Publications

Hydrogen solutions have a critical role to play in the UK not only in helping the nation meet its net-zero target but in creating the economic growth and jobs that will kickstart the green recovery.

The Government must act now to ensure that the UK capitalises on the opportunity presented by hydrogen and builds a world-leading industry.

COVID-19 has caused significant economic upheaval across the country with unemployment expected to reach up to 14.8 per cent by the end of 20201. The UK must identify those areas of the economy which have significant economic growth potential and can deliver long-term and sustainable increases in GVA and jobs. It will be important to consider regional factors and ensure that investment is targeted in those areas that have been hardest hit by the crisis.

Many major economies have identified hydrogen as a key part of both decarbonisation and economic recovery. As part of its stimulus package Germany announced a €9billion investment in green hydrogen solutions aiming to deploy 5GW by 2030. The Hydrogen Council estimates a future hydrogen and equipment market worth $2.5 trillion globally by 2050 supporting 30 million new jobs.

Hydrogen offers the UK a pathway to deep cost-effective decarbonisation while delivering economic growth and job creation. It should therefore be at the heart of the Government’s green recovery programme ensuring that the UK builds back better and greener.

• Economic Impact Assessment Summary 
• Economic impact Assessment Methodology
• Economic impact Assessment of the Hydrogen Value Chain of the UK infographic
• Imperial College Consultants Review of the EIA.

Through its “Reducing Carbon whilst Creating Social Value: How to get Started’ initiative Welsh Government is keen to explore whether a ‘circular economy’ (and industry) could be developed for Wales for CO2.<br/>Although most companies have targets to reduce their CO2 by 2030 Wales does not have the space to store or bury any excess with the current choice to ship or ‘move the problem’ elsewhere. Meanwhile other industry sectors in Wales are experiencing shortages of CO2 e.g. food production.<br/>Net Zero commitments will require dealing with CO2 emissions from agricultural and industrial sectors and from the production of blue and grey hydrogen during the transition time of switching to green hydrogen. Sequestration and shipping off of CO2 could be costly are not currently possible at large scale and are not sustainable. The use of CO2 by industry e.g. in construction materials and in food production processes can play a major role in addressing CO2 waste production from grey and blue hydrogen.<br/>In a Cradle-to-Cradle approach everything has a use. Is Wales missing out on creating and developing a new innovative industry around a CO2 circular economy?

Efficient energy production and consumption are fundamental points for reducing carbon emissions that influence climate change. Alternative resources such as renewable energy sources (RESs) used in electricity grids could reduce the environmental impact. Since RESs are inherently unreliable during the last decades the scientific community addressed research efforts to their integration with the main grid by means of properly designed energy storage systems (ESSs). In order to highlight the best performance from these hybrid systems proper design and operations are essential. The purpose of this paper is to present a so-called model predictive controller (MPC) for the optimal operations of grid-connected wind farms with hydrogen-based ESSs and local loads. Such MPC has been designed to take into account the operating and economical costs of the ESS the local load demand and the participation to the electricity market and further it enforces the fulfillment of the physical and the system's dynamics constraints. The dynamics of the hydrogen-based ESS have been modeled by means of the mixed-logic dynamic (MLD) framework in order to capture different behaviors according to the possible operating modes. The purpose is to provide a controller able to cope both with all the main physical and operating constraints of a hydrogen-based storage system including the switching among different modes such as ON OFF STAND-BY and at the same time reduce the management costs and increase the equipment lifesaving. The case study for this paper is a plant under development in the north Norway. Numerical analysis on the related plant data shows the effectiveness of the proposed strategy which manages the plant and commits the equipment so as to preserve the given constraints and save them from unnecessary commutation cycles.

The fuel quality of hydrogen dispensed from 10 refuelling stations in Europe was assessed. Representative sampling was conducted from the nozzle by use of a sampling adapter allowing to bleed sample gas in parallel while refuelling an FCEV. Samples were split off and distributed to four laboratories for analysis in accordance with ISO 14687 and SAE J2719. The results indicated some inconsistencies between the laboratories but were still conclusive. The fuel quality was generally good. Elevated nitrogen concentrations were detected in two samples but not in violation with the new 300 μmol/mol tolerance limit. Four samples showed water concentrations higher than the 5 μmol/mol tolerance limit estimated by at least one laboratory. The results were ambiguous: none of the four samples showed all laboratories in agreement with the violation. One laboratory reported an elevated oxygen concentration that was not corroborated by the other two laboratories and thus considered an outlier.

A pseudo-homogeneous model for the methanol steam reforming process was developed based on reaction kinetics over a CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst and non-adiabatic heat and mass transfer performances in a co-current packed-bed reactor. A Thiele modulus method and an intraparticle distribution method were applied for predicting the effectiveness factors for main reactions and providing insights into the diffusion-reaction process in a cylindrical catalyst pellet. The results of both methods are validated and show good agreements with the experimental data but the intraparticle distribution method provides better predictions. Results indicate that increases in catalyst size and bulk fluid temperature amplify the impact of intraparticle diffusion limitations showing a decrease in effectiveness factors. To satisfy the requirements of a high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stack the optimized operating conditions which bring the methanol and CO concentrations to less than 1% vol in the reformate stream are determined based on the simulation results.

The location of hydrogen within Ti–Cr–V–Mo alloys has been investigated during hydrogen absorption and desorption using in situ neutron powder diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering. Neutron powder diffraction identifies a low hydrogen equilibration pressure body-centred tetragonal phase that undergoes a martensitic phase transition to a face-centred cubic phase at high hydrogen equilibration pressures. The average location of the hydrogen in each phase has been identified from the neutron powder diffraction data although inelastic neutron scattering combined with density functional theory calculations show that the local structure is more complex than it appears from the average structure. Furthermore the origin of the change in dissociation pressure and hydrogen trapping on cycling in Ti–Cr–V–Mo alloys is discussed.

Long-term power market outlooks suggest a rapid increase in renewable energy deployment as a main solution to greenhouse gas mitigation in the Northern European energy system. However the consequential area requirement is a non-techno-economic aspect that currently is omitted by many energy system optimization models. This study applies modeling to generate alternatives (MGA) technique to the Balmorel energy system model to address spatial conflicts related to increased renewable energy deployment. The approach searches for alternative solutions that minimize land-use conflicts while meeting the low-carbon target by allowing a 1% to 15% increase in system costs compared to the least-cost solution. Two alternative objectives are defined to reflect various aspects of spatial impact. The results show that the least-cost solution requires 1.2%–3.6% of the land in the modeled countries in 2040 for onshore wind and solar PV installations. A 10% increase in costs can reduce the required land area by 58% by relying more on offshore wind. Nuclear energy may also be an option if both onshore and offshore areas are to be reduced or in a less flexible system. Both offshore wind and nuclear energy technologies are associated with higher risks and pose uncertainties in terms of reaching the climate targets in time. The changes in costs and required land areas imply significantly higher annual costs ranging from 200 to 750 kEUR/km2 to avoid land use for energy infrastructure. Overall this study confirms that the energy transition strategies prioritizing land savings from energy infrastructure are feasible but high risks and costs of averted land are involved.

Strain-induced martensite transformation (SIMT) commonly exists around a crack tip of metastable austenite stainless steels. The influence of the volume expansion of the SIMT on the hydrogen diffusion was investigated by hydrogen diffusion modelling around a crack tip in type 304L austenite stainless steel. The volume expansion changed the tensile stress state into pressure stress state at the crack tip resulting in a large stress gradient along the crack propagation direction. Compared to the analysis without considering the volume expansion effect this volume expansion further accelerated the hydrogen transport from the inner surface to a critical region ahead of the crack tip and further increased the maximum value of the hydrogen concentration at the critical position where the strain-induced martensite fraction approximates to 0.1 indicating that the volume expansion of the SIMT further increased the hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility.

Climate change and increased urban population are two major concerns for society. Moving towards more sustainable energy solutions in the urban context by integrating renewable energy technologies supports decarbonizing the energy sector and climate change mitigation. A successful transition also needs adequate consideration of climate change including extreme events to ensure the reliable performance of energy systems in the long run. This review provides an overview of and insight into the progress achieved in the energy sector to adapt to climate change focusing on the climate resilience of urban energy systems. The state-of-the-art methodology to assess impacts of climate change including extreme events and uncertainties on the design and performance of energy systems is described and discussed. Climate resilience is an emerging concept that is increasingly used to represent the durability and stable performance of energy systems against extreme climate events. However it has not yet been adequately explored and widely used as its definition has not been clearly articulated and assessment is mostly based on qualitative aspects. This study reveals that a major limitation in the state-of-the-art is the inadequacy of climate change adaptation approaches in designing and preparing urban energy systems to satisfactorily address plausible extreme climate events. Furthermore the complexity of the climate and energy models and the mismatch between their temporal and spatial resolutions are the major limitations in linking these  models. Therefore few studies have focused on the design and operation of urban energy infrastructure in terms of climate resilience. Considering the occurrence of extreme climate events and increasing demand for implementing climate adaptation strategies the study highlights the importance of improving energy system models to consider future climate variations including extreme events to identify climate resilient energy transition pathways.

At present aero engine fault diagnosis is mainly based on the steady-state condition at the cruise phase and the gas path parameters in the entire flight process are not effectively used. At the same time high quality steady-state monitoring measurements are not always available and as a result the accuracy of diagnosis might be affected. There is a recognized need for real-time performance diagnosis of aero engines operating under transient conditions which can improve their condition-based maintenance. Recent studies have demonstrated the capability of the sequential model-based diagnostic method to predict accurately and efficiently the degradation of industrial gas turbines under steady-state conditions. Nevertheless incorporating real-time data for fault detection of aero engines that operate in dynamic conditions is a more challenging task. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the performance of the sequential diagnostic method when it is applied to aero engines that operate under transient conditions while there is a variation in the bypass ratio and the heat soakage effects are taken into consideration. This study provides a novel approach for quantifying component degradation such as fouling and erosion by using an adapted version of the sequential diagnostic method. The research presented here confirms that the proposed method could be applied to aero engine fault diagnosis under both steady-state and dynamic conditions in real-time. In addition the economic impact of engine degradation on fuel cost and payload revenue is evaluated when the engine under investigation is using hydrogen. The proposed method demonstrated promising diagnostic results where the maximum prediction errors for steady state and transient conditions are less than 0.006% and 0.016% respectively. The comparison of the proposed method to a benchmark diagnostic method revealed a 15% improvement in accuracy which can have great benefit when considering that the cost attributed to degradation can reach up to $702585 for 6000 flight cycles of a hydrogen powered aircraft fleet. This study provides an opportunity to improve our understanding of aero engine fault diagnosis in order to improve engine reliability availability and efficiency by online health monitoring.

Photocatalytic hydrogen generation is one of the most promising solutions to convert solar power into green chemical energy. In this work a multi-component TiO₂–Ag–Cu₂O composite was obtained through simple impregnation-calcination of Cu₂O and subsequent photodeposition of Ag onto electrospun TiO₂ nanotubes. The resulting TiO₂–Ag–Cu₂O photocatalyst exhibits excellent photocatalytic H₂ evolution activity due to the synergetic effect of Ag and Cu₂O on electrospun TiO₂nanotubes. A dual Z-scheme charge transfer pathway for photocatalytic reactions over TiO₂–Ag–Cu₂O composite was proposed and discussed. This work provides a prototype for designing Z-scheme photocatalyst with Ag as an electron mediator.

Ni₃S₂ and NiS supported on carbon spheres are successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. And then a series of physical characterizations included XRD (X-ray diffraction) EDS (energy dispersive spectroscopy) FESEM (field emission scanning electron microscopy) and XPS (X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy) were used to analyze the samples. XRD was used to confirm that NiNi₃S₂ S2 and NiS were successfully fabricated. FESEM indicated that Ni₃S₂ and NiS disperse well on carbon spheres. Electrochemical tests showed that nickel sulfides supported by carbon spheres exhibited excellent hydrogen evolution performance. The excellent catalytic activity is attributed to the synergistic effect of carbon spheres and transition metal sulfides of which the carbon spheres act to enhance the electrical conductivity and the dispersion of Ni₃S₂ and NiS thus providing more active sites for the hydrogen evolution reaction.

Nowadays decarbonization of energy economy is a topical theme and several pathways are under discussion. Gaseous fuels will play a primary role during this transition and the production of renewable or low carbon-impact gaseous fuels is necessary to deal with this challenge. Decarbonization will be sustained by an increasing share of renewables which production intermittency can be critical for the energy system. Renewable hydrogen generation is a viable solution since this energy vector can be produced from electricity with a fast response and injected in the existing natural gas infrastructures granting storage capacity and easy transport. Parallelly to the renewable-based energy production fossil-based energy can be exploited with a low carbon impact using methane from reservoirs to produce hydrogen capturing CO2. The mentioned scenarios will lead to hydrogen enrichment of natural gas which impact on the infrastructures is being actively studied. The effect on end-user devices instead is poorly analysed but is fundamental to be assessed. This paper highlights the impact on the widely used premixed condensing boilers which will be fired with hydrogen enriched natural gas in the near future and the changes required to components.

Hydrogen separation through oxygen transport membranes (OTMs) has attracted much attention. Asymmetric membranes with thin dense layers provide low bulk diffusion resistances and high overall hydrogen separation performances. However the resistance in the porous support layer (PSL) limits the overall separation performance significantly. Engineering the structure of the PSL is an appropriate way to enable fast gas transport and increase the separation performance. There is no relevant research on studying the influence of the PSL on hydrogen separation performance so far. Herein we prepared Ce_0.85Sm_0.15O_1.925 – Sm_0.6Sr_0.4Cr_0.3Fe_0.7O_3-δ (SDC-SSCF) asymmetric membranes with straight grooves in PSL by tape-casting and laser grooving. A ~30% improvement in the hydrogen separation rate was achieved by grooving in the PSLs. It indicates that the grooves may reduce the concentration polarization resistance in PSL for the hydrogen separation process. This work provides a straight evidence on optimizing the structures of PSL for improving the hydrogen separation performance of the membrane reactors.

Clean hydrogen:

• What's driving the excitement?
• Will hydrogen stay on the main stage of the energy transition?
• What is the market for clean hydrogen today?

Download the full white paper from the Delta EE website here

Heating and hot water within buildings account for almost a quarter of global energy consumption. Approximately 90% of this heat is derived directly from the combustion of fossil fuels primarily natural gas leading to the unabated emission of carbon dioxide. This paper assesses the environmental sustainability of a range of heating technologies and scenarios on a life cycle basis. The major technologies considered are natural gas boilers air source heat pumps hydrogen boilers and direct electric heaters. The scenarios use the UK as an example due to its status as a major economy with a legally-binding net-zero carbon target for 2050; they consider plausible future electricity and natural gas mixes including the potential growth of domestic shale gas. The environmental impacts are estimated using ReCiPe 2016. Current gas boilers have a climate change impact of 220 g CO₂ eq./kWh of heat which could fall to 64 g CO₂ eq./kWh for boilers fuelled by hydrogen derived from natural gas with carbon capture. Heat from electric air source heat pumps or hydrogen from electrolysis can achieve net zero with a decarbonised electricity mix but electrolysis has the highest energy demand of all options which leads to the highest impacts across 17 of the 19 categories. Despite their high carbon emissions gas boilers remain the lowest impact option across 12 categories as they avoid the impacts related to electricity generation including metal depletion toxicities and eutrophication. By 2050 the best performing scenario sees the climate change impact of the heating mix fall by 95%; this is achieved by prioritising electric air source heat pumps without hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants alongside demand reduction. The results show that if infrastructure and financial challenges can be overcome there are several viable decarbonisation strategies for heating with heat pumps offering the most environmentally sustainable option of those considered here. However increased renewable electricity demand may worsen some environmental impacts compared to natural gas boilers.

The hydrogen economy will play a key role in future energy systems. Several thermal and catalytic methods for hydrogen production have been presented. In this review methane thermocatalytic and thermal decomposition into hydrogen gas and solid carbon are considered. These processes known as the thermal decomposition of methane (TDM) and thermocatalytic decomposition (TCD) of methane respectively appear to have the greatest potential for hydrogen production. In particular the focus is on the different types and properties of carbons formed during the decomposition processes. The applications for carbons are also investigated.

Development of probabilistic modelling tools to perform Bayesian inference and uncertainty quantification (UQ) is a challenging task for practical hydrogen-enriched and low-emission combustion systems due to the need to take into account simultaneously simulated fluid dynamics and detailed combustion chemistry. A large number of evaluations is required to calibrate models and estimate parameters using experimental data within the framework of Bayesian inference. This task is computationally prohibitive in high-fidelity and deterministic approaches such as large eddy simulation (LES) to design and optimize combustion systems. Therefore there is a need to develop methods that: (a) are suitable for Bayesian inference studies and (b) characterize a range of solutions based on the uncertainty of modelling parameters and input conditions. This paper aims to develop a computationally-efficient toolchain to address these issues for probabilistic modelling of NOx emission in hydrogen-enriched and lean-premixed combustion systems. A novel method is implemented into the toolchain using a chemical reactor network (CRN) model non-intrusive polynomial chaos expansion based on the point collocation method (NIPCE-PCM) and the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. First a CRN model is generated for a combustion system burning hydrogen-enriched methane/air mixtures at high-pressure lean-premixed conditions to compute NOx emission. A set of metamodels is then developed using NIPCE-PCM as a computationally efficient alternative to the physics-based CRN model. These surrogate models and experimental data are then implemented in the MCMC method to perform a two-step Bayesian calibration to maximize the agreement between model predictions and measurements. The average standard deviations for the prediction of exit temperature and NOx emission are reduced by almost 90% using this method. The calibrated model then used with confidence for global sensitivity and reliability analysis studies which show that the volume of the main-flame zone is the most important parameter for NOx emission. The results show satisfactory performance for the developed toolchain to perform Bayesian inference and UQ studies enabling a robust and consistent process for designing and optimising low-emission combustion systems.

The Flexibility in Great Britain project analysed the system-level value of deploying flexibility across the heat transport industry and power sectors in Great Britain to provide a robust evidence-base on the role and value of flexibility in a net zero system.

Overview

Findings from this groundbreaking analysis of the future net zero energy system in Great Britain are expected to have profound implications for policymakers households and the wider energy sector across Great Britain.

Key findings include:

• Embedding greater flexibility across the entire energy system will reduce the cost of achieving net zero for all consumers while assuring energy security.
• Investing in flexibility is a no-regrets decision as it has the potential to deliver material net savings of up to £16.7bn per annum across all scenarios analysed in 2050.
• A more flexible system will accelerate the benefits of decarbonisation supported by decentralisation and digitalisation.
• To maximise the benefits of flexibility households and businesses should play an active role in the development and operation of the country’s future energy system as energy use for transport heat and appliances becomes more integrated.
• Policymakers should preserve existing flexibility options and act now to maximise future flexibility such as by building it into ‘smart’ appliances or building standards.

Read the Full Report here on the Carbon Trust Website

View the interactive analysis here at the Carbon Trust Website

Watch an accompanying video here at the Carbon Trust Youtube channel

The transition to low carbon energy and transport systems requires an unprecedented roll-out of new infrastructure technologies containing significant quantities of critical raw materials. Many of these technologies are based on general purpose technologies such as permanent magnets and electric motors that are common across different infrastructure systems. Circular economy initiatives that aim to institute better resource management practices could exploit these technological commonalities through the reuse and remanufacturing of technology components across infrastructure systems. In this paper we analyze the implementation of such processes in the transition to low carbon electricity generation and transport on the Isle of Wight UK. We model two scenarios relying on different renewable energy technologies with the reuse of Lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles for grid-attached storage. A whole-system analysis that considers both electricity and transport infrastructure demonstrates that the optimal choice of renewable technology can be dependent on opportunities for component reuse and material recycling between the different infrastructure systems. Hydrogen fuel cell based transport makes use of platinum from obsolete catalytic converters whereas lithium-ion batteries can be reused for grid-attached storage when they are no longer useful in vehicles. Trade-offs exist between the efficiency of technology reuse which eliminates the need for new technologies for grid attached storage completely by 2033 and the higher flexibility afforded by recycling at the material level; reducing primary material demand for Lithium by 51% in 2033 compared to 30% achieved by battery reuse. This analysis demonstrates the value of a methodology that combines detailed representations of technologies and components with a systemic approach that includes multiple interconnected infrastructure systems.

Worldwide the road transport sector typically arises as one of the main sources of air pollutants due to its high energy intensity and the use of fossil fuels. Thus governments and social agents work on the development and prospective planning of decarbonisation strategies oriented towards sustainable transport. In this regard the increase in the use of alternative fuels is the recurrent approach to energy planning e.g. through the promotion of electric vehicles biofuels natural gas liquefied petroleum gas etc. However there is a lack of comprehensive information on the techno-economic performance of production pathways for alternative fuels. The acquisition of robust techno-economic data is still a challenge for energy planners modellers analysts and policy-makers when building their prospective models to support decision-making processes. Hence this article aims to fill this gap through a deep literature review including the most representative production routes for a wide range of road transportation fuels. This led to the development of datasets including investment costs operating and maintenance costs and transformation efficiencies for more than 40 production pathways. The techno-economic data presented in this work are expected to be especially useful to those energy actors interested in performing long-term studies on the transition to a sustainable transport system.

The Global Status of CCS Report 2020 demonstrates the vital role of carbon capture and storage technologies (CCS) in reducing emissions to net-zero by 2050 as well as documenting the current status and important milestones for the technology over the past 12 months.<br/>The report provides detailed information on and analyses of the global CCS facility pipeline international policy perspectives CO2 storage and the CCS legal and regulatory environment.<br/>In addition four regional updates provide further detail about CCS progress across the Americas Europe Asia Pacific and the Gulf Cooperation Council States and a Technology section provides updates on key innovations and applications of CCS.

Implementation of non-precious electrocatalysts is key-enabling for water electrolysis to relieve challenges in energy and environmental sustainability. Self-supporting Ni-V₂O₃.electrodes consisting of nanostrip-like V₂O₃.perpendicularly anchored on Ni meshes are herein constructed via the electrochemical reduction of soluble NaVO₃ in molten salts for enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Such a special configuration in morphology and composition creates a well confined interface between Ni and V₂O₃. Experimental and Density-Functional-Theory results confirm that the synergy between Ni and V₂O₃.accelerates the dissociation of H₂O for forming hydrogen intermediates and enhances the combination of H* for generating H₂.

Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires increased global climate action especially towards the production and use of synthetic e-fuels. This paper focuses on aviation and maritime transport and the role of green hydrogen for indirect electrification of industry sectors. Based on a sound analysis of existing multilateral cooperation the paper proposes four potential initiatives to increase climate ambition of the G20 countries in the respective policy field: a Sustainable e-Kerosene Alliance a Sustainable e-fuel Alliance for Maritime Shipping a Hard-to-Abate Sector Partnership and a Global Supply-demand-partnership.

The full report can be found here on the Umweltbundesamt website

The aim of this work is to study the effect of the displacement rate on the hydrogen embrittlement of two different structural steels grades used in energetic applications. With this purpose samples were pre-charged with gaseous hydrogen at 19.5 MPa and 450 °C for 21 h. Then fracture tests of the pre-charged specimens were performed using different displacement rates. It is showed that the lower is the displacement rate and the largest is the steel strength the strongest is the reduction of the fracture toughness due to the presence of internal hydrogen.