Publications

Adequate safety measures are crucial for preventing major accidents at hydrogen fuelling stations. In particular risk analysis of the domino effect at hydrogen fuelling stations is essential because knock-on accidents are likely to intensify the consequences of a relatively small incident. Several risk assessment studies have focused on hydrogen fuelling stations but none have investigated accidental scenarios related to the domino effect at such stations. Therefore the purpose of this study is to identify a domino effect scenario analyze the scenario by using simulations and propose safety measures for preventing and mitigating of the scenario. In this hazard identification study we identified the domino effect scenario of a hydrogen fuelling station with an on-site hydrogen production system involving methylcyclohexane and investigated through simulations of the scenario. The simulations revealed that a pool fire of methylcyclohexane or toluene can damage the process equipment and that thermal radiation may cause the pressurized hydrogen tanks to rupture. The rupture-type vent system can serve as a critical safety measure for preventing and mitigating the examined scenario.

Hy4Heat’s mission is to establish if it is technically possible safe and convenient to replace natural gas (methane) with hydrogen in residential and commercial buildings and gas appliances. This will enable the government to determine whether to proceed to a community trial.



There is growing international consensus that hydrogen will be essential to successfully tackling climate change. So BEIS is working to develop hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier for the UK which will be an essential element of the UK’s efforts to transform and decarbonise our energy system in line with our legally binding 2050 net zero commitment. Hydrogen can be used across multiple end-use sectors including industry transport heat and power. BEIS is looking to support and develop low carbon hydrogen production methods which will position hydrogen as a highly effective decarbonisation option particularly in hard-to electrify sectors and processes.



At the end of 2017 BEIS appointed Arup to be the programme manager for the Hy4Heat programme. Arup partnered with technical and industry specialists: Kiwa Gastec Progressive Energy Embers and Yo Energy and together the team oversees the programme and technical management of all the work packages. For the past three years Hy4Heat has been exploring whether replacing natural gas (methane) with hydrogen for domestic heating and cooking is feasible and could be part of a plausible potential pathway to help meet heat decarbonisation targets. To do this the programme has been seeking to provide the technical performance usability and safety evidence to demonstrate whether hydrogen can be used for heat in buildings.





This report and any attachment is freely available on the Hy4Heat website here. The report can also be downloaded directly by clicking on the pdf icon above.

Biomass derived porous nanostructured nitrogen doped carbon (PNC) has been extensively investigated as the electrode material for electrochemical catalytic reactions and rechargeable batteries. Biomass with and without containing nitrogen could be designed and optimized to prepare PNC via hydrothermal carbonization pyrolysis and other methods. The presence of nitrogen in carbon can provide more active sites for ion absorption improve the electronic conductivity increase the bonding between carbon and sulfur and enhance the electrochemical catalytic reaction. The synthetic methods of natural biomass derived PNC heteroatomic co- or tri-doping into biomass derived carbon and the application of biomass derived PNC in rechargeable Li/Na batteries high energy density Li–S batteries supercapacitors metal-air batteries and electrochemical catalytic reaction (oxygen reduction and evolution reactions hydrogen evolution reaction) are summarized and discussed in this review. Biomass derived PNCs deliver high performance electrochemical storage properties for rechargeable batteries/supercapacitors and superior electrochemical catalytic performance toward hydrogen evolution oxygen reduction and evolution as promising electrodes for electrochemical devices including battery technologies fuel cell and electrolyzer.

Minimising tailpipe emissions and the decarbonisation of transport in a cost effective way remains a major objective for policymakers and vehicle manufacturers. Current trends are rapidly evolving but appear to be moving towards solutions in which vehicles which are increasingly electrified. As a result we will see a greater linkage between the wider energy system and the transportation sector resulting in a more complex and mutual dependency. At the same time major investments into technological innovation across both sectors are yielding rapid advancements into on-board energy storage and more compact/lightweight on-board electricity generators. In the absence of sufficient technical data on such technology holistic evaluations of the future transportation sector and its energy sources have not considered the impact of a new generation of innovation in propulsion technologies. In this paper the potential impact of a number of novel powertrain technologies are evaluated and presented. The analysis considers heavy duty vehicles with conventional reciprocating engines powered by diesel and hydrogen hybrid and battery electric vehicles and vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells and freepiston engine generators (FPEGs). The benefits are compared for each technology to meet the expectations of representative medium and heavy-duty vehicle drivers. Analysis is presented in terms of vehicle type vehicle duty cycle fuel economy greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impact on the vehicle etc.. The work shows that the underpinning energy vector and its primary energy source are the most significant factor for reducing primary energy consumption and net CO₂ emissions. Indeed while an HGV with a BEV powertrain offers no direct tailpipe emissions it produces significantly worse lifecycle CO2 emissions than a conventional diesel powertrain. Even with a de-carbonised electricity system (100 g CO2/kWh) CO₂ emissions are similar to a conventional Diesel fuelled HGV. For the HGV sector range is key to operator acceptability of new powertrain technologies. This analysis has shown that cumulative benefits of improved electrical powertrains on-board storage efficiency improvements and vehicle design in 2025 and 2035 mean that hydrogen and electric fuelled vehicles can be competitive on gravimetric and volumetric density. Overall the work demonstrates that presently there is no common powertrain solution appropriate for all vehicle types but how subtle improvements at a vehicle component level can have significant impact on the design choices for the wider energy system.

We use a detailed solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) model for micro-grid applications to analyze the effect of failure and degradation on system performance. Design and operational constraints on a component and system level are presented. A degrees of freedom analysis identifies controlled and manipulated system variables which are important for control. Experimental data are included to model complex degradation phenomena of the SOFC unit. Rather than using a constant value a spatially distributed degradation rate as function of temperature and current density is used that allows to study trajectory based performance deterioration. The SOFC unit is assumed to consist of multiple stacks. The failure scenario studied is the loss of one individual SOFC stack e.g. due to breakage of sealing or a series of fuel cells. Simulations reveal that degradation leads to significant drifts from the design operating point. Moreover failure of individual stacks may bring the still operating power generation unit into a regime where further failures and accelerated degradation is more likely. It is shown that system design dimensioning operation and control are strongly linked. Apart from specific quantitative results perhaps the main practical contribution are the collected constraints and the degrees of freedom analysis.

The synthesis of low-cost and highly active electrodes for both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is very important for water splitting. In this work the novel amorphous iron-nickel phosphide (FeP-Ni) nanocone arrays as efficient bifunctional electrodes for overall water splitting have been in-situ assembled on conductive three-dimensional (3D) Ni foam via a facile and mild liquid deposition process. It is found that the FeP-Ni electrode demonstrates highly efficient electrocatalytic performance toward overall water splitting. In 1 M KOH electrolyte the optimal FeP-Ni electrode drives a current density of 10 mA/cm2 at an overpotential of 218 mV for the OER and 120 mV for the HER and can attain such current density for 25 h without performance regression. Moreover a two-electrode electrolyzer comprising the FeP-Ni electrodes can afford 10 mA/cm2 electrolysis current at a low cell voltage of 1.62 V and maintain long-term stability as well as superior to that of the coupled RuO2/NF‖Pt/C/NF cell. Detailed characterizations confirm that the excellent electrocatalytic performances for water splitting are attributed to the unique 3D morphology of nanocone arrays which could expose more surface active sites facilitate electrolyte diffusion benefit charge transfer and also favourable bubble detachment behaviour. Our work presents a facile and cost-effective pathway to design and develop active self-supported electrodes with novel 3D morphology for water electrolysis.

The FCH JU has with its industry and research partners worked since 2008 to develop and demonstrate FCH technologies along with development of the various business and environmental cases. It has involved a programme of increasingly ambitious demonstrations projects a consistent approach to research and development actions and a long term policy commitment. Developing the business and environmental cases for FCH technologies has created an increasingly compelling vision appealing to a range of stakeholders: to FCH technology businesses themselves assured by the long term commitment of the FCH JU to end users in terms of cost and operational performance potential and as critically to increasing numbers of policy and decision makers attracted by the substantial socio-economic benefits.

As of 2003 15 hydrogen refuelling stations (HRSs) have been deployed in the Netherlands. To become established the HRS has to go through a permitting procedure. An important document of the permitting dossier is the quantitative risk assessment (QRA) as it assesses the risks of the HRS associated to people and buildings in the vicinity of the HRS. In the Netherlands a generic prescribed approach exists on how to perform a QRA however specific guidelines for HRSs do not exist. An intercomparison among the QRAs of permitted HRSs has revealed significant inconsistencies on various aspects of the QRA: namely the inclusion of HRS sub-systems and components the HRS sub-system and component considerations as predefined components the application of failure scenarios the determination of failure frequencies the application of input parameters the consideration of preventive and mitigation measures as well as information provided regarding the HRS surroundings and the societal risk. It is therefore recommended to develop specific QRA guidelines for HRSs.

Using a high mass transport floating electrode technique with an ultra-low catalyst loading (0.84–3.5 μgPt cm−2) of commonly used Pt/C catalyst (HiSPEC 9100 Johnson Matthey) features in the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) were resolved and defined which have rarely been previously observed. These features include fine structure in the hydrogen adsorption region between 0.18 < V vs. RHE < 0.36 V vs. RHE consisting of two peaks an asymptotic decrease at potentials greater than 0.36 V vs. RHE and a hysteresis above 0.1 V vs. RHE which corresponded to a decrease in the cathodic scan current by up to 50% of the anodic scan. These features are examined as a function of hydrogen and proton concentration anion type and concentration potential scan limit and temperature. We provide an analytical solution to the Heyrovsky–Volmer equation and use it to analyse our results. Using this model we are able to extract catalytic properties (without mass transport corrections; a possible source of error) by simultaneously fitting the model to HOR curves in a variety of conditions including temperature hydrogen partial pressure and anion/H+ concentration. Using our model we are able to rationalise the pH and hydrogen concentration dependence of the hydrogen reaction. This model may be useful in application to fuel cell and electrolyser simulation studies.

Hydrogen can be produced from the decomposition of methane (also called pyrolysis). Many studies assume that this process emits few greenhouse gas (GHG) because the reaction from methane to hydrogen yields only solid carbon and no CO₂. This paper assesses the life-cycle GHG emissions and the levelized costs for hydrogen provision from methane decomposition in three configurations (plasma molten metal and thermal gas). The results of these configurations are then compared to electrolysis and steam methane reforming (SMR) with and without CO₂capture and storage (CCS). Under the global natural gas supply chain conditions hydrogen from methane decomposition still causes significant GHG emissions between 43 and 97 g CO₂-eq./MJ. The bandwidth is predominately determined by the energy source providing the process heat i.e. the lowest emissions are caused by the plasma system using renewable electricity. This configuration shows lower GHG emissions compared to the “classical” SMR (99 g CO₂-eq./MJ) but similar emissions to the SMR with CCS (46 g CO2-eq./MJ). However only electrolysis powered with renewable electricity leads to very low GHG emissions (3 g CO₂-eq./MJ). Overall the natural gas supply is a decisive factor in determining GHG emissions. A natural gas supply with below-global average GHG emissions can lead to lower GHG emissions of all methane decomposition configurations compared to SMR. Methane decomposition systems (1.6 to 2.2 €/kg H2) produce hydrogen at costs substantially higher compared to SMR (1.0 to 1.2 €/kg) but lower than electrolyser (2.5 to 3.0 €/kg). SMR with CCS has the lowest CO₂abatement costs (24 €/t CO₂-eq. other > 141 €/t CO₂-eq.). Finally fuels derived from different hydrogen supply options are assessed. Substantially lower GHG emissions compared to the fossil reference (natural gas and diesel/gasoline) are only possible if hydrogen from electrolysis powered by renewable energy is used (>90% less). The other hydrogen pathways cause only slightly lower or even higher GHG emissions.