Publications

A new model is presented to predict hydrogen-assisted fatigue. The model combines a phase field description of fracture and fatigue stress-assisted hydrogen diffusion and a toughness degradation formulation with cyclic and hydrogen contributions. Hydrogen-assisted fatigue crack growth predictions exhibit an excellent agreement with experiments over all the scenarios considered spanning multiple load ratios H2 pressures and loading frequencies. These are obtained without any calibration with hydrogen-assisted fatigue data taking as input only mechanical and hydrogen transport material properties the material’s fatigue characteristics (from a single test in air) and the sensitivity of fracture toughness to hydrogen content. Furthermore the model is used to determine: (i) what are suitable test loading frequencies to obtain conservative data and (ii) the underestimation made when not pre-charging samples. The model can handle both laboratory specimens and large-scale engineering components enabling the Virtual Testing paradigm in infrastructure exposed to hydrogen environments and cyclic loading.

For centuries fossil fuels have been the primary energy source but their unchecked use has led to significant environmental and economic challenges that now shape the global energy landscape. The combustion of these fuels releases greenhouse gases which are critical contributors to the acceleration of climate change resulting in severe consequences for both the environment and human health. Therefore this article examines the potential of hydrogen as a sustainable alternative energy source capable of mitigating these climate impacts. It explores the properties of hydrogen with particular emphasis on its application in industrial burners and furnaces underscoring its clean combustion and high energy density in comparison to fossil fuels and also examines hydrogen production through thermochemical and electrochemical methods covering green gray blue and turquoise pathways. It discusses storage and transportation challenges highlighting methods like compression liquefaction chemical carriers (e.g. ammonia) and transport via pipelines and vehicles. Hydrogen combustion mechanisms and optimized burner and furnace designs are explored along with the environmental benefits of lower emissions contrasted with economic concerns like production and infrastructure costs. Additionally industrial and energy applications safety concerns and the challenges of large-scale adoption are addressed presenting hydrogen as a promising yet complex alternative to fossil fuels.

The growing emphasis on renewable energy highlights hydrogen’s potential as a clean energy carrier. However traditional hydrogen production methods contribute significantly to carbon emissions. This review examines the integration of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies with hydrogen production processes focusing on their ability to mitigate carbon emissions. It evaluates various hydrogen production techniques including steam methane reforming electrolysis and biomass gasification and discusses how CCS can enhance environmental sustainability. Key challenges such as economic technical and regulatory obstacles are analyzed. Case studies and future trends offer insights into the feasibility of CCS–hydrogen integration providing pathways for reducing greenhouse gases and facilitating a clean energy transition.

The European Union aims to deploy a high share of renewable energy sources in Europe’s power system by 2050. Large-scale intermittent wind and solar power production requires flexibility to ensure an adequate supply–demand balance. Green hydrogen (GH) can increase power systems’ flexibility and decrease renewable energy production’s curtailment. However investing in GH is costly and dependent on electricity prices which are important for operational costs in electrolysis. Moreover the use of GH for power system flexibility might not be economically viable if there is no hydrogen demand from the hydrogen market. If so questions would arise as to what would be the incentives to introduce GH as a source of flexibility in the power system and how would electrolyzer costs hydrogen demand and other factors affect the economic viability of GH usage for power system flexibility. The paper implements a European power system model formulated as a stochastic program to address these questions. The authors use the model to compare various instances with hydrogen in the power system to a no-hydrogen instance. The results indicate that by 2050 deployment of approximately 140 GW of GH will pay off investments and make the technology economically viable. We find that the price of hydrogen is estimated to be around €30/MWh.

Life cycle assessment which evaluates the complete life cycle of a product is considered the standard methodological framework to evaluate the environmental performance of climate change solutions. However significant challenges exist related to datasets used to quantify these environmental indicators. Although extensive research and commercial data on climate change technologies pathways and facilities exist they are not readily available to practitioners of life cycle assessment in the right format and structure using an open platform. In this study we propose a new open data hub platform for life cycle assessment considering a hierarchical data flow starting with raw data collected on climate change technologies at laboratory pilot demonstration or commercial scales to provide the information required for policy and decision-making. This platform makes data accessible at multiple levels for practitioners of life cycle assessment while making data interoperable across platforms. The proposed data hub platform and workflow are explained through the polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis hydrogen production as a case study. The climate change environment impact of 1.17 ± 0.03 kg CO2 eq./kg H2 was calculated for the case study. The current data hub platform is limited to evaluating environmental impacts; however future additions of economic and social aspects are envisaged.

The present study comprehensively examines the application of hydro wave tidal undersea current and geothermal energy sources of Canada for green hydrogen fuel production. The estimated potential capacity of each province is derived from official data and acceptable assumptions and is subject to discussion and evaluation in the context of a viable hydrogen economy. According to the findings the potential for green hydrogen generation in Canada is projected to be 48.86 megatons. The economic value of the produced green hydrogen results in an equivalent of 21.30 billion US$. The top three provinces with the highest green hydrogen production potential using hydro resources including hydro wave tidal undersea current and geothermal are Alberta Quebec and British Columbia with 26.13 Mt 7.34 Mt and 4.39 Mt respectively. Quebec is ranked first by only considering the marine sources including 4.14 Mt with hydro 1.46 Mt with wave 0.27 Mt underwater current and 1.45 Mt with tidal respectively. Alberta is listed as the province with the highest capacity for hydrogen production from geothermal energy amounting up to 26.09 Mt. The primary objective is to provide comprehensive hydrogen maps for each province in Canada which will be based on the identified renewable energy potential and the utilization of electrolysers. This may further be examined within the framework of the prevailing policies implemented by local communities and officials in order to develop a sustainable energy plan for the nation.

Developing countries including Ghana face challenges ensuring access to clean and reliable cooking fuels and technologies. Traditional biomass sources mainly used in most developing countries for cooking contribute to deforestation and indoor air pollution necessitating a shift towards environmentally friendly alternatives. The study’s primary objective is to evaluate the economic viability of using solar PV-based green hydrogen as a sustainable fuel for cooking in Ghana. The study adopted well-established equations to investigate the economic performance of the proposed system. The findings revealed that the levelized cost of hydrogen using the discounted cash flow approach is about 89% 155% and 190% more than electricity liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and charcoal. This implies that using the hydrogen produced for cooking fuel is not cost-competitive compared to LPG charcoal and electricity. However with sufficient capital subsidies to lower the upfront costs the analysis suggests solar PV-based hydrogen could become an attractive alternative cooking fuel. In addition switching from firewood to solar PVbased hydrogen for cooking yields the highest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions savings across the cities analysed. Likewise replacing charcoal with hydrogen also offers substantial CO2 emissions savings though lower than switching from firewood. Correspondingly switching from LPG to hydrogen produces lower CO2 emissions savings than firewood and charcoal. The study findings could contribute to the growing body of knowledge on sustainable energy solutions offering practical insights for policymakers researchers and industry stakeholders seeking to promote clean cooking adoption in developing economies.

The use of hydrogen as a source of fuel for marine applications is relatively nascent. As the maritime industry pivots to the use of alternate low and zero-emission fuels to adapt to a changing regulatory landscape hydrogen energy needs to present and substantiate a technical and commercially viable use case to secure its value proposition in the future fuel mix. This paper leverages the technoeconomic and environmental assessment previously performed on HyForce a hydrogen-fuelled harbour tug which has shown encouraging results for both technical and commercial aspects. This study aims to create a digital twin of HyForce to accurately predict her operability in real-world scenarios. The results from this study identify the strengths and drawbacks of the proposed use case. This is achieved by embedding the detailed design of HyForce in a virtual environment to further evaluate its operational performance through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of realistic environmental conditions such as wind wave sea currents and friction attributed to the properties of seawater. The results from this study indicate a base case power requirement of 93 kW to 1892 kW to achieve speeds of 5 to 12 knots in the absence of external environmental influences. Consequently the speed of HyForce has a profound impact on total resistance peaking at 97.3 kN at 12 knots. Seawater properties such as low seawater temperature of 0C and a high salinity of 50g/kg increased friction. Additionally wind speeds of 10 m/s acting on HyForce delivered a resistance of 3 kN. However these will be well mitigated through the design of the propulsion system which will be able to deliver a thrust power of 1892 kW and with assistance from the energy storage systems produce 2 MW of power to overcome the resistance experienced. The findings presented in this paper can serve as a foundation for constructing a robust model for the development of a predictive controller for future work. This controller has the potential to optimize the configuration of hydrogen and battery energy storage aligning with desired cost functions.

The transition to a sustainable future with hydrogen as a key energy carrier necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the safety aspects of hydrogen including liquid hydrogen (LH₂). Hence this study presents a detailed computational fluid mechanics analysis to explore accidental LH₂ leakage and dispersion in a hydrogen refuelling station under varied conditions which is essential to prevent fire and explosion. The correlated impact of influential parameters including wind direction wind velocity leak direction and leak rate were analysed. The study shows that hydrogen dispersion is significantly impacted by the combined effect of wind direction and surrounding structures. Additionally the leak rate and leak direction have a significant effect on the development of the flammable cloud volume (FCV) which is critical for estimating the explosion hazards. Increasing wind velocity from 2 to 4 m/s at a constant leak rate of 0.06 kg/s results in an 82% reduction in FCV. The minimum FCV occurs when leak and wind directions oppose at 4 m/s. The most critical situation concerning FCV arises when the leak and wind directions are perpendicular with a leak rate of 0.06 kg/s and a wind velocity of 2 m/s. These findings can aid in the development of optimised sensing and monitoring systems and operational strategies to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire and explosion consequences.

Scaling up clean hydrogen supply in the near future is critical to achieving China’s hydrogen development target. This study established an electrolytic hydrogen development mechanism considering the generation mix and operation optimization of power systems with access to hydrogen. Based on the incremental cost principle we quantified the provincial and national clean hydrogen production cost performance levels in 2030. The results indicated that this mechanism could effectively reduce the production cost of clean hydrogen in most provinces with a national average value of less than 2 USD·kg−1 at the 40-megaton hydrogen supply scale. Provincial cooperation via power transmission lines could further reduce the production cost to 1.72 USD·kg−1. However performance is affected by the potential distribution of hydrogen demand. From the supply side competitiveness of the mechanism is limited to clean hydrogen production while from the demand side it could help electrolytic hydrogen fulfil a more significant role. This study could provide a solution for the ambitious development of renewables and the hydrogen economy in China.