Publications

The need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions is driving the development of existing and new technologies to produce and use hydrogen. Anion exchange membrane electrolysis is one of these rapidly developing technologies and presents promising characteristics for efficient hydrogen production. However the environmental performance and the material criticality of anion exchange membrane electrolysis must be assessed. In this work prospective life cycle assessment and criticality assessment are applied first to identify environmental and material criticality hotspots within the production of anion exchange membrane electrolysis units and second to benchmark hydrogen production against proton exchange membrane electrolysis. From an environmental point of view the catalyst spraying process heavily dominates the ozone depletion impact category while the production of the membrane represents a hotspot in terms of the photochemical ozone formation potential. For the other categories the environmental impacts are distributed across different components. The comparison of hydrogen production via anion exchange membrane electrolysis and proton exchange membrane electrolysis shows that both technologies involve a similar life-cycle environmental profile due to similar efficiencies and the leading role of electricity generation for the operation of electrolysis. Despite the fact that for proton exchange membrane electrolysis much less material is required due to a higher lifetime anion exchange membrane electrolysis shows significantly lower raw material criticality since it does not rely on platinum-group metals. Overall a promising environmental and material criticality performance of anion exchange membrane electrolysis for hydrogen production is concluded subject to the expected technical progress for this technology.

Hydrogen is seen as a key element for the transition from a fossil fuel based economy to a renewable sustainable economy. Hydrogen can be used either directly as an energy carrier or as a feedstock for the reduction of CO2 to synthetic hydrocarbons. Hydrogen can be produced by electrolysis decomposing water in oxygen and hydrogen. This paper presents an overview of the three major electrolysis technologies: acidic (PEM) alkaline (AEL) and solid oxide electrolysis (SOEC). An updated list of existing electrolysers and commercial providers is provided. Most interestingly the specific prices of commercial devices are also given when available. Despite tremendous development of the PEM technology in the past decades the largest and most efficient electrolysers are still alkaline. Thus this technology is expected to play a key role in the transition to the hydrogen society. A detailed description of the components in an alkaline electrolyser and an analytical model of the process are provided. The analytical model allows investigating the influence of the different operating parameters on the efficiency. Specifically the effect of temperature on the electrolyte conductivity—and thus on the efficiency—is analyzed. It is found that in the typical range of operating temperatures for alkaline electrolysers of 65˚C - 220˚C the efficiency varies by up to 3.5 percentage points increasing from 80% to 83.5% at 65˚C and 220˚C respectively.

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are programmable robotic vehicles that can drift drive or glide through the ocean without real-time control by human operators. AUVs that also can follow a planned trajectory with a chosen depth profile are used for geophysical surveys subsea pipeline inspection marine archaeology and more. Most AUVs are followed by a mother ship that adds significantly to the cost of an AUV mission. One pathway to reduce this need is to develop long-endurance AUVs by improving navigation autonomy and energy storage. Long-endurance AUVs can open up for more challenging mission types than what is possible today. Fuel cell systems are a key technology for increasing the endurance of AUVs beyond the capability of batteries. However several challenges exist for underwater operation of fuel cell systems. These are related to storage or generation of hydrogen and oxygen buoyancy and trim and the demanding environment of the ambient seawater. Protecting the fuel cell inside a sealed container brings along more challenges related to condensation cooling and accumulation of inert gases or reactants. This paper elaborates on these technical challenges and describes the solutions that the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) has chosen in its development of a fuel cell system for long-endurance AUVs. The reported solutions enabled a 24 h demonstration of FFI's fuel cell system under water. The remaining work towards a prototype sea trial is outlined.

Hydrogen demand estimation for various transport modes supports policy and decision-making for the transition towards a sustainable low-carbon future transport system. It is one of the major factors that determine infrastructure construction production and distribution cost optimisation. Researchers have developed various methods for modelling hydrogen demand and its geographical distribution each based on different sets of predictor variables. This paper systematically reviews these methods and examines the key variables used in hydrogen demand estimation including the number of vehicles travel distance penetration rate and fuel economy. It emphasises the role of spatial analysis in uncovering the geographical distribution of hydrogen demand providing insights for strategic infrastructure planning. Furthermore the discussion underscores the significance of minimising uncertainty by incorporating multiple scenarios into the model thereby accommodating the dynamic nature of hydrogen adoption in transport. The necessity for multi-temporal estimation which accounts for the changing nature of hydrogen demand over time is also highlighted. In addition this paper advocates for a holistic approach to hydrogen demand estimation integrating spatiotemporal analysis. Future research could enhance the reliability of hydrogen demand models by addressing uncertainty through advanced modelling techniques to improve accuracy and spatial-temporal resolution.

Electric bus transit is crucial in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decreasing fossil fuel reliance and combating climate change. However the transition to electric-powered buses demands a comprehensive plan for optimal resource allocation technology choice infrastructure deployment and component sizing. This study develops system configuration optimization models for battery electric buses (BEBs) and hydrogen fuel cell buses (HFCBs) minimizing all related costs (i.e. capital and operational costs). These models optimize component sizing of the charging/refueling stations fleet configuration and energy/fuel management system in three operational schemes: BEBs opportunity charging BEBs overnight charging and electrolysis-powered HFCBs overnight refueling. The results indicate that the BEB opportunity system is the most economically viable choice. Meanwhile HFCB requires a higher cost (134.5%) and produces more emissions (215.7%) than the BEB overnight charging system. A sensitivity analysis indicates that a significant reduction in the HFCB unit and electricity costs is required to compete economically with BEB systems.

This brochure provides a detailed overview of the EU’s funding mechanisms and an inspiring look at real projects managed by CINEA. These examples illustrate how diverse stakeholders from industry leaders to research institutions are translating hydrogen ambitions into impactful on-the-ground solutions that address both technological and societal needs.

For low-carbon hydrogen to become a viable decarbonization solution the creation of a robust and effective market is essential. This paper examines the applicability of market reforms from the renewable energy natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) sectors with a focus on pricing mechanisms business models and infrastructure access to facilitate hydrogen market development. Applying the Structure-Conduct-PerformanceRegulation (SCP-R) framework and informed by stakeholder insights we identify critical enablers for advancing the hydrogen market formation. Our analysis highlights the importance of innovative pricing strategies and regulatory measures incentivizing investment and managing risks. Establishing a market reference price for low-carbon hydrogen — akin to benchmarks in the natural gas and LNG sectors—is critical for ensuring transparency predictability and regional adaptability in trade. Additionally customized business models are also needed to mitigate volume risks for producers. Government interventions such as offtake agreements and the development of hydrogen hubs are indispensable for fostering competition and driving decarbonization.

Under the background of energy interconnection and low-carbon electricity integrated energy systems (IES) play an important role in energy conservation and emission reduction. To further promote the low-carbon transition of energy this paper proposes a distributed robust optimal control strategy for IESs based on energy trading. Firstly an IES model that includes an electric hydrogen module and gas hydrogen doping combined heat and power is established and ladder-type carbon trading is introduced to reduce carbon emissions. Secondly for the energy trading issues between photovoltaic (PV) prosumers and IES a bi-level model is constructed using Stackelberg game method where the IES acts as the leader and the PV prosumers as the followers. Noteworthy a distributed robust optimization method is used to address the uncertainty of renewable energy and load. Additionally the Nash bargaining method ensures an equitable balance of benefits among the various IESs and encourages them to participate in market transactions. On this basis an intermediary transaction mode is proposed to address cheating behaviors in trading. Finally the simulation results demonstrate that the proposed strategy not only effectively promotes cooperative operation among multiple IESs but also significantly reduces the system’s operating costs and carbon emissions.

Hydrogen is emerging as a promising future energy medium in a wide range of industries. For mobile applica tions it is commonly stored in a gaseous state within high-pressure composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs). The current state of the art pressure vessel technology known as Type V eliminates the internal polymer gas barrier used in Type IV vessels and instead relies on carbon fibre laminate to provide structural properties and prevent gas leakage. Achieving this functionality at high pressure poses several engineering challenges that have thus far prohibited commercial application. Additionally the traditional manufacturing process for COPVs filament winding has several constraints that limit the design space. Automated fibre placement (AFP) a highly flexible robotic composites manufacturing technique has the potential to replace filament winding for composite pressure vessel manufacturing and provide pathways for further vessel optimi sation. A combination of both AFP and Type V technology could provide an avenue for a new generation of highperformance composite pressure vessels. This critical review presents key work on industry-standard Type IV vessels alongside the current state of Type V CPV technology including manufacturing developments challenges cost relevance to commercial standards and future fabrication solutions using AFP. Additionally a novel Type V CPV design concept for a two-piece AFP produced vessel is presented.

This study presents a comprehensive techno-economic and environmental evaluation of hydrogen production from organic waste feedstocks in Bangladesh utilizing an integrated approach through advanced modelling tools. The research combines H2A (Hydrogen Production Cost Analysis) HDSAM (Hydrogen Delivery Scenario Analysis Model) and H2FAST (Hydrogen Financial Assessment Tool) to assess the feasibility of large-scale hydrogen production distribution and storage. H2A is employed to analyze hydrogen production costs considering various feedstocks and production methods while HDSAM evaluates the delivery pathways and logistics of liquid and gaseous hydrogen. H2FAST is used to perform detailed financial modelling focusing on investment risks profitability and financial metrics of hydrogen projects. This integrated methodology provides a comprehensive analysis of the hydrogen value chain addressing key factors such as production costs logistics and financial feasibility. Main results of the study indicate that hydrogen production costs can range from $2.16/kg to $2.18/kg depending on feedstock efficiency and plant utilization. Financial assessments show that larger-scale hydrogen stations (4000 kg/day) benefit from economies of scale with hydrogen costs dropping to approximately $8.51/kg compared to $12.75/kg for smaller stations (400 kg/day). The study concludes incorporates region-specific data for Bangladesh addressing local challenges such as infrastructure limitations financial constraints and energy demands offering a tailored analysis that can inform future hydrogen projects in Bangladesh and similar developing economies.