Norway

Maritime transport accounts for around 3% of global anthropogenic Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Well-to-Wake) and these emissions must be reduced with at least 50% in absolute values by 2050 to contribute to the ambitions of the Paris agreement (2015). Zero carbon fuels made from renewable sources (hydro wind or solar) are by many seen as the most promising option to deliver the desired GHG reductions. For the maritime sector these fuels come in two forms: First as E-Hydrogen or E-Ammonia; Second as Hydrocarbon E-fuels in the form of E-Diesel E-LNG or E-Methanol. We evaluate emissions energy use and cost for E-fuels and find that the most robust path to these fuels is through dual-fuel engines and systems to ensure flexibility in fuel selection to prepare for growing supplies and lower risks. The GHG reduction potential of E-fuels depends entirely on abundant renewable electricity.

Development of hydrogen facilities such as hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS) at scale is a fine balance between economy and safety where an optimal solution would both prevent showstoppers due to cost of increased safety measures and prevent showstoppers due to hydrogen accidents. A detailed Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA) methodology is presented where the aim is to establish the total risk of the facility and use it to find the right level of safety features such as blast walls and layout. With upscaled hydrogen facilities comes larger area footprints and more potential leak points. These effects will cause increased possible consequence in terms of vapour cloud explosions and increased leak frequencies. Both effects contributing negative to the total risk of the hydrogen facility. At the same time as the number of such facilities is increasing rapidly the frequency of incidents can also increase. A risk-based approach is employed where inherently safe solutions is investigated and cost efficient and acceptable solutions can be established. The present QRA uses well established tools such as SAFETI FLACS and Express which are fitted for hydrogen risks. By using the established Explosion Risk Analysis tool Express the explosion risk inside the station can be found. By using CFD tools actively one can point at physical risk drivers such as equipment layout that can minimize gas cloud build-up on the station. The explosion simulations are further used to find the effects of e.g. blast wall on the pressures affecting on people on the other side of the wall. This is used together with the results from the SAFETI analysis to develop risk contours around the facility. Current standardized safety distances are discussed by considering the effects of scaling and risk drivers on the safety distances. The methodology can be used to develop certain requirement for how hydrogen facilities should be built inherently safe and in cost-efficient ways.

The energy transition with transformation into predominantly renewable sources requires technology development to secure power production at all times despite the intermittent nature of the renewables. Micro gas turbines (MGTs) are small heat and power generation units with fast startup and load-following capability and are thereby suitable backup for the future’s decentralized power generation systems. Due to MGTs’ fuel flexibility a range of fuels from high-heat to lowheat content could be utilized with different greenhouse gas generation. Developing micro gas turbines that can operate with carbon-free fuels will guarantee carbon-free power production with zero CO2 emission and will contribute to the alleviation of the global warming problem. In this paper the redevelopment of a standard 100-kW micro gas turbine to run with methane/hydrogen blended fuel is presented. Enabling micro gas turbines to run with hydrogen blended fuels has been pursued by researchers for decades. The first micro gas turbine running with pure hydrogen was developed in Stavanger Norway and launched in May 2022. This was achieved through a collaboration between the University of Stavanger (UiS) and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). This paper provides an overview of the project and reports the experimental results from the engine operating with methane/hydrogen blended fuel with various hydrogen content up to 100%. During the development process the MGT’s original combustor was replaced with an innovative design to deal with the challenges of burning hydrogen. The fuel train was replaced with a mixing unit new fuel valves and an additional controller that enables the required energy input to maintain the maximum power output independent of the fuel blend specification. This paper presents the test rig setup and the preliminary results of the test campaign which verifies the capability of the MGT unit to support intermittent renewable generation with minimum greenhouse gas production. Results from the MGT operating with blended methane/hydrogen fuel are provided in the paper. The hydrogen content varied from 50% to 100% (volume-based) and power outputs between 35 kW to 100kW were tested. The modifications of the engine mainly the new combustor fuel train valve settings and controller resulted in a stable operation of the MGT with NOx emissions below the allowed limits. Running the engine with pure hydrogen at full load has resulted in less than 25 ppm of NOx emissions with zero carbon-based greenhouse gas production.

Rapidly declining costs of renewable energy technologies have made solar and wind the cheapest sources of energy in many parts of the world. This has been seen primarily as enabling the rapid decarbonization of the electricity sector but low-cost low-carbon energy can have a great secondary impact by reducing the costs of energy-intensive decarbonization efforts in other areas. In this study we consider by way of an exemplary carbon capture and utilization cycle based on mature technologies the energy requirements of the “industrial carbon cycle” an emerging paradigm in which industrial CO2 emissions are captured and reprocessed into chemicals and fuels and we assess the impact of declining renewable energy costs on overall economics of these processes. In our exemplary process CO2 is captured from a cement production facility via an amine scrubbing process and combined with hydrogen produced by a solar-powered polymer electrolyte membrane using electrolysis to produce methanol. We show that solar heat and electricity generation costs currently realized in the Middle East lead to a large reduction in the cost of this process relative to baseline assumptions found in published literature and extrapolation of current energy price trends into the near future would bring costs down to the level of current fossil-fuel-based processes.

The overall ambition of the study has been to assess the commercial and operational viability of alternative marine fuels based on review existing academic and industry literature. The approach assesses how well six alternative fuels perform compared to LNG fuel on a set of 11 key parameters. Conventional fuels are not covered in this study however 2020 compliant fuels (HFO+scrubber and low sulphur fuels are included in the conclusion for comparative purposes.

This article explores the complexity of factors or mechanisms that can influence hydrogen stakeholder perception and acceptance in Norway. We systematically analyze 16 semi-structured in-depth interviews with industry stakeholders at local municipal regional and national levels of interest and authority in Norway. Four empirical dimensions are identified that highlight the need for whole system approaches in hydrogen technology research: (1) several challenges incentives and synergy effects influence the hydrogen transition; (2) transport preferences are influenced by combined needs and limitations; (3) levels of knowledge and societal trust determinant to perceptions of risk and acceptance; and (4) national and international hydrogen stakeholders are crucial to building incentives and securing commitment among key actors. Our findings imply that project management planners engineers and policymakers need to apply a whole system perspective and work across local regional and national levels before proceeding with large-scale development and implementation of the hydrogen supply chain.

International standards related to cryogenic hydrogen transferring technologies for mobile applications (filling of trucks ships stationary tanks) are missing and there is lack of experience. The European project ELVHYS (Enhancing safety of liquid and vaporized hydrogen transfer technologies in public areas for mobile applications) aims to provide indications on inherently safer and efficient cryogenic hydrogen technologies and protocols in mobile applications by proposing innovative safety strategies which are the results of a detailed risk analysis. This is carried out by applying an inter-disciplinary approach to study both the cryogenic hydrogen transferring procedures and the phenomena that may arise from the loss of containment of a piece of equipment containing hydrogen. ELVHYS will provide critical inputs for the development of international standards by creating inherently safer and optimized procedures and guidelines for cryogenic hydrogen transferring technologies thus increasing their safety level and efficiency. The aim of this paper is twofold: present the state of the art of liquid hydrogen transfer technologies by focusing on previous research projects such as PRESLHY and introduce the objectives and methods planned in the new EU project ELVHYS.

Hydrogen could gradually replace fossil fuels mitigating the human impact on the environment. However equipment exposed to hydrogen is subjected to damaging effects due to H2 absorption and permeation through metals. Hence inspection activities are necessary to preserve the physical integrity of the containment systems and the risk-based (RBI) methodology is considered the most beneficial approach. This review aims to provide relevant information regarding hydrogen embrittlement its effect on materials’ properties and the synergistic interplay of the factors influencing its occurrence. Moreover an overview of predictive maintenance strategies is presented focusing on the RBI methodology. A systematic review was carried out to identify examples of the application of RBI to equipment exposed to hydrogenated environments and to identify the most active research groups. In conclusion a significant lack of knowledge has been highlighted along with difficulties in applying the RBI methodology for equipment operating in a pure hydrogen environment.

This paper studies fast fueling of gaseous hydrogen into large hydrogen (H2) tanks suitable for maritime applications. Three modeling methods have been developed and evaluated: (1) Two-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling (2) One-dimensional wall discretized modeling and (3) Zero-dimensional modeling. A detailed 2D CFD simulation of a small H2-tank was performed and validated with data from literature and then used to simulate a large H2-tank. Results from the 2D-model show non-uniform temperature distribution inside the large tank but not in the small H2-tank. The 1D-model can predict the mean temperature in small H2-tanks but not the inhomogeneous temperature field in large H2-tanks. The 0D-model is suitable as a screening tool to obtain rough estimates. Results from the modeling of the large H2-tank show that the heat transfer to the wall during fast filling is inhibited by heat conduction in the wall which leads to an unacceptably high mean hydrogen temperature.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has undeniably disrupted the EU's energy system and created a window of opportunity for an acceleration of the low-carbon energy transition in Europe. As the trading bloc's biggest gas supplier Norway faces the imminent threat of fast-depleting gas reserves and declining value for its exports. Norway is trying to beat the clock by aggressively exploring more petroleum therefore delaying its energy transition. In anticipation of the future drop in gas prices Norway is counting on blue hydrogen to valorise its gas resources before gradually shifting to green hydrogen export. Against this background this article seeks to understand how changes in the EU's energy landscape have affected the energy export sector and low-carbon hydrogen export developments in Norway from a multi-level perspective. Using the exploratory scenario approach the article assesses the implications of the different petroleum exploration outcomes on the development of the low-carbon hydrogen export market in Norway. The findings show that despite gas discoveries there is an urgent need for a phase-out plan for the Norwegian petroleum sector. For low-carbon hydrogen to play an important role in Norway's energy transition time is of the essence and action needs to be taken during this window of opportunity. An industrial sector and its value chain could take 25 years to transform which means that actions and policies for a full transformation pathway need to take place in Norway by 2025 to be ready for a climate-neutral Europe in 2050.