The Atlantic Council says that the DOE's announcement represents the most substantial public investment in US hydrogen and noted that California and Texas are the hubs of clean hydrogen activities, with a future outlook for blue hydrogen. However, the council mentioned a missed opportunity for hydrogen use in long-haul trucking. To address this, the Atlantic Council made recommendations for policymakers, suggesting a focus on cost sharing for demand-side projects within the H2Hub funding derived from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

According to Siemens Energy, hydrogen is produced on site with a 1 MW electrolyzer, stored in a 1 ton tank to power a Siemens Energy SGT-400 industrial gas turbine.

MIT researchers have developed a new CSP system to produce green hydrogen. The system, which is currently in the conceptual stage, aims to use up to 40% of solar heat for green fuel generation – a significant improvement from previous systems, which only achieved a 7% utilization rate.

“The increase in efficiency could drive down the system’s overall cost, making solar thermochemical hydrogen (STCH) a potentially scalable, affordable option to help decarbonize the transportation industry,” the scientists said. “It is a big step toward realizing solar-made fuels.”

Similar to other STCH designs, the conceptual system can be built around an existing CSP plant, absorbing the receiver’s heat and directing it to split water and produce hydrogen. However, there is a novel two-step thermochemical reaction at the heart of the new system.

“In the first step, water in the form of steam is exposed to a metal. This causes the metal to grab oxygen from steam, leaving hydrogen behind,” the scientists said. “Once hydrogen is separated, the oxidized (or rusted) metal is reheated in a vacuum, which acts to reverse the rusting process and regenerate the metal. With the oxygen removed, the metal can be cooled and exposed to steam again to produce more hydrogen. This process can be repeated hundreds of times.”

The efficiency of this process is related to its train-like design, with box-shaped reactors running on a circular track. Each reactor in the train would house the metal repeatedly going through different thermochemical stations.

“Each reactor would first pass through a hot station, where it would be exposed to the sun’s heat at temperatures of up to 1,500 C. This extreme heat would effectively pull oxygen out of a reactor’s metal,” the group said. “That metal would then be in a ‘reduced' state – ready to grab oxygen from steam. For this to happen, the reactor would move to a cooler station at temperatures around 1,000 C, where it would be exposed to steam to produce hydrogen.”

Another improvement in the system is its ability to recover most of the heat used in the process. It does so by allowing reactors on opposite sides of the circular train-like track to exchange heat through thermal radiation. In addition, a second set of reactors circle around the first train, moving in the opposite direction and operating in cooler temperatures. This allows the evacuation of oxygen from the hotter inner train, without the need for energy-consuming mechanical pumps.

“When fully implemented, this system would be housed in a little building in the middle of a solar field,” said researcher Aniket Patankar. “Inside the building, there could be one or more trains each having about 50 reactors. And we think this could be a modular system, where you can add reactors to a conveyor belt, to scale up hydrogen production.”

The research team said it will build a prototype of the system in the coming year.

“We’re thinking of hydrogen as the fuel of the future, and there’s a need to generate it cheaply and at scale,” said the study’s lead author, Ahmed Ghoniem.

From pv magazine Australia

Boundary Power, a union between West Australian regional utility Horizon Power and Victoria-based electric engineering company Ampcontrol, has officially launched a standalone power system (SAPS) that uses solar power and a renewable hydrogen hydride battery to store and generate electricity when required.

Adam Champion, business development manager for renewables at Ampcontrol, said while the Hydrogen Integrated Stand-Alone Power System (HiSAP), is not yet commercially available, it has been created to explore technical factors across design, integration and operation.

“We will be using these learnings as input into our future renewable energy products,” he said.

The first of the HiSAPS, developed in conjunction with Sydney-based hydrogen energy storage system specialist Lavo and Melbourne-headquartered inverter manufacturer Selectronic Australia, has been installed at Ampcontrol’s LED manufacturing facility at Ringwood in Victoria.

Boundary Power General Manager Simon Duggan said the system uses the company’s Solar Qube, an integrated, foldout, solar-battery-generator combination. However, the traditional diesel generator has been swapped out for a self-contained hydrogen power system developed by Lavo.

“Through the collaboration with Lavo and Selectronic we’ve been able to come up with a uniquely designed solution that paves the way for what we can do in the future with standalone powers systems and renewable energy generation,” he said. “It allows us to demonstrate the capabilities of this Solar Qube unit being powered by a hydrogen electrolyser and storage system rather than using your traditional diesel generator. This is a really, really, really exciting time.”

The demonstration unit includes two systems. The standalone SAPS comprises a 4 kWp rack-mounted solar array, a 16 kWh battery energy storage system and a 7.5 kW inverter. This is coupled with a 20 kWh metal hydride hydrogen energy storage system (HESS) with an additional 6 kWp solar array (part of a rooftop array at the Ringwood facility) and 5 kWh of battery storage. The HESS also incorporates its own 2.3 kW electrolyser and 3 kW fuel cell to ensure all hydrogen used is renewably created on site.

“One of the unique things about the HiSAPS unit compared to standard stand-alone power systems is that it generates its own fuel internally,” Ampcontrol Research Engineer Thomas Steigler said. “It’s generating hydrogen and storing that within the unit.”

The entire system, including communications equipment for integration into metering and reporting systems, is contained within a weatherproof enclosure.

The newly unveiled demonstration unit will supply solar power to Ampcontrol’s Ringwood facility during daylight hours to meet daytime energy demand. Excess energy will be used to charge the battery energy storage system (BESS) and then the HESS. The BESS will be discharged to meet the power demand at night and during peak periods. The HESS will meet energy demand gaps where solar and BESS energy are not available.

The project was partly funded by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) Victoria as part of the state government’s Renewable Hydrogen Commercialisation Pathways Fund.

Duggan said the project has offered an insight into the technology required to build hydrogen systems to store and provide electricity and the demonstration plant will provide crucial insight into the technical, regulatory and safety aspects of integrating hydrogen systems into a standalone power system.

“The funding allowed us to collaborate with experts in the field to design an innovative solution to demonstrate real-world application, paving the way for future commercialisation of HiSAPS,” he said.

Battolyser Systems has developed an energy system to store and supply electricity as a battery and produce hydrogen via electrolysis. It is an optimization of the nickel-iron battery patented by Thomas Edison at the turn of the 20th century. 

The company, which recently started production of its patented dual battery-electrolysis system in the Rotterdam area, currently produces systems up to a couple of megawatts. It aims to manufacture 50 MW systems in its production facility by 2024, and 200 MW by 2025. 

“The technology is based on nickel-iron electrodes. They are combined with alkaline electrolysis technologies that are commercially available today, with a proven track record of 20 to 30 years lifetime,” said Geert Wassens, fundraising associate at Battolyser Systems. “Integration of these technologies remarkably improves performance, lowers cost and increases uptime.”

The electrodes are in a conductive electrolyte circulated through the cells. In the first electrochemical reaction, the electrodes are charged and store electrons, acting as a battery. When one keeps charging (overcharge), hydrogen and oxygen are formed in a subsequent reaction. Gaseous hydrogen is produced at the negative electrode (cathode) and oxygen at the positive electrode (anode).

The company said the system could hit a lower LCOH of around €1.50/kg in the most appropriate locations by 2025. 

“In the most favorable geographies, the Battolyser is able to offer ~€2/kg by 2025. An important note to this analysis is that it does not yet include the positive economic impacts of discharging electricity from the Battolyser to the grid, it only considers revenue from producing hydrogen,” Wassens told pv magazine. “Therefore, the advantage in LCOH of Battolyser over competing alternatives will be even greater. Including this value, the LCOH is near to €1.50/kg.”

Battolyser Systems said the battery function can monetize daily power imbalances, while the hydrogen can monetize seasonal power imbalances and provide feedstock to industries that cannot be electrified. It said it can reach up to 85% system efficiency and up to 90% at stack level.

Battolyser Systems has signed a deal to develop a second production facility in the Rotterdam area. In 2026, the production facility, co-owned by the Rotterdam port authority, will be commissioned to add 1 GW of production capacity.

Battolyser Systems and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have also signed a €40 million financing agreement in Rotterdam during World Hydrogen Week.

“The financing will enable the company to scale its production facility in Rotterdam towards mass production of its combined electricity storage and electrolyzer stack system,” said Battolyser Systems.

The company said it does not use any critical raw materials, resorting only to nickel and iron, in line with the recent normative and political developments at the European level, including the RED II and the Critical Raw Materials Act. 

“We have a number of hydrogen projects in the pipeline that we are looking to sign in the near future, although perhaps not necessarily still this year,” an EIB spokesperson told pv magazine. 

India and Saudi Arabia have agreed to jointly develop electrical interconnections and low-carbon hydrogen. The Indian government said the two sides aim to establish a general framework for cooperation in the field of co-production of green/clean hydrogen and renewable energy.

Saudi Aramco and Denmark’s Topsoe have announced plans to demonstrate eREACT technology for blue hydrogen production. They will build a demonstration plant at the Shaybah Natural Gas Liquids recovery plant in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) will operate and demonstrate the world's first passenger hydrogen-powered train, the Coradia iLint, in Riyadh in October. The French train manufacturer, Alstom, will conduct this unique journey, with the train traveling 10 to 20 kilometers on Riyadh's East Network's Line 1 or Line 2.

Masdar has partnered with Boeing to advance the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry in the United Arab Emirates and globally. SAF, produced from sources such as green hydrogen, can reduce carbon emissions by up to 85% compared to petroleum jet fuel.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has launched its new Hydrogen Headstart program, supporting large-scale hydrogen projects over a 10-year period. “AHC [Australian Hydrogen Council] called for the Federal Government to act quickly to ensure hydrogen projects in Australia have certainty in the face of fierce global market competition, and we are pleased they have recognised the urgency,” said Fiona Simon, CEO of the Australian Hydrogen Council. Expressions of Interest are now open, and will close 10 November 2023.

Repsol has started its 2.5 MW electrolyzer at the Petronor industrial center in Spain, supplying renewable hydrogen for industrial use, buses, and heavy vehicles.

Thyssenkrupp nucera and Neste have announced plans to incorporate a 120 MW water electrolyzer into Neste’s Porvoo refinery in Finland.

ADNOC has announced a final investment decision (FID) and contract awards for the Hail and Ghasha offshore gas project, set to produce over 1.5 billion standard cubic feet per day of gas by the end of the decade. The project aims to capture 1.5 million tonnes per year (mtpa) of CO2, bringing ADNOC’s carbon capture investment to nearly 4 mtpa, with CO2 captured, transported onshore, stored underground, and low-carbon hydrogen production for emissions reduction. ADNOC awarded $17 billion in contracts, including the first EPC contract for offshore facilities to a joint venture between National Petroleum Construction Company and Saipem and another for onshore scope, including CO2 and sulfur recovery, to Tecnimont.

Essar Oil UK has chosen Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as the technology license partner for its CCS project, the EET Industrial Carbon Capture facility in Stanlow, furthering investments in CCS, hydrogen, and biofuels.

Iveco and Hyundai have revealed the first Iveco Bus E-way H2, a 12-meter low-floor city bus equipped with a 310-kW e-motor and an advanced fuel cell system from Hyundai's HTWO. The bus features four hydrogen tanks with a total storage capacity of 7.8 kg and a 69 kWh battery pack by FPT Industrial. Production will take place in Annonay, France, and Foggia, Italy, offering a driving range of 450 km under typical operating conditions.

The government of the Philippines has invited all interested parties to provide feedback on the proposed Department Circular regarding a national policy framework for hydrogen in the energy sector. The government noted a preference for hydrogen and its derivatives production from renewables, providing details on funding opportunities as part of the nation's efforts to establish a policy framework and support infrastructure.

Everfuel and Hy24 have successfully completed the establishment of their joint venture, with Everfuel owning 51% and the Hy24-managed Clean Hydrogen Infrastructure Fund holding 49%. The venture will finance electrolyzer capacity development across the Nordics, focusing on the EU market. The first acquisition by the venture is Everfuel's HySynergy Phase 1 flagship project, valued at €26.9 million ($28.3 million) with a debt-free asset value of €44.9 million.

Mattiq is developing a range of alternatives to iridium, a costly and rare element crucial in proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers. The alternatives offer comparable or superior performance at a significantly lower cost, according to the Chicago-based company. It achieved this by evaluating “millions of combinations” of different elements for their suitability in industrial applications.

Hystar has unveiled plans for a fully automated 4 GW electrolyzer factory set to be delivered in Høvik, Norway, by 2025, with construction commencing in early 2024. The company is also expanding its operations to North America, with a new location scheduled for 2024 and a multi-gigawatt factory scheduled for 2027. It is starting the hiring process for its North American headquarters as part of this expansion. In addition, the PEM electrolyzer specialist is in talks with key stakeholders in the United States and Canada to establish its first gigawatt factory on the continent, with ambitions to surpass its European plans within the decade.

Air Liquide and Trillium Energy Solutions have agreed to collaborate in the US heavy-duty hydrogen fueling market. They will focus on hydrogen supply and refueling infrastructure to accelerate the heavy-duty hydrogen transportation ecosystem. The partnership's initial phase involves deploying hydrogen stations along a strategically significant trucking route.

Daimler Truck says that a public road-approved prototype of the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck covered 1,047 km with one fill of liquid hydrogen. The test “has successfully demonstrated that hydrogen fuel-cell technology can be the right solution to decarbonize flexible and demanding long-haul road transportation.” The truck completed the run fully loaded, with a gross combined vehicle weight of 40 tons under real-life conditions. Ahead of the run, cryogenic liquid hydrogen at minus 253 degrees Celsius was filled into two 40 kg tanks mounted on either side of the truck chassis.

Mauritania could be in an advantageous position to export hydrogen to international markets, potentially surpassing countries such as Morocco and Egypt in this regard, according to Michaël Tanchum, a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute. Mauritania's smaller population, vast coverage by the Sahara Desert with abundant direct normal irradiation (DNI) levels, and rich wind energy resources contribute to its favorable position. Additionally, being the only Sahel nation with a coastline allows Mauritania to facilitate off-take for export markets.

Galp has made a final investment decision on two large-scale projects to reduce the carbon footprint of the Sines refinery, including a 100 MW of electrolyzers for up to 15 ktpa of green hydrogen production. The unit, for a total investment of €250 million, is expected to have its first start up in 2025. The electrolyzers will be supplied by renewable power, originating from long-term supply agreements. Plug Power was awarded the order for the 100 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, while Technip Energies will be the main EPCM provider.

From pv magazine Australia

Fortescue Future Industries’ planned facility, officially proposed at the Willow Cale Industrial Park in Prince George, BC, will produce roughly 140,000 tons of hydrogen and 700,000 tons of ammonia per year, which would be used for both domestic use and export.

The project will need 1,000 MW of power from BC Hydro to produce green hydrogen by electrolysis, which will then be processed into green ammonia. The company has also started the environmental approval process required by the provincial government.

The project has taken considerable planning with local and regional leaders. In the latter part of 2021, Fortescue signed agreements with three First Nations groups in Canada, laying the ground for it to plan green hydrogen projects across Canada. This included the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation in British Columbia, with whom the company has negotiated a benefit-sharing agreement.

Billionaire Andrew Forrest, who founded FFI and is currently executive chairman at parent company Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), recently traveled to Prince George to announce the project proposal. Forrest met with Lheidli T’enneh First Nation Chief Dolleen Logan during his visit.

“[Prince George has] got clean air. It’s got heaps of water. It’s got heaps of electricity,” said Forrest. “It’s got everything going for it, and so this first 1,000 MW facility sounds really big, but it’s a stepping stone to what could be built out here in this beautiful part of the world.”

Earlier this year, the government of British Columbia offered the city of Prince George funding over a period of two years to help it become a regional hub for hydrogen. The provincial government has identified Prince George as an ideal location, given the industry’s foothold and promise in the region.

To continue reading, please visit our pv magazine Australia website.

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has identified hydrogen seeps in PEL 691, an exploration permit awarded to H2EX in June 2022 in South Australia. “We now focus our attention to mapping the subsurface to identify commercial accumulations of natural hydrogen,” said H2EX CEO Mark Hanna. H2EX will deploy Space Technologies' passive seismic sensors, with a survey scheduled for the fourth quarter.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that low-emission hydrogen represents less than 1% of global production and use, with ongoing low capacity and volumes due to developers awaiting government support amid rising costs. The IEA's latest report warns of rising expenses threatening project profitability, due to global energy crises, high inflation, and supply chain disruptions. “This confluence of factors is particularly detrimental for an industry that faces high upfront costs related to equipment manufacturing, construction, and installation,” it said. China leads in hydrogen investments, with electrolyzer capacity set to triple to 2GW by the end of 2023, with China contributing half.

Verdagy, an electrolyzer company, has announced the opening of a new factory in Newark, California. It is set to manufacture advanced water electrolyzers at scale in the United States starting in the first quarter of 2024. The company aims to achieve the US Department of Energy’s goal of $2/kg of levelized cost of hydrogen by 2026.

Laurence Boisramé, global director of hydrogen at Bureau Veritas, says that Europe is developing a set of measures that could increase its industrial and commercial weight in the global hydrogen market.

Despite some delays in production, Europe is reportedly “still in the race.” Boisramé explained that a clear policy push is leading to significant advancements in the European Union and the United States. She noted European measures such as RePowerEU and the Fit for 55 package, but also the definition of “clean hydrogen” and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States. 

“After the IRA announcement, some players have questioned the industrial and commercial leadership of Europe. Latest initiatives such as H2Global and more recently announced European Hydrogen Bank are instrumental to the development of production and commercialization of green hydrogen and derivatives,” Boisramé told pv magazine. “On the legal side, [the non-biological origin] definition is also a major milestone. Despite one can criticize the outcome, it provides the long-standing expected visibility.”

She said the question is whether the European definition of renewable hydrogen and derivatives, reported in the delegated act on renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO), can become a global reference.

Boisramé said that standardization, transparency, clear rules and definitions are essential to increasing trust in the energy sector, even more so in the hydrogen market. 

“Trust will come with real transparency, where production projects will be assessed by independent third parties providing assurance that they comply with the rules. This is where certification comes in,” she added, in reference to independent third parties such as certification bodies. 

Mutual recognition will be necessary globally to create a commoditized market and allow cross-border trading. Alternatively, countries, companies, and other stakeholders have to align on standard rules at the multinational level. 

“This is promoted by several global organizations such as AIE, IRENA, IPHE, and the Hydrogen Council, to name a few,” she said. “But getting to a global consensus will take time, at least a few years.”

Role of certification

The role of certification is to ensure conformity to a standard, which can be a global standard, a regulatory regime, or a voluntary scheme. 

“Currently, there is no global standard or regulatory certification scheme applying to hydrogen production worldwide,” said Boisramé. “Some countries are developing rules and certification schemes applying to domestic production, especially to grant public support.”

Bureau Veritas has developed a voluntary certification scheme to ensure that hydrogen production is safe, sustainable, and from renewable inputs, with a maximum carbon footprint of 2 kg CO2eq per kilogram of hydrogen. 

“This certification scheme addresses production assets worldwide with a single methodology applying globally. Recently, the certification has been extended to ammonia produced from the conversion of renewable hydrogen,” she said, explaining that the schemes should accelerate permitting and acceptability, while fostering project bankability.

Bureau Veritas is also performing audits and inspections of suppliers to assess the supply chain's performance and resilience, decreasing the risks connected to the projects. 

Boisramé noted the ongoing increase in the number of projects announced across different regions, fostered by government strategies and incentives schemes. 

“However, we are far from achieving a mature industry, with a lot to be put in place such as global standards, same definitions, and rules as the basis for international trade of hydrogen and derivatives,” she said. 

Boisramé also pointed to an acceleration in the number of production projects in the United States and China, despite delays in the definition of incentives supporting the demand side for green or decarbonized hydrogen. 

“Other countries such as Australia, India, Spain, and the United Kingdom can see an acceleration in the number of production projects as well,” Boisramé said. “In terms of import infrastructure, Europe is the more advanced, especially northwestern Europe with import hubs (such as Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Hamburg) already involved in concrete development, bilateral agreements, investing in terminals evolution to anticipate hydrogen and derivatives offloading, storage and handling.”

From pv magazine USA

New research from NREL and Colorado State University (CSU) shows that consumers could develop more confidence in switching to hydrogen-fueled vehicles if fueling station operators use predictive models that help them plan for maintenance needs.

According to the research, one of the key issues consumers of fuel cell electric vehicles could face is when hydrogen refueling stations shut down for unscheduled maintenance issues, and this could slow the adoption of these zero-emission vehicles. However, the authors pointed to a “prognostics health monitoring” model that they said could help hydrogen refueling stations avoid these shut downs.

Motorists expect to be able to fuel their vehicles without any problems, and drivers of hydrogen-fueled cars should have the same experience, Jennifer Kurtz, lead author of the paper, said. Kurtz  leads NREL’s Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Center.

“This predictive model can let station operators know in advance when a problem might occur and minimize any disruptions that motorists might experience with hydrogen fueling,” Kurtz said.

NREL is the US Department of Energy's (DoE) primary laboratory for research and development connected to renewable energy and energy efficiency. This latest paper was funded by the DoE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office.

The research focuses on a specific model called hydrogen station prognostics health monitoring, or H2S PHM, which uses data to reduce the frequency of unscheduled maintenance, and instead increase the frequency of preventive maintenance.

The model looks at how many fills the refueling station has completed to figure out the probability that a component will continue working, and can also estimate the remaining useful life of each component, helping to lower maintenance costs.

However, this model has its own limitations when looking at the reliability of a hydrogen station, since it cannot predict sudden failures caused by human error.

One of the most common reasons that hydrogen refueling stations shut down without warning is due to issues with the dispenser system, which includes hoses and dispenser valves, according to the National Fuel Cell Technology Evaluation Center.

Hydrogen refueling stations are still relatively rare in the U.S. As of this year, there were 59 retail hydrogen refueling stations in the United States, mostly in California, according to the DoE – compared to the 10,000 gas stations in the state.

“With relatively few choices, motorists who rely on hydrogen must be confident their needed fuel is available. Station operators must make any necessary repairs to meet the demands of consumers, but they also must investigate the causes of any failures to avoid future problems,” said NREL.

However, this could soon be changing. This year, fuel cell electric vehicle manufacturer Nikola Corporation received $58.2 million from different regulatory agencies to set up a hydrogen refueling station network for heavy-duty trucks. And last year, Daimler Truck North America, NextEra Energy Resources and BlackRock Renewable Power announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding to take a closer look at designing, installing and operating a charging network for medium- and heavy-duty battery electric vehicles as well as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles across the nation, with an initial investment of $650 million.

From pv magazine Germany

German hydrogen specialist Enapter has developed a new electrolyzer for industrial applications.

The AEM Flex 120 system has up to 50 AEM stack modules and is designed to ensure flexible operation and high responsiveness to fluctuating loads from renewable energy, the manufacturer said. It added that it is specifically aimed at green hydrogen production in the range of 70 kW to 500 kW, to serve the needs of the refueling sector.

Enapter said it is possible to start with hydrogen production between 70 kW and 120 kW and then gradually expand. With an optional drying system, the device is expected to produce around 53 kg of hydrogen per day, with a purity of 99.999%.

The manufacturer said the new product closes the gap between its electrolyzers AEM EL 4 with a capacity of 1 kg per day and the AEM Multicore system with a capacity of 450 kg per day.

The company also said the electrolyzer comes with energy management software that enables the remote control of hydrogen production, storage and transmission.  The product is mounted on a frame and designed for easy and quick integration into the customer environment.

Enapter said it developed the first commercial product for the German company ABC-Klinker, a brick manufacturer that wants to gradually replace natural gas.

“ABC-Klinker chose the ‘AEM Flex 120' primarily to counteract price fluctuations in natural gas and to be able to start producing and using cost-effective, clean gas at short notice,” said Enapter.

Hitachi Energy has supplied Ovako with a modular eHouse solution for the electrification of a 20 MW electrolyzer in Hofors, Sweden. The project marks the world's first steel plant to use hydrogen for heating before the rolling process. Beyond steel heating, the hydrogen will fuel cell-powered trucks, and surplus heat from the plant will support district heating. Hitachi Energy's delivery includes a modular Grid-to-Stack solution, with components such as transformers, rectifiers, control equipment, and high-current connections to convert alternating current from the distribution grid into the direct current required for the electrolyzer. The company has collaborated on the system's development with Volvo Group, H2 Green Steel, and Nel Hydrogen.

Enapter has expanded its product lineup with the introduction of the “AEM Flex 120,” a new AEM electrolyzer for industrial and refueling pilot projects. The AEM Flex 120 features up to 50 AEM Stack core modules, ensuring high reactivity to fluctuating renewable energy sources. It can produce approximately 53 kg of hydrogen per day at 99.999 percent purity, with the option for a dryer. This electrolyzer addresses the market gap between Enapter's AEM Electrolyser EL 4 (1 kg/day) and its megawatt-scale AEM Multicore (450 kg/day), and the company is scaling up its production capacities to meet demand.

The Port of Rotterdam and the inland Port of Duisburg have jointly presented the findings of a feasibility study focused on North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The results show a significant local increase in demand for low-carbon hydrogen, exceeding 3 million tons per year until 2045. To meet this growing demand for green hydrogen in the medium term, the study recommends completing the first hydrogen pipeline between the two ports by 2027. Subsequently, pipelines for hydrogen derivatives and CO2 export should follow, complementing the essential roles of inland shipping and rail transport.

Rina, in collaboration with SEA Aeroporti di Milano and the local branch of the Italian enterprises federation Confindustria, has launched the Hydrogen Valley Malpensa project – Italy's first hydrogen valley in an airport environment. The project's objective is to establish a complete hydrogen supply chain ecosystem by September 2027. Participants in the project include Air Pullman, Artelys, Circe, Emisia, and Lhyfe Labs, making it a collaborative effort involving various stakeholders.

Nuvera Fuel Cells has agreed to supply a hydrogen fuel cell system for a reachstacker developed by Hyster, which has been delivered to the Port of Valencia in Spain as part of the H2Ports project. This initiative aims to introduce hydrogen-powered vehicles and equipment into port operations. “The hydrogen is stored in high-pressure tanks and can be refilled less than 15 minutes,” said Nuvera Fuel Cells. “The hydrogen fuel cell charges the batteries, which power the electric motors and hydraulic systems, enabling the reachstacker to lift laden containers with comparable performance to a diesel alternative.”

Turkey has started talks with the United Arab Emirates to produce hydrogen and construct an offshore wind facility in Mediterranean waters. “We have a great potential in renewable energy, especially solar and wind,” Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar reportedly said. On social media, he outlined Turkey's energy goals: 42,000 MW of solar, 18,000 MW of wind, and 5,000 MW of offshore wind power by 2035. He also emphasized Turkey's focus on technology transfer in negotiations with Russia for a second nuclear power plant.

TotalEnergies and Air Liquide have signed an agreement for the long-term supply of green and low-carbon hydrogen to a TotalEnergies refining and petrochemical platform in Normandy, France. Air Liquide will build and operate the Normand'hy electrolyzer, with a total electrical capacity of 200 MW. TotalEnergies will supply around 700 GWh/year of “renewable and low carbon power” to the Air Liquide electrolyzer for half of its capacity.

TotalEnergies has also launched a call for tenders to supply 500,000 tons per year of green hydrogen by 2030. The French energy company will use it in its six European refineries in Antwerp (Belgium), Leuna (Germany), Zeeland (Netherlands), Normandy, Donges, and Feyzin (France), and its two biorefineries in La Mède and Grandpuits (France).

Everfuel has decided to prioritize green hydrogen production capacity development and reduce refueling network investments by high-grading its existing portfolio of refueling stations and projects. It said the decision follows a realignment of strategy, with a new focus on scaling green hydrogen production “to capture significant value creation opportunities led by recent market developments in Germany and Denmark.”

H2FLY has completed what it calls “the world's first piloted flight of a liquid hydrogen-powered electric aircraft.” The flight near Maribor, Slovenia, is part of a test campaign. The Stuttgart-based company's HY4 demonstrator aircraft is a piloted plane with an electric fuel cell propulsion system powered by cryogenically stored liquid hydrogen. “Results of the test flights indicate that using liquid hydrogen in place of gaseous hydrogen will double the maximum range of the HY4 aircraft from 750 km to 1,500 km,” said H2FLY. It now wants to scale up its tech for regional aircraft. The test campaign also involves Air Liquide, Pipistrel Vertical Solutions, the German Aerospace Center, EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies, and Fundación Ayesa.

Solaris has secured several hydrogen bus orders in Italy. TPER, Bologna's municipal public transport operator, will purchase 130 Urbino12 hydrogen buses, with an option to extend the order by an additional 140 vehicles. The 70 kW fuel cell will derive hydrogen from five composite tanks on the bus roof. The full tanks can hold 37.5 kg of hydrogen. The first batch of 37 vehicles will be delivered in 2024, and the rest in the 2025-26 period. Venice's transport operator, Azienda Veneziana della Mobilità, has also ordered 90 hydrogen Solaris buses, with 75 of them being the 12-meter Urbino12 version. “These vehicles will be delivered to Venice gradually, starting from November 2025, and the deliveries will be completed in the first weeks of 2026,” said Solaris.

Tanaka has signed a technical assistance deal with Chengdu Guangming to bring its fuel cell electrode catalyst manufacturing technologies to China. The Japanese precious metals producer will install production equipment at the Ya'an Guangming Paite Precious Metal plant and intends to begin full-scale production in summer 2024. The companies aim to launch fuel cell electrode catalyst production for the Chinese market by the end of 2025. Tanaka is manufacturing electrode catalysts for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEFCs) and polymer electrolyte water electrolysis (PEWE) using platinum and iridium.

UHL has set up a joint venture with PWRH2 in Shenzhen, China, to sell hydrogen generators in Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe, and North America. UHL executed the deal through one company of its group, which now owns 35% of the Chinese production company. The Australia-based hydrogen conglomerate said it will target customers in the United Kingdom, North American, the Asia-Pacific, and Europe, given the advanced hydrogen infrastructure in these markets. It said that expanding its presence will be instrumental in achieving its planned stock listing in the fourth quarter of 2023.

NGEL, a wholly owned subsidiary of India's NTPC, has signed a deal with Nayara Energy to explore opportunities in the green hydrogen segment. NTPC is India's largest power utility, with a total installed capacity of more than 73 GW. 

Technische Universität Berlin researchers have determined that the most cost-effective strategy for achieving carbon neutrality in Europe by the mid-century involves expanding the power grid and establishing a hydrogen network. The study, titled “The potential role of a hydrogen network in Europe,” indicates that the hydrogen network, which can use existing gas pipelines, consistently reduces system costs. While power grid expansion achieves savings, the most significant cost reductions are achieved when both networks are expanded together.

Lhyfe and VSB Energies Nouvelles have signed a 16-year electricity supply contract. Under this agreement, Lhyfe Bretagne will receive 100% of the green electricity generated by VSB Energies Nouvelles' Buléon wind farm. The green hydrogen produced at the Buléon site will serve local mobility and industrial processes. The hydrogen production facility, with a capacity of 5 MW, is expected to be operational by late 2023.

Nortegas has successfully completed the third phase of tests for its H2SAREA project. During this phase, a mixture of 15% hydrogen and 85% natural gas was injected into a scaled replica of the company's distribution networks. This achievement demonstrates the technical feasibility of blending hydrogen and natural gas, paving the way for its short-term use. Nortegas aims to complete 20% blending tests before the end of 2023.

Germany's Oldenburg Trade Supervisory Office has granted approval for the construction and operation of two 100 MW electrolysers at RWE‘s Emsland natural gas power plant in Lingen. The 200 MW plant, the first of its size in Germany, can produce up to 35,000 metric tons of green hydrogen annually. RWE plans to establish hydrogen production capacities of 300 MW by 2027 and will commission a 14 MW pilot plant in Lingen by the end of 2023.

Thyssenkrupp nucera shares have been added to the SDAX selection index, which consists of the 70 largest and most liquid companies below the MDAX. With thyssenkrupp AG holding 50.2% of the shares, De Nora owning 25.9%, and Energy Solutions Company holding approximately 6%, thyssenkrupp nucera's free float is around 18%.

Plastic Omnium says it plans to construct North America's largest hydrogen storage manufacturing plant in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan. This $170 million investment aims to supply a major American automaker with high-pressure hydrogen vessels for medium and heavy-duty zero-emissions mobility. The facility, with an annual production capacity of up to 100,000 hydrogen vessels, is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2026 with the goal of achieving 100% carbon neutrality.

From pv magazine Brazil

Sao Paulo-based consulting firm Clean Energy Latin America (CELA) has launched a green hydrogen production cost index that applies to several Brazilian states. The new tool was developed based on CELA's own modeling and its experience with multiple H2V projects in Brazil. It said it will be updated every six months.

The cost index for producing green hydrogen in Brazil takes into account the nation's unique characteristics, encompassing factors like taxation, renewable resources such as solar and wind energy used in electrolysis to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water, as well as logistical aspects including investment data for plants, operational expenses, and capital costs.

In its inaugural release, CELA's LCoH Brazil Index reveals that it is currently feasible to manufacture green hydrogen in select strategic locations within Brazil at a levelized cost ranging from $2.87/kg to $3.56/kg. However, with optimization and incentives, these costs could potentially decrease to as low as $1.69/kg, making them highly competitive when compared to gray hydrogen derived from fossil fuels, known for its environmental impact.

Camila Ramos, the executive director of CELA, noted the index's significance as a valuable tool for decision-making regarding investments in H2V (hydrogen-to-vehicle) plants in Brazil. She said that it provides greater certainty regarding the economic viability and attractiveness of such projects.

“It is essential to choose the best location for the project, based on the consumer market for this green hydrogen and the technical and regulatory conditions of the state, which will make the difference in the financial viability of the project,” she said. “The index can also be a great guide for the technical and financial optimization of a project and a very clear signal to the Brazilian authorities about the importance of new incentives for the production of green hydrogen in the country.”

ACWA Power has signed strategic agreements with six Italian partners to bolster cooperation in green hydrogen, water desalination, and R&D. The Saudi Arabian energy company will consider cooperative opportunities with Eni in green hydrogen, renewables, and R&D in “sustainable” technologies. Industrie De Nora will provide ACWA Power with expertise in electrochemistry, focusing on water projects and green hydrogen applications. 

Toyota has unveiled its prototype Hilux hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, with an expected driving range of more than 600 km. “The ground-breaking pick-up was revealed at Toyota Manufacturing UK’s vehicle plant in Derby, England, where it has been developed in a joint project with consortium partners, supported by UK government funding,” said the Japanese carmaker. 

HDF Energy has started development studies to install the first green hydrogen power plant in Kenya. “The first Renewstable being developed by HDF in Kenya will see the deployment of 180 MW of solar PV combined with 500 MWh of long-term hydrogen-based storage, for an investment valued around $500 million,” said the French developer of green hydrogen projects, at the recent Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi.

The Port of Valencia has taken delivery of its first hydrogen-powered container stacker. The large machine – used in bulk material handling, developed by Hyster – will be assembled this week and will receive its first hydrogen charge. “This prototype joins the hydrogen-powered tractor unit and the mobile hydrogen supply station (HRS) which will be tested in real operating conditions in the Port of Valencia from this month until December 2024,” said the Port of Valencia.

North Africa‘s hydrogen focus could divert leaders from addressing domestic social issues linked to the migration crisis, warns Rabah Arezki, director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). If hydrogen becomes viable, exports to Europe may benefit elites, posing challenges such as exchange rate fluctuations. It could also reinforce a social contract under which citizens accept subsidies while elites profit from hydrogen production – akin to oil-exporting nations in the region. The Southern Mediterranean countries will face greater economic challenges during the energy transition, partly due to higher capital costs, says Arezki.

Acciona Energía has secured an agreement in Aruba to develop a green hydrogen valley in the Caribbean nation. The renewable electricity will be used to produce green hydrogen, and the excess output will be used on the island, said Madrid-based Acciona Energía.