Netherlands

In order to maximise European national and regional research and innovation potential the European Union is investing in these fields through different funding mechanisms such as the ESIF or H2020 programme. This investment plan is part of the European 2020 strategy where the concept of Smart Specialisation is also included.<br/>Smart Specialisation is an innovation policy concept designed to promote the efficient and effective use of public investment in regional innovation in order to achieve economic growth. The Smart Specialisation Platform was created to support this concept by assisting regions and Member States in developing implementing and reviewing their research and innovation Smart Specialisation strategies.<br/>The Smart Specialisation Platform comprises several thematic platforms. The thematic Smart Specialisation Platform on energy (S3PEnergy) is a joint initiative of three European Commission services: DG REGIO DG ENER and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). The main objective of the S3PEnergy is to support the optimal and effective uptake of the Cohesion Policy funds for energy and to better align energy innovation activities at national local and regional level through the identification of the technologies and innovative solutions that support in the most cost-effective way the EU energy policy priorities.<br/>In the particular case of hydrogen technologies the activities of the platform are mainly focused on supporting the new Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) initiative involving regions and cities. To date more than 80 European cities and regions have committed to participate in this initiative through the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding and more participants are expected to join. S3PEnergy is helping in the identification of potential combination of H2020 funding (provided through FCH JU) and ESIF.<br/>To identify potential synergies among these two funding sources a mapping of the different ESIF opportunities has been performed. In order to map these opportunities Operational Programmes (OPs) and research and innovation strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) of the different European regions and Member States were analysed. The results of this mapping and analysis are presented in this paper."

Hydrogen plays a vital role in the utilisation of renewable energy but ingress and diffusion of hydrogen in a gas turbine can induce hydrogen embrittlement on its metallic components. This paper aims to investigate the hydrogen transport in a non-hydride forming alloy such as Alloy 690 used in gas turbines inspired by service conditions of turbine blades i.e. under the combined effects of stress and temperature. An appropriate hydrogen transport equation is formulated accounting for both stress and temperature distributions of the domain in the non-hydride forming alloy. Finite element (FE) analyses are performed to predict steady-state hydrogen distribution in lattice sites and dislocation traps of a double notched specimen under constant tensile load and various temperature fields. Results demonstrate that the lattice hydrogen concentration is very sensitive to the temperature gradients whilst the stress concentration only slightly increases local lattice hydrogen concentration. The combined effects of stress and temperature result in the highest concentration of the dislocation trapped hydrogen in low-temperature regions although the plastic strain is only at a moderate level. Our results suggest that temperature gradients and stress concentrations in turbine blades due to cooling channels and holes make the relatively low-temperature regions susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement.

Globally the accelerating use of renewable energy sources enabled by increased efficiencies and reduced costs and driven by the need to mitigate the effects of climate change has significantly increased research in the areas of renewable energy production storage distribution and end-use. Central to this discussion is the use of hydrogen as a clean efficient energy vector for energy storage. This review by experts of Task 32 “Hydrogen-based Energy Storage” of the International Energy Agency Hydrogen TCP reports on the development over the last 6 years of hydrogen storage materials methods and techniques including electrochemical and thermal storage systems. An overview is given on the background to the various methods the current state of development and the future prospects. The following areas are covered; porous materials liquid hydrogen carriers complex hydrides intermetallic hydrides electro-chemical storage of energy thermal energy storage hydrogen energy systems and an outlook is presented for future prospects and research on hydrogen-based energy storage

Sustainable fuel-range hydrocarbons can be produced via the catalytic decarboxylation of biomass-derived carboxylic acids without the need for hydrogen addition. In this present study 5 wt% platinum on carbon (Pt/C) has been found to be an effective catalyst for hydrothermally decarboxylating butyric acid in order to produce mainly propane and carbon dioxide. However optimisation of the reaction conditions is required to minimise secondary reactions and increase hydrocarbon selectivity towards propane. To do this reactions using the catalyst with varying parameters such as reaction temperatures residence times feedstock loading and bulk catalyst loading were carried out in a batch reactor. The highest yield of propane obtained was 47 wt% (close to the theoretical decarboxylation yield of 50 wt% on butyric acid basis) corresponding to a 96% hydrocarbon selectivity towards propane. The results showed that the optimum parameters to produce the highest yield of propane from the range investigated were 0.5 g butyric acid (0.57 M aqueous solution) 1.0 g Pt/C (50 mg Pt content) at 300 °C for 1 h. The reusability of the catalyst was also investigated which showed little or no loss of catalytic activity after four cycles. This work has shown that Pt/C is a suitable and potentially hydrothermally stable heterogeneous catalyst for making biopropane a major component of bioLPG from aqueous butyric acid solutions which can be sourced from bio-derived feedstocks via acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation.

This paper presents the results of a demonstration project including building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solar panels a residential building and a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) for combined mobility and power generation aiming to achieve a net zero-energy residential building target. The experiment was conducted as part of the Car as Power Plant project at The Green Village in the Netherlands. The main objective was to assess the end-user’s potential of implementing FCEVs in vehicle-to-grid operation (FCEV2G) to act as a local energy source. FCEV2G field test performance with a Hyundai ix35 FCEV are presented. The car was adapted using a power output socket capable of delivering up to 10 kW direct current (DC) to the alternating current (AC) national grid when parked via an off-board (grid-tie) inverter. A Tank-To-AC-Grid efficiency (analogous to Tank- To-Wheel efficiency when driving) of 44% (measured on a Higher Heating Value basis) was obtained when the car was operating in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) mode at the maximum power output. By collecting and analysing real data on the FCEV power production in V2G mode and on BIPV production and household consumption two different operating modes for the FCEV offering balanced services to a residential microgrid were identified namely fixed power output and load following. Based on the data collected one-year simulations of a microgrid consisting of 10 all-electric dwellings and 5 cars with the different FCEV2G modes of operation were performed. Simulation results were evaluated on the factors of autonomy self-consumption of locally produced energy and net-energy consumption by implementing different energy indicators. The results show that utilizing an FCEV working in V2G mode can reduce the annual imported electricity from the grid by approximately 71% over one year and aiding the buildings in the microgrid to achieve a net zero-energy building target. Furthermore the simulation results show that utilizing the FCEV2G setup in both modes analysed could be economically beneficial for the end-user if hydrogen prices at the pump fall below 8.24 €/kg.

The development of reliable hydrogen sensors is crucial for the safe use of hydrogen. One of the main concerns of end-users is sensor reliability in the presence of species other than the target gas which can lead to false alarms or undetected harmful situations. In order to assess the selectivity of commercial of the shelf (COTS) hydrogen sensors a number of sensors of different technology types were exposed to various interferent gas species. Cross-sensitivity tests were performed in accordance to the recommendations of ISO 26142:2010 using the hydrogen sensor testing facilities of NREL and JRC-IET. The results and conclusions arising from this study are presented.

Power-to-Methane (PtM) can provide flexibility to the electricity grid while aiding decarbonization of other sectors. This study focuses specifically on the methanation component of PtM in 2050. Scenarios with 80–95% CO₂ reduction by 2050 (vs. 1990) are analyzed and barriers and drivers for methanation are identified. PtM arises for scenarios with 95% CO₂ reduction no CO₂ underground storage and low CAPEX (75 €/kW only for methanation). Capacity deployed across EU is 40 GW (8% of gas demand) for these conditions which increases to 122 GW when liquefied methane gas (LMG) is used for marine transport. The simultaneous occurrence of all positive drivers for PtM which include limited biomass potential low Power-to-Liquid performance use of PtM waste heat among others can increase this capacity to 546 GW (75% of gas demand). Gas demand is reduced to between 3.8 and 14 EJ (compared to ∼20 EJ for 2015) with lower values corresponding to scenarios that are more restricted. Annual costs for PtM are between 2.5 and 10 bln€/year with EU28’s GDP being 15.3 trillion €/year (2017). Results indicate that direct subsidy of the technology is more effective and specific than taxing the fossil alternative (natural gas) if the objective is to promote the technology. Studies with higher spatial resolution should be done to identify specific local conditions that could make PtM more attractive compared to an EU scale.

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.

Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier for a low-carbon future energy system as it can be stored on a megaton scale (equivalent to TWh of energy) in subsurface reservoirs. However safe and efficient underground hydrogen storage requires a thorough understanding of the geomechanics of the host rock under fluid pressure fluctuations. In this context we summarize the current state of knowledge regarding geomechanics relevant to carbon dioxide and natural gas storage in salt caverns and depleted reservoirs. We further elaborate on how this knowledge can be applied to underground hydrogen storage. The primary focus lies on the mechanical response of rocks under cyclic hydrogen injection and production fault reactivation the impact of hydrogen on rock properties and other associated risks and challenges. In addition we discuss wellbore integrity from the perspective of underground hydrogen storage. The paper provides insights into the history of energy storage laboratory scale experiments and analytical and simulation studies at the field scale. We also emphasize the current knowledge gaps and the necessity to enhance our understanding of the geomechanical aspects of hydrogen storage. This involves developing predictive models coupled with laboratory scale and field-scale testing along with benchmarking methodologies.

Water electrolysis is the most promising method for efficient production of high purity hydrogen (and oxygen) while the required power input for the electrolysis process can be provided by renewable sources (e.g. solar or wind). The thus produced hydrogen can be used either directly as a fuel or as a reducing agent in chemical processes such as in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. Water splitting can be realized both at low temperatures (typically below 100 °C) and at high temperatures (steam water electrolysis at 500– 1000 °C) while different ionic agents can be electrochemically transferred during the electrolysis process (OH− H+ O2− ). Singular requirements apply in each of the electrolysis technologies (alkaline polymer electrolyte membrane and solid oxide electrolysis) for ensuring high electrocatalytic activity and long-term stability. The aim of the present article is to provide a brief overview on the effect of the nature and structure of the catalyst–electrode materials on the electrolyzer’s performance. Past findings and recent progress in the development of efficient anode and cathode materials appropriate for large-scale water electrolysis are presented. The current trends limitations and perspectives for future developments are summarized for the diverse electrolysis technologies of water splitting while the case of CO2/H2O co-electrolysis (for synthesis gas production) is also discussed.