Publications

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!

The podcast can be found on their website

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.

The podcast can be found on their website

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.

The podcast can be found on their website

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