Publications

The Swiss government has signed the Paris Climate Agreement and various measures need to be implemented in order to reach the target of a 50% reduction in CO₂ emissions in Switzerland by 2030 compared with the value for 1990. Considering the fact that the production of cement in Switzerland accounts around 2.5 million ton for CO₂ emissions of which corresponds to roughly 7% of the country's total CO₂ emissions the following article examines how this amount could be put to meaningful use in order to create a new value-added chain through CO₂ methanation and thus reduce the consumption and import of fossil fuels in Switzerland. With power-to-gas technology this CO₂  along with regenerative hydrogen from photovoltaics can be converted into methane which can then be fed into the existing natural-gas grid. This economic case study shows a cost prediction for conversion of all the CO₂ from the cement industry into methane by using the technologies available today in order to replacing fossil methane imports.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are promising clean energy conversion devices in residential transportation and portable applications. Currently a high-pressure tank is the state-of-the-art mode of hydrogen storage; however the energy cost safety and portability (or volumetric hydrogen storage capacity) presents a major barrier to the widespread dissemination of PEMFCs. Here we show an ‘all-polymer type’ rechargeable PEMFC (RCFC) that contains a hydrogen-storable polymer (HSP) which is a solid-state organic hydride as the hydrogen storage media. Use of a gas impermeable SPP-QP (a polyphenylenebased PEM) enhances the operable time reaching up to ca. 10.2 s mg_HSP ⁻¹ which is more than a factor of two longer than that (3.90 s mg_HSP ⁻¹) for a Nafion NRE-212 membrane cell. The RCFCs are cycleable at least up to 50 cycles. The features of this RCFC system including safety ease of handling and light weight suggest applications in mobile light-weight hydrogen-based energy devices.

Based on data collection carried out between October and December 2020 and the testing of emerging findings with the Council’s regional communities during a series of digital workshops held during February 2021 the report has shown

• Energy leaders’ perceptions of areas of risk opportunity and priorities for action have radically changed over the last 12 months. While economic turbulence stemming from the ongoing reverberations of COVID-19 is the biggest area of uncertainty with uncertainty around economic trends increasing by a third over the previous year there is also a growing focus on the social agenda associated with a faster paced energy transition.

 

• There is an increased awareness of the societal and human impact of both recovery and the wider energy transition. The issue of energy affordability has rapidly risen up the industry’s priority list with its impact and uncertainty perceived 20% larger than a year ago. Energy affordability affects society across all geographies ranging from city dwellers in developed countries to the rural poor in developing ones.

 

• The emergence of a new generation of digital energy services and energy entrepreneurs. Increasingly agile disruptive technologies have taken advantage of the social upheaval to gain market share at the expense of supply-centric energy solutions. There is a growing focus on customer-centric demand-driven solutions and fast changing patterns of global and local demand.

Recent advances on synthesis characterization and hydrogen absorption properties of ultrasmall metal nanoparticles (defined here as objects with average size ≤3 nm) are briefly reviewed in the first part of this work. The experimental challenges encountered in performing accurate measurements of hydrogen absorption in Mg- and noble metal-based ultrasmall nanoparticles are addressed. The second part of this work reports original results obtained for ultrasmall bulk-immiscible Pd–Rh nanoparticles. Carbon-supported Pd–Rh nanoalloys in the whole binary chemical composition range have been successfully prepared by liquid impregnation method followed by reduction at 300°C. EXAFS investigations suggested that the local structure of these nanoalloys is partially segregated into Rh-rich core and Pd-rich surface coexisting within the same nanoparticles. Downsizing to ultrasmall dimensions completely suppresses the hydride formation in Pd-rich nanoalloys at ambient conditions contrary to bulk and larger nanosized (5–6 nm) counterparts. The ultrasmall Pd90Rh10 nanoalloy can absorb hydrogen-forming solid solutions under these conditions as suggested by in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD). Apart from this composition common laboratory techniques such as in situ XRD DSC and PCI failed to clarify the hydrogen interaction mechanism: either adsorption on developed surfaces or both adsorption and absorption with formation of solid solutions. Concluding insights were brought by in situ EXAFS experiments at synchrotron: ultrasmall Pd₇₅Rh₂₅ and Pd₅₀Rh₅₀ nanoalloys absorb hydrogen-forming solid solutions at ambient conditions. Moreover the hydrogen solubility in these solid solutions is higher with increasing Pd content and this trend can be understood in terms of hydrogen preferential occupation in the Pd-rich regions as suggested by in situ EXAFS. The Rh-rich nanoalloys (Pd₂₅Rh₇₅ and Pd₁₀Rh₉₀) only adsorb hydrogen on the developed surface of ultrasmall nanoparticles. In summary in situ characterization techniques carried out at large-scale facilities are unique and powerful tools for in-depth investigation of hydrogen interaction with ultrasmall nanoparticles at local level.

Hydrogen can serve as a carrier to store renewable energy in large scale. However hydrogen storage still remains a challenge in the current stage. It is difficult to meet the technical requirements applying the conventional storage of compressed gaseous hydrogen in high-pressure tanks or the solid-state storage of hydrogen in suitable materials. In the present work a gaseous and solid-state (G-S) hybrid hydrogen storage system with a low working pressure below 5 MPa for a 10 kW hydrogen energy storage experiment platform is developed and validated. A Ti−Mn type hydrogen storage alloy with an effective hydrogen capacity of 1.7 wt% was prepared for the G-S hybrid hydrogen storage system. The G-S hybrid hydrogen storage tank has a high volumetric hydrogen storage density of 40.07 kg H2 m−3 and stores hydrogen under pressure below 5 MPa. It can readily release enough hydrogen at a temperature as low as −15 °C when the FC system is not fully activated and hot water is not available. The energy storage efficiency of this G-S hybrid hydrogen storage system is calculated to be 86.4%−95.9% when it is combined with a FC system. This work provides a method on how to design a G-S hydrogen storage system based on practical demands and demonstrates that the G-S hybrid hydrogen storage is a promising method for stationary hydrogen storage application.

The environmental impact of the road transport sector together with urban freight transport growth has a notable repercussions in global warming health and economy. The need to reduce emissions caused by fossil fuel dependence and to foster the use of renewable energy sources has driven the development of zero-emissions powertrains. These clean transportation technologies are not only necessary to move people but to transport the increasing demand for goods and services that is currently taking place in the larger cities. Full electric battery-powered vans seem to be the best-placed solution to the problem. However despite the progress in driving range and recharge options those and other market barriers remain unsolved and the current market share of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is not significant. Based on the development of hydrogen fuel cell stacks this work explains an emerging powertrain architecture concept for N1 class type vans that combines a battery-electric configuration with a fuel cell stack powered by hydrogen that works as a range extender (FC-EREV). A literature review is conducted with the aim to shed light on the possibilities of this hybrid light-duty commercial van for metropolitan delivery tasks providing insights into the key factors and issues for sizing the powertrain components and fuel management strategies to meet metropolitan freight fleet needs.

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) established a multi-dimensional hydrogen analysis system to evaluate hydrogen release distribution and combustion in the containment of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) using MAAP GASFLOW and COM3D. In particular KAERI developed an analysis methodology for a hydrogen flame acceleration on the basis of the COM3D validation results against measured data of the hydrogen combustion tests in the ENACCEF and THAI facilities. The proposed analysis methodology accurately predicted the peak overpressure with an error range of approximately ±10% using the Kawanabe model used for a turbulent flame speed in the COM3D. KAERI performed a hydrogen flame acceleration analysis using the multi-dimensional hydrogen analysis system for a severe accident initiated by a station blackout (SBO) under the assumption of 100% metal–water reaction in the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) to evaluate an overpressure buildup in the containment of the Advanced Power Reactor 1400 MWe (APR1400). The magnitude of the overpressure buildup in the APR1400 containment might be used as a criterion to judge whether the containment integrity is maintained or not when the hydrogen combustion occurs during a severe accident. The COM3D calculation results using the established analysis methodology showed that the calculated peak pressure in the containment was lower than the fracture pressure of the APR1400 containment. This calculation result might have resulted from a large air volume of the containment a reduced hydrogen concentration owing to passive auto-catalytic recombiners installed in the containment during the hydrogen release from the RPV and a lot of stem presence during the hydrogen combustion period in the containment. Therefore we found that the current design of the APR1400 containment maintained its integrity when the flame acceleration occurred during the severe accident initiated by the SBO accident.

A compact air-breathing jet hybrid-electric engine coupled with solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) is proposed to develop the propulsion system with high power-weight ratios and specific thrust. The heat exchanger for preheating air is integrated with nozzles. Therefore the exhaust in the nozzle expands during the heat exchange with compressed air. The nozzle inlet temperature is obviously improved. SOFCs can directly utilize the fuel of liquid natural gas after being heated. The performance parameters of the engine are acquired according to the built thermodynamic and mass models. The main conclusions are as follows. 1) The specific thrust of the engine is improved by 20.25% compared with that of the traditional jet engine. As pressure ratios rise the specific thrust increases up to 1.7 kN/(kg·s⁻¹). Meanwhile the nozzle inlet temperature decreases. However the temperature increases for the traditional combustion engine. 2) The power-weight ratio of the engine is superior to that of internal combustion engines and inferior to that of turbine engines when the power density of SOFC would be assumed to be that predicted for 2030. 3) The total pressure recovery coefficients of SOFCs combustors and preheaters have an obvious influence on the specific thrust of the engine and the power-weight ratio of the engine is strongly affected by the power density of SOFCs.

The European Union set a 2050 decarbonization target in the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions by 90–95% relative to 1990 emission levels. The path toward achieving those deep decarbonization targets can take various shapes but will surely include a portfolio of economy-wide low-carbon energy technologies/options. The growth of the intermittent renewable power sources in the grid mix has helped reduce the carbon footprint of the electric power sector. Under the need for decarbonizing the electric power sector we simulated a low-carbon power system. We investigated the role of hydrogen for future electric power systems under current cost projections. The model optimizes the power generation mix economically for a given carbon constraint. The generation mix consists of intermittent renewable power sources (solar and wind) and dispatchable gas turbine and combined cycle units fuelled by natural gas with carbon capture and sequestration as well as hydrogen. We created several scenarios with battery storage options pumped hydro hydrogen storage and demand-side response (DSR). The results show that energy storage replaces power generation and pumped hydro entirely replaces battery storage under given conditions. The availability of pumped hydro storage and demand-side response reduced the total cost as well as the combination of solar photovoltaic and pumped hydro storage. Demand-side response reduces relatively costly dispatchable power generation reduces annual power generation halves the shadow carbon price and is a viable alternative to energy storage. The carbon constrain defines the generation mix and initializes the integration of hydrogen (H₂). Although the model rates power to gas with hydrogen as not economically viable in this power system under the given conditions and assumptions hydrogen is important for hard-to-abate sectors and enables sector coupling in a real energy system. This study discusses the potential for hydrogen beyond this model approach and shows the differences between cost optimization models and real-world feasibility.

One alternative for the storage and transport of hydrogen is blending a low amount of hydrogen (up to 15 or 20%) into existing natural gas grids. When demanded hydrogen can be then separated close to the end users using membranes. In this work composite alumina carbon molecular sieves membranes (Al-CMSM) supported on tubular porous alumina have been prepared and characterized. Single gas permeation studies showed that the H₂/CH₄ separation properties at 30 °C are well above the Robeson limit of polymeric membranes. H₂ permeation studies of the H2–CH4 mixture gases containing 5–20% of H2 show that the H2 purity depends on the H₂ content in the feed and the operating temperature. In the best scenario investigated in this work for samples containing 10% of H₂ with an inlet pressure of 7.5 bar and permeated pressure of 0.01 bar at 30 °C the H₂ purity obtained was 99.4%.

The Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a massive blow to countries around the world choking economies and transforming daily life for billions of people. This extraordinary disruption has significantly impacted the energy sector with worrying implications for clean energy transitions. Some key clean energy technologies have been encouragingly resilient to the effects of the crisis but so far there is little to suggest that the dramatic structural progress needed to achieve long-term climate and energy goals will happen in the current turmoil. Unprecedented action and leadership from governments companies and other real-world decision makers will be required to put the world more firmly on a sustainable long-term pathway. The energy sector must achieve dramatic sustained emissions reductions through policy investment and innovation measures across all energy sectors and technologies.

Building on Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2020  and other COVID-19 analysis this article takes stock of how the crisis has affected energy sectors and technologies thus far and explores the potential implications for clean energy transitions over the medium and longer term.

Link to Document on IEA Website

Steelmaking is responsible for around 7% of the global emissions of carbon dioxide and new steelmaking processes are necessary to reach international climate targets. As a response to this steelmaking processes based on the direct reduction of iron ore by hydrogen produced via water electrolysis powered by renewable electricity have been suggested. Here we present a novel variant of hydrogen-based steelmaking incorporating methanol as a hydrogen and carbon carrier together with high-temperature co-electrolysis of water and carbon dioxide and biomass oxy-fuel combustion. The energy and mass balances of the process are analyzed. It is found that this methanol-based direct reduction process may potentially offer a number of process-related advantages over a process based on pure hydrogen featuring several process integration options. Notably the electricity and total energy use of the steelmaking process could be reduced by up to 25% and 8% compared to a reference pure hydrogen process respectively. The amount of high-temperature (> 200 °C) heat that must be supplied to the process could also be reduced by up to approximately 34% although the demand for medium-temperature heat is substantially increased. Furthermore the suggested process could allow for the production of high-quality direct reduced iron with appropriate carburization to alleviate downstream processing in an electric arc furnace which is not the case for a process based on pure hydrogen.

Hydrogen production from water electrolysis is one of the most promising approaches for the production of green H2 a fundamental asset for the decarbonization of the energy cycle and industrial processes. Seawater is the most abundant water source on Earth and it should be the feedstock for these new technologies. However commercial electrolyzers still need ultrapure water. The debate over the advantages and disadvantages of direct sea water electrolysis when compared with the implementation of a distillation/purification process before the electrolysis stage is building in the relevant research. However this debate will remain open for some time essentially because there are no seawater electrolyser technologies with which to compare the modular approach. In this study we attempted to build and validate an autonomous sea water electrolyzer able to produce high-purity green hydrogen (>90%) from seawater. We were able to solve most of the problems that natural seawater electrolyses imposes (high corrosion impurities etc.) with decisions based on simplicity and sustainability and those issues that are yet to be overcome were rationally discussed in view of future electrolyzer designs. Even though the performance we achieved may still be far from industrial standards our results demonstrate that direct seawater electrolysis with a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of ≈7% can be achieved with common low-cost materials and affordable fabrication methods.

High-strength steels with yield strength of 960 MPa are susceptible to hydrogen-assisted cracking (HAC) during welding processing. In the present paper the implant test is used to study HAC in a quenched and tempered steel S960QL and a high-strength steel produced by thermo-mechanical controlled process S960MC. Welding is performed using the gas-metal arc welding process. Furthermore diffusible hydrogen concentration (H_D) in arc weld metal is determined. Based on the implant test results lower critical stress (LCS) for complete fracture critical implant stress (σ_krit) for crack initiation and embrittlement index (EI) are determined. At HD of 1.66 ml/100 g LCS is 605 MPa and 817 MPa for S960QL and S960MC respectively. EI is 0.30 and 0.46 for S960QL and S960MC respectively. Fracture surfaces of S960QL show higher degradation with reduced deformation. Both higher EI of S960MC and fractography show better resistance to HAC in the HAZ of S960MC compared to S960QL.

This paper presents a study undertaken on a naturally aspirated direct injection diesel engine investigating the combustion and emission characteristics of CH₄-CO₂  and CH₄-CO₂ -H₂ mixtures. These aspirated gas mixtures were pilot-ignited by diesel fuel while the engine load was varied between 0 and 7 bar IMEP by only adjusting the flow rate of the aspirated mixtures. The in-cylinder gas composition was also investigated when combusting CH₄-CO₂ and CH₄-CO₂-H₂ mixtures at different engine loads with in cylinder samples collected using two different sampling arrangements. The results showed a longer ignition delay period and lower peak heat release rates when the proportion of CO₂ was increased in the aspirated mixture. Exhaust CO₂ emissions were observed to be higher for 60 CH₄:40CO₂ mixture but lower for the 80CH₄:20CO₂ mixture as compared to diesel fuel only combustion at all engine loads. Both exhaust and in-cylinder NO_x levels were observed to decrease when the proportion of CO₂ was increased; NO_x levels increased when the proportion of H₂ was increased in the aspirated mixture. In-cylinder NO_x levels were observed to be higher in the region between the sprays as compared to within the spray core attributable to higher gas temperatures reached post ignition in that region.

With government legislating for net-zero by 2050 what does this mean for UK energy markets and business models?<br/>Getting to net-zero will require economy-wide changes that extend well beyond the energy system leading to rapid and unprecedented change in all aspects of society.<br/>This report shines a light on the level of disruption that could be required by some sectors to meet net-zero targets. With many businesses making strong commitments to a net-zero carbon future the report highlights the stark future facing specific sectors. Some will need to make fundamental change to their business models and operating practices whilst others could be required to phase out core assets. Government may need to play a role in purposefully disrupting specific sectors to ensure the move away from high carbon business models facilitating the transition a zero-carbon economy. Sector specific impactsThe in-depth analysis presented in ‘Disrupting the UK energy systems: causes impacts and policy implications’ focuses on four key areas of the economy highlighting how they may need to change to remain competitive and meet future carbon targets.<br/>Heat: All approaches for heat decarbonisation are potentially disruptive with policymakers favouring those that are less disruptive to consumers. Since it is unlikely that rapid deployment of low carbon heating will be driven by consumers or the energy industry significant policy and governance interventions will be needed to drive the sustainable heat transformation.<br/>Transport: Following the ‘Road to Zero’ pathway for road transport is unlikely to be disruptive but it is not enough to meet our climate change targets. The stricter targets for phasing out conventional vehicles that will be required will lead to some disruption. Vehicle manufacturers the maintenance and repair sector and the Treasury may all feel the strain.<br/>Electricity: Strategies of the Big 6 energy companies have changed considerably in recent years with varying degrees of disruption to their traditional business model. It remains to be seen whether they will be able to continue to adapt to rapid change – or be overtaken by new entrants.<br/>Construction: To deliver low-carbon building performance will require disruptive changes to the way the construction sector operates. With new-build accounting for less than 1% of the total stock major reductions in energy demand will need to come through retrofit of existing buildings.<br/>The report identifies how policy makers plan for disruptions to existing systems. With the right tools and with a flexible and adaptive approach to policy implementation decision makers can better respond to unexpected consequences and ensure delivery of key policy objectives.

This work reports the integration of thin (~3e4 mm thick) Pd-based membranes for H2 separation in a fluidized bed catalytic reactor for ethanol auto-thermal reforming. The performance of a fluidized bed membrane reactor has been investigated from an experimental and numerical point of view. The demonstration of the technology has been carried out over 50 h under reactive conditions using 5 thin Pd-based alumina-supported membranes and a 3 wt%Pt-10 wt%Ni catalyst deposited on a mixed CeO2/SiO2 support. The results have confirmed the feasibility of the concept in particular the capacity to reach a hydrogen recovery factor up to 70% while the operation at different fluidization regimes oxygen-to-ethanol and steam-to-ethanol ratios feed pressures and reactor temperatures have been studied. The most critical part of the system is the sealing of the membranes where most of the gas leakage was detected. A fluidized bed membrane reactor model for ethanol reforming has been developed and validated with the obtained experimental results. The model has been subsequently used to design a small reactor unit for domestic use showing that 0.45 m2 membrane area is needed to produce the amount of H2 required for a 5 kWe PEM fuel-cell based micro-CHP system.

A method of risk identification is developed by comparing existing and advanced technologies from the viewpoint of comprehensive social risk. First to analyze these values from a multifaceted perspective we constructed a questionnaire based on 24 individual values and 26 infrastructural values determined in a previous study. Seven engineering experts and six social science experts were then asked to complete the questionnaire to compare and analyze a hydrogen energy system (HES) and a gasoline energy system (GES). Finally the responses were weighted using the analytic hierarchy process. Three important points were identified and focused upon: the distinct disadvantages of the HES compared to the GES judgments that were divided between experts in the engineering and social sciences fields and judgments that were divided among experts in the same field. These are important risks that should be evaluated when making decisions related to the implementation of advanced science and technology.

This Meeting Report summarises the findings of a two-day workshop in April 2007 at the Culham Science Centre and Worcester College Oxford which explored the potential for large-scale Hydrogen production through methods other than electrolysis.<br/>Operating at the cusp of research and policy-making the UK Energy Research Centre's mission is to be the UK's pre-eminent centre of research and source of authoritative information and leadership on sustainable energy systems. The Centre takes a whole systems approach to energy research incorporating economics engineering and the physical environmental and social sciences while developing and maintaining the means to enable cohesive research in energy. A key supporting function of UKERC is the Meeting Place based in Oxford which aims to bring together members of the UK energy community and overseas experts from different disciplines to learn identify problems develop solutions and further the energy debate.

We utilized nanoporous mayenite (12CaO·7Al₂O₃) a cost-effective material in the hydride state (H⁻) to explore the possibility of its use for hydrogen storage and transportation. Hydrogen desorption occurs by a simple reaction of mayenite with water and the nanocage structure transforms into a calcium aluminate hydrate. This reaction enables easy desorption of H⁻ ions trapped in the structure which could allow the use of this material in future portable applications. Additionally this material is 100% recyclable because the cage structure can be recovered by heat treatment after hydrogen desorption. The presence of hydrogen molecules as H⁻ ions was confirmed by ¹H-NMR gas chromatography and neutron diffraction analyses. We confirmed the hydrogen state stability inside the mayenite cage by the first-principles calculations to understand the adsorption mechanism and storage capacity and to provide a key for the use of mayenite as a portable hydrogen storage material. Further we succeeded in introducing H⁻ directly from OH⁻ by a simple process compared with previous studies that used long treatment durations and required careful control of humidity and oxygen gas to form O² species before the introduction of H⁻.

A viable hydrogen economy has thus far been hampered by the lack of an inexpensive and convenient hydrogen storage solution meeting all requirements especially in the areas of long hauls and delivery infrastructure. Current approaches require high pressure and/or complex heat management systems to achieve acceptable storage densities. Herein we present a manganese hydride molecular sieve that can be readily synthesized from inexpensive precursors and demonstrates a reversible excess adsorption performance of 10.5 wt% and 197 kgH₂ m^-3 at 120 bar at ambient temperature with no loss of activity after 54 cycles. Inelastic neutron scattering and computational studies confirm Kubas binding as the principal mechanism. The thermodynamically neutral adsorption process allows for a simple system without the need for heat management using moderate pressure as a toggle. A storage material with these properties will allow the DOE system targets for storage and delivery to be achieved providing a practical alternative to incumbents such as 700 bar systems which generally provide volumetric storage values of 40 kgH₂ m^-3 or less while retaining advantages over batteries such as fill time and energy density. Reasonable estimates for production costs and loss of performance due to system implementation project total energy storage costs roughly 5 times cheaper than those for 700 bar tanks potentially opening doors for increased adoption of hydrogen as an energy vector.

Future low-carbon systems with very high shares of variable renewable generation require complex models to optimise investments and operations which must capture high degrees of sector coupling contain high levels of operational and temporal detail and when considering seasonal storage be able to optimise both investments and operations over long durations. Standard energy system models often do not adequately address all these issues which are of great importance when considering investments in emerging energy carriers such as Hydrogen. An advanced energy system model of the Irish power system is built in SpineOpt which considers a number of future scenarios and explores different pathways to the wide-scale adoption of Hydrogen as a low-carbon energy carrier. The model contains a high degree of both temporal and operational detail sector coupling via Hydrogen is captured and the optimisation of both investments in and operation of large-scale underground Hydrogen storage is demonstrated. The results highlight the importance of model detail and demonstrate how over-investment in renewables occur when the flexibility needs of the system are not adequately captured. The case study shows that in 2030 investments in Hydrogen technologies are limited to scenarios with high fuel and carbon costs high levels of Hydrogen demand (in this case driven by heating demand facilitated by large Hydrogen networks) or when a breakthrough in electrolyser capital costs and efficiencies occurs. However high levels of investments in Hydrogen technologies occur by 2040 across all considered scenarios. As with the 2030 results the highest level of investments occur when demand for Hydrogen is high albeit at a significantly higher level than 2030 with increases in investments of large-scale electrolysers of 538%. Hydrogen fuelled compressed air energy storage emerges as a strong investment candidate across all scenarios facilitating cost effective power-to-Hydrogen-to-power conversions.

"Hydrogen is expected to play a critical role in the move to a net-zero economy. However large-scale deployment is still in its infancy and there is still much to be done before we can blend hydrogen in large volumes into gas networks and ramp up the production that is required to meet demands of the energy transport and industry sectors. KTN Global Alliance will host two webinars to explore these challenges and opportunities in hydrogen blending on the 2nd and 3rd March 2021.



Exciting pilot projects are being conducted and explored in the UK Canada and US states such as California to determine the technical feasibility of blending hydrogen into existing natural gas systems. Whilst the deployment of hydrogen is in its early stages there is increasing interest around permitting significant percentage blends of hydrogen into gas networks which would enable the carbon intensity of gas supplies to be reduced creating a new demand for hydrogen and with the use of separation and purification technologies downstream support the transportation of pure hydrogen to markets.

Gaps in codes and standards need to be addressed to enable adoption and there may be opportunities for international collaboration and harmonisation to ensure that best practices are shared globally and to facilitate the growth of trade and export markets. There is an opportunity for the UK Canada and US three G7 countries to work together and show market making leadership in key enabling regulation for the new hydrogen economy.



Delivered by KTN Global Alliance on behalf of the British Consulate-General in Vancouver and the UK Science and Innovation Network in Canada and the US these two webinars will showcase hydrogen blending pilot projects in the UK Canada and California highlighting challenges and opportunities with regard to standards development for hydrogen blending and supporting further transatlantic collaboration in this area. The events also form part of the UK’s international engagement to build momentum towards a successful outcome at COP26 the UN climate summit that the UK will host in Glasgow in November 2021. The webinars will bring together experts from industry academia and policy from the UK Canada and California. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and interact using Mentimeter."











Part 2 Highlights and Perspectives from Canada and California can be found here.

The experimental evidence for the contraction of volume of gold implanted with hydrogen at low doses is presented. The contraction of lattice upon the addition of other elements is very rare and extraordinary in the solid-state not only for gold but also for many other solids. To explain the underlying physics the pure kinetic theory of absorption is not adequate and the detailed interaction of hydrogen in the lattice needs to be clarified. Our analysis points to the importance of the formation of hydride bonds in a dynamic manner and explains why these bonds become weak at higher doses leading to the inverse process of volume expansion frequently seen in metallic hydrogen containers.

Cleavage of aromatic ether bonds through hydrogenolysis is one of the most promising routes for depolymerisation and transformation of lignin into value-added chemicals. Instead of using pressurized hydrogen gas as hydrogen source some reductive organic molecules such as methanol ethanol isopropanol as well as formates and formic acid can serve as hydrogen donor is the process called catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis. This is an emerging and promising research field but there are very few reports. In this paper a comprehensive review of the works is presented on catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis of lignin and lignin model compounds aiming to breakdown the aromatic ethers including α-O-4 β-O-4 and 4-O-5 linkages with focus on reaction mechanisms. The works are organised regarding to different hydrogen donors used to gain an in-depth understanding of the special role of various hydrogen donors in this process. Perspectives on current challenges and opportunities of future research to develop catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis as a competitive and unique strategy for lignin valorisation are also provided.

Of all the available resources given to mankind the sunlight is perhaps the most abundant renewable energy resource providing more than enough energy on earth to satisfy all the needs of humanity for several hundred years. Therefore it is transient and sporadic that poses issues with how the energy can be harvested and processed when the sun does not shine. Scientists assume that electro/photoelectrochemical devices used for water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen may have one solution to solve this hindrance. Water electrolysis-generated hydrogen is an optimal energy carrier to store these forms of energy on scalable levels because the energy density is high and no air pollution or toxic gas is released into the environment after combustion. However in order to adopt these devices for readily use they have to be low-cost for manufacturing and operation. It is thus crucial to develop electrocatalysts for water splitting based on low-cost and land-rich elements. In this review I will summarize current advances in the synthesis of low-cost earth-abundant electrocatalysts for overall water splitting with a particular focus on how to be linked with photoelectrocatalytic water splitting devices. The major obstacles that persist in designing these devices. The potential future developments in the production of efficient electrocatalysts for water electrolysis are also described.

The last twenty years of an intense research on metal hydroborates as solid hydrogen stores and solid electrolytes are reviewed. It is shown that from the most promising application in hydrogen storage due to their high gravimetric and volumetric capacities the focus has moved to solid electrolytes due to high cation mobility in disordered structures with rotating or tumbling anions-hydroborate clusters. Various strategies of overcoming the strong covalent bonding of hydrogen in hydroborates for hydrogen storage and disordering their structures at room temperature for solid electrolytes are discussed. The important role of crystal chemistry and crystallography knowledge in material design can be read in the cited literature.

Diesel generators are currently used as an off-grid solution for backup power but this causes CO2 and GHG emissions noise emissions and the negative effects of the volatile diesel market influencing operating costs. Green hydrogen production by means of water electrolysis has been proposed as a feasible solution to fill the gaps between demand and production the main handicaps of using exclusively renewable energy in isolated applications. This manuscript presents a business case of an off-grid hydrogen production by electrolysis applied to the electrification of isolated sites. This study is part of the European Ely4off project (n◦ 700359). Under certain techno-economic hypothesis four different system configurations supplied exclusively by photovoltaic are compared to find the optimal Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCoE): photovoltaic-batteries photovoltaic-hydrogen-batteries photovoltaic-diesel generator and diesel generator; the influence of the location and the impact of different consumptions profiles is explored. Several simulations developed through specific modeling software are carried out and discussed. The main finding is that diesel-based systems still allow lower costs than any other solution although hydrogen-based solutions can compete with other technologies under certain conditions.

While current climate targets demand substantial reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions the potentials to further reduce carbon dioxide emissions in traditional primary steel-making are limited. One possible solution that is receiving increasing attention is the direct reduction (DR) technology operated either with renewable hydrogen (H2) from electrolysis or with conventional natural gas (NG). DR technology makes it possible to decouple steel and hydrogen production by temporarily using overcapacities to produce and store intermediary products during periods of low renewable electricity prices or by switching between H2 and NG. This paper aims to explore the impact of this decoupling on overall costs and the corresponding dimensioning of production and storage capacities. An optimization model is developed to determine the least-cost operation based on perfect-foresight. This model can determine the minimum costs for optimal production and storage capacities under various assumptions considering fluctuating H2 and NG prices and increasing H2 shares. The model is applied to a case study for Germany and covers the current situation the medium term until 2030 and the long term until 2050. Under the assumptions made the role of using direct reduced iron (DRI) storage as a buffer seems less relevant. DRI mainly serves as long-term storage for several weeks similar to usual balancing storage capacities. Storing H2 on the contrary is used for short-term fluctuations and could balance H2 demand in the hourly range until 2050. From an economic perspective DRI production using NG tends to be cheaper than using H2 in the short term and potential savings from the flexible operation with storages are small at first. However in the long term until 2050 NG and H2 could achieve similar total costs if buffers are used. Otherwise temporarily occurring electricity price spikes imply substantial increases in total costs if high shares of H2 need to be achieved.

Fully decarbonizing global industry is essential to achieving climate stabilization and reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050–2070 is necessary to limit global warming to 2 °C. This paper assembles and evaluates technical and policy interventions both on the supply side and on the demand side. It identifies measures that employed together can achieve net zero industrial emissions in the required timeframe. Key supply-side technologies include energy efficiency (especially at the system level) carbon capture electrification and zero-carbon hydrogen as a heat source and chemical feedstock. There are also promising technologies specific to each of the three top-emitting industries: cement iron & steel and chemicals & plastics. These include cement admixtures and alternative chemistries several technological routes for zero-carbon steelmaking and novel chemical catalysts and separation technologies. Crucial demand-side approaches include material-efficient design reductions in material waste substituting low-carbon for high-carbon materials and circular economy interventions (such as improving product longevity reusability ease of refurbishment and recyclability). Strategic well-designed policy can accelerate innovation and provide incentives for technology deployment. High-value policies include carbon pricing with border adjustments or other price signals; robust government support for research development and deployment; and energy efficiency or emissions standards. These core policies should be supported by labeling and government procurement of low-carbon products data collection and disclosure requirements and recycling incentives. In implementing these policies care must be taken to ensure a just transition for displaced workers and affected communities. Similarly decarbonization must complement the human and economic development of low- and middle-income countries.

In FY-20 India’s steel production was 109 MT and it is the second-largest steel producer on the planet after China. India’s per capita consumption of steel was around 75 kg which has risen from 59 kg in FY-14. Despite the increase in consumption it is much lower than the average global consumption of 230 kg. The per capita consumption of steel is one of the strongest indicators of economic development across the nation. Thus India has an ambitious plan of increasing steel production to around 250 MT and per capita consumption to around 160 kg by the year 2030. Steel manufacturers in India can be classified based on production routes as (a) oxygen route (BF/BOF route) and (b) electric route (electric arc furnace and induction furnace). One of the major issues for manufacturers of both routes is the availability of raw materials such as iron ore direct reduced iron (DRI) and scrap. To achieve the level of 250 MT steel manufacturers have to focus on improving the current process and product scenario as well as on research and development activities. The challenge to stop global warming has forced the global steel industry to strongly cut its CO2 emissions. In the case of India this target will be extremely difficult by ruling in the production duplication planned by the year 2030. This work focuses on the recent developments of various processes and challenges associated with them. Possibilities and opportunities for improving the current processes such as top gas recycling increasing pulverized coal injection and hydrogenation as well as the implementation of new processes such as HIsarna and other CO2 -lean iron production technologies are discussed. In addition the eventual transition to hydrogen ironmaking and “green” electricity in smelting are considered. By fast-acting improvements in current facilities and brave investments in new carbon-lean technologies the CO2 emissions of the Indian steel industry can peak and turn downward toward carbon-neutral production.

Hydrogen is widely produced and used for our day-to-day needs. It has also the potential to be used as fuel for industry or can be used as an energy carrier for stationary power. Hydrogen can be produced by different processes like from fossil fuels (Steam methane reforming coal gasification cracking of natural gas); renewable resources (electrolysis wind etc.); nuclear energy (thermochemical water splitting). In this paper few processes have been discussed briefly. Cracking of methane has been given special emphasis in this review for production of hydrogen. There are mainly two types of cracking non-catalytic and catalytic. Catalytic cracking of methane is governed mainly by finding a suitable catalyst; its generation deactivation activation and filament formation for the adsorption of carbon particles (deposited on metal surface); study of metallic support which helps in finding active sites of the catalyst for the reaction to proceed easily. Non-catalytic cracking of methane is mainly based on thermal cracking. Moreover several thermal cracking processes with their reactor configurations have been discussed.

On this week’s episode the team discuss the appeal of modular reforming of biogas and natural gas with Mo Vargas from Bayotech. The company use a proprietary modular reformer technology to help provide low cost decentralise hydrogen production units for onsite demand at various scales using biogas waste gases and natural gas with carbon capture. With large scale steam methane reforming accounting for 95% of hydrogen production in major markets like the US and Europe today the team dive into the good the bad and the unusual considerations behind the growing international demand for modular methane reforming technologies and how Bayotech see the transition from a CO2 intensive process today to a net zero emission future. All this and more on the show!

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Together the pathways examined in the report paint a picture of the nationwide transformation getting underway in how we heat our homes and buildings. The report identifies that by 2050 gas used to heat buildings could fall by 75-95% electricity increase from a 10% share today to 30-80% and district heat increase from less than 2% to up to a 40% share. At the same time energy efficiency could help to lower bills and offset the expected growth in our heating needs from an expanding population and building stock. Across most pathways examined in the report mass deployment of low carbon heat solutions ramps up in the lead-in to 2030. Carbon Connect’s overarching recommendation is that the next decade should be spent preparing by developing a robust strategy for decarbonising heat in buildings whilst testing and scaling up delivery models. The report calls for the next Government to prioritise these preparations in the same way that preparing for power sector decarbonisation has been the overriding focus of energy policy in the past decade. The Future Heat Series brings together politicians policy and academic experts and industry leaders. Together this coalition of key figures is taking stock of evidence progressing the policy debate in an open and constructive forum and building consensus for prioritising and transforming heat. Pathways for Heat is the first part of the Future Heat Series and presents six recommendations and over twenty findings.

Energy system models are often used to assess the potential role of hydrogen and electric powertrains for reducing transport CO2 emissions in the future. In this paper we review how different energy system models have represented both vehicles and fuel infrastructure in the past and we provide guidelines for their representation in the future. In particular we identify three key modelling decisions: the degree of car market segmentation the imposition of market share constraints and the use of lumpy investments to represent infrastructure. We examine each of these decisions in a case study using the UK MARKAL model. While disaggregating the car market principally affects only the transition rate to the optimum mix of technologies market share constraints can greatly change the optimum mix so should be chosen carefully. In contrast modelling infrastructure using lumpy investments has little impact on the model results. We identify the development of new methodologies to represent the impact of behavioural change on transport demand as a key challenge for improving energy system models in the future.

In the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables hydrogen is a realistic alternative to achieving the decarbonization target. However its chemical and physical properties make its storage and transport expensive. To ensure the cost-effective H2 usage as an energy vector other chemicals are getting attention as H2 carriers. Among them ammonia is the most promising candidate. The value chain of NH3 as a H2 carrier considering the long-distance ship transport includes NH3 synthesis and storage at the loading terminal NH3 storage at the unloading terminal and its cracking to release H2. NH3 synthesis and cracking are the cost drivers of the value chain. Also the NH3 cracking at large scale is not a mature technology and a significant effort has to be made in intensifying the process as much as possible. In this respect this work reviews the available technologies for NH3 cracking critically analyzing them in view of the scale up to the industrial level.

This article attempts to model interdependencies between socio-economic energy and environmental factors with selected data characterizing the development of the hydrogen economy. The study applies Spearman’s correlation and a linear regression model to estimate the influence of gross domestic product population final energy consumption renewable energy and CO2 emission on chosen hydrogen indicators—production patents energy technology research development and demonstration budgets. The study was conducted in nine countries selected for their actions towards a hydrogen economy based on analyses of national strategies policies research and development programs and roadmaps. The results confirm the statistically significant impact of the chosen indicators which are the drivers for the development of the hydrogen economy from 2008 to 2018. Moreover the empirical results show that different characteristics in each country contribute to the development of the hydrogen economy vision

Hydrogen has been identified as a fuel of choice for providing clean energy for transport and other applications across the world and the development of materials to store hydrogen efficiently and safely is crucial to this endeavour. Hydrogen has the largest scattering interaction with neutrons of all the elements in the periodic table making neutron scattering ideal for studying hydrogen storage materials. Simultaneous characterisation of the structure and dynamics of these materials during hydrogen uptake is straightforward using neutron scattering techniques. These studies will help us to understand the fundamental properties of hydrogen storage in realistic conditions and hence design new hydrogen storage materials.

In this work a metal cobalt catalyst was synthesized and its activity in the hydrogen production process was tested. The substrates were water and ethanol. Activity tests were conducted at a temperature range of 350–600 °C water to ethanol molar ratio of 3 to 5 and a feed flow of 0.4 to 1.2 mol/h. The catalyst had a specific surface area of 1.75 m2/g. The catalyst was most active at temperatures in the range of 500–600 °C. Under the most favorable conditions the ethanol conversion was 97% the hydrogen production efficiency was 4.9 mol (H2)/mol(ethanol) and coke production was very low (16 mg/h). Apart from hydrogen and coke CO2 CH4 CO and traces of C2H2 and C2H4 were formed.

The heat and buildings strategy sets out the government’s plan to significantly cut carbon emissions from the UK’s 30 million homes and workplaces in a simple low-cost and green way whilst ensuring this remains affordable and fair for households across the country. Like the transition to electric vehicles this will be a gradual transition which will start by incentivizing consumers and driving down costs.<br/>There are about 30 million buildings in the UK. Heating these buildings contributes to almost a quarter of all UK emissions. Addressing the carbon emissions produced in heating and powering our homes workplaces and public buildings can not only save money on energy bills and improve lives but can support up to 240000 skilled green jobs by 2035 boosting the economic recovery levelling up across the country and ensuring we build back better.<br/>The heat and buildings strategy builds on the commitments made in Clean growth: transforming heating our Energy white paper and the Prime Minister’s 10 point plan. This strategy aims to provide a clear direction of travel for the 2020s set out the strategic decisions that need to be taken this decade and demonstrate how we plan to meet our carbon targets and remain on track for net zero by 2050.

“Linking the power and transport sectors—Part 1” describes the general principle of “sector coupling” (SC) develops a working definition intended of the concept to be of utility to the international scientific community contains a literature review that provides an overview of relevant scientific papers on this topic and conducts a rudimentary analysis of the linking of the power and transport sectors on a worldwide EU and German level. The aim of this follow-on paper is to outline an approach to the modelling of SC. Therefore a study of Germany as a case study was conducted. This study assumes a high share of renewable energy sources (RES) contributing to the grid and significant proportion of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) in the year 2050 along with a dedicated hydrogen pipeline grid to meet hydrogen demand. To construct a model of this nature the model environment “METIS” (models for energy transformation and integration systems) we developed will be described in more detail in this paper. Within this framework a detailed model of the power and transport sector in Germany will be presented in this paper and the rationale behind its assumptions described. Furthermore an intensive result analysis for the power surplus utilization of electrolysis hydrogen pipeline and economic considerations has been conducted to show the potential outcomes of modelling SC. It is hoped that this will serve as a basis for researchers to apply this framework in future to models and analysis with an international focus.

Hydrogen is one of the most suitable candidates in replacing fossil fuels. However storage issues due to its very low density under ambient conditions are encountered in many applications. The liquefaction process can overcome such issues by increasing hydrogen’s density and thus enhancing its storage capacity. A boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion (BLEVE) is a phenomenon in liquefied gas storage systems. It is a physical explosion that might occur after the catastrophic rupture of a vessel containing a liquid with a temperature above its boiling point at atmospheric pressure. Even though it is an atypical accident scenario (low probability) it should be always considered due to its high yield consequences. For all the above-mentioned reasons the BLEVE phenomenon for liquid hydrogen (LH2) vessels was studied using the CFD methodology. Firstly the CFD model was validated against a well-documented CO2 BLEVE experiment. Secondly hydrogen BLEVE cases were simulated based on tests that were conducted in the 1990s on LH2 tanks designed for automotive purposes. The parametric CFD analysis examined different filling degrees initial pressures and temperatures of the tank content with the aim of comprehending to what extent the initial conditions influence the blast wave. Good agreement was shown between the simulation outcomes and the LH2 bursting scenario tests results.

On the season premier episode the EAH hosts are joined by the Governor of New Mexico Michelle Lujan Grisham. The State of New Mexico has the opportunity to lead the United States into the hydrogen era and the Governor and her team are poised to take the opportunity to make New Mexico the strategic center of the US hydrogen economy. The Governor is joined by New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney on the show to announce the forthcoming New Mexico Hydrogen Hub Act which her administration expects to drive investment in the state job growth in the energy sector and catapult New Mexico to top of the list of states driving the hydrogen revolution.

The podcast can be found on their website.

Nel Hydrogen is one of the largest electrolysis companies in the world with an array of Alkaline and PEM solutions that have been used in an array of energy and industrial applications. On the show we ask Bjørn Simonsen Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communication at Nel Hydrogen to talk through how Nel has seen the green hydrogen market evolve and where Nel fits into this sector transition.

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Founded in 2007 and based in Denmark Green Hydrogen Systems designs and manufactures efficient standardized and modular electrolysers for the production of green hydrogen with renewable energy. Niels-Arne Baden has led the company to the upper echelons of the electrolysis sector and he now leads the company's strategy and and public-facing initiatives as the Vice President for Strategy and Public Affairs. On this episode of the Everything About Hydrogen podcast the EAH team sits down with Niels to talk about the journey of the clean hydrogen sector over the recent decades and its rise to prominence in the transition to a decarbonized energy future and how modular electrolysis fits into that picture.

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On this episode of Everything About Hydrogen the team is joined by Sam French Business Development Director at JM who spent some time speaking with us about the transition from grey hydrogen to low-carbon generation technologies and what steps the UK - and countries all over the world - to use hydrogen as part of the pathway to a sustainable energy future.

The podcast can be found on their website

Governments and other stakeholders actively promote and facilitate the development and deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Various strategy documents and energy forecasts outline the environmental and societal benefits of the prospective hydrogen economy. At the same time the safety related properties of hydrogen imply that it is not straightforward to achieve and document the same level of safety for hydrogen systems compared to conventional fuels. Severe accidents can have major impact on the development of energy technologies. The stakes will increase significantly as the use of hydrogen shifts from controlled environments in industrial facilities to the public domain and as the transport-related consumption extends from passenger cars and buses to trains ships and airplanes. Widespread deployment of hydrogen as an energy carrier in society will require massive investments. This implies commercial and political commitment involvement and influence on research priorities and decision-making. The legacy from accidents and the messages communicated by influential stakeholders impact not only how the public perceives hydrogen technologies but also governmental policies the development of regulations codes and standards (RCS) and ultimately the measures adopted for preventing and mitigating accidents. This paper explores whether and how selected aspects of safety are considered when distinct groups of stakeholders frame the hydrogen economy. We assess to what extent the communication is consistent with the current state-of-the-art in hydrogen safety and the contemporary strength of knowledge in risk assessments for hydrogen systems. The approach adopted entails semi-quantitative text analysis and close reading to highlight variations between diverse groups of stakeholders. The results indicate a bias in the framing of the safety-related aspects of the hydrogen economy towards procedural organisational and societal measures of risk reduction at the expense of well-known challenges and knowledge gaps associated with the implications of fundamental safety-related properties of hydrogen.

Biomass can be a sustainable choice for bioenergy production worldwide. Biohydrogen production using fermentative conversion of biomass has gained great interest during the last decade. Besides being an efficient transportation fuel biohydrogen can also be also be a low-carbon source of heat and electricity. Microbes assisted conversion (bioconversion) can be take place either in presence or absence of light. This is called photofermentation or dark-fermentation respectively. This review provides an overview of approaches of fermentative hydrogen production. This includes: dark photo and integrated fermentative modes of hydrogen production; the molecular basis behind its production and diverse range of its applicability industrially. Mechanistic understanding of the metabolic pathways involved in biomass-based fermentative hydrogen production are also reviewed.

For achieving Net Zero-aims hydrogen is an indispensable component probably the main component. For the usage of hydrogen a wide acceptance is necessary which requires trust in hydrogen based on absence of major incidents resulting from a high safety level. Burst tests stand for a type of testing that is used in every test standard and regulation as one of the key issues for ensuring safety in use. The central role of burst and proof test is grown to historical reasons for steam engines and steel vessels but - with respect for composite pressure vessels (CPVs) - not due an extraordinary depth of outcomes. Its importance results from the relatively simple test process with relatively low costs and gets its importance by running of the different test variations in parallel. In relevant test und production standards (as e. g. ECE R134) the burst test is used in at least 4 different meanings. There is the burst test on a) new CPVs and some others b) for determining the residual strength subsequent to various simulations of ageing effects. Both are performed during the approval process on a pre-series. Then there is c) the batch testing during the CPVs production and finally d) the 100% proof testing which means to stop the burst test at a certain pressure level. These different aspects of burst tests are analysed and compared with respect to its importance for the resulting safety of the populations of CPVs in service based on experienced test results and Monte-Carlo simulations. As main criterial for this the expected failure rate in a probabilistic meaning is used. This finally ends up with recommendations for relevant RC&S especially with respect to GTR 13."

This independent cross-party report highlights the key role that political consensus can play in helping to reduce the costs of nuclear power in the UK as well as other low carbon technologies. This political consensus has never been more important than in this ‘defining decade’ for the power sector. The report highlights that an immediate challenge facing the UK’s new build programme is agreeing with the European Commission a regime for supporting new nuclear power. Changing the proposed support package would not be an impossible task if made necessary but maintaining broad political consensus and considering the implications of delay are also important. The State Aid process is an important opportunity for scrutiny with the report demonstrating that shareholders for Hinkley Point C could see bigger returns (19-21%) than those typically expected for PFI projects (12-15%). However it is too early to conclude on the value for money of the Hinkley Point C agreement. Both the negotiation process and the resulting investment contract are important but there has been little transparency over either so far and the negotiations were not competitive. The inquiry calls for more urgency and better coordination in seizing the opportunity to reuse the UK’s plutonium stockpile.



The UK’s stockpile of separated plutonium presents opportunities to tackle a number of national strategic priorities including implementing long term solutions for nuclear waste developing new technologies that could redefine the sector laying the ground for new nuclear power and pursuing nuclear non-proliferation.  Government has identified three ‘credible solutions’ for reuse and the report recommends that it now sets clearer criteria against which to assess options and identifies budgetary requirements to help expediate the process. The report also argues that Government should do more on new nuclear technologies that could redefine the sector – such as considering smaller reactors nuclear for industrial heat or hydrogen production and closed or thorium fuel cycles. The Government’s initial response to a review of nuclear R&D a year ago by the then Chief Scientific Advisor Sir John Beddington has been welcome and it needs to build on this. In particular the UK should capitalise upon its existing expertise and past experience to focus efforts where there is most strategic value. Nulcear waste. Having failed to date the Government must urgently revisit plans for finding a site to store nuclear waste underground for thousands of years. Implementing this is a crucial part of demonstrating that nuclear waste is a manageable challenge. Despite being rejected by Cumbria County Council the continuing strong support amongst communities in West Cumbria for hosting a site is a promising sign.



On affordability the report finds that it is not yet clear which electricity generation technologies will be cheapest in the 2020s and beyond. Coal and gas could get more expensive if fossil fuel and carbon prices rise whilst low carbon technologies could get cheaper as technology costs fall with more deployment. This is the main reason for adopting an ‘all of the above’ strategy including nuclear power until costs become clearer and there is broad consensus behind this general approach.  



On security of supply the inquiry says that deployment of nuclear power is likely to be influenced more by the economics of system balancing rather than technical system balancing challenges which can be met with greater deployment of existing balancing tools. The cost of maintaining system security is likely to mean that the UK maintains at least some baseload capacity such as nuclear power to limit system costs.



On sustainability the report finds that the environmental impacts of nuclear power are comparable to some generation technologies and favourable to others although the long lived nature of some radioactive nuclear waste and the dual use potential of nuclear technology for civil and military applications create unique sustainability challenges which the UK is a world leader in managing.



It is the final report of the Future Electricity Series an independent and cross party inquiry into the UK power sector sponsored by the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers