Netherlands

This work presents a review of life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies of hydrogen electrolysis using power from photovoltaic (PV) systems. The paper discusses the assumptions strengths and weaknesses of 13 LCA studies and identifies the causes of the environmental impact. Differences in assumptions of system boundaries system sizes evaluation methods and functional units make it challenging to directly compare the Global Warming Potential (GWP) resulting from different studies. To simplify this process 13 selected LCA studies on PV-powered hydrogen production have been harmonized following a consistent framework described by this paper. The harmonized GWP values vary from 0.7 to 6.6 kg CO2-eq/kg H2 which can be considered a wide range. The maximum absolute difference between the original and harmonized GWP results of a study is 1.5 kg CO2-eq/kg H2. Yet even the highest GWP of this study is over four times lower than the GWP of grid-powered electrolysis in Germany. Due to the lack of transparency of most LCAs included in this review full identification of the sources of discrepancies (methods applied assumed production conditions) is not possible. Overall it can be concluded that the environmental impact of the electrolytic hydrogen production process is mainly caused by the GWP of the electricity supply. For future environmental impact studies on hydrogen production systems it is highly recommended to 1) divide the whole system into well-defined subsystems using compression as the final stage of the LCA and 2) to provide energy inputs/GWP results for the different subsystems.

With a growing need for replacing fossil fuels with cleaner alternatives hydrogen has emerged as a viable candidate for providing heat and power. However stable and safe combustion of hydrogen is not simple and as such a number of key issues have been identified that need to be understood for a safe design of combustion chambers. One such issue is the higher propensity of hydrogen flames to flashback compared to that for methane flames. The flashback problem is coupled with higher burner temperatures that could cause strong thermal stresses in burners and could hinder their performance. In order to systematically investigate flashback in premixed hydrogen-air flames for finding a global flashback criteria in this study we use numerical simulations as a basic tool to study flashback limits of slit burners. Flashback limits are found for varying geometrical parameters and equivalence ratios and the sensitivity of each parameter on the flashback limit and burner temperatures are identified and analyzed. It is shown that the conventional flashback correlation with critical velocity gradient does not collapse the flashback data as it does not take into account stretch induced preferential diffusion effects. A new Karlovitz number definition is introduced with physical insights that collapses the flashback data at all tested conditions in an excellent manner.

The paper presents the first outcomes of the experimental numerical and theoretical studies performed in the funded by Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH2 JU) project HyTunnel-CS. The project aims to conduct pre-normative research (PNR) to close relevant knowledge gaps and technological bottlenecks in the provision of safety of hydrogen vehicles in underground transportation systems. Pre normative research performed in the project will ultimately result in three main outputs: harmonised recommendations on response to hydrogen accidents recommendations for inherently safer use of hydrogen vehicles in underground traffic systems and recommendations for RCS. The overall concept behind this project is to use inter-disciplinary and inter-sectoral prenormative research by bringing together theoretical modelling and experimental studies to maximise the impact. The originality of the overall project concept is the consideration of hydrogen vehicle and underground traffic structure as a single system with integrated safety approach. The project strives to develop and offer safety strategies reducing or completely excluding hydrogen-specific risks to drivers passengers public and first responders in case of hydrogen vehicle accidents within the currently available infrastructure.

Biomass gasification is a versatile thermochemical process that can be used for direct energy applications and the production of advanced liquid and gaseous energy carriers. In the present work the results are presented concerning the H2 production at a high purity grade from biomass feedstocks via steam/oxygen gasification. The data demonstrating such a process chain were collected at an innovative gasification prototype plant coupled to a portable purification system (PPS). The overall integration was designed for gas conditioning and purification to hydrogen. By using almond shells as the biomass feedstock from a product gas with an average and stable composition of 40%-v H2 21%-v CO 35%-v CO2 2.5%-v CH4 the PPS unit provided a hydrogen stream with a final concentration of 99.99%-v and a gas yield of 66.4%.

The development of clean hydrogen and photovoltaic (PV) systems is lagging behind the goals set in the Net Zero Emissions scenario of the International Energy Agency. For this reason efficient hydrogen production systems powered from renewable energy need to be deployed faster. This work presents an optimization procedure for a stand-alone fully PVpowered alkaline electrolysis system. The approach is based on the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm to obtain the best configuration of the PV plant that powers the electrolyzer and its compressor. The best configuration is determined with one of three indicators: cost efficiency or wasted energy. The PV plant needs to be oversized 2.63 times with respect to the electrolyzer to obtain minimum cost while for high efficiency this number increases by 2%. Additionally the configuration that minimizes cost wasted energy or maximizes efficiency does not correspond to the configuration that maximizes the annual PV yield. Optimizing for cost results also leads to the best operation of the electrolyzer at partial loads than optimizing for efficiency or wasted energy.

Recently smart energy hubs with hydrogen conversion and storage have received increased attention in the Netherlands. The hydrogen is to be used for vehicle filling stations industrial processes and heating. The scientific problem addressed in this paper is the proper sizing of capacities for renewable energy generation hydrogen conversion and storage in relation to a feasible business case for the energy hub while achieving security of supply. Scenario analysis is often used during the early stages of the energy planning process and for this an easy-to-use analysis model is required. This paper investigates available modelling approaches and develops an algorithmic modelling method which is worked out in Microsoft Excel and offers ease of use for scenario analysis purposes. The model is applied to case study which leads to important insights such as the expected price of hydrogen and the proper sizing of electrolyser and hydrogen storage for that case. The model is made available open-source. Future work is proposed in the direction of application of the model for other project cases and comparison of results with other available modelling tools.

Synthetic ammonia manufactured by the Haber–Bosch process and its variants is the key to securing global food security. Hydrogen is the most important feedstock for all synthetic ammonia processes. Renewable ammonia production relies on hydrogen generated by water electrolysis using electricity generated from hydropower. This was used commercially as early as 1921. In the present work we discuss how renewable ammonia production subsequently emerged in those countries endowed with abundant hydropower and in particular in regions with limited or no oil gas and coal deposits. Thus renewable ammonia played an important role in national food security for countries without fossil fuel resources until after the mid-20th century. For economic reasons renewable ammonia production declined from the 1960s onward in favor of fossil-based ammonia production. However renewable ammonia has recently gained traction again as an energy vector. It is an important component of the rapidly emerging hydrogen economy. Renewable ammonia will probably play a significant role in maintaining national and global energy and food security during the 21st century.

Enhancing the efficiency of industrial water electrolysis for hydrogen production is important for the energy transition. In electrolysis hydrogen is produced at the cathode which forms bubbles due to the diffusion of dissolved hydrogen in the surrounding supersaturated electrolyte. Hydrogen (and oxygen) bubbles play an important role in the achievable electrolysis efficiency. The growth of the bubbles is determined by diffusive and convective mass transfer. In turn the presence and the growth of the hydrogen bubbles affect the electrolysis process at the cathode.<br/>In the present study we simulate the growth of a single hydrogen bubble attached to a vertical cathode in a 30 wt KOH solution in a cathodic compartment represented by a narrow channel. We solve the Navier-Stokes equations mass transport equations and potential equation for a tertiary current distribution. A sharp interface immersed boundary method with an artificial compressibility method for the pressure is employed. To verify the numerical accuracy of the method we performed a grid refinement study and checked the global momentum and hydrogen mass balances. We investigate the effects of flow rate and operation pressure upon bubble growth behaviour species concentrations potential and current density. We compare different cases in two ways: for the same time and for the same bubble radius. We observe that increasing the flow velocity leads to a small increase in efficiency. Increasing the operation pressure causes higher hydrogen density which slows down the bubble growth. It is remarkable that for a given bubble radius increasing the pressure leads to a small decrease in efficiency.

Hydrogen can be stored and distributed by injecting into existing natural grids then at the user site separated and used in different applications. The conventional technology for hydrogen separation is pressure swing adsorption (PSA). The recent NREL study showed the extraction cost for separating hydrogen from a 10% H2 stream with a recovery of 80% is around 3.3e8.3 US$/kg. In this document new system configurations for low hydrogen concentration separation from the natural gas grid by combining novel membrane-based hybrid technologies will be described in detail. The focus of the manuscript will be on the description of different configurations for the direct hydrogen separation which comprises a membrane module a vacuum pump and an electrochemical hydrogen compressor. These technological combinations bring substantial synergy effect of one another while improving the total hydrogen recovery purity and total cost of hydrogen. Simulation has been carried out for 17 different configurations; according to the results a configuration of two-stage membrane modules (in series) with a vacuum pump and an electrochemical hydrogen compressor (EHC) shows highest hydrogen purity (99.9997%) for 25 kg/day of hydrogen production for low-pressure grid. However this configuration shows a higher electric consumption (configuration B) due to the additional mechanical compressor between the two-stage membrane modules and the EHC. Whereas when the compressor is excluded and a double skin Pd membrane (PdDS) module is used in a single stage while connected to a vacuum pump (configuration A5) the hydrogen purity (99.92%) slightly decreases yet the power consumption considerably improves (1.53 times lower). Besides to these two complementary configurations the combination of a single membrane module a vacuum pump and the electrochemical compressor has been also carried out (configuration A) and results show that relatively higher purity can be achieved. Based on four master configurations this document presents a different novel hybrid system by integrating two to three technologies for hydrogen purification combined in a way that enhances the strengths of each of them.

Natural gas based hydrogen production with carbon capture and storage is referred to as blue hydrogen. If substantial amounts of CO2 from natural gas reforming are captured and permanently stored such hydrogen could be a low-carbon energy carrier. However recent research raises questions about the effective climate impacts of blue hydrogen from a life cycle perspective. Our analysis sheds light on the relevant issues and provides a balanced perspective on the impacts on climate change associated with blue hydrogen. We show that such impacts may indeed vary over large ranges and depend on only a few key parameters: the methane emission rate of the natural gas supply chain the CO2 removal rate at the hydrogen production plant and the global warming metric applied. State-of-the-art reforming with high CO2 capture rates combined with natural gas supply featuring low methane emissions does indeed allow for substantial reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to both conventional natural gas reforming and direct combustion of natural gas. Under such conditions blue hydrogen is compatible with low-carbon economies and exhibits climate change impacts at the upper end of the range of those caused by hydrogen production from renewable-based electricity. However neither current blue nor green hydrogen production pathways render fully “net-zero” hydrogen without additional CO2 removal.