Publications

This is a time of enormous change for the gas industry as the UK and the world at large attempts to meet the challenges of decarbonisation in the face of climate change. Hydrogen is expected to play a vital role in achieving the government’s commitment of eliminating the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2050 with the industry creating up to 8000 jobs by 2030 and potentially unlocking up to 100000 jobs by the middle of the century. But despite the UK government’s huge ambitions hydrogen is just one piece of the puzzle and it will be necessary to seek solutions that bring the whole energy system together – including not just heat for buildings but hard-to decarbonise areas such as manufacturing road transport aviation and shipping. Here we bring you just a taste of some of the amazing work taking place across the energy sector to understand this fuel more clearly to comprehend its strengths and limitations and to integrate it into our current energy infrastructure. We hope you enjoy this special publication.

The document provides information on safety planning implementation and reporting for projects involving hydrogen and/or fuel cell technologies. It does not intend to replace or contradict existing regulations which prevail under all circumstances. Neither is it meant to conflict with relevant international or national standards or to replace existing company safety policies codes and procedures. Instead this guidance document aims to assist projects and project partners in identifying hazards and associated risks in prevention and/or mitigation of them through a proper safety plan in implementing the safety plan and reporting safety related events. This shall help in safely delivering the project and ultimately producing inherently safer systems processes and infrastructure.

The 2014 Review is the fourth review of the FCH JU project portfolio. The reviews began in 2011 following a recommendation arising from the interim evaluation of the FCH JU which identified the need to ensure that the FCH JU project portfolio as a whole fulfilled the objectives of the Multi-Annual Implementation or Work Plan.<br/><br/>An international team of leading experts in the FCH field undertakes each review based on (1) The achievements of the portfolio against the strategic objectives and content of the FCH JU’s MAIP/MAWP and the AIP/AWPs as set out for the transportation and energy innovation pillars and the cross-cutting category; (2) The extent to which the portfolio meets the FCH JU’s remit for promoting the horizontal activities of RCS PNR safety life-cycle and socio-economic analysis education and training and public awareness; (3) The portfolio’s effectiveness in promoting linkages and co-operation between projects and between FCH JU-supported projects and those supported by other European instruments the Member States and internationally. Review panels The 2014 review comprised six panels covering a total of 114 projects. Each panel covered between 10 and 24 projects as shown in Table 1 below. The objective was to assess projects within each panel as a sub-portfolio (within the FCH JU portfolio) and not as individual projects although examples of individual projects representing good practice were highlighted.

In response to the global climate emergency governments across the world are aiming to lower greenhouse gas emissions to slow the damaging effects of climate change.<br/>The Scottish Government has set a target of net zero emissions by 2045. Already a global leader in renewable energy and low-carbon technology deployment Scotland’s energy landscape is set to undergo more change as it moves toward becoming carbon-neutral. Key to that change will be the transition from natural gas to zero-carbon gases like hydrogen and biomethane.<br/>Scotland’s north-east and central belt are home to some of its largest industrial carbon emitters. The sector’s reliance on natural gas means that it emits 11.9Mt of CO2 emissions per year says NECCUS: the equivalent of 2.6 million cars or roughly all the cars in Scotland. Most homes and businesses across Scotland also use natural gas for heating.<br/>Our North-East Network and Industrial Cluster project is laying the foundations for the rapid decarbonisation of this high-emitting sector. We’ve published a report outlining the practical steps needed to rapidly decarbonise a significant part of Scotland’s homes and industry. It demonstrates how hydrogen can play a leading role in delivering the Scottish Government’s target of one million homes with low carbon heat by 2030.<br/>The research published with global consulting and engineering advisor Wood sets out a transformational and accelerated pathway to 100% hydrogen for Scotland’s gas networks which you can see on the map below. It also details the feasibility of a CO2 collection network to securely capture transport and store carbon dioxide emissions deep underground.

Hydrogen (H₂) is one of the best candidates to replace current petroleum energy resources due to its rich abundance and clean combustion. However the storage of H₂presents a major challenge. There are two methods for storing H₂ fuel chemical and physical both of which have some advantages and disadvantages. In physical storage highly porous organic polymers are of particular interest since they are low cost easy to scale up metal-free and environmentally friendly.

In this review highly porous polymers for H₂ fuel storage are examined from five perspectives:

(a) brief comparison of H₂ storage in highly porous polymers and other storage media;

(b) theoretical considerations of the physical storage of H₂ molecules in porous polymers;

(c) H₂ storage in different classes of highly porous organic polymers;

(d) characterization of microporosity in these polymers; and

(e) future developments for highly porous organic polymers for H₂ fuel storage. These topics will provide an introductory overview of highly porous organic polymers in H₂ fuel storage.

The energy security landscape that we envisage in 2050 will be different from that of today. Meeting the future energy needs of the armed forces will be a key challenge not least for military security. The World Energy Council’s World Energy Scenarios forecast that the world’s population will rise to 10 billion by 2050 which will also necessitate an increase in the size of the armed forces. In this context energy extraction distribution and storage become essential to stabilizing the imbalance between production and demand. Among the available solutions Power to Hydrogen (P2H) is one of the most appealing options. However despite the potential many obstacles currently hinder the development of the P2H market. This article aims to identify and analyse existing barriers to the introduction of P2H technologies that use hydrogen. The holistic approach used which was based on a literature survey identified obstacles and possible strategies for overcoming them. The research conducted presents an original research contribution at the level of hydrogen strategies considered in leading countries around the world. The research findings identified unresolved regulatory issues and sources of uncertainty in the armed forces. There is a lack of knowledge in the armed forces of some countries about the process of producing hydrogen energy and its benefits which raises concerns about the consistency of its exploitation. Negative attitudes towards hydrogen fuel energy can be a significant barrier to its deployment in the armed forces. Possible approaches and solutions have also been proposed to eliminate obstacles and to support decision makers in defining and implementing a strategy for hydrogen as a clean energy carrier. There are decisive and unresolved obstacles to its deployment not only in the armed forces

This is the Committee’s fifth report on Scotland’s progress towards meeting emission reduction targets as requested by Scottish Ministers under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.<br/>The Scottish Act sets a long-term target to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by at least 80% in 2050 relative to 1990 with an interim target to reduce emissions by 42% in 2020. Secondary legislation passed in October 2010 and October 2011 also set a series of annual emission reduction targets for 2010 to 2022 and 2023 to 2027 respectively. We advised the Scottish Government on annual targets for the period 2028 to 2032 in March 2016 and July 2016.<br/>The report reveals that Scotland’s annual emissions reduction target for 2014 was met with gross Scottish greenhouse gas emissions including international aviation and shipping falling by 8.6% in 2014. This compares to a 7.3% fall for the UK as a whole. Since 1990 gross Scottish emissions have fallen nearly 40% compared to nearly 33% at a UK level.

Climate change and air quality concerns have pushed clean energy up the global agenda. As we switch over to new cleaner technologies and fuels our experience of using power heat and transport are going to change transforming the way we live work and get from A to B. Explore this guide to find out what hydrogen is how it is made transported and used what the experience would be like in the home for transport and for businesses and discover what the future of hydrogen might be.  

Visit the Energy Institute website for more information

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.

On 26 June the World Energy Council held a webinar presenting the results of its latest Innovation Insights Brief on hydrogen engaging three key experts on the topic:



Nigel Brandon Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Imperial College London



Craig Knight Director of Industrial Solutions Horizon Fuel Cell Technology



Dan Sadler H21 Project Manager for Equinor



During the webinar the experts answered a series of policy technical and safety questions from the audience. The webinar started with a poll to get a sense of which sectors attendees saw hydrogen playing a key role in 2040 - 77% chose industrial processes 54% mobility and 31% power generation. The questions ranged from the opportunities and limitations of blending hydrogen with natural gas to safety concerns surrounding hydrogen.



KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

How much hydrogen can be blended with natural gas depends on the rules and regulation of each country. The general consensus is that blending 10% by volume of hydrogen presents no safety concerns or specific difficulties. This would provide an opportunity to develop low hydrogen markets. Nevertheless blending should not be the end destination. It is not sufficient to meet carbon abatement targets.



Low carbon ammonia has a role to play in the new hydrogen economy. It is a proven and understood technology which is easier to move around the world and could be used directly as ammonia or cracked back into hydrogen.



One of the main focus today should be to replace grey hydrogen with green hydrogen in existing supply chains as there would be no efficiency losses in the process.



In China the push for hydrogen is transport-related. This is driven by air quality and energy independence concerns. In the next 10 years the full life cost of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) is expected to be lower than for internal combustion engines. This is due to the fact that FCEVs require less maintenance and that the residual value in the fuel cells is relatively high. At the end of life 95% of the platinum in fuel cells can be repurposed.



FCEVs should not be regarded as competing with battery electric vehicles they sit next to each other on product maps. FCEVs can benefit from the all of the advances in electric drive train systems and electric motors.



To close the webinar attendees were asked whether hydrogen was going through another hype cycle or if it was here to stay. 10% answered hype and 90% here to stay.

Among the several typologies of storage technologies mainly on different physical principles (mechanical electrical and chemical) hydrogen produced by power to gas (P2G) from renewable energy sources complies with chemical storage principle and is based on the conversion of electrical energy into chemical energy by means of the electrolysis of water which does not produce any toxic or climate-relevant emission. This paper aims to pinpoint the potential uses of renewable hydrogen storage systems in Europe analysing current and potential locations regulatory framework governments’ outlooks economic issues and available renewable energy amounts. The expert opinion survey already used in many research articles on different topics including energy has been selected as an effective method to produce realistic results. The obtained results highlight strategies and actions to optimize the storage of hydrogen produced by renewables to face varying electricity demand and generation-driven fluctuations reducing the negative effects of the increasing share of renewables in the energy mix of European Countries.

Power-to-gas is a promising option for storing interment renewables nuclear baseload power and distributed energy and it is a novel concept for the transition to increased renewable content of current fuels with an ultimate goal of transition to a sustainable low-carbon future energy system that interconnects power transportation sectors and thermal energy demand all together. The aim of this paper is to introduce different Power-to-gas “pathways” including Power to Hydrogen Power to Natural Gas End-users Power to Renewable Content in Petroleum Fuel Power to Power Seasonal Energy Storage to Electricity Power to Zero Emission Transportation Power to Seasonal Storage for Transportation Power to Micro grid Power to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) to Pipeline (“Methanation”) and Power to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) to Seasonal Storage. In order to compare the different pathways the review of key technologies of Power-to-gas systems are studied and the qualitative efficiency and benefits of each pathway is investigated from the technical points of view. Moreover different Power-to-gas pathways are discussed as an energy policy option that can be implemented to transition towards a lower carbon economy for Ontario’s energy systems

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.

The way to decarbonization will be characterized by the huge production of hydrogen through sustainable routes. Thus the basic production way is water electrolysis sustained by renewable energy sources allowing for obtaining “green hydrogen”. The present paper reviews the main available technologies for the water electrolysis finalized to the hydrogen production. We describe the fundamental of water electrolysis and the problems related to purification and/or desalinization of water before electrolysis. As a matter of fact we describe the energy efficiency issues with particular attention to the potential application in the steel industry. The fundamental aspects related to the choice of high-temperature or low-temperature technologies are analyzed.

As part of the LTS Futures HyTechnical project IGEM requested that DNV GL undertake an assessment of the possible impact of hydrogen transmission on BPDs to support the development of supplements to the existing suite of natural gas standards to accommodate the possible future use of hydrogen. The current state of knowledge of the behaviour of large scale high pressure hydrogen releases is limited in comparison with the considerable body of data from research and operational experience of natural gas but is adequate to undertake an impact assessment to take account of the different gas outflow and fire characteristics of 100% hydrogen vs. natural gas.<br/>Calculations of the BPDs for 100% hydrogen pipeline fires on an equivalent basis to those in IGEM/TD/1 for natural gas have been performed with a degree of confidence in the results and demonstrated that the equivalent BPDs for 100% hydrogen are approximately 10% smaller than for natural gas. The results are presented graphically in this report.<br/>However hydrogen introduces the potential for substantially higher overpressures than natural gas due to the higher flame speed and wider flammable limits if delayed ignition is a credible event. The overpressure estimates presented in this report are intended to be scoping calculations to put the likely overpressures into context. The results suggest that significant overpressures are possible at the BPDs but there is a lack of evidence to support the estimation of the overpressures following delayed ignition of a large turbulent hydrogen release in the open (in contrast to explosions in confined or congested regions) and there is a high degree of uncertainty in the predictions presented here. It is therefore recommended that large scale pipeline rupture experiments are performed similar to those undertaken previously for hydrogen natural gas and natural gas/hydrogen mixtures but with ignition engineered to take place after a short delay in order to measure the overpressures and provide the means to validate or refine the predictions made.<br/>The analysis has highlighted limitations in the original method of calculating BPDs in IGEM/TD/1 which reflects the techniques available at the time approximately 40 years ago. Since then understanding of the hazards from pipeline failures and the ability to model the consequences and predict the associated risks to people in the surrounding area have advanced very considerably facilitated by software tools and documented in standards such as IGEM/TD/2. These methods allow the highly transient nature of a high pressure gas pipeline rupture release to be modelled more accurately and for the thermal effects of fires on people and buildings to be calculated taking account of the time-varying thermal dose.<br/>For these reasons a simple comparison of the possible overpressure effects of delayed ignition of a 100% hydrogen release at the BPDs can be misleading and implies that the overpressure hazards could be more severe than those for fires which may not be the case. Example calculations have been performed for a representative pipeline case which indicate that using current methods the predicted thermal hazard distances for 100% hydrogen pipeline fires (house burning and escape for people) are substantially greater than those estimated for overpressures following delayed ignition for similar levels of vulnerability. This report addresses buried pipelines only – the potential for more severe explosion overpressure effects for hydrogen releases may be more significant for Above Ground Installations (AGIs) especially where congestion or confinement may be present. It is recommended that similar studies are conducted to quantify the effect of hydrogen conversion on the consequences and risks associated with hydrogen releases at AGIs.<br/>Finally it is stressed that the analysis in this report does not consider the relative risks for 100% hydrogen and the equivalent natural gas pipelines. There remain uncertainties in the failure frequencies for steel pipelines transporting hydrogen and particularly the probability of immediate and delayed ignition. The likelihood of delayed ignition of a large turbulent high pressure hydrogen gas pipeline rupture release may be very low due to the wider flammability limits and lower minimum ignition energy for hydrogen compared with natural gas. Additional research is currently ongoing or planned to address the gaps in knowledge for 100% hydrogen which should allow more robust comparisons of the relative risks to be made in the future.

Electrifying transportation is a promising approach to alleviate climate change issues arising from increased emissions. This study examines a system for the production of hydrogen using renewable energy sources as well as its use in buses. The electricity requirements for the production of hydrogen through the electrolysis of water are covered by renewable energy sources. Fuel cells are being used to utilize hydrogen to power the bus. Exergy analysis for the system is carried out. Based on a steady-state model of the processes exergy efficiencies are calculated for all subsystems. The subsystems with the highest proportion of irreversibility are identified and compared. It is shown that PV panel has exergetic efficiency of 12.74% wind turbine of 45% electrolysis of 67% and fuel cells of 40%.

Shipping is one of the largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting sectors of the global economy responsible for around 1 Gt of CO₂eq every year. If shipping were a country it would be the 6th biggest GHG emitter. EU related shipping is responsible for about 1/5 of global ship GHG emissions emitting on average 200 Mt/year. This report assesses potential technology pathways for decarbonising EU related shipping through a shift to zero carbon technologies and the impact such a move could have on renewable electricity demand in Europe. It also identifies key policy and sustainability issues that should be considered when analysing and supporting different technology options to decarbonise the maritime sector. The basis of the study is outbound journeys under the geographical scope of the EU ship MRV Regulation.



We have not tried to quantify the emissions reductions that specific regulatory measures to be introduced at the IMO or EU level might contribute towards decarbonisation by 2050 because there are too many uncertainties. We have taken a more limited first approach and investigated how zero carbon propulsion pathways that currently seem feasible to decarbonise shipping would likely affect the future EU renewable energy supply needs.



It is now generally accepted that ship design efficiency requirements while potentially having an important impact on future emissions growth will fall well short of what is needed. Further operational efficiency measures such as capping operational speed will be important to immediately peak energy consumption and emissions but will be insufficient to decarbonise the sector or reduce its growing energy needs. In this context this study assumes that with all the likely immediate measures adopted energy demand for EU related shipping will still grow by 50% by 2050 over 2010 levels. This is within the range of the 20 -1 20% global BAU maritime energy demand growth estimate.



The decarbonisation of shipping will require changes in on -board energy storage and use and the necessary accompanying bunkering infrastructure. This study identifies the technology options for zero emission propulsion that based on current know-how are likely to be adopted. It is not exhaustive nor prescriptive because the ultimate pathways will likely depend on both the requirements of the shipping industry in terms of cost efficiency and safety and on the future renewable electricity sources that the shipping sect or will need to compete for.



Literature is nascent on the different techno-economic options likely to be available to decarbonise shipping and individual ships 4 but almost completely lacking on the possible impacts of maritime decarbonisation on the broader energy system(s). Understanding these impacts is nevertheless essential because it will influence financial and economic decision making by the EU and member states including those related to investment in future renewable energy supplies and new ship bunkering infrastructure. With this in mind the report aims to provide a preliminary first answer to the following question: Under different zero emission technology pathways how much additional renewable electricity would be needed to cater for the needs of EU related shipping in 2050?



Link to Document Download on Transport & Environment website

The CEP (Clean Energy Partnership) – Berlin is one of the most diversified hydrogen demonstration projects at present. The first hydrogen fuelling station serving 16 cars is fully integrated in an ordinary highly frequented Aral service station centrally located at Messedamm in Berlin. Hydro has supplied and is the owner of the electrolyser with ancillary systems. This unit produces gaseous hydrogen at 12 bar with use of renewable energy presently serving 13 of the cars involved. The CEP project is planned to run for a period of five years and is supported by the German Federal Government and is part of the German sustainability strategy. During the planning and design phase there have been done several safety related assessments and analyses:

• Hydro has carried out a HAZOP (HAZard and OPerability) analysis of the electrolyser and ancillary systems delivered by Hydro Electrolysers.
• Hydro arranged with support from the partners a HAZOP analysis of the interface between the electrolyser and the compressor an interface with two different suppliers on each side.
• A QRA (Quantitative Risk Assessment) of the entire fuelling station has been carried out.
• Hydro has carried out a quantitative explosion risk analysis of the electrolyser container supplied by Hydro Electrolysers.

The aim in the CEP-Berlin project was to follow the guidelines from the European Integrated Hydrogen Project phase 2 (EIHP2) [1] when planning and designing a new hydrogen fuelling station. These guidelines focus on installation and operation of hydrogen refuelling stations and were based upon best practice and knowledge from the industrial partners in EIHP 2. The explosion risk analysis for the CEP-Berlin facility demonstrated that the safety risk was acceptable if certain design modifications were carried out. Both Aral/BP and Hydro accepted the results from the quantitative risk assessments. These companies have also their own standards regarding safety acceptance criteria which have to be complied with. The fuelling station was opened November 12 2004 and was put in normal operation during winter 2005.

The World Energy Transitions Outlook preview outlines a pathway for the world to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and halt the pace of climate change by transforming the global energy landscape. This preview presents options to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C and bring CO₂ emissions closer to net zero by mid-century offering high-level insights on technology choices investment needs and the socio-economic contexts of achieving a sustainable resilient and inclusive energy future.



Meeting CO₂ reduction targets by 2050 will require a combination of: technology and innovation to advance the energy transition and improve carbon management; supportive and proactive policies; associated job creation and socio-economic improvements; and international co-operation to guarantee energy availability and access.



Among key findings:

• Proven technologies for a net-zero energy system already largely exist today. Renewable power green hydrogen and modern bioenergy will dominate the world of energy of the future.
• A combination of technologies is needed to keep us on a 1.5°C climate pathway. These include increasingly efficient energy production to ensure economic growth; decarbonised power systems that are dominated by renewables; increased use of electricity in buildings industry and transport to support decarbonisation; expanded production and use of green hydrogen synthetic fuels and feedstocks; and targeted use of sustainably sourced biomass.
• In anticipation of the coming energy transition financial markets and investors are already directing capital away from fossil fuels and towards other energy technologies including renewables.
• Energy transition investment will have to increase by 30% over planned investment to a total of USD 131 trillion between now and 2050 corresponding to USD 4.4 trillion on average every year.
• National social and economic policies will play fundamental roles in delivering the energy transition at the speed required to restrict global warming to 1.5°C.

This preview identifies opportunities to support informed policy and decision making to establish a new global energy system. Following this preview and aligned with the UN High-Level Dialogue process the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) will release the full report which will provide a comprehensive vision and accompanying policy measures for the transition.

Power-to-gas technology plays a key role in the success of the energy transformation. This paper addresses issues related to the legal and technical regulations specifying the rules for adding hydrogen to the natural gas network. The main issue reviewed is the effects of the addition of hydrogen to natural gas on the durability of diaphragm gas meters. The possibility of adding hydrogen to the gas network requires confirmation of whether within the expected hydrogen concentrations long-term operation of gas meters will be ensured without compromising their metrological properties and operational safety. Methods for testing the durability of gas meters applied at test benches and sample results of durability tests of gas meters are presented. Based on these results a metrological and statistical analysis was carried out to establish whether the addition of hydrogen affects the durability of gas meters over time. The most important conclusion resulting from the conducted study indicates that for the tested gas meter specimens there was no significant metrological difference between the obtained changes of errors of indications after testing the durability of gas meters with varying hydrogen content (from 0% to 15%).

This is the Committee’s 2020 report to Parliament assessing progress in reducing UK emissions over the past year. This year the report includes new advice to the UK Government on securing a green and resilient recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee’s new analysis expands on its May 2020 advice to the UK Prime Minister in which it set out the principles for building a resilient recovery. In its new report the Committee has assessed a wide set of measures and gathered the latest evidence on the role of climate policies in the economic recovery. Its report highlights five clear investment priorities in the months ahead:

• Low-carbon retrofits and buildings that are fit for the future
• Tree planting peatland restoration and green infrastructure
• Energy networks must be strengthened
• Infrastructure to make it easy for people to walk cycle and work remotely
• Moving towards a circular economy.

There are also opportunities to support the transition and the recovery by investing in the UK’s workforce and in lower-carbon behaviours and innovation:

• Reskilling and retraining programmes
• Leading a move towards positive behaviours
• Targeted science and innovation funding

The Paris Agreement marks a significant positive step in global action to tackle climate change. This report considers the domestic actions the UK Government should take as part of a fair contribution to the aims of the Agreement.<br/>The report concludes that the Paris Agreement is a significant step forward in global efforts to tackle climate change. It is more ambitious in its aims to limit climate change than the basis of the UK’s existing climate targets. However it is not yet appropriate to set new UK targets. Existing targets are already stretching and the priority is to take action to meet them.

Hydrogen production is the key in utilizing an excess renewable energy. Many studies and projects looked at the energy management systems (EMSs) that allow to couple hydrogen production with renewable generation. In the majority of these studies however hydrogen demand is either produced for powering fuel cells or sold to the external hydrogen market. Hydrogen demand from actual industrial plants is rarely considered. In this paper we propose an EMS based on the industrial cluster of GreenLab Skive (GLS) that can minimize the system’s operational cost or maximize its green hydrogen production. EMS utilizes a conventional and P2X demand response (DR) flexibility from electrolysis plant hydrogen storage tank electric battery and hydrogen-consuming plants to design the optimal schedule with maximized benefits. A potential addition to the existing components at GLS - an ammonia plant is modelled to identify its P2X potential and assess the economic viability of its construction. The results show a potential reduction of 51.5–61.6% for the total operational cost of the system and an increase of the share of green hydrogen by 10.4–37.6% due to EMS operation.

This study was conducted for a group of 15 clients in the public and private sectors interested in potential pathways for decarbonising residential heating and the impact of these pathways on the energy system. The ambition for all new heating installations to be low carbon from 2035 is essential to meeting the net zero target in 2050 and our study found that electricity demand for home heating is set to quadruple by 2050 as part of the shift away from gas-fired boilers.

The key findings from the study include:

• Phasing out natural gas boiler installations by 2035 is crucial for eliminating CO2 from home heating; delaying to 2040 could leave us with ¼ of today’s home heat emissions in 2050
• Achieving deployment of 600k heat pumps per year by 2028 will require policy intervention both to lower costs and to inform and protect consumers Almost £40bn could be saved in cumulative system costs by 2050 through adoption of more efficient and flexible electric heating technologies like networked heat pumps and storage
• Electricity demand from heating could quadruple by 2050 to over 100TWh per year almost a third of Great Britain’s current total annual electricity demand Using hydrogen for a share of heating could lower peak power demand although producing most of this hydrogen from electrolysis would raise overall power demand.

Link to their website

Gasification of excavated landfill waste is one of the promising options to improve the added-value chain during remediation of problematic old landfill sites. Steam gasification is considered as a favorable route to convert landfill waste into H₂-rich syngas. Co-gasification of such a poor quality landfill waste with biochar or biomass would be beneficial to enhance the H₂ concentration in the syngas as well as to improve the gasification performance. In this work steam co-gasification of landfill waste with biochar or biomass was carried out in a lab-scale reactor. The effect of the fuel blending ratio was investigated by varying the auxiliary fuel content in the range of 15e35 wt%. Moreover co-gasification tests were carried out at temperatures between 800 and 1000°C. The results indicate that adding either biomass or biochar enhances the H₂ yield where the latter accounts for the syngas with the highest H₂ concentration. At 800°C the addition of 35 wt% biochar can enhance the H₂ concentration from 38 to 54 vol% and lowering the tar yield from 0.050 to 0.014 g/g-fuel-daf. No apparent synergetic effect was observed in the case of biomass co-gasification which might cause by the high Si content of landfill waste. In contrast the H₂ production increases non-linearly with the biochar share in the fuel which indicates that a significant synergetic effect occurs during co-gasification due to the reforming of tar over biochar. Increasing the temperature of biochar co-gasification from 800 to 1000°C elevates the H₂ concentration but decreases the H₂/CO ratio and increases the tar yield. Furthermore the addition of biochar also enhances the gasification efficiency as indicated by increased values of the energy yield ratio.

This study documents the results of economic assessment concerning four variants of coal gasification to hydrogen in a shell reactor. That assessment has been made using discounting methods (NPV: net present value IRR: internal rate of return) as well as indicators based on a free cash flow to firm (FCFF) approach. Additionally sensitivity analysis has been carried out along with scenario analysis in current market conditions concerning prices of hard coal lignite hydrogen and CO2 allowances as well as capital expenditures and costs related to carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems. Based on NPV results a negative economic assessment has been obtained for all the analyzed variants varying within the range of EUR −903 to −142 million although the variants based on hard coal achieved a positive IRR (5.1–5.7%) but lower than the assumed discount rates. In Polish conditions the gasification of lignite seems to be unprofitable in the assumed scale of total investment outlays and the current price of coal feedstock. The sensitivity analyses indicate that at least a 20% increase of hydrogen price would be required or a similar reduction of capital expenditures (CAPEX) and costs of operation for the best variant to make NPV positive. Analyses have also indicated that on the economic basis only the prices of CO2 allowances exceeding EUR 40/Mg (EUR 52/Mg for lignite) would generate savings due to the availability of CCS systems.

The framework for life cycle sustainability analysis (LCSA) developed within the project CALCAS (Co-ordination Action for innovation in Life-Cycle Analysis for Sustainability) is introducing a truly integrated approach for sustainability studies. However it needs to be further conceptually refined and to be made operational. In particular one of the gaps still hindering the adoption of integrated analytic tools for sustainability studies is the lack of a clear link between the goal and scope definition and the modeling phase. This paper presents an approach to structure the goal and scope phase of LCSA so as to identify the relevant mechanisms to be further detailed and analyzed in the modeling phase. The approach is illustrated with an on-going study on a new technology for the production of high purity hydrogen from biomass to be used in automotive fuel cells.

The study is focused on the technology and manipulation of production strategies for the cultivation of biomass from four strains of microalgae. Species of microalgae studied are: Chlorella vulgaris Dunaliella Scenedesmus quadricauda and Synechococcus spp. The effects of the rate and amount of CO₂ removal from the atmosphere and sequestration with dissolved oxygen on lipid production from accumulated biomass were studied. Also the rate of sequestration of both total and dissolved carbon was  investigated. Daily measurements of total organic and inorganic carbon sequestrated optical densities proximate analysis and kinetic parameters of the growing and cultivated microalga were monitored and carried out during the two phases of cultivation: dark and light phases. The values of maximum rate of carbon (IV) oxide removed rmax varied from 11.73 mg L ^-1 min ^-1 to 18.84 mg L ^-1 min ^-1 from Chlorella vulgaris to Synechoccocus spp. Important parameters such as biomass productivity maximum pH values obtained at cultivation lipid content of the produced biomass and the hydraulic detection time for all four strains of microalgae were considered and presented in comparison and with their individual and collective effects. The ratios of the rate of CO₂ absorption constant and the constant for the CO₂ desorption rate (k1/k2) occurred highest in Dunaliella suggesting that with a high uptake of CO₂ the algal strain is more effective in CO₂ CO2 sequestration. The best biomass producer in this study was the C. vulgaris (Xmax = 5400 mg L^-1 and Px = 35.1 mg L h ^-1) where biomass productivity is Px and the maximum cellular concentration is Xmax. C. vulgaris has the highest lipids productivity of 27% while Synechoccocus has the least (11.72%). In general biomass productivity may be inversely related; this fact may be explained by greater metabolic involvement of lipid biosynthesis. This pioneer study may be advanced further to developing models for strategic manipulation and optimisation approach in micro algal biomass cultivation.

This White Paper has been commissioned by the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell (H2FC) SUPERGEN Hub to examine the roles and potential benefits of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies for heat provision in future low-carbon energy systems. The H2FC SUPERGEN Hub is an inclusive network encompassing the entire UK hydrogen and fuel cells research community with around 100 UK-based academics supported by key stakeholders from industry and government. It is funded by the UK EPSRC research council as part of the RCUK Energy Programme. This paper is the first of four that will be published over the lifetime of the Hub with the others examining: (i) low-carbon energy systems (including balancing renewable intermittency); (ii) low-carbon transport systems; and (iii) the provision of secure and affordable energy supplies for the future

• Hydrogen and fuel cells are part of the cost-optimal heating technology portfolio in long-term UK energy system scenarios.
• Fuel cell CHP is already being deployed commercially around the world.
• Hydrogen can be a zero-carbon alternative to natural gas. Most technologies that use natural gas can be adapted to use hydrogen and still provide the same level of service.
• Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies avoid some of the disadvantages of other low-carbon heating technologies.

Hydrogen Fuelling Infrastructure Research and Station Technology (H2FIRST) is a project initiated by the DOE in 2015 and executed by Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to address R&D barriers to the deployment of hydrogen fuelling infrastructure. One key barrier to the deployment of fuelling stations is the land area they require (i.e. ""footprint""). Space is particularly a constraint in dense urban areas where hydrogen demand is high but space for fuelling stations is limited. This work presents current fire code requirements that inform station footprint then identifies and quantifies opportunities to reduce footprint without altering the safety profile of fuelling stations. Opportunities analyzed include potential new methods of hydrogen delivery as well as alternative placements of station technologies (i.e. rooftop/underground fuel storage). As interest in heavy-duty fuelling stations and other markets for hydrogen grows this study can inform techniques to reduce the footprint of heavy-duty stations as well.



This work characterizes generic designs for stations with a capacity of 600 kg/day hydrogen dispensed and 4 dispenser hoses. Three base case designs (delivered gas delivered liquid and on-site electrolysis production) have been modified in 5 different ways to study the impacts of recently released fire code changes colocation with gasoline refuelling alternate delivery assumptions underground storage of hydrogen and rooftop storage of hydrogen resulting in a total of 32 different station designs. The footprints of the base case stations range from 13000 to 21000 ft².



A significant focus of this study is the NFPA 2 requirements especially the prescribed setback distances for bulk gaseous or liquid hydrogen storage. While the prescribed distances are large in some cases these setback distances are found to have a nuanced impact on station lot size; considerations of the delivery truck path traffic flow parking and convenience store location are also important. Station designs that utilize underground and rooftop storage can reduce footprint but may not be practical or economical. For example burying hydrogen storage tanks underground can reduce footprint but the cost savings they enable depend on the cost of burial and the cost land. Siting and economic analysis of station lot sizes illustrate the benefit of smaller station footprints in the flexibility and cost savings they can provide. This study can be used as a reference that provides examples of the key design differences that fuelling stations can incorporate the approximate sizes of generic station lots and considerations that might be unique to particular designs.

The valorization of biomass-based solid wastes for both geotechnical engineering purposes and energy needs has been reviewed to achieve eco-friendly eco-efficient and sustainable engineering and reengineering of civil engineering materials and structures. The objective of this work was to review the procedure developed by SWI-NaOH-OCE Model for the valorization of biomass through controlled direct combustion and the sequestration of hydrogen gas for energy needs. The incineration model gave a lead to the sequestration of emissions released during the direct combustion of biomass and the subsequent entrapment of oxides of carbon and the eventual release of abundant hydrogen gas in the entrapment jar. The generation of geomaterials ash for the purpose of soil stabilization concrete and asphalt modification has encouraged greenhouse emissions but eventually the technology that has been put in place has made it possible to manage and extract these emissions for energy needs. The contribution from researchers has shown that hydrogen sequestration from other sources requires high amount of energy because of the lower energy states of the compounds undergoing thermal decomposition. But this work has presented a more efficient approach to release hydrogen gas which can easily be extracted and stored to meet the energy needs of the future as fuel cell batteries to power vehicles mobile devices robotic systems etc. More so the development of MXene as an exfoliated two-dimensional nanosheets with permeability and filtration selectivity properties which are connected to its chemical composition and structure used in hydrogen gas extraction and separation from its molecular combination has presented an efficient procedure for the production and management of hydrogen gas for energy purposes.

This report sets out scenarios for the UK power sector in 2030 as an input to the Committee’s advice on the fifth carbon budget.<br/>These scenarios are not intended to set out a prescriptive path. Instead they provide a tool for the Committee to verify that its advice can be achieved with manageable impacts in order to meet the criteria set out in the Climate Change Act including competitiveness affordability and energy security.

This Discussion Paper was commissioned by Zukunft ERDGAS to contribute to the debate concerning the deep decarbonisation of the European energy sector required to meet the Paris Agreement targets. Previous discussion papers have put forward decarbonisation pathways that rely heavily on ‘All-Electric’ solutions. These depend predominantly on renewable electricity to deliver decarbonisation of all sectors. This paper offers an alternative to an ‘All-Electric’ solution by building an alternative pathway that allows the inclusion of gas based technologies alongside the ‘All-Electric’ pathway technologies. The new pathway demonstrates that hydrogen from natural gas can be an essential complement to renewable electricity. The pathway also considers the benefits of utilising methane pyrolysis technology in Europe to produce zero carbon hydrogen.

Read the full report at this link

Hydrogen production from butanol is a promising alternative when it is obtained from bio-butanol or bio-oil due to the higher hydrogen content compared to other oxygenates such as methanol ethanol or propanol. Catalysts and operating conditions play a crucial role in hydrogen production. Ni and Rh are metals mainly used for butanol steam reforming oxidative steam reforming and partial oxidation. Additives such as Cu can improve catalytic activity in many folds. Moreover support–metal interaction and catalyst preparation technique also play a decisive role in the stability and hydrogen production capacity of catalyst. Steam reforming technique as an option is more frequently researched due to higher hydrogen production capability in comparison to other thermochemical techniques despite its endothermic nature. The use of the oxidative steam reforming and partial oxidation has the advantages of requiring less energy and longer stability of catalysts. However the hydrogen yield is less. This article brings together and examines the latest research on hydrogen production from butanol via steam reforming oxidative steam reforming and partial oxidation reactions. In addition the review examines a few thermodynamic studies based on sorption-enhanced steam reforming and dry reforming where there is potential for hydrogen extraction.  

Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are zero tailpipe emission vehicles. Their large-scale deployment is expected to play a major role in the de-carbonization of transportation in the European Union (EU) and is therefore an important policy element at EU and Member State level.<br/>For FCEVs to be introduced to the market a network of hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS) first has to exist. From a technological point of view FCEVs are ready for serial production already: Hyundaiand Toyota plan to introduce FCEVs into key markets from 2015 and Daimler Ford and Nissan plan to launch mass-market FCEVs in 2017.<br/>At the moment raising funds for building the hydrogen refuelling infrastructure appears to be challenging.<br/>This study explores options for financing the HRS rollout which facilitate the involvement of private lenders and investors. It  presents a number of different financing options involving public-sector bank loans funding from private-sector strategic equity investors commercial bank loans private equity and funding from infrastructure investors. The options outline the various requirements forn accessing these sources of funding with regard to project structure incentives and risk mitigation. The financing options were developed on the basis of discussions with stakeholders in the HRS rollout from industry and with financiers.<br/>This study was prepared by Roland Berger in close contact with European Investment banks and a series of private banks.<br/>This study explores in details the business cases for HRS in Germany and UK. The conclusion can be easily extrapolate to other countries.

The concerns over food security and protein scarcity driven by population increase and higher standards of living have pushed scientists toward finding new protein sources. A considerable proportion of resources and agricultural lands are currently dedicated to proteinaceous feed production to raise livestock and poultry for human consumption. The 1st generation of microbial protein (MP) came into the market as land-independent proteinaceous feed for livestock and aquaculture. However MP may be a less sustainable alternative to conventional feeds such as soybean meal and fishmeal because this technology currently requires natural gas and synthetic chemicals. These challenges have directed researchers toward the production of 2nd generation MP by integrating renewable energies anaerobic digestion nutrient recovery biogas cleaning and upgrading carbon-capture technologies and fermentation. The fermentation of methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) and hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria (HOB) i.e. two protein rich microorganisms has shown a great potential on the one hand to upcycle effluents from anaerobic digestion into protein rich biomass and on the other hand to be coupled to renewable energy systems under the concept of Power-to-X. This work compares various production routes for 2nd generation MP by reviewing the latest studies conducted in this context and introducing the state-of-the-art technologies hoping that the findings can accelerate and facilitate upscaling of MP production. The results show that 2nd generation MP depends on the expansion of renewable energies. In countries with high penetration of renewable electricity such as Nordic countries off-peak surplus electricity can be used within MP-industry by supplying electrolytic H2 which is the driving factor for both MOB and HOB-based MP production. However nutrient recovery technologies are the heart of the 2nd generation MP industry as they determine the process costs and quality of the final product. Although huge attempts have been made to date in this context some bottlenecks such as immature nutrient recovery technologies less efficient fermenters with insufficient gas-to-liquid transfer and costly electrolytic hydrogen production and storage have hindered the scale up of MP production. Furthermore further research into techno-economic feasibility and life cycle assessment (LCA) of coupled technologies is still needed to identify key points for improvement and thereby secure a sustainable production system.

Around 20% of the nation’s carbon emissions are generated by domestic heating. Analysis of the many ways the energy system might be adapted to meet carbon targets shows that the elimination of emissions from buildings is more cost effective than deeper cuts in other energy sectors such as transport. This effectively means that alternatives need to be found for domestic natural gas heating systems. Enhanced construction standards are ensuring that new buildings are increasingly energy efficient but the legacy building stock of around 26 million homes has relatively poor thermal performance and over 90% are expected to still be in use in 2050. Even if building replacement was seen as desirable the cost is unaffordable and the carbon emissions associated with the construction would be considerable.

YouTube link to accompanying video

An overview of the HyDeploy project at Keele University where hydrogen is being blended with natural gas to demonstrate the feasibility of using hydrogen to heat our homes.

Body-centered cubic (BCC) alloys are considered as promising materials for hydrogen storage with high theoretical storage capacity (H/M ratio of 2). Nonetheless they often suffer from sluggish kinetics of hydrogen absorption and high hydrogen desorption temperature. Carbon materials are efficient hydrogenation catalysts however their influence on the hydrogen storage properties of BCC alloy has not been comprehensively studied. Therefore in this paper composites obtained by milling of carbon catalysts (carbon nanotubes mesoporous carbon carbon nanofibers diamond powder graphite fullerene) and BCC alloy (Ti1.5V0.5) were extensively studied in the non-hydrogenated and hydrogenated state. The structure and microstructure of the obtained materials were studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopes X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. XRD and Raman measurements showed that BCC alloy and carbon structures were in most cases intact after the composite synthesis. The hydrogenation/dehydrogenation studies showed that all of the used carbon catalysts significantly improve the hydrogenation kinetics reduce the activation energy of the dehydrogenation process and decrease the dehydrogenation temperature (by nearly 100 K). The superior kinetic properties were measured for the composite with 5 wt % of fullerene that absorbs 3.3 wt % of hydrogen within 1 min at room temperature.

Aqueous phase reforming of sorbitol was carried out in a 1.7 m long 320 mm ID microchannel reactor with a 5 mm Pt-based washcoated catalyst layer combined with nitrogen stripping. The performance of this microchannel reactor is correlated to the mass transfer properties reaction kinetics hydrogen selectivity and product distribution. Mass transfer does not affect the rate of sorbitol consumption which is limited by the kinetics of the reforming reaction. Mass transfer significantly affects the hydrogen selectivity and the product distribution. The rapid consumption of hydrogen in side reactions at the catalyst surface is prevented by a fast mass transfer of hydrogen from the catalyst site to the gas phase in the microchannel reactor. This results in a decrease of the concentration of hydrogen at the catalyst surface which was found to enhance the desired reforming reaction rate at the expense of the undesired hydrogen consuming reactions. Compared to a fixed bed reactor the selectivity to hydrogen in the microchannel reactor was increased by a factor of 2. The yield of side products (mainly C3 and heavier hydrodeoxygenated species) was suppressed while the yield of hydrogen was increased from 1.4 to 4 moles per mole of sorbitol fed.

To identify the safety issues associated with hydrogen fuelling stations incidents at such stations in Japan and the USA were analyzed considering the regulations in these countries. Leakage due to the damage and fracture of main bodies of apparatuses and pipes in Japan and the USA is mainly caused by design error that is poorly planned fatigue. Considering the present incidents in these countries adequate consideration of the usage environment in the design is very important. Leakage from flanges valves and seals in Japan is mainly caused by screw joints. If welded joints are to be used in hydrogen fuelling stations in Japan strength data for welded parts should be obtained and pipe thicknesses should be reduced. Leakage due to other factors e.g. external impact in Japan and the USA is mainly caused by human error. To realize self-serviced hydrogen fuelling stations safety measures should be developed to prevent human error by fuel cell vehicle users.

Hydrogen dispersion in an enclosure is numerically studied using simple analytical solutions and a large-eddy-simulation based CFD code. In simple calculations the interface height and temperature rise of the upper layer are obtained based on mass and energy conservation and the centreline hydrogen volume fraction is derived from similarity solutions of buoyant jets. The calculated centreline hydrogen volume fraction using the two methods agree with each other; however discrepancies are found for the calculated total flammable volume as a result of the inability of simple calculations in taking into account local mixing and diffusion. The CFD model in contrast is found to be capable of correctly reproducing the diffusion and stratification phenomena during the mixing stage.

Electrochemical cells and systems play a key role in a wide range of industry sectors. These devices are critical enabling technologies for renewable energy; energy management conservation and storage; pollution control/monitoring; and greenhouse gas reduction. A large number of electrochemical energy technologies have been developed in the past. These systems continue to be optimized in terms of cost life time and performance leading to their continued expansion into existing and emerging market sectors. The more established technologies such as deep-cycle batteries and sensors are being joined by emerging technologies such as fuel cells large format lithium-ion batteries electrochemical reactors; ion transport membranes and supercapacitors. This growing demand (multi-billion dollars) for electrochemical energy systems along with the increasing maturity of a number of technologies is having a significant effect on the global research and development effort which is increasing in both in size and depth. A number of new technologies which will have substantial impact on the environment and the way we produce and utilize energy are under development. This paper presents an overview of several emerging electrochemical energy technologies along with a discussion some of the key technical challenges.

LCAs of electric cars and electrolytic hydrogen production are governed by the consumption of electricity. Therefore LCA benchmarking is prone to choices on electricity data. There are four issues: (1) leading Life Cycle Impact (LCI) databases suffer from inconvenient uncertainties and inaccuracies (2) electricity mix in countries is rapidly changing year after year (3) the electricity mix is strongly fluctuating on an hourly and daily basis which requires time-based allocation approaches and (4) how to deal with nuclear power in benchmarking. This analysis shows that: (a) the differences of the GHG emissions of the country production mix in leading databases are rather high (30%) (b) in LCA a distinction must be made between bundled and unbundled registered electricity certificates (RECs) and guarantees of origin (GOs); the residual mix should not be applied in LCA because of its huge inaccuracy (c) time-based allocation rules for renewables are required to cope with periods of overproduction (d) benchmarking of electricity is highly affected by the choice of midpoints and/or endpoint systems and (e) there is an urgent need for a new LCI database based on measured emission data continuously kept up-to-date transparent and open access.

Transformation of road transport sector through replacing of internal combustion vehicles with zero-emission technologies is among key challenges to achievement of climate neutrality by 2050. In a constantly developing economy the demand for transport services increases to ensure continuity in the supply chain and passenger mobility. Deployment of electric technologies in the road transport sector involves both businesses and households its pace depends on the technological development of zero-emission vehicles presence of necessary infrastructure and regulations on emission standards for new vehicles entering the market. Thus this study attempts to estimate how long combustion vehicles will be in use and what the state of the fleet will be in 2050. For obtainment of results the TR3E partial equilibrium model was used. The study simulates the future fleet structure in passenger and freight transport. The results obtained for Poland for the climate neutrality (NEU) scenario show that in 2050 the share of vehicles using fossil fuels will be ca. 30% in both road passenger and freight transport. The consequence of shifts in the structure of the fleet is the reduction of CO2 emissions ca. 80% by 2050 and increase of the transport demand for electricity and hydrogen.

Pathways leading to a carbon neutral future for the German energy system have to deal with the expected phase-out of coal-fired power generation in addition to the shutdown of nuclear power plants and the rapid ramp-up of photovoltaics and wind power generation. An analysis of the expected impact on electricity market security of supply and system stability must consider the European context because of the strong coupling—both from an economic and a system operation point of view—through the cross-border power exchange of Germany with its neighbors. This analysis complemented by options to improve the existing development plans is the purpose of this paper. We propose a multilevel energy system modeling including electricity market network congestion management and system stability to identify challenges for the years 2023 and 2035. Out of the results we would like to highlight the positive role of innovative combined heat and power (CHP) solutions securing power and heat supply the importance of a network congestion management utilizing flexibility from sector coupling and the essential network extension plans. Network congestion and reduced security margins will become the new normal. We conclude that future energy systems require expanded flexibilities in combination with forward planning of operation.

The final session of the meeting consisted of a discussion panel to propose future directions for research in the field of hydrogen embrittlement and the potential impact of this research on public policy.

This article is a transcription of the recorded discussion of ‘Hydrogen Embrittlement: Future Directions’ at the Royal Society Scientific Discussion Meeting Challenges of Hydrogen and Metals Jan 16th–18th 2017. The text is approved by the contributors. H.L. transcribed the session and drafted the manuscript. Y.C. assisted in the preparation of the manuscript.

Link to document download on Royal Society Website 

Hydrogen produced in a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer must be stored under high pressure. It is discussed whether the gas should be compressed in subsequent gas compressors or by the electrolyzer. While gas compressor stages can be reduced in the case of electrochemical compression safety problems arise for thin membranes due to the undesired permeation of hydrogen across the membrane to the oxygen side forming an explosive gas. In this study a PEM system is modeled to evaluate the membrane-specific total system efficiency. The optimum efficiency is given depending on the external heat requirement permeation cell pressure current density and membrane thickness. It shows that the heat requirement and hydrogen permeation dominate the maximum efficiency below 1.6 V while above the cell polarization is decisive. In addition a pressure-optimized cell operation is introduced by which the optimum cathode pressure is set as a function of current density and membrane thickness. This approach indicates that thin membranes do not provide increased safety issues compared to thick membranes. However operating an N212-based system instead of an N117-based one can generate twice the amount of hydrogen at the same system efficiency while only one compressor stage must be added.

Hydrogen interaction with metal atoms is of prime focus for many energy related applications like hydrogen storage hydrogen evolution using catalysis etc. Although hydrogen binding with many main group alkaline and transition metals is quite well understood its binding properties with lanthanides are not well reported. In this article by density functional theory studies we show how a rare earth metal cerium binds with hydrogen when decorated over a heteropolar 2D material hexagonal boron nitride. Each cerium adatom is found to bind eight hydrogen molecules which is a much higher number than has been reported for transition metal atoms. However the highest binding energy occurs at four hydrogen molecules. This anomaly therefore is investigated in the present article using first-principles calculations. The number density of hydrogen molecules adsorbed over the cerium adatom is explained by investigating the electronic charge volume interactions owing to a unique geometrical arrangement of the guest hydrogen molecules. The importance of geometrical encapsulation in enhancing electronic interactions is explained.

The development of public transport systems is related to the implementation of modern and low-carbon vehicles. Over the last several years there has been a clear progress in this field. The number of electric buses has increased and the first solutions in the area of hydrogen fuel cells have been implemented. Unfortunately the implementation of these technologies is connected with significant financial expenditure. The goal of the article is the analysis of effectiveness of financial investment consisting in the purchase of 30 new public transport buses (together with the necessary infrastructure–charging stations). The analysis has been performed using the NPV method for the period of 10 years. Discount rate was determined on 4% as recommended by the European Commission for this type of project. It is based on the case study of the investment project carried out by Metropolis GZM in Poland. The article determines and compares the efficiency ratios for three investment options-purchase of diesel-powered battery-powered and hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles. The results of the analysis indicate that the currently high costs of vehicle purchase and charging infrastructure are a significant barrier for the implementation of battery-powered and hydrogen fuel-cell buses. In order to meet the transport policy goals related to the exchange of traditional bus stock to more eco-friendly vehicles it is necessary to involve public funds for the purpose of financing the investment activities.