Applications & Pathways

This paper examines the prospect of PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolyzers and fuel cells to partake in European electrical ancillary services markets. First the current framework of ancillary services is reviewed and discussed emphasizing the ongoing European harmonization plans for future frequency balancing markets. Next the technical characteristics of PEM hydrogen technologies and their potential uses within the electrical power system are discussed to evaluate their adequacy to the requirements of ancillary services markets. Last a case study based on a realistic representation of the transmission grid in the north of the Netherlands for the year 2030 is presented. The main goal of this case study is to ascertain the effectiveness of PEM electrolyzers and fuel cells for the provision of primary frequency reserves. Dynamic generic models suitable for grid simulations are developed for both technologies including the required controllers to enable participation in ancillary services markets. The obtained results show that PEM hydrogen technologies can improve the frequency response when compared to the procurement with synchronous generators of the same reserve value. Moreover the fast dynamics of PEM electrolyzers and fuel cells can help mitigate the negative effects attributed to the reduction of inertia in the system.

The environmental and societal challenges of our contemporary society are leading us to reconsider our approaches to vehicle design. The aim of this article is to provide the reader with the essential knowledge needed to responsibly design a vehicle equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell system. Two pivotal aspects of hydrogen-electric powertrain eco-design are examined. First the global warming potential is assessed for both PEMFC systems and Type IV hydrogen tanks accounting for material extraction production and end-of-life considerations. The usage phase was omitted from the study in order to facilitate data adaptation for each type of use. PEMFC exhibits a global warming potential of about 29.2 kgCO2eq/kW while the tank records 12.4 kgCO2eq/kWh with transportation factors considered. Secondly the societal and governmental impacts are scrutinized with the carbon-intensive hydrogen tank emerging as having the most significant societal and governmental risks. In fact on a scale of 1–5 with 5 representing the highest level of risk the PEMFC system has a societal impact and governance risk of 2.98. The Type IV tank has a societal impact and governance risk of 3.31. Although uncertainties persist regarding the results presented in this study the values obtained provide an overview of the societal and governmental impacts of the hydrogen ecosystem in the transportation sector. The next step will be to compare for the same usage which solution between hydrogen-electric and 100% battery is more respectful of humans and the environment.

This study aims to experimentally quantify the hydrogen diffusion characteristics by ship motion. Hydrogen leakage experiments were conducted under various ship motion conditions and the corresponding hydrogen concentrations for each sensor were expressed by an equation. The experimental facility was a scale model of the hydrogen fuel storage room of a ship. An experiment was conducted by implementing the roll and pitch motions of the ship as well as motion direction using a ship simulator. In the equation describing the hydrogen concentration the minimum and maximum root mean square deviations were 0.987 and 0.707 respectively and the correlations were 0.000109 and 0.0012289. Although the results differed as per the sensor location the hydrogen concentration was affected by the motion period of the ship. The experimental results and prediction equations can be useful for sensor and vent location selection by predicting the concentration when hydrogen leaks in ships in motion.

Decarbonised steel enabled by green hydrogen-based iron ore reduction and renewable electricity-based steel making will disrupt the traditional supply chain. Focusing on the energetic and techno-economic assessment of potential green supply chains this study investigates the direct reduced iron-electric arc furnace production route enabled by renewable energy and deployed in regional settings. The hypothesis that co-locating manufacturing processes with renewable energy resources would offer highest energy efficiency and cost reduction is tested through an Australia-Japan case study. The binational partnership is structured to meet Japanese steel demand (for domestic use and regional exports) and source both energy and iron ore from the Pilbara region of Western Australia. A total of 12 unique supply chains differentiated by spatial configuration timeline and energy carrier were simulated which validated the hypothesis: direct energy and ore exports to remote steel producers (i.e. Japan-based production) as opposed to co-locating iron and steel production with abundant ore and renewable energy resources (i.e. Australia-based production) increased energy consumption and the levelised cost of steel by 45% and 32% respectively when averaged across 2030 and 2050. Two decades of technological development and economies of scale realisation would be crucial; 2030 supply chains were on average 12% more energy-intense and 23% more expensive than 2050 equivalents. On energy vectors liquefied hydrogen was more efficient than ammonia for export-dominant supply chains due to the pairing of its process flexibility and the intermittent solar energy profile as well as the avoidance of the need for ammonia cracking prior to direct reduction. To mitigate the green premium a carbon tax in the range of A$66–192/t CO2 would be required in 2030 and A$0–70/t CO2 in 2050; the diminished carbon tax requirement in the latter is achievable only by wholly Australia-based production. Further the modelled system scale was immense; producing 40 Mtpa of decarbonised steel will require 74–129% of Australia’s current electricity output and A$137–328 billion in capital investment for solar power production and shipping vessel infrastructure. These results call for strategic planning of regional resource pairing to drive energy and cost efficiencies which accelerate the global decarbonisation of steel.

The study feeds into the work of the Global Hydrogen Ports Coalition launched at the latest Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM12). This important international initiative brings together ports from around the world to work together on hydrogen technologies. The planned study will be a comprehensive assessment of the hydrogen demand in ports and industrial coastal areas enabling the creation of a 'European Hydrogen Ports Roadmap'. It will also feature clear economic forecasts based on a variety of business models for the transition to renewable hydrogen in ports while presenting new case studies and project concepts. “The objective is to provide new directions for research and innovation guidance for regulation codes and standards and proposals on policy and regulation. The forthcoming study will also help create impetus for stakeholders to come together and take a long term perspective on the hydrogen transition in ports. Finally the study will be a centralized resource It will form a Europe wide hydrogen ports ' when combined with roadmaps and other materials created by individual ports.

Global energy and environmental issues are becoming increasingly serious and the promotion of clean energy and green transportation has become a common goal for all countries. In the logistics industry traditional fuels such as diesel and natural gas can no longer meet the requirements of energy and climate change. Hydrogen fuel cell logistics vehicles are expected to become the mainstream vehicles for future logistics because of their “zero carbon” advantages. The GREET model is computer simulation software developed by the Argonne National Laboratory in the USA. It is extensively utilized in research pertaining to the energy and environmental impact of vehicles. This research study examines four types of logistics vehicles: hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) electric vehicles LNG-fueled vehicles and diesel-fueled vehicles. Diesel-fueled logistics vehicles are currently the most abundant type of vehicle in the logistics sector. LNG-fueled logistics vehicles are considered as a short-term alternative to diesel logistics vehicles while electric logistics vehicles are among the most popular types of new-energy vehicles currently. We analyze and compare their well-to-wheels (WTW) energy consumption and emissions with the help of GREET software and conduct lifecycle assessments (LCAs) of the four types of vehicles to analyze their energy and environmental benefits. When comparing the energy consumption of the four vehicle types electric logistics vehicles (EVs) have the lowest energy consumption with slightly lower energy consumption than FCVs. When comparing the nine airborne pollutant emissions of the four vehicle types the emissions of the FCVs are significantly lower than those of spark-ignition internal combustion engine logistics vehicles (SI ICEVs) compression-ignition direct-injection internal combustion engine logistics vehicles (CIDI ICEVs) and EVs. This study fills a research gap regarding the energy consumption and environmental impact of logistics vehicles in China.

Hydrogen (H2) is expected to be a key building block in future greenhouse gas neutral energy systems. This study investigates the role of liquid hydrogen (LH2) in a national greenhouse gas-neutral energy supply system for Germany in 2045. The integrated energy system model suite ETHOS is extended by LH2 demand profiles in the sectors aviation mobility and chemical industry and means of LH2 transportation via inland vessel rail and truck. This case study demonstrates that the type of hydrogen demand (liquid or gaseous) can strongly affect the cost-optimal design of the future energy system. When LH2 demand is introduced to the energy system LH2 import transportation and production grow in importance. This decreases the need for gaseous hydrogen (GH2) pipelines and affects the location of H2 production plants. When identifying no-regret measures it must be considered that the largest H2 consumers are the ones with the highest readiness to use LH2.

Future renewable energy systems are expected to heavily rely on low-emission hydrogen not least as a crucial feedstock for industry. Although there are numerous pan-European system studies exploring a cost-efficient hydrogen ramp-up a number of issues are driving companies to develop site-specific transformation strategies that are not always in line with the results of these large-scale studies. Addressing this gap this study contributes a detailed analysis of a real-world chemical site in Southern Germany that depends on hydrogen as a feedstock. In doing so insights in industry transformation options and its implications at site level are provided. Applying a cost-optimizing energy system model several corporate strategies and extensive sensitivity analyses for the transition to renewable hydrogen are evaluated for the period 2025 to 2045. This involves considering onsite interdependencies between the production and use of hydrogen as a feedstock and the site’s electricity and heat sector. The results show that under a purely rational strategy and current expectations the transformation to renewable hydrogen will not become competitive before 2045 while neither expensive emission allowances nor low-priced hydrogen supply on their own will result in a substantially accelerated transformation. This highlights the need for additional policy measures. Furthermore it is demonstrated that under almost any realistic condition within the following 20 years using hydrogen for heat generation below 200 ◦C is unlikely. Therefore prioritizing the electrification of process heat supply while waiting for hydrogen imports would be a logical approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Industries across the world are making the transition to net-zero carbon emissions as government policies and strategies are proposed to mitigate the impact of climate change on the planet. As a result the use of hydrogen as an energy source is becoming an increasingly popular field of research particularly in the aviation sector where an alternative green renewable fuel to the traditional hydrocarbon fuels such as kerosene is essential. Hydrogen can be stored in multiple ways including compressed gaseous hydrogen cryo-compressed hydrogen and cryogenic liquid hydrogen. The infrastructure and storage of hydrogen will play a pivotal role in the realisation of large-scale conversion from traditional fuels with safety being a key consideration. This paper provides a review on previous work undertaken to study the characterisation of both unignited and ignited hydrogen jets which are fundamental phenomena for the utilisation of hydrogen. This includes work that focuses on the near-field flow structure dispersion in the far-field ignition and flame characteristics with multi-physics. The safety considerations are also included. The theoretical models and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) multiphase and reactive flow approaches are discussed. Then an overview of previous experimental work is provided before focusing the review on the existing computational results with comparison to experiments. Upon completion of this review it is highlighted that the complex near-field physics and flow phenomena are areas lacking in research. The near-field flow properties and characteristics are of significant importance with respect to the ignition and combustion of hydrogen.

Currently hydrogen and electric drives used in various means of transport is a leading topic in many respects. This article discusses the most important aspects of the operation of vehicles with electric drives (passenger cars) and hydrogen drives. In both cases the official reason for using both drives is the possibility of independence from fossil fuel supplies especially oil. The desire for independence is mainly dictated by political considerations. This article discusses the acquisition of basic raw materials for the construction of lithium-ion batteries in electric cars as well as methods for obtaining hydrogen as a fuel. The widespread use of electric passenger cars requires the construction of a network of charging stations. This article shows that taking into account the entire production process of electric cars including lithium-ion batteries the argument that they are ecological cannot be used. Additionally it was indicated that there is no concept for the use of used accumulator batteries. If hydrogen drives are used in trains there is no need to build the traction network infrastructure and then continuously monitor its technical condition and perform the necessary repairs. Of course the necessary hydrogen tanks must be built but there must be similar tanks to store oil for diesel locomotives. This paper also deals with other possibilities of hydrogen application for transformational usage e.g. the use of combustion engines driven with liquid hydrogen. Unfortunately an optimistic approach to this issue does not allow for a critical view of the whole matter. In public discussion there is no room for scientific arguments and emotions to dominate.