance of the materials environmental and mechanical variables in the context of hydrogen additions to natural gas piping and pipeline systems with  the  aim  of  providing  an  informed   perspective  on  parameters relevant for assessing  structural integrity of natural gas systems in the presence of gaseous hydrogen.