Applications & Pathways
The Role of Hydrogen in Achieving Net Zero: Parliamentary Inquiry
Mar 2021
Publication
A key component of the Government's recently announced ‘Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’ is 'Driving the Growth of Low Carbon Hydrogen'. The plan outlined a range of measures to support the development and adoption of hydrogen including a £240 million 'Net Zero Hydrogen Fund'. Noting this and the further £81 million allocated for hydrogen heating trials in the 2020 Spending Review the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee is today launching a new inquiry into the role of hydrogen in achieving Net Zero.
Following recommendations from the Committee on Climate Change that the Government develop a strategy for hydrogen use and should aim for largescale hydrogen trials to begin in the early 2020s the Committee seeks to ensure that the Government's intended plan will be suitable and effective. The Committee will also assess the infrastructure required for hydrogen as a Net Zero fuel and examine progress made so far internationally to determine the viability of hydrogen as a significant contributor to achieving Net Zero.
All documents are in the Supplements tab above.
Following recommendations from the Committee on Climate Change that the Government develop a strategy for hydrogen use and should aim for largescale hydrogen trials to begin in the early 2020s the Committee seeks to ensure that the Government's intended plan will be suitable and effective. The Committee will also assess the infrastructure required for hydrogen as a Net Zero fuel and examine progress made so far internationally to determine the viability of hydrogen as a significant contributor to achieving Net Zero.
All documents are in the Supplements tab above.
Assessing Uncertainties of Well-To-Tank Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Hydrogen Supply Chains
Jun 2017
Publication
Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier in the clean energy systems currently being developed. However its effectiveness in mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions requires conducting a lifecycle analysis of the process by which hydrogen is produced and supplied. This study focuses on the hydrogen for the transport sector in particular renewable hydrogen that is produced from wind- or solar PV-powered electrolysis. A life cycle inventory analysis is conducted to evaluate the Well-to-Tank (WtT) GHG emissions from various renewable hydrogen supply chains. The stages of the supply chains include hydrogen being produced overseas converted into a transportable hydrogen carrier (liquid hydrogen or methylcyclohexane) imported to Japan by sea distributed to hydrogen filling stations restored from the hydrogen carrier to hydrogen and filled into fuel cell vehicles. For comparison an analysis is also carried out with hydrogen produced by steam reforming of natural gas. Foreground data related to the hydrogen supply chains are collected by literature surveys and the Japanese life cycle inventory database is used as the background data. The analysis results indicate that some of renewable hydrogen supply chains using liquid hydrogen exhibited significantly lower WtT GHG emissions than those of a supply chain of hydrogen produced by reforming of natural gas. A significant piece of the work is to consider the impacts of variations in the energy and material inputs by performing a probabilistic uncertainty analysis. This suggests that the production of renewable hydrogen its liquefaction the dehydrogenation of methylcyclohexane and the compression of hydrogen at the filling station are the GHG-intensive stages in the target supply chains.
Synergistic Hybrid Marine Renewable Energy Harvest System
Mar 2024
Publication
This paper proposes a novel hybrid marine renewable energy-harvesting system to increase energy production reduce levelized costs of energy and promote renewable marine energy. Firstly various marine renewable energy resources and state-of-art technologies for energy exploitation and storage were reviewed. The site selection criteria for each energy-harvesting approach were identified and a scoring matrix for site selection was proposed to screen suitable locations for the hybrid system. The Triton Knoll wind farm was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the scoring matrix. An integrated energy system was designed and FE modeling was performed to assess the effects of additional energy devices on the structural stability of the main wind turbine structure. It has been proven that the additional energy structures have a negligible influence on foundation/structure deflection.
Thermodynamic Analysis of a Regenerative Brayton Cycle Using H2, CH4 and H2/CH4 Blends as Fuel
Feb 2022
Publication
Considering a simple regenerative Brayton cycle the impact of using different fuel blends containing a variable volumetric percentage of hydrogen in methane was analysed. Due to the potential of hydrogen combustion in gas turbines to reduce the overall CO2 emissions and the dependency on natural gas further research is needed to understand the impact on the overall thermodynamic cycle. For that purpose a qualitative thermodynamic analysis was carried out to assess the exergetic and energetic efficiencies of the cycle as well as the irreversibilities associated to a subsystem. A single step reaction was considered in the hypothesis of complete combustion of a generic H2/CH4 mixture where the volumetric H2 percentage was represented by fH2 which was varied from 0 to 1 defining the amount of hydrogen in the fuel mixture. Energy and entropy balances were solved through the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) code. Results showed that global exergetic and energetic efficiencies increased by 5% and 2% respectively varying fH2 from 0 to 1. Higher hydrogen percentages resulted in lower exergy destruction in the chamber despite the higher air-excess levels. It was also observed that higher values of fH2 led to lower fuel mass flow rates in the chamber showing that hydrogen can still be competitive even though its cost per unit mass is twice that of natural gas.
Integral Sliding Mode Control for Maximum Power Point Tracking in DFIG Based Floating Offshore Wind Turbine and Power to Gas
Jun 2021
Publication
This paper proposes a current decoupling controller for a Doubly-fed Induction Generator (DFIG) based on floating offshore wind turbine and power to gas. The proposed controller realizes Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) through integral sliding mode compensation. By using the internal model control strategy an open-loop controller is designed to ensure that the system has good dynamic performance. Furthermore using the integral Sliding Mode Control (SMC) strategy a compensator is designed to eliminate the parameter perturbation and external disturbance of the open-loop control. The parameters of the designed controller are designed through Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO). Simulation results show that the proposed control strategy has better response speed and smaller steady-state error than the traditional control strategy. This research is expected to be applied to the field of hydrogen production by floating offshore wind power.
Hydrogen Refuelling Reference Station Lot Size Analysis for Urban Sites
Mar 2020
Publication
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.
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.
Hydrogen Powered Aviation: A Fact-based Study of Hydrogen Technology, Economics, and Climate Impact by 2050
Jul 2020
Publication
This report assesses the potential of hydrogen (H2) propulsion to reduce aviation’s climate impact. To reduce climate impact the industry will have to introduce further levers such as radically new technology significantly scale sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) such as synthetic fuel (synfuel) temporarily rely on offsets in large quantities or rely on a combination thereof. H2 propulsion is one such technology and this report assesses its potential in aviation. Developed with input from leading companies and research institutes it projects the technological development of H2 combustion and fuel cell-powered propulsion evaluates their technical and economic feasibility compares them to synfuel and considers implications on aircraft design airport infrastructure and fuel supply chains.
Recyclable Metal Fuels for Clean and Compact Zero-carbon Power
Jun 2018
Publication
Metal fuels as recyclable carriers of clean energy are promising alternatives to fossil fuels in a future low-carbon economy. Fossil fuels are a convenient and widely-available source of stored solar energy that have enabled our modern society; however fossil-fuel production cannot perpetually keep up with increasing energy demand while carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel combustion cause climate change. Low-carbon energy carriers with high energy density are needed to replace the multiple indispensable roles of fossil fuels including for electrical and thermal power generation for powering transportation fleets and for global energy trade. Metals have high energy densities and metals are therefore fuels within many batteries energetic materials and propellants. Metal fuels can be burned with air or reacted with water to release their chemical energy at a range of power-generation scales. The metal-oxide combustion products are solids that can be captured and then be recycled using zero-carbon electrolysis processes powered by clean energy enabling metals to be used as recyclable zero-carbon solar fuels or electrofuels. A key technological barrier to the increased use of metal fuels is the current lack of clean and efficient combustor/reactor/engine technologies to convert the chemical energy in metal fuels into motive or electrical power (energy). This paper overviews the concept of low-carbon metal fuels and summarizes the current state of our knowledge regarding the reaction of metal fuels with water to produce hot hydrogen on demand and the combustion of metal fuels with air in laminar and turbulent flames. Many important questions regarding metal-fuel combustion processes remain unanswered as do questions concerning the energy-cycle efficiency and life-cycle environmental impacts and economics of metals as recyclable fuels. Metal fuels can be an important technology option within a future low-carbon society and deserve focused attention to address these open questions.
Trace Level Analysis of Reactive ISO 14687 Impurities in Hydrogen Fuel Using Laser-based Spectroscopic Detection Methods
Oct 2020
Publication
Hydrogen fuelled vehicles can play a key role in the decarbonisation of transport and reducing emissions. To ensure the durability of fuel cells a specification has been developed (ISO 14687) setting upper limits to the amount fraction of a series of impurities. Demonstrating conformity with this standard requires demonstrating by measurement that the actual levels of the impurities are below the thresholds. Currently the industry is unable to do so for measurement standards and sensitive dedicated analytical methods are lacking. In this work we report on the development of such measurement standards and methods for four reactive components: formaldehyde formic acid hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride. The primary measurement standard is based on permeation and the analytical methods on highly sensitive and selective laser-based spectroscopic techniques. Relative expanded uncertainties at the ISO 14687 threshold level in hydrogen of 4% (formaldehyde) 8% (formic acid) 5% (hydrogen chloride) and 8% (hydrogen fluoride) have been achieved.
Multi-Objective Optimization of a Hydrogen Hub for the Decarbonization of a Port Industrial Area
Feb 2022
Publication
Green hydrogen is addressed as a promising solution to decarbonize industrial and mobility sectors. In this context ports could play a key role not only as hydrogen users but also as suppliers for industrial plants with which they have strong commercial ties. The implementation of hydrogen technologies in ports has started to be addressed as a strategy for renewable energy transition but still requires a detailed evaluation of the involved costs which cannot be separated from the correct design and operation of the plant. Hence this study proposes the design and operation optimization of a hydrogen production and storage system in a typical Italian port. Multi-objective optimization is performed to determine the optimal levelized cost of hydrogen in environmental and techno-economic terms. A Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer powered by a grid-integrated photovoltaic (PV) plant a compression station and two-pressure level storage systems are chosen to provide hydrogen to a hydrogen refueling station for a 20-car fleet and satisfy the demand of the hydrogen batch annealing in a steel plant. The results report that a 341 kWP PV plant 89 kW electrolyzer and 17 kg hydrogen storage could provide hydrogen at 7.80 €/kgH2 potentially avoiding about 153 tCO2eq/year (120 tCO2eq/year only for the steel plant).
Problems of Hydrogen Doping in the Methane Fermentation Process and of Energetic Use of the Gas Mixture
Jul 2021
Publication
This article discusses the technology for doping hydrogen into the fermenter to increase methane production and the amount of energy in the mixture. Hydrogen doping is anticipated to enable more carbon to be applied to produce methane. Hydrogen is proposed to be produced by using excess electricity from for example off-peak electricity hours at night. The possibilities of using a mixture of hydrogen and biogas for combustion in boilers and internal combustion engines have been determined. It has been proven that the volumetric addition of hydrogen reduces the heat of combustion of the mixture. Problems arising from hydrogen doping during the methane fermentation process have been identified.
Opportunities and Barriers of Hydrogen–Electric Hybrid Powertrain Vans: A Systematic Literature Review
Oct 2020
Publication
The environmental impact of the road transport sector together with urban freight transport growth has a notable repercussions in global warming health and economy. The need to reduce emissions caused by fossil fuel dependence and to foster the use of renewable energy sources has driven the development of zero-emissions powertrains. These clean transportation technologies are not only necessary to move people but to transport the increasing demand for goods and services that is currently taking place in the larger cities. Full electric battery-powered vans seem to be the best-placed solution to the problem. However despite the progress in driving range and recharge options those and other market barriers remain unsolved and the current market share of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is not significant. Based on the development of hydrogen fuel cell stacks this work explains an emerging powertrain architecture concept for N1 class type vans that combines a battery-electric configuration with a fuel cell stack powered by hydrogen that works as a range extender (FC-EREV). A literature review is conducted with the aim to shed light on the possibilities of this hybrid light-duty commercial van for metropolitan delivery tasks providing insights into the key factors and issues for sizing the powertrain components and fuel management strategies to meet metropolitan freight fleet needs.
Comparison of Conventional vs. Modular Hydrogen Refuelling Stations and On-Site Production vs. Delivery
Mar 2017
Publication
To meet the needs of public and private stakeholders involved in the development construction and operation of hydrogen fuelling stations needed to support the widespread roll-out of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles this work presents publicly available station templates and analyses. These ‘Reference Stations’ help reduce the cost and speed the deployment of hydrogen stations by providing a common baseline with which to start a design enable quick assessment of potential sites for a hydrogen station identify contributors to poor economics and suggest areas of research. This work presents layouts bills of materials piping and instrumentation diagrams and detailed analyses of five new station designs. In the near term delivered hydrogen results in a lower cost of hydrogen compared to on-site production via steam methane reforming or electrolysis although the on-site production methods have other advantages. Modular station concepts including on-site production can reduce lot sizes from conventional assemble-on-site stations.
Sequential Combustion in Steam Methane Reformers for Hydrogen and Power Production With CCUS in Decarbonized Industrial Clusters
Aug 2020
Publication
In future energy supply systems hydrogen and electricity may be generated in decarbonized industrial clusters using a common infrastructure for natural gas supply electricity grid and transport and geological storage of CO2. The novel contribution of this article consists of using sequential combustion in a steam methane reforming (SMR) hydrogen plant to allow for capital and operating cost reduction by using a single post-combustion carbon capture system for both the hydrogen process and the combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant plus appropriate integration for this new equipment combination. The concept would be widely applied to any post-combustion CO2 capture process. A newly developed rigorous gPROMs model of two hydrogen production technologies covering a wide range of hydrogen production capacities thermodynamically integrated with commercially available gas turbine engines quantifies the step change in thermal efficiency and hydrogen production efficiency. It includes a generic post-combustion capture technology – a conventional 30%wt MEA process - to quantify the reduction in size of CO2 absorber columns the most capital intensive part of solvent-based capture systems. For a conventional SMR located downstream of an H-class gas turbine engine followed by a three-pressure level HRSG and a capture plant with two absorbers the integrated system produces ca. 696400 Nm3/h of H2 with a net power output of 651 MWe at a net thermal efficiency of 38.9%LHV. This corresponds to 34 MWe of additional power increasing efficiency by 4.9% points and makes one absorber redundant compared to the equivalent non-integrated system producing the same volume of H2. For a dedicated gas heated reformer (GHR) located downstream of an aeroderivative gas turbine engine followed by a two-pressure level HRSG and a capture plant with one absorber the integrated system produces ca. 80750 Nm3/h of H2 with a net power output of 73 MWe and a net thermal efficiency of 54.7%LHV. This corresponds to 13 MWe of additional power output increasing efficiency by 13.5% points and also makes one absorber redundant. The article also presents new insights for the design and operation of reformers integrated with gas turbines and with CO2 capture.
The World’s Energy Agenda & Its Evolution: Issues Monitor 2019
Feb 2019
Publication
In an era where the energy landscape is in constant transition energy leaders must pay attention to many different signals of change and distinguish key issues from the noise. The Issues Monitor identifies shifting patterns of connected issues which are shaping energy transitions.<br/>This report takes a focused look at the issues facing the energy transition in Europe using data collected by surveying over 40 leaders and shapers representing the European Transmission and Distributors Operators. This Issues Monitor outlines clear Action Priorities and Critical Uncertainties for different stakeholder groups mapping them out intuitively to promote a shared understanding of the issues. These maps also help identifiy regional variations understand differing areas of concern as well as follow the evolution of specific technology trends.<br/>Produced in partnership with ENTSO-E and E.DSO.
Hybrid Power-heat Microgrid Solution Using Hydrogen as an Energy Vector for Residential Houses in Spain. A Case Study
May 2022
Publication
In order to favor a transition to a renewable energy economy it is necessary to study the possible permeation of renewable energy sources not only in the electric grid or industrial scale but also in the small householding scale. One of the most interesting technologies available for this purpose is solar energy since it is a mature technology that can be easily installed in every rooftop. Thus a techno-economic assessment was carried out to evaluate the installation of a solar-based power-heat hybrid microgrid considering the use of hydrogen as an energy vector in a typical residential house in Spain. Lead-acid batteries plus the photovoltaic and solar thermal energy installation are complemented with a hydrogen system composed of an electrolyzer two metal hydride bottles and a fuel cell. A simulation tool has been generated using experimental models developed and validated with real equipment for each one of the electric microgrid component. Three operating modes were tested making use of this tool to better manage the energy consumed/produced and optimize the economic output of the facility. The results show that setting up a hydrogen-based microgrid in a residential house is unviable today mainly due to the high cost of hydrogen generation and consumption equipment. If only solar energy is considered the microgrid inversion (12.500 €) is recovered in ten years. On the other hand selling the electricity output has almost no repercussions considering current electrical rates in Spain. Finally while using an optimization algorithm to manage energy use battery life-spam and economic benefit slightly increase. However this profit may not be enough to justify the use of a more complex control system. The results of this research will help users renewable energy companies investigators and policymakers to better understand the different factors influencing the spread of renewable smart grids in households and propose solutions to address these.
Heat in Buildings Strategy: Achieving Net Zero Emissions in Scotland's Buildings
Oct 2021
Publication
Sets out our vision for the future of heat in buildings and the actions we are taking in the buildings sector to deliver our climate change commitments maximise economic opportunities and ensure a just transition including helping address fuel poverty.
The Future Role of Gas in Transport
Mar 2021
Publication
This is a Network Innovation Allowance funded project overseen by a steering group comprising the UK and Ireland gas network operators (Cadent Gas Networks Ireland National Grid Northern Gas Networks SGN Wales and West). The project follows on from previous studies that modelled the role of green gases in decarbonising the GB economy. The role of this study is to understand the transition from the GB economy today to a decarbonised economy in 2050 focusing on how the transition is achieved and the competing and complementary nature of different low and zero emission fuels and technologies over time.
While the project covers the whole economy it focuses on transport especially trucks as an early adopter of green gases and as a key enabler of the transition. The study and resulting report are aimed at the gas industry and government and tries to build a green gas decarbonisation narrative supported by a wide range of stakeholders in order clarify the path ahead and thereby focus future efforts on delivering decarbonisation through green gases as quickly as possible.
The objectives of the study are:
Green gases
This report discusses the future role of ‘green gases’ which are biomethane and hydrogen produced from low- and zero-carbon sources each produced via two main methods:
Biomethane from Anaerobic Digestion (AD): A mature technology for turning biological material into a non-fossil form of natural gas (methane). AD plants produce biogas which must then be upgraded to biomethane.
Biomethane from Bio-Substitute Natural Gas (Bio-SNG): This technology is at an earlier stage of development than AD but has the potential to unlock other feedstocks for biomethane production such as waste wood and residual household waste.
Blue Hydrogen: Hydrogen from reformation of natural gas which produces hydrogen and carbon monoxide. 90-95% of the carbon is captured and stored making this a low-carbon form of hydrogen.
Green Hydrogen: Water is split into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis using electricity generated by renewables. No carbon emissions are produced so this is zero-carbon hydrogen."
While the project covers the whole economy it focuses on transport especially trucks as an early adopter of green gases and as a key enabler of the transition. The study and resulting report are aimed at the gas industry and government and tries to build a green gas decarbonisation narrative supported by a wide range of stakeholders in order clarify the path ahead and thereby focus future efforts on delivering decarbonisation through green gases as quickly as possible.
The objectives of the study are:
- Analyse the complete supply chain production distribution and use of electricity biomethane bio-SNG and hydrogen to understand the role of each fuel and the timeline for scaling up of their use.
- Develop a narrative based on these findings to show how the use of these fuels scales up over time and how they compete and complement one another.
Green gases
This report discusses the future role of ‘green gases’ which are biomethane and hydrogen produced from low- and zero-carbon sources each produced via two main methods:
Biomethane from Anaerobic Digestion (AD): A mature technology for turning biological material into a non-fossil form of natural gas (methane). AD plants produce biogas which must then be upgraded to biomethane.
Biomethane from Bio-Substitute Natural Gas (Bio-SNG): This technology is at an earlier stage of development than AD but has the potential to unlock other feedstocks for biomethane production such as waste wood and residual household waste.
Blue Hydrogen: Hydrogen from reformation of natural gas which produces hydrogen and carbon monoxide. 90-95% of the carbon is captured and stored making this a low-carbon form of hydrogen.
Green Hydrogen: Water is split into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis using electricity generated by renewables. No carbon emissions are produced so this is zero-carbon hydrogen."
A Host-guest Approach to Fabricate Metallic Cobalt Nanoparticles Embedded in Silk-derived N-doped Carbon Fibers for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution
Feb 2017
Publication
Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) plays a key role in generating clean and renewable energy. As the most effective HER electrocatalysts Pt group catalysts suffer from severe problems such as high price and scarcity. It is highly desirable to design and synthesize sustainable HER electrocatalysts to replace the Pt group catalysts. Due to their low cost high abundance and high activities cobalt-incorporated N-doped nanocarbon hybrids are promising candidate electrocatalysts for HER. In this report we demonstrated a robust and eco-friendly host-guest approach to fabricate metallic cobalt nanoparticles embedded in N-doped carbon fibers derived from natural silk fibers. Benefiting from the one-dimensional nanostructure the well-dispersed metallic cobalt nanoparticles and the N-doped thin graphitized carbon layer coating the best Co-based electrocatalyst manifests low overpotential (61 mV@10 mA/cm2) HER activity that is comparable with commercial 20% Pt/C and good stability in acid. Our findings provide a novel and unique route to explore high-performance noble-metal-free HER electrocatalysts.
Expected Impacts on Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutant Emissions Due to a Possible Transition Towards a Hydrogen Economy in German Road Transport
Nov 2020
Publication
Transitioning German road transport partially to hydrogen energy is among the possibilities being discussed to help meet national climate targets. This study investigates impacts of a hypothetical complete transition from conventionally-fuelled to hydrogen-powered German transport through representative scenarios. Our results show that German emissions change between −179 and +95 MtCO2eq annually depending on the scenario with renewable-powered electrolysis leading to the greatest emissions reduction while electrolysis using the fossil-intense current electricity mix leads to the greatest increase. German energy emissions of regulated pollutants decrease significantly indicating the potential for simultaneous air quality improvements. Vehicular hydrogen demand is 1000 PJ annually requiring 446–525 TWh for electrolysis hydrogen transport and storage which could be supplied by future German renewable generation supporting the potential for CO2-free hydrogen traffic and increased energy security. Thus hydrogen-powered transport could contribute significantly to climate and air quality goals warranting further research and political discussion about this possibility.
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