Applications & Pathways

This report identifies the critical research and innovation (R&I) priorities for decarbonising Europe's heavy-duty vehicles based on direct feedback from industry stakeholders. The findings reveal a consensus: battery electric technology is the primary pathway forward with significant stakeholder support for R&I focused on its improvement. While battery electric technology is perceived as more mature hydrogen is considered a complementary solution for the most demanding long-haul routes. Large-scale demonstrations are suggested for de-risking operations and evaluating integration with the transport and energy system. The analysis confirms that achieving TCO parity or better compared to diesel is the most important factor for market uptake. This study provides direct evidence-based guidance for EU transport R&I policy helping to chart the road ahead and orient R&I call programming to meet the ambitious CO₂ emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles.

Amidst the escalating global challenges presented by climate change carbon trading mechanisms have become critical tools for driving reductions in carbon emissions and optimizing energy systems. However existing carbon trading models constrained by fixed settlement cycles face difficulties in addressing the scheduling needs of energy systems that operate across multiple time scales. To address this challenge this paper proposes an optimal scheduling methodology for hydrogen-encompassing integrated energy systems that incorporates a multi-time-scale carbon trading mechanism. The proposed approach dynamically optimizes the scheduling and conversion of hydrogen energy electricity thermal energy and other energy forms by flexibly adjusting the carbon trading cycle. It accounts for fluctuations in energy demand and carbon emissions occurring both before and during the operational day. In the day-ahead scheduling phase a tiered carbon transaction cost model is employed to optimize the initial scheduling framework. During the day scheduling phase real-time data are utilized to dynamically adjust carbon quotas and emission ranges further refining the system’s operational strategy. Through the analysis of typical case studies this method demonstrates significant benefits in reducing carbon emission costs enhancing energy efficiency and improving system flexibility.

Coal replacement with hydrogen is a strategy for reducing carbon emissions from high-temperature industrial processes. Hydrogen lancing is a direct way for introducing hydrogen to existing coal-fired kilns. This work investigates the effects of hydrogen lancing on nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions and ignition behaviour in a pilotscale furnace that employs a 30 % coal replacement with hydrogen lancing. The investigation encompasses the impacts of lancing distance angling and velocity. Advanced measurement techniques including spectrometry and monochromatic digital cameras characterise the flame and assess emissions. The results indicate that the 30 % coal replacement by hydrogen lancing enhances combustion and reduces the emissions of carbon monoxides (CO). The flame characteristics vary with the location of the hydrogen injection generally becoming more-intense than during coal combustion. NOx emissions during lancing are similar or up to double the emissions observed for pure coal combustion depending on the lancing configuration. Increasing the distance between the hydrogen lance and coal burner increases NOx emissions.

In this study the annual electricity consumption of nine real houses from different cities in Türkiye was recorded on a monthly basis. The feasibility of meeting the electrical energy needs of houses with hydrogen and supplying the energy required for hydrogen production using solar panels is examined. The annual electricity consumption of the houses was normalized based on house size. The solar panel area for hydrogen production needed for these houses was defined. Additionally it was calculated that the average volumetric amount of hydrogen produced per hour during peak sun hours in the investigated cities was 1 m3/h. This approach reduced the solar panel area for hydrogen production by a factor of 1.7.

As the consequences of global warming become more severe it is more crucial than ever to capitalize on all locally accessible potential renewable energy sources and produce sufficient useable energy outputs to meet community demands while causing the least damage to the ecosystem. Therefore this paper focuses on a unique parabolic trough collector solar systempowered electro-biomembrane unit that combines a heat and power system with fresh water electricity and hydrogen (H2) production. The proposed integrated system contains the following subsystems: a combining parabolic trough collector solar system an organic Rankine cycle a steam Rankine cycle a multi-stage flash desalination system and an electro-biomembrane H2 and freshwater production system. A thorough analysis and parametric research are performed on the multigeneration system to determine how important characteristics affect system performance and evaluate the energy and exergy efficiency and exergy destruction levels for particular system elements. The study results show that solar irradiation is the most critical parameter for improving system performance. The highest freshwater production of 1303333.3 L/day is observed at the solar irradiation of 935768 kWh/day. Furthermore the combined output of three electricity production technologies exceeds 2000000 kWh/day highlighting the ability of the system to harness solar thermal energy effectively. The findings indicate that using solar power and biomass as renewable energy sources the proposed integrated system provided 328.56 kg of biohydrogen per day. Overall the energy and exergy efficiencies of the integrated system are obtained at 34.3 and 29.5 % respectively.

This article discusses the planning sizing and placement of a vehicle refueling station supplied by renewable energy systems including photovoltaic wind biomass units and an integrated battery system within a smart distribution network. The proposed station comprises facilities for hydrogen fueling and electric vehicle charging stations structured as a bi-level optimization approach. The upper-level model focuses on the planning phase of the refueling station. Its objective is to minimize annual costs associated with construction maintenance and operation. Key constraints involve operational planning for renewable sources battery systems and vehicle refueling stations while accounting for reactive power management. In contrast the lower-level formulation deals with the eco-scheduling of smart distribution grid. Its goal is to minimize the sum of annual energy losses and operation costs within the grid governed by linearized optimal power flow model. To account for uncertainties in demand energy prices renewable generation output and refueling station performance a stochastic optimization framework is employed. The solution is derived using Benders decomposition algorithm to achieve optimal results. The primary innovation highlighted in this paper includes integrating renewable resources and battery systems to power the refueling station leveraging reactive power control for improved station performance and addressing both operational and economic objectives in the distribution system. Numerical results underscore the advantages of this strategy. Constructing a refueling station without battery and renewable units leads to significant drawbacks an increase in network operation cost by 144.6% and grid energy loss by 167.6%. Voltage levels drop below 0.9 per-unit and distribution lines experience severe loading of up to 34.7%. In contrast the proposed plan enhances network economics by 51.3%-74.5% and operational conditions by 17.7%-148.1% effectively showcasing the benefits of incorporating sustainable technologies and advanced planning methods into refueling station development.

This article analyzes the path towards achieving electric energy independence for dormitories. It examines electricity consumption in dormitories to determine the necessary volume for daily electrochemical energy storage systems seasonal hydrogen storage system capacity and photovoltaic (PV) system power. Electricity consumption data from dormitories between 2021 and 2024 were analyzed showing hourly daily and monthly trends. The study developed a mathematical model of hourly electric energy usage and production in Matlab/Simulink to optimize the photovoltaic (PV) system increase self-consumption potential and enhance surplus energy storage. This enabled the selection of capacities for daily and seasonal storage along with PV system power to meet dormitory energy needs particularly in autumn and winter. The software accommodates monthly energy consumption profiles and PV system characteristics allowing for the estimation of electric energy surplus after usage by inhabitants for hydrogen production and storage. The study offers a comprehensive framework for sustainable electric energy management in student housing.

In order to determine thermally safe driving parameters of ignition coils for hydrogen internal combustion engines (ICE) a reliable estimation of internal power losses is essential. These losses include resistive winding losses magnetic core losses due to hysteresis and eddy currents dielectric losses in the insulation and electronic switching losses. Direct experimental assessment is difficult because the components are inaccessible while conventional computer-aided engineering (CAE) approaches face challenges such as the need for accurate input data the need for detailed 3D models long computation times and uncertainties in loss prediction for complex structures. To address these limitations we propose an artificial intelligence (AI)-based framework for estimating internal losses from external temperature measurements. The method relies on an artificial neural network (ANN) trained to capture the relationship between external coil temperatures and internal power losses. The trained model is then employed within an optimization process to identify losses corresponding to experimental temperature values. Validation is performed by introducing the identified power losses into a CAE thermal model to compare predicted and experimental temperatures. The results show excellent agreement with errors below 3% across the −30 ◦C to 125 ◦C range. This demonstrates that the proposed hybrid ANN–CAE approach achieves high accuracy while reducing experimental effort and computational demand. Furthermore the methodology allows for a straightforward determination of the coil safe operating area (SOA). Starting from estimates derived from fitted linear trends the SOA limits can be efficiently refined through iterative verification with the CAE model. Overall the ANN–CAE framework provides a robust and practical tool to accelerate thermal analysis and support coil development for hydrogen ICE applications.

The adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) is essential for achieving sustainable low-carbon transportation but many barriers hinder this transition. Therefore this study aims to identify categorize and prioritize these barriers in the context of the Gulf-Europe corridor also known as the Iraq Development Road Project (DRP). To achieve this we adopt a two-stage methodological framework that integrates the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy AHP) to quantify the relative importance of thirty secondary barriers and Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) to explore the interdependencies among the top ten. The Fuzzy AHP results highlight technological economic and infrastructure-related barriers as the most critical primary barriers. The ISM analysis further reveals that three barriers lack of hydrogen production hubs limited hydrogen transport options and hydrogen storage and transportation are independent. Six barriers fuel cell efficiency and durability hydrogen production and distribution costs vehicle range and refueling time infrastructure investment refueling station compatibility issues and hydrogen purity requirements are classified as linkage barriers. One barrier high initial vehicle cost is found to be dependent. To accelerate HFCVs adoption we recommend strengthening hydrogen infrastructure fostering technological innovation reducing costs through targeted incentives and enhancing policy coordination among stakeholders and policymakers. This study contributes to literature by offering a comprehensive understanding of the adoption barriers and providing actionable insights to support the development of more effective strategies. Notably it uniquely addresses social logistical and technological barriers alongside geographic barriers that have been largely overlooked in previous studies.

This study experimentally investigates the effect of hydrogen addition on combustion and thermal characteristics of impinging non-premixed jet flames for low-heating values gases (LHVGs). We evaluate the flame morphology and stability using a concentric non-premixed combustor with an impingement plate. OH radicals are visualized using the OH* chemiluminescence and OH-planar laser-induced fluorescence (OH-PLIF) system. Emission characteristics are investigated by calculating CO and NOx emission indices. The results show that the flame stability region narrows as the heating value decreases but expands as hydrogen has been added. The low-OH radical intensity of LHVGs increases with the hydrogen addition. EICO and EINOx decrease with the reduction of heating values. EICO rapidly declines near the lifted flame limit due to the premixing of fuel and air downstream of the flame region. The effect of the hydrogen addition on EINOx is insignificant and shows very low emissions. The heat transfer rate into cooling water indicates a linear tendency with thermal power regardless of the fuel type. These findings show that LHVGs can be employed in existing-impinging flame systems so long as they remain within flame sta bility regions. Furthermore hydrogen addition positively affects the expansion of flame stability enhancing the utility of LHVGs.