Applications & Pathways

This report is prepared by thirty of the largest global car manufacturers oil and gas companies utilities equipment manufacturers NGOs governmental and clean energy organisations with the collaboration of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.<br/>The analysis compares the economics sustainability and performance of the vehicles and infrastructures needed to reach the 80% decarbonisation goal set by the<br/>European Union and is an unprecedented effort from industry and other stakeholders to analyse the role of the various new car-types in meeting this objective on the basis of proprietary industrial data.

Government has reviewed the evidence base on options for achieving long term heat decarbonisation. This report provides an overview of the key issues arising from our review and seeks to:

• highlight the different characteristics of the main alternative sources of low carbon heat and the approaches to achieving transformational change
• set out strategically important issues ‘strategic inferences’ which we have drawn from the evidence available to help focus the development of our long term policy framework
• identify areas that require further exploration to inform the development of a new long term policy framework for heat

The review confirmed we need:

• better understanding of the different options available for decarbonising heating
• a clearer common agenda across industry academia and the public sector to ensure effort and resources are effectively and efficiently applied to long term heat decarbonisation issues

We welcome your views on:

• the strategic inferences identified
• the priority areas requiring further development
• any important omissions
• the parties best placed to deliver in these areas
• opportunities for enhancing co-ordination

The chemical and petrochemical sector relies on fossil fuels and feedstocks and is a major source of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions. The techno-economic potential of 20 decarbonisation options is assessed. While previous analyses focus on the production processes this analysis covers the full product life cycle CO2 emissions. The analysis elaborates the carbon accounting complexity that results from the non-energy use of fossil fuels and highlights the importance of strategies that consider the carbon stored in synthetic organic products—an aspect that warrants more attention in long-term energy scenarios and strategies. Average mitigation costs in the sector would amount to 64 United States dollars (USD) per tonne of CO2 for full decarbonisation in 2050. The rapidly declining renewables cost is one main cause for this low-cost estimate. Renewable energy supply solutions in combination with electrification account for 40% of total emissions reductions. Annual biomass use grows to 1.3 gigatonnes; green hydrogen electrolyser capacity grows to 2435 gigawatts and recycling rates increase six-fold while product demand is reduced by a third compared to the reference case. CO2 capture storage and use equals 30% of the total decarbonisation effort (1.49 gigatonnes per year) where about one-third of the captured CO2 is of biogenic origin. Circular economy concepts including recycling account for 16% while energy efficiency accounts for 12% of the decarbonisation needed. Achieving full decarbonisation in this sector will increase energy and feedstock costs by more than 35%. The analysis shows the importance of renewables-based solutions accounting for more than half of the total emissions reduction potential which was higher than previous estimates.

Energy management is a critical issue for the advancement of fuel cell vehicles because it significantly influences their hydrogen economy and lifetime. This paper offers a comprehensive investigation of the energy management of heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles for road freight transportation. An important and unique contribution of this study is the development of an extensive and realistic representation of the vehicle operation which includes 1750 hours of real-world driving data and variable truck loading conditions. This framework is used to analyze the potential benefits and drawbacks of heuristic optimal and predictive energy management strategies to maximize the hydrogen economy and system lifetime of fuel cell vehicles for road freight transportation. In particular the statistical evaluation of the effectiveness and robustness of the simulation results proves that it is necessary to consider numerous and realistic driving scenarios to validate energy management strategies and obtain a robust design. This paper shows that the hydrogen economy can be maximized as an individual target using the available driving information achieving a negligible deviation from the theoretical limit. Furthermore this study establishes that heuristic and optimal strategies can significantly reduce fuel cell transients to improve the system lifetime while retaining high hydrogen economies. Finally this investigation reveals the potential benefits of predictive energy management strategies for the multi-objective optimization of the hydrogen economy and system lifetime.

Fuel cells as clean power sources are very attractive for the maritime sector which is committed to sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas and atmospheric pollutant emissions from ships. This paper presents a technological review on fuel cell power systems for maritime applications from the past two decades. The available fuels including hydrogen ammonia renewable methane and methanol for fuel cells under the context of sustainable maritime transportation and their pre-processing technologies are analyzed. Proton exchange membrane molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cells are found to be the most promising options for maritime applications once energy efficiency power capacity and sensitivity to fuel impurities are considered. The types layouts and characteristics of fuel cell modules are summarized based on the existing applications in particular industrial or residential sectors. The various research and demonstration projects of fuel cell power systems in the maritime industry are reviewed and the challenges with regard to power capacity safety reliability durability operability and costs are analyzed. Currently power capacity costs and lifetime of the fuel cell stack are the primary barriers. Coupling with batteries modularization mass production and optimized operating and control strategies are all important pathways to improve the performance of fuel cell power systems.

This study investigates and controls the optimal operating oxygen excess ratio (OER) for PEMFC which effectively prevents oxygen starvation and improves the hydrogen economy of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Firstly the PEMFC output characteristic model and the five-order nonlinear air supply system model are established. Moreover an adaptive algebraic observer was developed to observe the partial pressure of gas in PEMFC and further reconstruct OER. Secondly to achieve the minimum hydrogen consumption under the required power the reference OER is determined by analyzing the PEMFC system output power with its minimum current. Finally the super-twisting algorithm is adopted to track reference OER. Simulation results show that the average absolute observation errors of oxygen nitrogen and cathode pressures under the Highway Fuel Economy Test are 1351.1 Pa (5.1%) 1724.2 Pa (0.9%) and 409.9 Pa (1.6%) respectively. The OER adjust average absolute error is 0.03. Compared with the commonly used fixed OER (e.g. OER of 1.5 and 2.3) the optimal OER strategy can reduce the hydrogen consumption of the PEMFC system by 5.2% and 1.8% respectively. Besides a DSP hardware in loop test is conducted to show the real-time performance of the proposed optimal method.

Hydrogen has potential applications across our future energy systems due particularly to its relatively high energy weight ratio and because it is emission-free at the point of use. Hydrogen is also abundant and versatile in the sense that it could be produced from a variety of primary energy sources and chemical substances including water and used to deliver power in a variety of applications including fuel cell combined heat and power technologies. As a chemical feedstock hydrogen has been used for several decades and such expertise could be fed back into the relatively new areas of utilising hydrogen to meet growing energy demands.<br/>The UK interest in hydrogen is also growing with various industrial academic and governmental organisations investigating how hydrogen could be part of a diverse portfolio of options for a low carbon future. While hydrogen as an alternative fuel is yet to command mass-appeal in the UK energy market IGEM believes hydrogen is capable of allowing us to use the wide range of primary energy sources at our disposal in a much greener and sustainable way.<br/>IGEM also sees hydrogen playing a small but key role in the gas industry whereby excess renewable energy is used to generate hydrogen which is then injected into the gas grid for widespread distribution and consumption. Various studies suggest admixtures containing up to 10 – 50%v/v hydrogen could be safely administered into the existing natural gas infrastructure. However IGEM understands that this would currently not be permissible under the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations (GS(M)R) for gas conveyance here in the UK. Also proper assessments of the risks associated with adding hydrogen to natural gas streams will need to be performed so that such systems can be managed effectively.<br/>IGEM has also identified a need for standards that cover the safety requirements of hydrogen technologies particularly those pertaining to installations in commercial or domestic environments. IGEM also recommend that the technical measures used to determine separation distances for hydrogen installations particularly refuelling stations are re-assessed through a systematic identification and control of potential sources of ignition.<br/>Hydrogen has the potential to be a significant fuel of the future and part of a diverse portfolio of energy options capable of meeting growing energy needs. This report therefore seeks to demonstrate how hydrogen could be a potential option for energy storage and power generation in a diverse energy system. It also aims to inform the readers on the current state of hydrogen here in the UK and abroad. This report has been assembled for IGEM members interested bodies and the general public.

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.

Arup have conducted interviews with targeted industry and government stakeholders to gather data and perspectives to support the development of this study. Arup have also utilised private and publicly available data sources building on recent work undertaken by Geoscience Australia and Deloitte and the comprehensive stakeholder engagement process to inform our research. This study considers the supply chain and infrastructure requirements to support the development of export and domestic hubs. The study aims to provide a succinct “Hydrogen Hubs” report for presentation to the hydrogen working group.



The hydrogen supply chain infrastructure required to produce hydrogen for export and domestic hubs was identified along with feedback from the stakeholder engagement process. These infrastructure requirements can be used to determine the factors for assessing export and domestic hub opportunities. Hydrogen production pathways transportation mechanisms and uses were also further evaluated to identify how hubs can be used to balance supply and demand of hydrogen.



A preliminary list of current or anticipated locations has been developed through desktop research Arup project knowledge and the stakeholder consultation process. Over 30 potential hydrogen export locations have been identified in Australia through desktop research and the stakeholder survey and consultation process. In addition to establishing export hubs the creation of domestic demand hubs will be essential to the development of an Australian hydrogen economy. It is for this reason that a list of criteria has been developed for stakeholders to consider in the siting and design of hydrogen hubs. The key considerations explored are based on demand supply chain infrastructure and investment and policy areas.



Based on these considerations a list of criteria were developed to assess the viability of export and domestic hydrogen hubs. Criteria relevant to assessing the suitability of export and domestic hubs include:

• Health and safety provisions;
• Environmental considerations;
• Economic and social considerations;
• Land availability with appropriate zoning and buffer distances & ownership (new terminals storage solar PV industries etc.);•
• Availability of gas pipeline infrastructure;
• Availability of electricity grid connectivity backup energy supply or co-location of renewables;
• Road & rail infrastructure (site access);
• Community and environmental concerns and weather. Social licence consideration;
• Berths (berthing depth ship storage loading facilities existing LNG and/or petroleum infrastructure etc.);
• Port potential (current capacity & occupancy expandability & scalability);
• Availability of or potential for skilled workers (construction & operation);
• Availability of or potential for water (recycled & desalinated);
• Opportunity for co-location with industrial ammonia production and future industrial opportunities;
• Interest (projects priority ports state development areas politics etc.);
• Shipping distance to target market (Japan & South Korea);
• Availability of demand-based infrastructure (i.e. refuelling stations).

A framework that includes the assessment criteria has been developed to aid decision making rather than recommending specific locations that would be most appropriate for a hub. This is because there are so many dynamic factors that go into selecting a location of a hydrogen hub that it is not appropriate to be overly prescriptive or prevent stakeholders from selecting the best location themselves or from the market making decisions based on its own research and knowledge. The developed framework rather provides information and support to enable these decision-making processes.

Electrifying energy-intensive processes is currently intensively explored to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through renewable electricity. Electrification is particularly challenging if fossil resources are not only used for energy supply but also as feedstock. Copper production is such an energy-intensive process consuming large quantities of fossil fuels both as reducing agent and as energy supply.

Here we explore the techno-economic potential of Power-to-Hydrogen to decarbonize copper production. To determine the minimal cost of an on-site retrofit with Power-to-Hydrogen technology we formulate and solve a mixed-integer linear program for the integrated system. Under current techno-economic parameters for Germany the resulting direct CO₂ abatement cost is 201 EUR/t CO₂-eq for Power-to-Hydrogen in copper production. On-site utilization of the electrolysis by-product oxygen has a substantial economic benefit. While the abatement cost vastly exceeds current European emission certificate prices a sensitivity analysis shows that projected future developments in Power-to-Hydrogen technologies can greatly reduce the direct CO₂ abatement cost to 54 EUR/t CO₂-eq. An analysis of the total GHG emissions shows that decarbonization through Power-to-Hydrogen reduces the global GHG emissions only if the emission factor of the electricity supply lies below 160 g CO2-eq/kWhel.

The results suggest that decarbonization of copper production by Power-to-Hydrogen could become economically and environmentally beneficial over the next decades due to cheaper and more efficient Power-to-Hydrogen technology rising GHG emission certificate prices and further decarbonization of the electricity supply.