Publications

The Czech Republic’s Hydrogen Strategy is being developed in the context of the Hydrogen Strategy for a climate neutral Europe which reflects the European Green Deal objective of climate neutrality by 2050. The objective of the Strategy is thus to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in such a way that the economy shifts smoothly to low-carbon technologies.

This is associated with two strategic goals:

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Stimulate the economic growth

To achieve these four specific goals have been set:

• Volume of low-carbon hydrogen production
• Volume of low-carbon hydrogen consumption
• Infrastructure readiness for hydrogen transport and storage
• Progress in R&D and production of hydrogen technologies

The Hydrogen Strategy is based on four pillars:

• Low-carbon hydrogen production
• Low-carbon hydrogen use
• Hydrogen transport and storage
• Hydrogen technologies

These pillars are interlinked – production and consumption must be well-balanced to achieve economic use of the respective technologies otherwise any imbalance will be offset by imports from abroad. Each of the pillars is linked to exactly one strategic goal.

The production of “green hydrogen” is currently one of the hottest topics in the field of renewable energy systems research. Hydrogen storage is also becoming more and more attractive as a flexible solution to mitigate the power fluctuations of solar energy systems. The most promising technology for electricity-to-hydrogen conversion and vice versa is the reversible solid-oxide cell (SOC). This device is still very expensive but it exhibits excellent performance under dynamic operating conditions compared to the competing devices. This work presents the dynamic simulation of a prototypal renewable plant combining a 50 kW photovoltaic (PV) field with a 50 kW solid-oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) and a compressed hydrogen tank. The electricity is used to meet the energy demand of a dwelling located in the area of Campi Flegrei (Naples). The SOC efficiency is simulated by developing a mathematical model in MATLAB®. The model also calculates the cell operating temperature as a function of the input current. Once the optimal values of the operating parameters of the SOC are calculated the model is integrated in the transient system simulation tool (TRNSYS) for dynamic analysis. Furthermore this work presents a parametric analysis of the hydrogen storage system (HSS). The results of the energy and environmental analyses show that the proposed system can reach a primary energy saving by 70% and an amount of saved CO2 of 28 tons/year. Some possible future market scenarios are considered for the economic analysis. In the most realistic case the optimal configuration shows a simple pay back lower than 10 years and a profit index of 46%.

This work investigates life cycle costing analysis as a tool to estimate the cost of hydrogen to be used as fuel for Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles (HFCVs). The method of life cycle costing and economic data are considered to estimate the cost of hydrogen for centralised and decentralised production processes. In the current study two major hydrogen production methods are considered methane reforming and water electrolysis. The costing frameworks are defined for hydrogen production transportation and final application. The results show that hydrogen production via centralised methane reforming is financially viable for future transport applications. The ownership cost of HFCVs shows the highest cost among other costs of life cycle analysis.

Hydrogen produced from renewable energy has the potential to decarbonize parts of the transport sector and many other industries. For a sustainable replacement of fossil energy carriers both the environmental and economic performance of its production are important. Here the solar thermochemical hydrogen pathway is characterized with a techno-economic and life-cycle analysis. Assuming a further increase of conversion efficiency and a reduction of investment costs it is found that hydrogen can be produced in the United States of America at costs of 2.1–3.2 EUR/kg (2.4–3.6 USD/kg) at specific greenhouse gas emissions of 1.4 kg CO₂-eq/kg. A geographical potential analysis shows that a maximum of 8.4 × 1011 kg per year can be produced which corresponds to about twelve times the current global and about 80 times the current US hydrogen production. The best locations are found in the Southwest of the US which have a high solar irradiation and short distances to the sea which is beneficial for access to desalinated water. Unlike for petrochemical products the transport of hydrogen could potentially present an obstacle in terms of cost and emissions under unfavorable circumstances. Given a large-scale deployment low-cost transport seems however feasible.

Consideration of the possibility of transporting compressed hydrogen through existing gas pipelines leads to the need to study the regularities of the effect of hydrogen on the mechanical properties of steels in relation to the conditions of their operation in pipelines (operating pressure range stress state of the pipe metal etc.). This article provides an overview of the types of influence of hydrogen on the mechanical properties of steels including those used for the manufacture of pipelines. The effect of elastic and plastic deformations on the intensity of hydrogen saturation of steels and changes in their strength and plastic deformations is analyzed. An assessment of the potential losses of transported hydrogen through the pipeline wall as a result of diffusion has been made. The main issues that need to be solved for the development of a scientifically grounded conclusion on the possibility of using existing gas pipelines for the transportation of compressed hydrogen are outlined.

The transition of Malaysia from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources provides significant challenges and opportunities for various energy sectors. Incorporation of H₂ in the primary energy mix requires a deal of complexity in its relation to production transportation and end-use. The Sarawak State Government in Malaysia implemented a hydrogen energy roadmap for the year 2005–2030 on the state-level but despite the great enthusiasm and full support given by the government the development of hydrogen technology is still far from its goals. This is due to several factors that hinder its progress including (1) inability of hydrogen to be integrated with current primary energy infrastructure (2) limited technology resources to produce sustainable hydrogen and (3) lack of technical expertise in the field of hydrogen. In this paper a potential national roadmap and milestones are presented based on the power-to-gas (P2G) approach combined with its implications on the national natural gas (NG) pipeline network. Besides that the long-term and short-term strategies and implementation mechanisms are discussed in detail. Furthermore complete research schemes are formulated to be inline with the presented vision to further enhance technology development and implementation.

As renewable energy sources are spreading the problems of energy usage transport and storage arise more frequently. In order that the performance of energy producing units from renewable sources which have a relatively low efficiency should not be decreased further and to promote sustainable energy consumption solutions a living lab conception was elaborated in this project. At the pilot site the produced energy (by PV panels gas turbines/engines) is stored in numerous ways including hydrogen production. The following uses of hydrogen are explored: (i) feeding it into the national natural gas network; (ii) selling it at a H-CNG (compressed natural gas) filling station; (iii) using it in fuel cells to produce electricity. This article introduces the overall implementation plan which can serve as a model for the hybrid energy communities to be established in the future.

The 2018 IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s) report defined the goal to limit global warming to 1.5 ◦C by 2050. This will require “rapid and far-reaching transitions in land energy industry buildings transport and cities”. The challenge falls on all sectors especially energy production and industry. In this regard the recent progress and future challenges of greenhouse gas emissions and energy supply are first briefly introduced. Then the current situation of the steel industry is presented. Steel production is predicted to grow by 25–30% by 2050. The dominant iron-making route blast furnace (BF) especially is an energy-intensive process based on fossil fuel consumption; the steel sector is thus responsible for about 7% of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In order to take up the 2050 challenge emissions should see significant cuts. Correspondingly specific emissions (t CO2/t steel) should be radically decreased. Several large research programs in big steelmaking countries and the EU have been carried out over the last 10–15 years or are ongoing. All plausible measures to decrease CO2 emissions were explored here based on the published literature. The essential results are discussed and concluded. The specific emissions of “world steel” are currently at 1.8 t CO2/t steel. Improved energy efficiency by modernizing plants and adopting best available technologies in all process stages could decrease the emissions by 15–20%. Further reductions towards 1.0 t CO2/t steel level are achievable via novel technologies like top gas recycling in BF oxygen BF and maximal replacement of coke by biomass. These processes are however waiting for substantive industrialization. Generally substituting hydrogen for carbon in reductants and fuels like natural gas and coke gas can decrease CO2 emissions remarkably. The same holds for direct reduction processes (DR) which have spread recently exceeding 100 Mt annual capacity. More radical cut is possible via CO2 capture and storage (CCS). The technology is well-known in the oil industry; and potential applications in other sectors including the steel industry are being explored. While this might be a real solution in propitious circumstances it is hardly universally applicable in the long run. More auspicious is the concept that aims at utilizing captured carbon in the production of chemicals food or fuels e.g. methanol (CCU CCUS). The basic idea is smart but in the early phase of its application the high energy-consumption and costs are disincentives. The potential of hydrogen as a fuel and reductant is well-known but it has a supporting role in iron metallurgy. In the current fight against climate warming H2 has come into the “limelight” as a reductant fuel and energy storage. The hydrogen economy concept contains both production storage distribution and uses. In ironmaking several research programs have been launched for hydrogen production and reduction of iron oxides. Another global trend is the transfer from fossil fuel to electricity. “Green” electricity generation and hydrogen will be firmly linked together. The electrification of steel production is emphasized upon in this paper as the recycled scrap is estimated to grow from the 30% level to 50% by 2050. Finally in this review all means to reduce specific CO2 emissions have been summarized. By thorough modernization of production facilities and energy systems and by adopting new pioneering methods “world steel” could reach the level of 0.4–0.5 t CO2/t steel and thus reduce two-thirds of current annual emissions.

This study seeks to find the appropriate strategies necessary to make sustainable and effective hydrogen energy investments. Within this scope nine different criteria are defined regarding social managerial and financial factors. A hesitant interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy (IVIF) decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) methodology is considered to calculate the degree of importance of the criteria. Additionally impact relation maps are also generated to visualize the causality relationship between the factors. The findings indicate that the technical dimension has the greatest importance in comparison to managerial and financial factors. Furthermore it is also concluded that storage and logistics research and development and technological infrastructure are the most significant factors to be considered when defining hydrogen energy investment strategies. Hence before investing in hydrogen energy necessary actions should be taken to minimize the storage and logistic costs. Among them building the production site close to the usage area will contribute significantly to this purpose. In this way possible losses during the transportation of hydrogen can be minimized. Moreover it is essential to identify the lowest-cost hydrogen storage method by carrying out the necessary research and development activities thereby increasing the sustainability and effectiveness of hydrogen energy investment projects.

The energy security landscape that we envisage in 2050 will be different from that of today. Meeting the future energy needs of the armed forces will be a key challenge not least for military security. The World Energy Council’s World Energy Scenarios forecast that the world’s population will rise to 10 billion by 2050 which will also necessitate an increase in the size of the armed forces. In this context energy extraction distribution and storage become essential to stabilizing the imbalance between production and demand. Among the available solutions Power to Hydrogen (P2H) is one of the most appealing options. However despite the potential many obstacles currently hinder the development of the P2H market. This article aims to identify and analyse existing barriers to the introduction of P2H technologies that use hydrogen. The holistic approach used which was based on a literature survey identified obstacles and possible strategies for overcoming them. The research conducted presents an original research contribution at the level of hydrogen strategies considered in leading countries around the world. The research findings identified unresolved regulatory issues and sources of uncertainty in the armed forces. There is a lack of knowledge in the armed forces of some countries about the process of producing hydrogen energy and its benefits which raises concerns about the consistency of its exploitation. Negative attitudes towards hydrogen fuel energy can be a significant barrier to its deployment in the armed forces. Possible approaches and solutions have also been proposed to eliminate obstacles and to support decision makers in defining and implementing a strategy for hydrogen as a clean energy carrier. There are decisive and unresolved obstacles to its deployment not only in the armed forces