Publications

Seaports are responsible for consuming a large amount of energy and producing a sizeable amount of environmental emissions. However optimal coordination and cooperation present an opportunity to transform this challenge into an opportunity by enabling flexibility in their generation and load units. This paper introduces a coordination framework for exploiting flexibility across multiple ports. The proposed method fosters cooperation between ports in achieving lower environmental emissions while leveraging flexibility to increase their revenue. This platform allows ports to participate in providing flexibility for the energy grid through the introduction of a green port-to-grid concept while optimising their cooperation. Furthermore the proximity to offshore wind farms is considered an opportunity for the ports to investigate their role in harnessing green hydrogen. The proposed method explores the hydrogen storage capability of ports as an opportunity for increasing the techno-economic benefits particularly through coupling them with offshore wind farms. Compared to existing literature the proposed method enjoys a comprehensive logistics-electric model for the ports a novel coordination framework for multi-port flexibility and the potentials of hydrogen storage for the ports. These unique features position this paper a valuable reference for research and industry by demonstrating realistic cooperation among ports in the energy network. The simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed port flexibility coordination from both environmental and economic perspectives.

This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals modelling approaches experimental studies and challenges associated with hydrogen gas flow in pipelines. It elucidates key aspects of hydrogen gas flow including density compressibility factor and other relevant properties crucial for understanding its behavior in pipelines. Equations of state are discussed in detail highlighting their importance in accurately modeling hydrogen gas flow. In the subsequent sections one-dimensional and three-dimensional modelling techniques for gas distribution networks and localized flow involving critical components are explored. Emphasis is placed on transient flow friction losses and leakage characteristics shedding light on the complexities of hydrogen pipeline transportation. Experimental studies investigating hydrogen pipeline transportation dynamics are outlined focusing on the impact of leakage on surrounding environments and safety parameters. The challenges and solutions associated with repurposing natural gas pipelines for hydrogen transport are discussed along with the influence of pipeline material on hydrogen transportation. Identified research gaps underscore the need for further investigation into areas such as transient flow behavior leakage mitigation strategies and the development of advanced modelling techniques. Future perspectives address the growing demand for hydrogen as a clean energy carrier and the evolving landscape of hydrogen-based energy systems.

Hydrogen plays a leading role in achieving a future with net zero greenhouse gas emissions. The present challenge is producing green hydrogen to cover the fuel demands of transportation and industry to gain independence from fossil fuels. This review’s goal is to critically demonstrate the existing methods of biomass treatment and assess their ability to scale up. Biomass is an excellent hydrogen carrier and biomass-derived processes are the main target for hydrogen production as they provide an innovative pathway to green hydrogen production. Comparing the existing processes thermochemical treatment is found to be far more evolved than biological or electrochemical treatment especially with regard to scaling prospects.

The consumption of hydrogen could increase by sixfold in 2050 compared to 2020 levels reaching about 530 Mt. Against this backdrop the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been a major research area in the field of energy engineering. Several reviews have been provided in the existing corpus of literature on PEMFC but questions related to their evolutionary nuances and research hotspots remain largely unanswered. To fill this gap the current review uses bibliometric analysis to analyze PEMFC articles indexed in the Scopus database that were published between 2000–2021. It has been revealed that the research field is growing at an annual average growth rate of 19.35% with publications from 2016 to 2012 alone making up 46% of the total articles available since 2000. As the two most energy-consuming economies in the world the contributions made towards the progress of PEMFC research have largely been from China and the US. From the research trend found in this investigation it is clear that the focus of the researchers in the field has largely been to improve the performance and efficiency of PEMFC and its components which is evident from dominating keywords or phrases such as ‘oxygen reduction reaction’ ‘electrocatalysis’ ‘proton exchange membrane’ ‘gas diffusion layer’ ‘water management’ ‘polybenzimidazole’ ‘durability’ and ‘bipolar plate’. We anticipate that the provision of the research themes that have emerged in the PEMFC field in the last two decades from the scientific mapping technique will guide existing and prospective researchers in the field going forward.

The U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap explores opportunities for clean hydrogen to contribute to national decarbonization goals across multiple sectors of the economy. It provides a snapshot of hydrogen production transport storage and use in the United States today and presents a strategic framework for achieving large-scale production and use of clean hydrogen examining scenarios for 2030 2040 and 2050.

The Strategy and Roadmap also identifies needs for collaboration among federal government agencies industry academia national laboratories state local and Tribal communities environmental and justice communities labor unions and numerous stakeholder groups to accelerate progress and market liftoff. This roadmap establishes concrete targets market-driven metrics and tangible actions to measure success across sectors.

The Strategy and Roadmap responds to legislative language set forth in section 40314 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58) also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). This document was posted for in draft form for public comment in September 2022 and the final version of the report was informed by stakeholder feedback further analysis on market liftoff as well as engagement across several federal agencies and the White House Climate Policy Office. There will also be future opportunities for stakeholder feedback as the report will be updated at least every three years as required by the BIL.

The report can be found on their website.

The main goal stated at the Paris agreement is to limit the global temperature rise well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. Limiting the increase of global average temperature to 1.5 °C is striven since risks and impacts of the climate change would be reduced drastically. To face these challenges the European Green Deal was invented by the European Commission. The “Green Deal” is a growth strategy which aims to transform the economy of the EU into a resource-efficient modern and competitive one [1-1 1-2]. Figure 1: The key elements of the European Green Deal [1-2] In this context the European Commission proposed that the amount of renewable energy within the EU’s overall energy mix should reach 20 % by 2020 and therefore producing energy by solar and wind plants become even more important. For example the cumulative installed wind farm capacity increased from 117.3 GW in 2013 to a total capacity of 182.163 GW in 2018 within the EU [1-4-1-6]. Due to the fluctuations in energy produced by wind farms storage of electricity is crucial. One possibility for storage is the production of hydrogen via electrolysis using renewable energy sources like wind farms. The hydrogen is then either directly added to the gas distribution grid or is converted to methane with external CO or CO2 which is then added to the gas distribution grid as a substitute [1-4]. Increasing the knowledge about the impact of renewable gases on available gas meters in terms of accuracy and durability is the main object of the EMPIR NEWGASMET project. Therefore in activity A3.1.1 a literature study was performed to provide information on which technologies can be used to calibrate gas meters when using renewable gases.

With the pressured timescale in determining effective and viable net zero solutions within the transport sector it is important to understand the extent of implementing a new refuelling infrastructure for alternative fuel such as hydrogen. The proposed ATHENA framework entails three components which encapsulates the demand data analysis an optimisation model in determining the minimal cost hydrogen refuelling infrastructure design and an agent-based model simulating the operational system. As a case study the ATHENA framework is applied to Northern England focusing on the design of a hydrogen refuelling infrastructure for heavy goods vehicles. Analysis is performed in calibrating parameters and investigating different scenarios within the optimisation and agent-based simulation models. For this case study the system optimality is limited by the feasible number of tube trailer deliveries per day which suggests an opportunity for alternative delivery methods.

Green hydrogen is a key element that has the potential to play a critical role in the global pursuit of a resilient and sustainable future. However like other energy production methods hydrogen comes with challenges including high costs and safety concerns across its entire value chain. To overcome these low-cost productions are required along with a promised market. Offshore renewables have an enormous potential to facilitate green hydrogen production on a large scale. Their plummeting cost technological advances and rising cost of carbon pave a pathway where green hydrogen can be cost-competitive against fossil-fuel-based hydrogen. Offshore industries including oil and gas aquaculture and shipping are looking for cleaner energy solutions to decarbonize their systems/operations and can serve as a substantial market. Offshore industrial nexus moreover can assist the production storage and transmission of green hydrogen through infrastructure sharing and logistical support. The development of offshore green hydrogen production facilities is in its infancy and requires a deeper insight into the key elements that govern decision-making during their life-cycle. This includes the parameters that reflect the performance of hydrogen technology with technical socio-political financial and environmental considerations. Therefore this study provides critical insight into the influential factors discovered through a comprehensive analysis that governs the development of an offshore green hydrogen system. Insights are also fed into the requirements for modelling and analysis of these factors considering the synergy of hydrogen production with the offshore industries coastal hydrogen hub and onshore energy demand. The results of this critical review will assist the researchers and developers in establishing and executing an effective framework for offshore site selection in largely uncertain and hazardous ocean environments. Overall the study will facilitate the stakeholders and researchers in developing decision-making tools to ensure sustainable and safe offshore green hydrogen facilities.

This study presents an enhancement to the Switch optimization model for hydrogen energy planning by integrating the capability to consider the construction and operation of hydrogen electrolysis plants and the operation of water distribution systems. This integration was achieved through the addition of two new modules and their effectiveness is demonstrated through their application in a case study for Durham region. The study highlights the significance of incorporating water distribution systems into energy planning demonstrating how optimal locations for hydrogen plants can significantly influence water and power demand as well as alter the total operating costs. The enhanced Switch model showcases its improved capability to assist policymakers and stakeholders in transitioning towards a sustainable energy future.

Fossil resources are unevenly distributed on the earth and are finite primary energy which is widely used in the fields of industry transportation and power generation etc.<br/>Primary energies that can replace fossil resources include renewable energy and nuclear energy. Hydrogen has the potential to be secondary energy that can be widely used in industry for various purposes. Nuclear energy can be used for producing hydrogen; it is becoming more important to convert this primary energies into hydrogen. This paper describes the roles of nuclear energy as a primary energy in hydrogen production from the viewpoint of the basics of energy form conversion.