Applications & Pathways
Public Acceptance for the Implementation of Hydrogen Self-refueling Stations
Sep 2021
Publication
The utilization of hydrogen energy is important for achieving a low-carbon society. Japan has set ambitious goals for hydrogen stations and fuel cell vehicles focusing on the introduction and dissemination of self-refuelling systems. This paper evaluates public trust in the fuel equipment and self-handling technology related to self-refuelling hydrogen stations and compares it with that for widespread gasoline stations. To this end the results of an online survey of 300 people with Japanese driver licenses are reported and analyzed. The results show that trust in the equipment and self-handling is more important for the user than trust in the fuel. In addition to introduce and disseminate new technology such as hydrogen stations users must be made aware of the risk of using the technology until it becomes as familiar as existing gasoline station technology.
A Real-Time Load Prediction Control for Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle
May 2022
Publication
The development of hydrogen energy is an effective solution to the energy and environmental crisis. Hydrogen fuel cells and energy storage cells as hybrid power have broad application prospects in the field of vehicle power. Energy management strategies are key technologies for fuel cell hybrid systems. The traditional optimization strategy is generally based on optimization under the global operating conditions. The purpose of this project is to develop a power allocation optimization method based on real-time load forecasting for fuel cell/lithium battery hybrid electric vehicles which does not depend on specific working conditions or causal control methods. This paper presents an energy-management algorithm based on real-time load forecasting using GRU neural networks to predict load requirements in the short time domain and then the local optimization problem for each predictive domain is solved using a method based on Pontryagin’s minimum principle (PMP). The algorithm adopts the idea of model prediction control (MPC) to transform the global optimization problem into a series of local optimization problems. The simulation results show that the proposed strategy can achieve a good fuel-saving control effect. Compared with the rule-based strategy and equivalent hydrogen consumption strategy (ECMS) the fuel consumption is lower under two typical urban conditions. In the 1800 s driving cycle under WTCL conditions the fuel consumption under the MPC-PMP strategy is 22.4% lower than that based on the ECMS strategy and 10.3% lower than the rules-based strategy. Under CTLT conditions the fuel consumption of the MPC-PMP strategy is 13.12% lower than that of the rule-based strategy and 3.01% lower than the ECMS strategy.
A Comparison of Two Hydrogen Storages in a Fossil Free Direct Reduced Iron Process
Jul 2021
Publication
Hydrogen direct reduction has been proposed as a means to decarbonize primary steelmaking. Preferably the hydrogen necessary for this process is produced via water electrolysis. A downside to electrolysis is the large electricity demand. The electricity cost of water electrolysis may be reduced by using a hydrogen storage to exploit variations in electricity price i.e. producing more hydrogen when the electricity price is low and vice versa. In this paper we compare two kinds of hydrogen storages in the context of a hydrogen direct reduction process via simulations based on historic Swedish electricity prices: the storage of gaseous hydrogen in an underground lined rock cavern and the storage of hydrogen chemically bound in methanol. We find the methanol-based storages to be economically advantageous to lined rock caverns in several scenarios. The main advantages of methanol-based storage are the low investment cost of storage capacity and the possibility to decouple storage capacity from rate capacity. Nevertheless no storage option is found to be profitable for historic Swedish electricity prices. For the storages to be profitable electricity prices must be volatile with relatively frequent high peaks which has happened rarely in Sweden in recent years. However such scenarios may become more common with the expected increase of intermittent renewable power in the Swedish electricity system.
The European Green Deal
Dec 2019
Publication
Climate change and environmental degradation are an existential threat to Europe and the world. To overcome these challenges Europe needs a new growth strategy that will transform the Union into a modern resource-efficient and competitive economy where
The European Green Deal is our plan to make the EU's economy sustainable. We can do this by turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities and making the transition just and inclusive for all
The European Green Deal provides an action plan to
The EU aims to be climate neutral in 2050. We proposed a European Climate Law to turn this political commitment into a legal obligation.
Reaching this target will require action by all sectors of our economy including
The EU will also provide financial support and technical assistance to help those that are most affected by the move towards the green economy. This is called the Just Transition Mechanism. It will help mobilise at least €100 billion over the period 2021-2027 in the most affected regions.
- there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050
- economic growth is decoupled from resource use
- no person and no place is left behind
The European Green Deal is our plan to make the EU's economy sustainable. We can do this by turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities and making the transition just and inclusive for all
The European Green Deal provides an action plan to
- boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a clean circular economy
- restore biodiversity and cut pollution
The EU aims to be climate neutral in 2050. We proposed a European Climate Law to turn this political commitment into a legal obligation.
Reaching this target will require action by all sectors of our economy including
- investing in environmentally-friendly technologies
- supporting industry to innovate
- rolling out cleaner cheaper and healthier forms of private and public transport
- decarbonising the energy sector
- ensuring buildings are more energy efficient
- working with international partners to improve global environmental standards
The EU will also provide financial support and technical assistance to help those that are most affected by the move towards the green economy. This is called the Just Transition Mechanism. It will help mobilise at least €100 billion over the period 2021-2027 in the most affected regions.
The Role of Renewable Hydrogen and Inter-seasonal Storage in Decarbonising Heat – Comprehensive Optimisation of Future Renewable Energy Value Chains
Nov 2018
Publication
Demands for space and water heating constitute a significant proportion of the total energy demands in Great Britain and are predominantly satisfied through natural gas which makes the heat sector a large emitter of carbon dioxide. Renewable hydrogen which can be injected into the gas grid or used directly in processes for generating heat and/or electricity is being considered as a low-carbon alternative energy carrier to natural gas because of its suitability for large-scale long- and short-term storage and low transportation losses all of which help to overcome the intermittency and seasonal variations in renewables. This requires new infrastructures for production storage transport and utilisation of renewable hydrogen – a hydrogen value chain – the design of which involves many interdependent decisions such as: where to locate wind turbines; where to locate electrolysers close to wind generation or close to demands; whether to transport energy as electricity or hydrogen and how; where to locate storage facilities; etc. This paper presents the Value Web Model a novel and comprehensive spatio-temporal mixed-integer linear programming model that can simultaneously optimise the design planning and operation of integrated energy value chains accounting for short-term dynamics inter-seasonal storage and investments out to 2050. It was coupled with GIS modelling to identify candidate sites for wind generation and used to optimise a number of scenarios for the production of hydrogen from onshore and offshore wind turbines in order to satisfy heat demands. The results show that over a wide range of scenarios the optimal pathway to heat is roughly 20% hydrogen and 80% electricity. Hydrogen storage both in underground caverns and pressurised tanks is a key enabling technology.
Techno-economic Analysis of Freight Railway Electrification by Overhead Line, Hydrogen and Batteries: Case Studies in Norway and USA
Aug 2019
Publication
Two non-electrified railway lines one in Norway and the other in the USA are analysed for their potential to be electrified with overhead line equipment batteries hydrogen or hydrogen-battery hybrid powertrains. The energy requirements are established with single-train simulations including the altitude profiles of the lines air and rolling resistances and locomotive tractive-effort curves. The composition of the freight trains in terms of the number of locomotives battery wagons hydrogen wagons etc. is also calculated by the same model. The different technologies are compared by the criteria of equivalent annual costs benefit–cost ratio payback period and up-front investment based on the estimated techno-economic parameters for years 2020 2030 and 2050. The results indicate the potential of batteries and fuel cells to replace diesel on rail lines with low traffic volumes.
Methanol Synthesis Using Captured CO2 as Raw Material: Techno-economic and Environmental Assessment
Aug 2015
Publication
The purpose of this paper is to assess via techno-economic and environmental metrics the production of methanol (MeOH) using H2 and captured CO2 as raw materials. It evaluates the potential of this type of carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) plant on (i) the net reduction of CO2 emissions and (ii) the cost of production in comparison with the conventional synthesis process of MeOH Europe. Process flow modelling is used to estimate the operational performance and the total purchased equipment cost; the flowsheet is implemented in CHEMCAD and the obtained mass and energy flows are utilised as input to calculate the selected key performance indicators (KPIs). CO2 -based metrics are used to assess the environmental impact. The evaluated MeOH plant produces 440 ktMeOH/yr and its configuration is the result of a heat integration process. Its specific capital cost is lower than for conventional plants. However raw materials prices i.e. H2 and captured CO2 do not allow such a project to be financially viable. In order to make the CCU plant financially attractive the price of MeOH should increase in a factor of almost 2 or H2 costs should decrease almost 2.5 times or CO2 should have a value of around 222 €/t under the assumptions of this work. The MeOH CCU-plant studied can utilise about 21.5% of the CO2 emissions of a pulverised coal (PC) power plant that produces 550MWnet of electricity. The net CO2 emissions savings represent 8% of the emissions of the PC plant (mainly due to the avoidance of consuming fossil fuels as in the conventional MeOH synthesis process). The results demonstrate that there is a net but small potential for CO2 emissions reduction; assuming that such CCU plants are constructed in Europe to meet the MeOH demand growth and the quantities that are currently imported the net CO2 emissions reduction could be of 2.71 MtCO2/yr.
Everything About Hydrogen Podcast: Masters of Scale: The World of SOFC & SOE Technologies
Oct 2020
Publication
On this week's episode the EAH team catches up with Mark Selby Chief Technology Officer at Ceres Power to dive into the world of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and solid oxide electrolyzer (SOE) technologies. Ceres Power specializes in the design of SOFCs for applications in a diverse range of energy intensive sectors. Mark takes the time in this episode to walk the team through the details advantages and challenges of deploying SOFCs and low-carbon hydrogen solutions more broadly and discusses how consumer and customer awareness of these technologies varies widely across international markets. We cover a lot of ground this week so be sure not to miss out on our conversation with Mark!
The podcast can be found on their website
The podcast can be found on their website
Different Scenarios of Electric Mobility: Current Situation and Possible Future Developments of Fuel Cell Vehicles in Italy
Jan 2020
Publication
The diffusion of electric vehicles in Italy has started but some complications weight its spread. At present hybrid technology is the most followed by users due particularly to socioeconomic factors such as cost of investment and range anxiety. After a deep discussion of the Italian scenario the aim of the paper is to recognize whether fuel cell technology may be an enabling solution to overcome pollution problems and respect for the environment. The opportunity to use fuel cells to store electric energy is quite fascinating—the charging times will be shortened and heavy passenger transport should be effortless challenged. On the basis of the present history and by investigating the available information this work reports the current e-mobility state in Italy and forecasts the cities in which a fuel cell charging infrastructure should be more profitable with the intention of granting a measured outlook on the plausible development of this actual niche market.
Artificial Intelligence-Based Machine Learning toward the Solution of Climate-Friendly Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles
Jul 2022
Publication
The rapid conversion of conventional powertrain technologies to climate-neutral new energy vehicles requires the ramping of electrification. The popularity of fuel cell electric vehicles with improved fuel economy has raised great attention for many years. Their use of green hydrogen is proposed to be a promising clean way to fill the energy gap and maintain a zero-emission ecosystem. Their complex architecture is influenced by complex multiphysics interactions driving patterns and environmental conditions that put a multitude of power requirements and boundary conditions around the vehicle subsystems including the fuel cell system the electric motor battery and the vehicle itself. Understanding its optimal fuel economy requires a systematic assessment of these interactions. Artificial intelligence-based machine learning methods have been emerging technologies showing great potential for accelerated data analysis and aid in a thorough understanding of complex systems. The present study investigates the fuel economy peaks during an NEDC in fuel cell electric vehicles. An innovative approach combining traditional multiphysics analyses design of experiments and machine learning is an effective blend for accelerated data supply and analysis that accurately predicts the fuel consumption peaks in fuel cell electric vehicles. The trained and validated models show very accurate results with less than 1% error.
Future of Hydrogen as an Alternative Fuel for Next-Generation Industrial Applications; Challenges and Expected Opportunities
Jun 2022
Publication
A general rise in environmental and anthropogenically induced greenhouse gas emissions has resulted from worldwide population growth and a growing appetite for clean energy industrial outputs and consumer utilization. Furthermore well-established advanced and emerging countries are seeking fossil fuel and petroleum resources to support their aviation electric utilities industrial sectors and consumer processing essentials. There is an increasing tendency to overcome these challenging concerns and achieve the Paris Agreement’s priorities as emerging technological advances in clean energy technologies progress. Hydrogen is expected to be implemented in various production applications as a fundamental fuel in future energy carrier materials development and manufacturing processes. This paper summarizes recent developments and hydrogen technologies in fuel refining hydrocarbon processing materials manufacturing pharmaceuticals aircraft construction electronics and other hydrogen applications. It also highlights the existing industrialization scenario and describes prospective innovations including theoretical scientific advancements green raw materials production potential exploration and renewable resource integration. Moreover this article further discusses some socioeconomic implications of hydrogen as a green resource.
Research on Hydrogen Consumption and Driving Range of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle under the CLTC-P Condition
Dec 2021
Publication
Hydrogen consumption and mileage are important economic indicators of fuel cell vehicles. Hydrogen consumption is the fundamental reason that restricts mileage. Since there are few quantitative studies on hydrogen consumption during actual vehicle operation the high cost of hydrogen consumption in outdoor testing makes it impossible to guarantee the accuracy of the test. Therefore this study puts forward a test method based on the hydrogen consumption of fuel cell vehicles under CLTC-P operating conditions to test the hydrogen consumption of fuel cell vehicles per 100 km. Finally the experiment shows that the mileage calculated by hydrogen consumption has a higher consistency with the actual mileage. Based on this hydrogen consumption test method the hydrogen consumption can be accurately measured and the test time and cost can be effectively reduced.
The Role of Research and Innovation in Europe for the Decarbonisation of Waterborne Transport
Sep 2021
Publication
Waterborne transport contributes to around 14% of the overall greenhouse gas emissions of transport in the European Union and it is among the most efficient modes of transport. Nonetheless considering the aim of making the European Union carbon-neutral by 2050 and the fundamental role of waterborne transport within the European economy effort is needed to reduce its environmental impact. This paper provides an assessment of research and innovation measures aiming at decreasing waterborne transport’s CO2 emissions by assessing European projects based on the European Commission’s Transport Research and Innovation Monitoring and Information System (TRIMIS). Additionally it provides an outlook of the evolution of scientific publications and intellectual property activity in the area. The review of project findings suggests that there is no single measure which can be considered as a problem solver in the area of the reduction of waterborne CO2 emissions and only the combination of different innovations should enable reaching this goal. The highlighted potential innovations include further development of lightweight composite materials innovative hull repair methods wind assisted propulsion engine efficiency waste heat electrification hydrogen and alternative fuels. The assessment shows prevalence of funding allocated to technological measures; however non-technological ones like improved vessel navigation and allocation systems also show a great potential for the reduction of CO2 emissions and reduction of negative environmental impacts of waterborne transport.
Ammonia–methane Combustion in Tangential Swirl Burners for Gas Turbine Power Generation
Feb 2016
Publication
Ammonia has been proposed as a potential energy storage medium in the transition towards a low-carbon economy. This paper details experimental results and numerical calculations obtained to progress towards optimisation of fuel injection and fluidic stabilisation in swirl burners with ammonia as the primary fuel. A generic tangential swirl burner has been employed to determine flame stability and emissions produced at different equivalence ratios using ammonia–methane blends. Experiments were performed under atmospheric and medium pressurised conditions using gas analysis and chemiluminescence to quantify emission concentrations and OH production zones respectively. Numerical calculations using GASEQ and CHEMKIN-PRO were performed to complement compare with and extend experimental findings hence improving understanding concerning the evolution of species when fuelling on ammonia blends. It is concluded that a fully premixed injection strategy is not appropriate for optimised ammonia combustion and that high flame instabilities can be produced at medium swirl numbers hence necessitating lower swirl and a different injection strategy for optimised power generation utilising ammonia fuel blends.
Application of Hydrogen and Hydrogen-containing Gases in Internal Combustion Engines
Nov 2019
Publication
The results of studies of the influence of hydrogen and hydrogen-containing gas additives on the parameters of various types of internal combustion engines are analyzed and summarized. It made possible to identify the features of the effect on the combustion of fuel during internal combustion engine operation at partial loads. The dependences of reducing the toxicity and fuel consumption of internal combustion engine on the amount of addition of hydrogen and a hydrogen-containing gas to the air-fuel mixture were obtained. It allowed to establish quantitative effects of free hydrogen in particular to quantify the region of small hydrogen additives and the conditions under which hydrogen exhibits the qualities of a chemically active component of the mixture.
The Potential of Fuel Cells as a Drive Source of Maritime Transport
Nov 2017
Publication
The state of environmental pollution brought about as a result of the modern civilization has been monitored in the interests of the environment and human health since the seventies of the last century. Ensuring the energy security is one of the most basic existential requirements for a functional civilized society. The growing civilizational needs caused by broadly understood development generate demand for the production of all kinds of goods in all sectors of the economy as well as world-wide information transfer. The current energy demand is mostly covered using fossil fuels such as coal oil and natural gas. Some of the energy demand is covered by the energy generated in nuclear reactions and a small part of it comes from renewable energy sources. Energy derived from fossil fuels is inevitably associated with fuel oxidation processes. These processes in addition to generating heat are responsible for the emission of harmful compounds to the atmosphere: carbon monoxide carbon dioxide nitrogen oxides hydrocarbons and particulate matter. These pollutants pose a serious threat to the people as well as the environment in which they live. Due to the large share of fossil fuel energy generation in the process of combustion it becomes necessary to seek other means of obtaining the so-called "clean energy". Fuel cells may have a very high potential in this respect. Their development has enabled attempts to use them in all modes of transport. An important factor in the development of fuel cells is their relatively high efficiency and the coinciding strictening of the emission norms from internal combustion engines used to power maritime transport. Therefore the aim of this article has been to assess the potential of fuel cells as a main source of propulsion power source. A review of the designs of fuel cell systems and their use was performed. The article summarizes the assessment of the potential role of fuel cells as a power source of maritime transport.
An Effective Optimisation Method for Coupled Wind–Hydrogen Power Generation Systems Considering Scalability
Jan 2023
Publication
A wind–hydrogen coupled power generation system can effectively reduce the power loss caused by wind power curtailment and further improve the ability of the energy system to accommodate renewable energy. However the feasibility and economy of deploying such a power generation system have not been validated through large‐scale practical applications and the economic comparison between regions and recommendations on construction are still lacking. In order to solve the aforementioned problems this paper establishes an economic analysis model for the wind–hydrogen coupled power generation system and proposes a linear optimisation‐based priority analysis method focusing on the major net present value for regional energy system as well as a cost priority analysis method for hydrogen production within sample power plants. The case study proves the effectiveness of the proposed analysis methods and the potential to develop wind–hydrogen coupled power generation systems in various provinces is compared based on the national wind power data in recent years. This provides recommendations for the future pilot construction and promotion of wind–hydrogen coupled power generation systems in China.
Recent Progress in Catalysts for Hydrogen-Chlorine Regenerative Fuel Cells
Oct 2020
Publication
The increasing energy demand and the subsequent climate change consequences are supporting the search for sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. In this scenario the link between hydrogen and renewable energy is playing a key role and unitized hydrogen-chlorine (H2-Cl2) regenerative cells (RFCs) have become promising candidates for renewable energy storage. Described herein are the recent advances in cell configurations and catalysts for the different reactions that may take place in these systems that work in both modes: electrolysis and fuel cell. It has been found that platinum (Pt)-based catalysts are the best choice for the electrode where hydrogen is involved whereas for the case of chlorine ruthenium (Ru)-based catalysts are the best candidates. Only a few studies were found where the catalysts had been tested in both modes and recent advances are focused on decreasing the amount of precious metals contained in the catalysts. Moreover the durability of the catalysts tested under realistic conditions has not been thoroughly assessed becoming a key and mandatory step to evaluate the commercial viability of the H2-Cl2 RFC technology.
Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Sustainable Energy: Development and Progress in Selected Developed Countries
Jan 2021
Publication
The sustainable development goals concept towards zero carbon emission set forth by the Paris Agreement is the foundation of decarbonisation implemented in most developed countries worldwide. One of the efforts in the decarbonisation of the environment is through hydrogen fuel cell technology. A fuel cell is an energy converter device that produces electricity via the electrochemical reaction with water as the by-product. The application of fuel cells is strongly related to the economic aspect including local and infrastructure costs making it more relevant to be implemented in a developed country. This work presents a short review of the development and progress of hydrogen fuel cells in a developed country such as Japan Germany USA Denmark and China (in transition between developing to developed status); which championed hydrogen fuel cell technology in their region.
System Analysis and Requirements Derivation of a Hydrogen-electric Aircraft Powertrain
Sep 2022
Publication
In contrast to sustainable aviation fuels for use in conventional combustion engines hydrogen-electric powertrains constitute a fundamentally novel approach that requires extensive effort from various engineering disciplines. A transient system analysis has been applied to a 500 kW shaft-power-class powertrain. The model was fed with high-level system requirements to gain a fundamental understanding of the interaction between sub-systems and components. Transient effects such as delays in pressure build up heat transfer and valve operation substantially impact the safe and continuous operation of the propulsion system throughout a typical mission profile which is based on the Daher TBM850. The lumped-parameters network solver provides results quickly which are used to derive requirements for subsystems and components which support their in-depth future development. E.g. heat exchanger transfer rates and pressure drop of the motor's novel hydrogen cooling system are established. Furthermore improvements to the system architecture such as a compartmentalization of the tank are identified.
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