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Field Test Series for Development of Mitigation Barriers and its Designs Against Hydrogen Explosion
Sep 2023
Publication
A field test series where a composite pressure vessel for hydrogen is exploded by fire 1) to provide the facts and the data for the safety distance based on overpressure; 2) to validate the current status of mitigation barrier per KGS FP216 and further designs for developments of the codes and standards relating to hydrogen refueling stations. A pair of barriers to be tested are installed approximately 4 m apart standing face to face. The explosion source is a type-4 composite vessel of 175 L filled with compressed hydrogen up to 70 MPa. The vessel is in the middle of the barriers and the body part is heated with an LPG burner until it blows out. The incident overpressures from the blast are measured with 40 high-speed pressure sensors which are respectively installed 2 to 32 m away from the explosion. In the tests with the barrier constructed per the current status of KGS FP216 the explosion of the vessel resulted in partial destruction of the reinforced concrete barrier and made the steel plate barrier dissociated from the foundation then flew away approximately 25 m. The peak overpressure was 14.65 kPa at 32 m. The test data will be further analyzed to select the barriers for the subsequent tests and to develop the codes and standards for hydrogen refueling stations.
Integrated Home Energy Management with Hybrid Backup Storage and Vehicle-to-Home Systems for Enhanced Resilience, Efficiency, and Energy Independence in Green Buildings
Sep 2024
Publication
This study presents an innovative home energy management system (HEMS) that incorporates PV WTs and hybrid backup storage systems including a hydrogen storage system (HSS) a battery energy storage system (BESS) and electric vehicles (EVs) with vehicle-to-home (V2H) technology. The research conducted in Liaoning Province China evaluates the performance of the HEMS under various demand response (DR) scenarios aiming to enhance resilience efficiency and energy independence in green buildings. Four DR scenarios were analyzed: No DR 20% DR 30% DR and 40% DR. The findings indicate that implementing DR programs significantly reduces peak load and operating costs. The 40% DR scenario achieved the lowest cumulative operating cost of $749.09 reflecting a 2.34% reduction compared with the $767.07 cost in the No DR scenario. The integration of backup systems particularly batteries and fuel cells (FCs) effectively managed energy supply ensuring continuous power availability. The system maintained a low loss of power supply probability (LPSP) indicating high reliability. Advanced optimization techniques particularly the reptile search algorithm (RSA) are crucial in enhancing system performance and efficiency. These results underscore the potential of hybrid backup storage systems with V2H technology to enhance energy independence and sustainability in residential energy management.
Feasibility of Scaling Up the Cost-Competitive and Clean Electrolytic Hydrogen Supply in China
May 2024
Publication
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.
Multi-Physics Digital Model of an Aluminum 2219 Liquid Hydrogen Aircraft Tank
Feb 2024
Publication
Future liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft requires the design and optimization of a large number of systems and subsystems with cryogenic tanks being one of the largest and most critical. Considering previous space applications these tanks are usually stiffened by internal members such as stringers frames and stiffeners resulting in a complex geometry that leads to an eventual reduction in weight. Cryogenic tanks experience a variety of mechanical and thermal loading conditions and are usually constructed out of several different materials. The complexity of the geometry and the loads highlights the necessity for a computational tool in order to conduct analysis. In this direction the present work describes the development of a multi-physics finite element digital simulation conducting heat transfer and structural analysis in a fully parametric manner in order to be able to support the investigation of different design concepts materials geometries etc. The capabilities of the developed model are demonstrated by the design process of an independent-type aluminum 2219 cryogenic tank for commuter aircraft applications. The designed tank indicates a potential maximum take-off weight reduction of about 8% for the commuter category and demonstrates that aluminum alloys are serious candidate materials for future aircraft.
Towards a Multi-color Hydrogen Production Network? Competing Imaginaries of Development in Northern Patagonia, Argentina
Feb 2024
Publication
Green hydrogen has recently gained importance as a key element in the transition to a low-carbon energy future sparking a boom in possible production regions. This article aims at situating incipient hydrogen production in the Argentine province of Río Negro within a global production network (GPN). The early configuration of the hydrogen-GPN includes several stakeholders and is contested in many ways. To explore the possible materialization of the hydrogen economy in Argentina this article links GPN literature to the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries. In so doing this study finds three energy imaginaries linked to hydrogen development: First advocates of green hydrogen (GH2) project a sociotechnical imaginary in which GH2 is expected to promote scientific and technological progress. Second proponents of blue hydrogen point to Vaca Muerta and the role of natural gas for energy autonomy. Third opponents of the GH2 project question the underlying growth and export model emphasizing conservation and domestic energy sovereignty. The competition between different capital fractions i.e. green and fossil currently poses the risk of pro-fossil path decisions and lock-in effects. Current power constellations have led to the replacement of green with low-emission resulting in the promotion of multi-colored hydrogen. This is particularly evident in the draft for the new national hydrogen law and the actors involved in defining the national hydrogen strategy. The conceptual combination of actors and their interests their current power relations and the sociotechnical imaginaries they deploy illustrates how Argentina's energy future is already being shaped today.
Design of a Hydrogen Refueling Station with Hydrogen Production by Electrolysis, Storage and Dispensing for a Bus Fleet in the City of Valencia
Jul 2024
Publication
Hydrogen technologies are evolving to decarbonise the transport sector. The present work focuses on the technical design of a Hydrogen Refueling Station to supply hydrogen to five buses in the city of Valencia Spain. The study deals with the technical selection of the components from production to consumption setting an efficient standardisation method. Different calculation are used to size the storage systems for 70.8 kg of hydrogen produced by the elecrolyser daily. For the high-pressure storage system massive and cascade methods are proposed being the last one more efficient (1577.53 Nm3 non usable volume compared to 9948.95 Nm3 of the massive method).
Developing Hydrogen Energy Hubs: The Role of H2 Prices, Wind Power and Infrastructure Investments in Northern Norway
Aug 2024
Publication
Hydrogen is seen as a key energy carrier to reduce CO2 emissions. Two main production options for hydrogen with low CO2 intensity are water electrolysis and natural gas reforming with Carbon Capture and Storage known as green and blue hydrogen. Northern Norway has a surplus of renewable energy and natural gas availability from the Barents Sea which can be used to produce hydrogen. However exports are challenging due to the large distances to markets and lack of energy infrastructure. This study explores the profitability of hydrogen exports from this Arctic region. It considers necessary investments in hydrogen technology and capacity expansions of wind farms and the power grid. Various scenarios are investigated with different assumptions for investment decisions. The critical question is how exogenous factors shape future regional hydrogen production and export. The results show that production for global export may be profitable above 90 €/MWh excluding costs for storage and transport with blue hydrogen being cheaper than green. Depending on the assumptions a combination of liquid hydrogen and ammonia export might be optimal for seaborne transport. Exports to Sweden can be profitable at prices above 60 €/MWh transported by pipelines. Expanding power generation capacity can be crucial and electricity and hydrogen exports are unlikely to co-exist.
Solar-driven (Photo)electrochemical Devices for Green Hydrogen Production and Storage: Working Principles and Design
Feb 2024
Publication
The large-scale deployment of technologies that enable energy from renewables is essential for a successful transition to a carbon-neutral future. While photovoltaic panels are one of the main technologies commonly used for harvesting energy from the Sun storage of renewable solar energy still presents some challenges and often requires integration with additional devices. It is believed that hydrogen – being a perfect energy carrier – can become one of the broadly utilised storage alternatives that would effectively mitigate the energy supply and demand issues associated with the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources. Current pathways in the development of green technologies indicate the need for more sustainable material utilisation and more efficient device operation. To address this requirement integration of various technologies for renewable energy harvesting conversion and storage in a single device appears as an advantageous option. From the hydrogen economy perspective systems driven by green solar electricity that allow for (photo)electrochemical water splitting would generate hydrogen with the minimal CO2 footprint. If at the same time one of the device electrodes could store the generated gas and release it on demand the utilisation of critical and often costly elements would be reduced with possible gain in more effective device operation. Although conceptually attractive this cross-disciplinary concept has not gained yet enough attention and only limited number of experimental setups have been designed tested and reported. This review presents the first exhaustive overview and critical examination of various laboratory-scale prototype setups that attempt to combine both the hydrogen production and storage processes in a single unit via integration of a metal hydride-based electrode into a photoelectrochemical cell. The architectures of presented configurations enables direct solar energy to hydrogen conversion and its subsequent storage in a single device which – in some cases – can also release the stored (hydrogen) energy on demand. In addition this work explores perspectives and challenges related with the potential upscaling of reviewed solar-to-hydrogen storage systems trying to map and indicate the main future directions of their technological development and optimization. Finally the review also combines information and expertise scattered among various research fields with the aim of stimulating much-needed exchange of knowledge to accelerate the progress in the development and deployment of optimum green hydrogen-based solutions.
Strategy Development for Hydrogen-Conversion Businesses in Côte d’Ivoire
Aug 2024
Publication
Côte d’Ivoire has substantially neglected crop residues from farms in rural areas so this study aimed to provide strategies for the sustainable conversion of these products to hydrogen. The use of existing data showed that in the Côte d’Ivoire there were up to 16801306 tons of crop residues from 11 crop types in 2019 from which 1296424.84 tons of hydrogen could potentially be derived via theoretical gasification and dark fermentation approaches. As 907497.39 tons of hydrogen is expected annually the following estimations were derived. The three hydrogen-project implementation scenarios developed indicate that Ivorian industries could be supplied with 9026635 gigajoules of heat alongside 17910 cars and 4732 buses in the transport sector. It was estimated that 817293.95 tons of green ammonia could be supplied to farmers. According to the study 5727992 households could be expected to have access to 1718.40 gigawatts of electricity. Due to these changes in the transport energy industry and agricultural sectors a reduction of 1644722.08 tons of carbon dioxide per year could theoretically be achieved. With these scenarios around 263276.87 tons of hydrogen could be exported to other countries. The conversion of crop residues to hydrogen is a promising opportunity with environmental and socio-economic impacts. Therefore this study requires further extensive research.
HyDeploy2 - Gas Network Innovation Competition: Cadent 5th Project Progress Report
Jan 2024
Publication
The HyDeploy2 project seeks to address a key issue for UK energy customers: how to reduce the carbon they emit in heating their homes. The UK has a world class gas grid delivering heat conveniently and safely to more than 83% of homes. Emissions can be reduced by lowering the carbon content of gas through blending with hydrogen. This delivers carbon savings without customers requiring disruptive and expensive changes in their homes. It also provides the platform for deeper carbon savings by enabling wider adoption of hydrogen across the energy system.
Economic and Environmental Analyses of an Integrated Power and Hydrogen Production Systems Based on Solar Thermal Energy
Aug 2024
Publication
This study introduces a novel hybrid solar–biomass cogeneration power plant that efficiently produces heat electricity carbon dioxide and hydrogen using concentrated solar power and syngas from cotton stalk biomass. Detailed exergy-based thermodynamic economic and environmental analyses demonstrate that the optimized system achieves an exergy efficiency of 48.67% and an exergoeconomic factor of 80.65% and produces 51.5 MW of electricity 23.3 MW of heat and 8334.4 kg/h of hydrogen from 87156.4 kg/h of biomass. The study explores four scenarios for green hydrogen production pathways including chemical looping reforming and supercritical water gasification highlighting significant improvements in levelized costs and the environmental impact compared with other solar-based hybrid systems. Systems 2 and 3 exhibit superior performance with levelized costs of electricity (LCOE) of 49.2 USD/MWh and 55.4 USD/MWh and levelized costs of hydrogen (LCOH) of between 10.7 and 19.5 USD/MWh. The exergoenvironmental impact factor ranges from 66.2% to 73.9% with an environmental impact rate of 5.4–7.1 Pts/MWh. Despite high irreversibility challenges the integration of solar energy significantly enhances the system’s exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental performance making it a promising alternative as fossil fuel reserves decline. To improve competitiveness addressing process efficiency and cost reduction in solar concentrators and receivers is crucial.
Potentials of Green Hydrogen Production in P2G Systems Based on FPV Installations Deployed on Pit Lakes in Former Mining Sites by 2050 in Poland
Sep 2024
Publication
Green hydrogen production is expected to play a major role in the context of the shift towards sustainable energy stipulated in the Fit for 55 package. Green hydrogen and its derivatives have the capacity to act as effective energy storage vectors while fuel cell-powered vehicles will foster net-zero emission mobility. This study evaluates the potential of green hydrogen production in Power-to-Gas (P2G) systems operated in former mining sites where sand and gravel aggregate has been extracted from lakes and rivers under wet conditions (below the water table). The potential of hydrogen production was assessed for the selected administrative unit in Poland the West Pomerania province. Attention is given to the legal and organisational aspects of operating mining companies to identify the sites suitable for the installation of floating photovoltaic facilities by 2050. The method relies on the use of GIS tools which utilise geospatial data to identify potential sites for investments. Basing on the geospatial model and considering technical and organisational constraints the schedule was developed showing the potential availability of the site over time. Knowing the surface area of the water reservoir the installed power of the floating photovoltaic plant and the production capacity of the power generation facility and electrolysers the capacity of hydrogen production in the P2G system can be evaluated. It appears that by 2050 it should be feasible to produce green fuel in the P2G system to support a fleet of city buses for two of the largest urban agglomerations in the West Pomerania province. Simulations revealed that with a water coverage ratio increase and the planned growth of green hydrogen generation it should be feasible to produce fuel for net-zero emission urban mobility systems to power 200 buses by 2030 550 buses by 2040 and 900 buses by 2050 (for the bus models Maxi (40 seats) and Mega (60 seats)). The results of the research can significantly contribute to the development of projects focused on the production of green hydrogen in a decentralised system. The disclosure of potential and available locations over time can be compared with competitive solutions in terms of spatial planning environmental and societal impact and the economics of the undertaking.
Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Analysis of a Cold-adsorbed Hydrogen Tank During Refilling
Sep 2023
Publication
Hydrogen has the potential to be an important source of clean energy but the development of efficient and cost-effective methods for storing hydrogen is a key challenge that needs to be addressed in order to make widespread use of hydrogen as a possible energy sourc. There are different methods for storing hydrogen (i.e. compressed it at high pressures liquefied by cooling the hydrogen to a temperature of -253°C and stored with a chemical compound) each with its own advantages and disadvantages.<br/>MAST3RBoost (Maturing the Production Standards of Ultraporous Structures for High Density Hydrogen Storage Bank Operating on Swinging Temperatures and Low Compression) is a European project which aims to provide a solid benchmark of cold-adsorbed H2 storage (CAH2) at low compression (100 bar or below) by maturation of a new generation of ultraporous materials for mobility applications i.e. H2-powered vehicles including road and railway air-borne and waterborne transportation. Based on a new generation of Machine Learning-improved ultraporous materials – such as Activated Carbons (ACs) and high-density MOFs (Metal-organic Frameworks) – MAST3RBoost project will enable a disruptive path to meet the industry goals by developing the first worldwide adsorption-based demonstrator at the kg-scale.<br/>The design of the tank is supported by numerical investigation by mean of the use of Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) commercial code. In this a paper a preliminary analysis of the refilling of tank is presented focused on the effect of different tank configurations on the hydrogen temperature and on the hydrogen adsorption.
Comprehensive Optimisation of an Integrated Energy System for Power, Hydrogen, and Freshwater Generation Using High-temperature PEM Fuel Cell
Feb 2024
Publication
Modern energy conversion technologies with low or no emissions are needed to achieve sustainable development goals. This research examines the thermodynamic and exergy-economic features of a high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell. A cutting-edge integrated energy system uses high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells an organic Rankine cycle a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer and a multi-effect desalination unit. This setup generates electricity hydrogen and fresh water. Methanol-steam reformation produces hydrogen for the fuel cell. The recommended cycle drives an organic Rankine power producing cycle using 120-200 °C waste heat from hightemperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell to power water electrolysis and hydrogen generation. An integrated method incorporates energy and exergy balances and cost analysis to assess the proposed system's exergetic economic and environmental impacts. The suggested integration delivers high energy and exergy efficiency at an acceptable cost and environmental effect. According to parametric research boosting the fuel cell's working temperature decreases production costs and carbon dioxide emissions per mass. Raising current density has positive technical and environmental impacts. As the current density increases from 0.4 to 0.8 (A/cm2 ) the net power generation increases to 46.67% and the exergy efficiency increases from 64.5% to 68%. An increase in multi-effect distillation motivate steam pressure from 200 to 600 kPa results in an increase in the daily freshwater generated from 111.68 m3 to 116.41 m3 . For environmental protection and output optimization fuel utilization ratio must be reduced. The ideal system's exergy efficiency product unit cost and environmental impact are 65.78% 86.28 ($/h) and 4.33% respectively.
Coupling Wastewater Treatment with Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Technology
Apr 2024
Publication
Fuel cells (FCs) and hydrogen technologies are emerging renewable energy sources with promising results when applied to wastewater treatment (WWT). These devices serve not only for power generation but some specific FCs can be employed for degradation of pollutants and synthesis of intermediates needed in WWT. Microbial FCs are potent devices for WWT even containing refractory pollutants. Despite being a nascent technology with high capital expenses the use of cost-effective materials reduction of operational cost and increased generation of energy and value-added chemicals such as hydrogen will facilitate the market penetration through selected niches and hybridization with alternative WWT technologies.
Large-Scale Hydrogen Production Systems Using Marine Renewable Energies: State-of-the-Art
Dec 2023
Publication
To achieve a more ecologically friendly energy transition by the year 2050 under the European “green” accord hydrogen has recently gained significant scientific interest due to its efficiency as an energy carrier. This paper focuses on large-scale hydrogen production systems based on marine renewable-energy-based wind turbines and tidal turbines. The paper reviews the different technologies of hydrogen production using water electrolyzers energy storage unit base hydrogen vectors and fuel cells (FC). The focus is on large-scale hydrogen production systems using marine renewable energies. This study compares electrolyzers energy storage units and FC technologies with the main factors considered being cost sustainability and efficiency. Furthermore a review of aging models of electrolyzers and FCs based on electrical circuit models is drawn from the literature and presented including characterization methods of the model components and the parameters extraction methods using a dynamic current profile. In addition industrial projects for producing hydrogen from renewable energies that have already been completed or are now in progress are examined. The paper is concluded through a summary of recent hydrogen production and energy storage advances as well as some applications. Perspectives on enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of hydrogen production systems are also proposed and discussed. This paper provides a review of behavioral aging models of electrolyzers and FCs when integrated into hydrogen production systems as this is crucial for their successful deployment in an ever-changing energy context. We also review the EU’s potential for renewable energy analysis. In summary this study provides valuable information for research and industry stakeholders aiming to promote a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy transition.
Hydrogen as a Panacea for Decarbonising Everything? Exploring Contested Hydrogen Pathways in Germany
Oct 2023
Publication
Technological change is often seen as part of the solution to problems of global sustainability. A wide-ranging literature on how path dependent—often fossil fuel-based—socio-technical configurations can be overcome by more sustainable configurations has emerged over the last two decades. One potential transition pathway to transform electricity heat and mobility systems as well as industrial production is the use of hydrogen. In recent years hydrogen has received increasing attention as part of decarbonisation strategies in many countries as well as by international organisations such as the International Energy Agency or the International Renewable Energy Agency. Also in Germany it has become a central component of climate change policy and is seen by some actors almost as a kind of panacea where the use of hydrogen is expected to decarbonise a wide range of sectors. Policy makers have the ambition for Germany to become a leader in hydrogen development and therefore help to contribute to what Grubler called ‘grand patterns of technological change’. The aim of this paper is to analyse whether relevant actors share expectations for transition pathways based on hydrogen which would foster wide diffusion. Our empirical analysis shows that there are multiple contested pathways both in terms of how hydrogen is produced as well as in which applications or sectors it is to be used. This causes uncertainty and slows down hydrogen developments in Germany. We contribute to an emerging literature on the politics of contested transition pathways and also critically engage with Grubler’s ‘grand patterns’ argument. Results support the idea that the concept of socio-technical pathways allows to expose tensions between competing values and interests. The German government is under considerable pressure regarding competing visions on hydrogen transition pathways. A targeted political prioritisation of hydrogen applications could mitigate tensions and support a shared vision.
Pressure Evolution from Head-on Reflection of High-speed Deflagration in Hydrogen Mixtures
Sep 2023
Publication
Our previous reported experiments revealed that the reflection of high-speed deflagrations in hydrogenair and hydrogen-oxygen mixtures produces higher mechanical loading and reflected pressures than reflecting detonations. This surprising result was shown to correlate with the onset of detonation in the gases behind the reflected shock. We revisit these experiments with the aim of developing a closed-form model for the pressure evolution due to the shock-induced ignition and rapid transition to detonation. We find that the reflection condition of fast deflagrations corresponds to the chain-branching crossover regime of hydrogen ignition in which the reduced activation energy is very large and the reaction characteristic time is very short compared to the induction time. We formulate a closed-form model in the limit of fast reaction times as compared to the induction time which is used to predict a square wave pressure profile generated by self-similar propagation of internal Chapman-Jouguet detonation waves followed by Taylor expansion waves. The model predictions are compared with Navier-Stokes numerical simulations with full chemistry as well as simple Euler calculations using calibrated one-step or twostep chain-branching models. Both simplified numerical models were found to be in good agreement with the full chemistry model. We thus demonstrate that the end pressure evolution due to the reflection of high-speed deflagrations can be well predicted analytically and numerically using relatively simple models in this ignition regime of main interest for safety analysis and explosion mitigations. The slight departures from the square wave model are investigated based on the physical wave processes occurring in the shocked gases controlling the shock-to-detonation transition. Using the two-step model we study how the variations of the rate of energy release control the pressure evolution in the end gas extending the analysis of Sharpe to very large rates of energy release.
Towards Low-carbon Power Networks: Optimal Location and Sizing of Renewable Energy Sources and Hydrogen Storage
Apr 2024
Publication
This paper proposes a systematic optimization framework to jointly determine the optimal location and sizing decisions of renewables and hydrogen storage in a power network to achieve the transition to low-carbon networks efficiently. We obtain these strategic decisions based on the multi-period alternating current optimal power flow (AC MOPF) problem that jointly analyzes power network renewable and hydrogen storage interactions at the operational level by considering the uncertainty of renewable output seasonality of electricity demand and electricity prices. We develop a tailored solution approach based on second-order cone programming within a Benders decomposition framework to provide globally optimal solutions. In a test case we show that the joint integration of renewable sources and hydrogen storage and consideration of the AC MOPF model significantly reduces the operational cost of the power network. In turn our findings can provide quantitative insights to decision-makers on how to integrate renewable sources and hydrogen storage under different settings of the hydrogen selling price renewable curtailment cost emission tax price and conversion efficiency.
Hydrogen Production, Storage, and Transportation: Recent Advances
Feb 2024
Publication
One such technology is hydrogen-based which utilizes hydrogen to generate energy without emission of greenhouse gases. The advantage of such technology is the fact that the only by-product is water. Efficient storage is crucial for the practical application of hydrogen. There are several techniques to store hydrogen each with certain advantages and disadvantages. In gaseous hydrogen storage hydrogen gas is compressed and stored at high pressures requiring robust and expensive pressure vessels. In liquid hydrogen storage hydrogen is cooled to extremely low temperatures and stored as a liquid which is energy-intensive. Researchers are exploring advanced materials for hydrogen storage including metal hydrides carbonbased materials metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and nanomaterials. These materials aim to enhance storage capacity kinetics and safety. The hydrogen economy envisions hydrogen as a clean energy carrier utilized in various sectors like transportation industry and power generation. It can contribute to decarbonizing sectors that are challenging to electrify directly. Hydrogen can play a role in a circular economy by facilitating energy storage supporting intermittent renewable sources and enabling the production of synthetic fuels and chemicals. The circular economy concept promotes the recycling and reuse of materials aligning with sustainable development goals. Hydrogen availability depends on the method of production. While it is abundant in nature obtaining it in a clean and sustainable manner is crucial. The efficiency of hydrogen production and utilization varies among methods with electrolysis being a cleaner but less efficient process compared to other conventional methods. Chemisorption and physisorption methods aim to enhance storage capacity and control the release of hydrogen. There are various viable options that are being explored to solve these challenges with one option being the use of a multilayer film of advanced metals. This work provides an overview of hydrogen economy as a green and sustainable energy system for the foreseeable future hydrogen production methods hydrogen storage systems and mechanisms including their advantages and disadvantages and the promising storage system for the future. In summary hydrogen holds great promise as a clean energy carrier and ongoing research and technological advancements are addressing challenges related to production storage and utilization bringing us closer to a sustainable hydrogen economy.
Mathematical Optimization Modeling for Scenario Analysis of Integrated Steelworks Transitioning Towards Hydrogen-based Reduction
Jul 2024
Publication
To reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the steel industry efforts are made to introduce a steelmaking route based on hydrogen reduction of iron ore instead of the commonly used cokebased reduction in a blast furnace. Changing fundamental pieces of steelworks affects the functions of most every system unit involved and thus warrants the question of how such a transition could optimally take place over time and no rigorous attempts have until now been made to tackle this problem mathematically. This article presents a steel plant optimization model written as a mixed-integer non-linear programming problem where aging blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces could potentially be replaced with shaft furnaces and electric arc furnaces minimizing costs or emissions over a long-term time horizon to identify possible transition pathways. Example cases show how various parameters affect optimal investment pathways stressing the necessity of appropriate planning tools for analyzing diverse cases.
Process Path for Reducing Carbon Emissions from Steel Industry—Combined Electrification and Hydrogen Reduction
Jan 2024
Publication
This review focuses on the energy structure of iron and steel production and a feasible development path for carbon reduction. The process path and feasible development direction of carbon emission reduction in the iron and steel industry have been analyzed from the perspective of the carbon–electricity–hydrogen ternary relationship. Frontier technologies such as “hydrogen replacing carbon” are being developed worldwide. Combining the high efficiency of microwave electric-thermal conversion with the high efficiency and pollution-free advantages of hydrogen-reducing agents may drive future developments. In this review a process path for “microwave + hydrogen” synergistic metallurgy is proposed. The reduction of magnetite powder by H2 (CO) in a microwave field versus in a conventional field is compared. The driving effect of the microwave field is found to be significant and the synergistic reduction effect of microwaves with H2 is far greater than that of CO.
Optimization of Hydrogen Production System Performance Using Photovoltaic/Thermal-Coupled PEM
Oct 2024
Publication
A proton exchange membrane electrolyzer can effectively utilize the electricity generated by intermittent solar power. Different methods of generating electricity may have different efficiencies and hydrogen production rates. Two coupled systems namely PV/T- and CPV/T-coupling PEMEC respectively are presented and compared in this study. A maximum power point tracking algorithm for the photovoltaic system is employed and simulations are conducted based on the solar irradiation intensity and ambient temperature of a specific location on a particular day. The simulation results indicate that the hydrogen production is relatively high between 11:00 and 16:00 with a peak between 12:00 and 13:00. The maximum hydrogen production rate is 99.11 g/s and 29.02 g/s for the CPV/T-PEM and PV/T-PEM systems. The maximum energy efficiency of hydrogen production in CPV/T-PEM and PV/T-PEM systems is 66.7% and 70.6%. Under conditions of high solar irradiation intensity and ambient temperature the system demonstrates higher total efficiency and greater hydrogen production. The CPV/T-PEM system achieves a maximum hydrogen production rate of 2240.41 kg/d with a standard coal saving rate of 15.5 tons/day and a CO2 reduction rate of 38.0 tons/day. Compared to the PV/T-PEM system the CPV/T-PEM system exhibits a higher hydrogen production rate. These findings provide valuable insights into the engineering application of photovoltaic/thermal-coupled hydrogen production technology and contribute to the advancement of this field.
Enhancing Safety through Optimal Placement of Components in Hydrogen Tractor: Rollover Angle Analysis
Feb 2024
Publication
Hydrogen tractors are being developed necessitating consideration of the variation in the center of gravity depending on the arrangement of components such as power packs and cooling modules that replace traditional engines. This study analyzes the effects of component arrangement on stability and rollover angle in hydrogen tractors through simulations and proposes an optimal configuration. Stability is evaluated by analyzing rollover angles in various directions with rotations around the tractor’s midpoint. Based on the analysis of rollover angles for Type 1 Type 2 and Type 3 hydrogen tractors Type 2 demonstrates superior stability compared to the other types. Specifically when comparing lateral rollover angles at 0◦ rotation Type 2 exhibits a 2% increase over Type 3. Upon rotations at 90◦ and 180◦ Type 2 consistently displays the highest rollover angles with differences ranging from approximately 6% to 12% compared to the other types. These results indicate that Type 2 with its specific component arrangement offers the most stable configuration among the three types of tractors. It is confirmed that the rollover angle changes based on component arrangement with a lower center of gravity resulting in greater stability. These findings serve as a crucial foundation for enhancing stability in the future design and manufacturing phases of hydrogen tractors.
Economic Framework for Green Shipping Corridors: Evaluating Cost-effective Transition from Fossil Fuels Towards Hydrogen
Aug 2024
Publication
Global warming’s major cause is the emission of greenhouse-effect gases (GHG) especially carbon dioxide (CO2) whose main source is the combustion of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels serve as the primary energy source in many industries including shipping which is the focus of this study. One of the measures proposed to tackle GHG emissions is the development of green shipping corridors - carbon-free shipping routes that require the transition to alternative fuels which are gaining competitiveness. One of the reasons for that is carbon pricing which taxes CO2 emissions. However the lack of consensus on the most cost-advantageous alternative fuel in the long run results in the delay of the implementation of green shipping corridors. To make it more accessible for stakeholders to conduct an economic analysis of the various options a framework to determine and minimize the costs of transitioning from fossil fuels to any alternative fuel is proposed over the period of one voyage considering the lost opportunity cost the deployment cost of bunkering vessels at the necessary call ports the cost of converting the vessel the car-bon emissions tax cost and the fuel cost. This will allow stakeholders to choose the most economical alternative fuel accelerating the development of green shipping corridor initiatives. To validate the effectiveness of the framework it was applied in a case study involving a shipowner seeking to transition from heavy fuel oil (HFO) to Ammonia Hydrogen Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) or Methanol. This study faced limitations due to the unknown costs of installing bunkering vessels for Ammonia and Hydrogen. However it evaluates the cost-effectiveness of alternative fuels providing insights into their short-term economic viability. The results showed that Hydrogen is the most costadvantageous fuel until a deployment cost per bunkering vessel of 1990285$ for a sailing speed of 22 knots and 2190171$ for a sailing speed of 18 knots is reached after which LNG becomes the most economical option regardless of variations in the carbon tax. Moreover a sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the effects of variations in parameters such as carbon tax fuel prices and vessel conversion costs in the total cost of each fuel option. Results highlighted that even though HFO remains the most economical fuel option even when considering a high increase in carbon tax the cost gap between HFO and alternative fuels narrows significantly with the increase in carbon tax. Furthermore the sailing speed impacts the fuels’ competitiveness as the cost difference between HFO and alternative fuels decreases at higher speeds.
Impact of Medium-pressure Direct Injection Engine Fueled by Hydrogen
Dec 2023
Publication
In the automotive sector hydrogen is being increasingly explored as an alternative fuel to replace conventional carbon-based fuels. Its combustion characteristics make it well-suited for adaptation to internal combustion engines. The wide flammability range of hydrogen allows for higher dilution conditions resulting in enhanced combustion efficiency. When combined with lean combustion strategies hydrogen significantly reduces environmental impact virtually eliminating carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions while maintaining high thermal efficiency. This paper aims to assess the potential of using an outwardly opening poppet valve hydrogen direct injection (DI) system in a small engine for light-duty applications. To achieve this a comparison of performance emission levels and combustion parameters is conducted on a single-cylinder spark-ignition (SI) research engine fueled by hydrogen using both port fuel injection (PFI) and this new direct injection system. Two different engine loads are measured at multiple air dilution and injection timing conditions. The results demonstrate notable efficiency improvements ranging from 0.6% to 1.1% when transitioning from PFI to DI. Accurate control of injection timing is essential for achieving optimal performance and low emissions. Delaying the start of injection results in a 7.6% reduction in compression work at low load and a 3.9% reduction at high load. This results in a 3.1-3.2% improvement in ISFC in both load conditions considered.
Nanomaterials for Hydrogen Storage Applications: A Review
Sep 2008
Publication
Nanomaterials have attracted great interest in recent years because of the unusual mechanical electrical electronic opticalmagnetic and surface properties. The high surface/volume ratio of these materials has significant implications with respectto energy storage. Both the high surface area and the opportunity for nanomaterial consolidation are key attributes of thisnew class of materials for hydrogen storage devices. Nanostructured systems including carbon nanotubes nano-magnesiumbased hydrides complex hydride/carbon nanocomposites boron nitride nanotubes TiS2/MoS2 nanotubes alanates polymernanocomposites and metal organic frameworks are considered to be potential candidates for storing large quantities of hydrogen.Recent investigations have shown that nanoscale materials may offer advantages if certain physical and chemical effects related tothe nanoscale can be used efficiently. The present review focuses the application of nanostructured materials for storing atomicor molecular hydrogen. The synergistic effects of nanocrystalinity and nanocatalyst doping on the metal or complex hydrides forimproving the thermodynamics and hydrogen reaction kinetics are discussed. In addition various carbonaceous nanomaterialsand novel sorbent systems (e.g. carbon nanotubes fullerenes nanofibers polyaniline nanospheres and metal organic frameworksetc.) and their hydrogen storage characteristics are outlined.
Energy-exergy Evaluation of Liquefied Hydrogen Production System Based on Steam Methane Reforming and LNG Revaporization
Jul 2023
Publication
The research motivation of this paper is to utilize the large amount of energy wasted during the LNG (liquefied natural gas) gasification process and proposes a synergistic liquefied hydrogen (LH2) production and storage process scheme for LNG receiving station and methane reforming hydrogen production process - SMR-LNG combined liquefied hydrogen production system which uses the cold energy from LNG to pre-cool the hydrogen and subsequently uses an expander to complete the liquefaction of hydrogen. The proposed process is modeled and simulated by Aspen HYSYS software and its efficiency is evaluated and sensitivity analysis is carried out. The simulation results show that the system can produce liquefied hydrogen with a flow rate of 5.89t/h with 99.99% purity when the LNG supply rate is 50t/h. The power consumption of liquefied hydrogen is 46.6kWh/kg LH2; meanwhile the energy consumption of the HL subsystem is 15.9kWh/kg LH2 lower than traditional value of 17~19kWh/kg LH2. The efficiency of the hydrogen production subsystem was 16.9%; the efficiency of the hydrogen liquefaction (HL) subsystem was 29.61% which was significantly higher than the conventional industrial value of 21%; the overall energy efficiency (EE1) of the system was 56.52% with the exergy efficiency (EE2) of 22.2% reflecting a relatively good thermodynamic perfection. The energy consumption of liquefied hydrogen per unit product is 98.71 GJ/kg LH2.
Exergy Analysis in Intensification of Sorption-enhanced Steam Methane Reforming for Clean Hydrogen Production: Comparative Study and Efficiency Optimisation
Feb 2024
Publication
Hydrogen has a key role to play in decarbonising industry and other sectors of society. It is important to develop low-carbon hydrogen production technologies that are cost-effective and energy-efficient. Sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) is a developing low-carbon (blue) hydrogen production process which enables combined hydrogen production and carbon capture. Despite a number of key benefits the process is yet to be fully realised in terms of efficiency. In this work a sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming process has been intensified via exergy analysis. Assessing the exergy efficiency of these processes is key to ensuring the effective deployment of low-carbon hydrogen production technologies. An exergy analysis was performed on an SE-SMR process and was then subsequently used to incorporate process improvements developing a process that has theoretically an extremely high CO2 capture rate of nearly 100 % whilst simultaneously demonstrating a high exergy efficiency (77.58 %) showcasing the potential of blue hydrogen as an effective tool to ensure decarbonisation in an energy-efficient manner.
Fuel Cell Vehicle Hydrogen Emissions Testing
Sep 2023
Publication
The NREL Hydrogen Sensor Laboratory is comprised of researchers dedicated to furthering hydrogen sensor technology and detection methodology. NREL has teamed up with researchers at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Transport Canada (TC) to conduct research to quantify hydrogen emissions from Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV). Test protocols will have a large effect on monitoring and regulating the hydrogen emissions from FCEVs. How emissions are tested will play an important role when understanding the safety and environmental implications of using FCEVs. NREL Sensor Laboratory personnel have partnered with other entities to conduct multiple variations of emissions testing for FCEVs. This experimentation includes testing different models of FCEVs under various driving conditions while monitoring the hydrogen concentration of the exhaust using several different test methods and apparatus. Researchers look to support regulatory bodies by providing useful data that can support more consistent and relevant safety and environmental standards. We plan to present on the current test methods and results from recent emissions measurements at ECCC.
Optimal Operation Strategy for Wind–Photovoltaic Power-Based Hydrogen Production Systems Considering Electrolyzer Start-Up Characteristics
Aug 2024
Publication
Combining electrolytic hydrogen production with wind–photovoltaic power can effectively smooth the fluctuation of power and enhance the schedulable wind–photovoltaic power which provides an effective solution to solve the problem of wind–photovoltaic power accommodation. In this paper the optimization operation strategy is studied for the wind–photovoltaic power-based hydrogen production system. Firstly to make up for the deficiency of the existing research on the multi-state and nonlinear characteristics of electrolyzers the three-state and power-current nonlinear characteristics of the electrolyzer cell are modeled. The model reflects the difference between the cold and hot starting time of the electrolyzer and the linear decoupling model is easy to apply in the optimization model. On this basis considering the operation constraints of the electrolyzer hydrogen storage tank battery and other equipment the optimization operation model of the wind–photovoltaic power-based hydrogen production system is developed based on the typical scenario approach. It also considers the cold and hot starting time of the electrolyzer with the daily operation cost as the goal. The results show that the operational benefits of the system can be improved through the proposed strategy. The hydrogen storage tank capacity will have an impact on the operation income of the wind–solar hydrogen coupling system and the daily operation income will increase by 0.32% for every 10% (300 kg) increase in the hydrogen storage tank capacity.
Design of Long-Life Wireless Near-Field Hydrogen Gas Sensor
Feb 2024
Publication
A compact wireless near-field hydrogen gas sensor is proposed which detects leaking hydrogen near its source to achieve fast responses and high reliability. A semiconductor-type sensing element is implemented in the sensor which can provide a significant response in 100 ms when stimulated by pure hydrogen. The overall response time is shortened by orders of magnitude compared to conventional sensors according to simulation results which will be within 200 ms compared with over 25 s for spatial concentration sensors under the worst conditions. Over 1 year maintenance intervals are enabled by wireless design based on the Bluetooth low energy protocol. The average energy consumption during a single alarm process is 153 µJ/s. The whole sensor is integrated on a 20 × 26 mm circuit board for compact use.
Numerical Investigation and Simulation of Hydrogen Blending into Natural Gas Combustion
Aug 2024
Publication
This study reviews existing simulation models and describes a selected model for analysing combustion dynamics in hydrogen and natural gas mixtures specifically within non-ferrous melting furnaces. The primary objectives are to compare the combustion characteristics of these two energy carriers and assess the impact of hydrogen integration on furnace operation and efficiency. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations incorporating actual furnace geometries and a detailed combustion and NOx emission prediction model this research aims to accurately quantify the effects of hydrogen blending. Experimental tests on furnaces using only natural gas confirmed the validity of these simulations. By providing precise predictions for temperature distribution and NOx emissions this approach reduces the need for extensive laboratory testing facilitates broader exploration of design modifications accelerates the design process and ultimately lowers product development costs.
Green with Envy? Hydrogen Production in a Carbon-constrained World
Jan 2024
Publication
Hydrogen is widely recognized as a key component of a decarbonized global energy system serving as both a fuel source and an energy storage medium. While current hydrogen production relies almost entirely on emissionsintensive processes two low-emissions production pathways – natural-gas-derived production combined with carbon capture and storage and electrolysis using carbon-free electricity – are poised to change the global supply mix. Our study assesses the financial conditions under which natural-gas-based hydrogen production combined with carbon capture and storage would be available at a cost lower than hydrogen produced through electrolysis and the degree to which these conditions are likely to arise in a transition to a net-zero world. We also assess the degree to which emissions reduction policies namely carbon pricing and carbon capture and storage tax credits affect the relative costs of hydrogen production derived from different pathways. We show that while carbon pricing can improve the relative cost of both green and blue hydrogen production compared with unabated grey hydrogen targeted tax credits favouring either blue or green hydrogen explicitly may increase emissions and/or increase the costs of the energy transition.
Optimal Decarbonisation Pathways for the Italian Energy System: Modelling a Long-term Energy Transition to Achieve Zero Emission by 2050
May 2024
Publication
The goal of achieving a zero-emission energy system by 2050 requires accurate energy planning to minimise the overall cost of the energy transition. Long-term energy models based on cost-optimal solutions are extremely dependent on the cost forecasts of different technologies. However such forecasts are inherently uncertain. The aim of the present work is to identify a cost-optimal pathway for the Italian energy system decarbonisation and assess how renewable cost scenarios can affect the optimal solution. The analysis has been carried out with the H2RES model a single-objective optimisation algorithm based on Linear Programming. Different cost scenarios for photovoltaics on-shore and off-shore wind power and lithium-ion batteries are simulated. Results indicate that a 100% renewable energy system in Italy is technically feasible. Power-to-X technologies are crucial for balancing purposes enabling a share of non-dispatchable generation higher than 90%. Renewable cost scenarios affect the energy mix however both on-shore and off-shore wind saturate the maximum capacity potential in almost all scenarios. Cost forecasts for lithium-ion batteries have a significant impact on their optimal capacity and the role of hydrogen. Indeed as battery costs rise fuel cells emerge as the main solution for balancing services. This study emphasises the importance of conducting cost sensitivity analyses in long-term energy planning. Such analyses can help to determine how changes in cost forecasts may affect the optimal strategies for decarbonising national energy systems.
Environmental Life-cycle Analysis of Hydrogen Technology in the United States
Oct 2024
Publication
Hydrogen is a zero-carbon energy carrier with potential to decarbonize industrial and transportation sectors but its life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions depend on its energy supply chain and carbon management measures (e.g. carbon capture and storage). Global support for clean hydrogen production and use has recently intensified. In the United States Congress passed several laws that incentivize the production and use of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) in 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022 which provides tax credits of up to $3/kg depending on the carbon intensity of the produced hydrogen. A comprehensive life-cycle accounting of GHG emissions associated with hydrogen production is needed to determine the carbon intensity of hydrogen throughout its value chain. In the United States Argonne’s R&D GREET® (Greenhouse Gases Regulated emissions and Energy use in Technologies) model has been widely used for hydrogen carbon intensity calculations. This paper describes the major hydrogen technology pathways considered in the United States and provides data sources and carbon intensity results for each of the hydrogen production and delivery pathways using consistent system boundaries and most recent technology performance and supply chain data.
Hydrogen Blending in Natural Gas Pipelines: A Comprehensive Review of Material Compatibility and Safety Considerations
Nov 2024
Publication
The increasing demand for energy and the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions have positioned hydrogen as a promising alternative. This review paper explores the potential of hydrogen blending in natural gas pipelines focusing on the compatibility of pipeline materials and the associated safety challenges. Hydrogen blending can significantly reduce carbon emissions from homes and industries as demonstrated by various projects in Canada and globally. However the introduction of hydrogen into natural gas pipelines poses risks such as hydrogenassisted materials degradation which can compromise the integrity of pipeline materials. This study reviews the effects of hydrogen on the mechanical properties of both vintage and modern pipeline steels cast iron copper aluminum stainless steel as well as plastics elastomers and odorants that compose an active natural gas pipeline network. The review highlights the need for updated codes and standards to ensure safe operation and discusses the implications of hydrogen on material selection design and safety considerations. Overall this manuscript aims to provide a comprehensive resource on the current state of pipeline materials in the context of hydrogen blending emphasizing the importance of further research to address the gaps in current knowledge and to develop robust guidelines for the integration of hydrogen into existing natural gas infrastructure.
Great Britain's Hydrogen Infrastructure Development - Investment Priorities and Locational Flexibility
Aug 2024
Publication
Future pathways for Great Britain’s energy system decarbonization have highlighted the importance of lowcarbon hydrogen as an energy carrier and demand flexibility support. However the potential application within various sectors (heating industry transport) and production capacity through different technologies (methane reformation with carbon capture biomass gasification electrolysis) is highly varying introducing substantial uncertainties for hydrogen infrastructure development. This study sets out infrastructure priorities and identifies locational flexibility for hydrogen supply and demand options. Advances on limitations of previous research are made by developing an open-source model of the hydrogen system of Great Britain based on three Net Zero scenarios set out by National Grid in their Future Energy Scenarios in high temporal and spatial resolution. The model comprehensively covers demand sectors and supply options in addition to extending the locational considerations of the Future Energy Scenarios. This study recommends prioritizing the establishment of green hydrogen hubs in the near-term aligning with demands for synthetic fuels production industry and power which can facilitate the subsequent roll out of up to 10GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2050. The analysis quantifies a high proportion of hydrogen supply and demand which can be located flexibly.
Numerical Simulation of Transition to Detonation in a Hydrogen-air Mixture Due to Shock Wave Focusing on a 90-Deg Wedge
Sep 2023
Publication
The interaction of a shock wave with a specific angle or concave wall due to its reflection and focusing is a way to onset the detonation provided sufficiently strong shock wave. In this work we present numerical simulation results of the detonation initiation due to the shock reflection and focusing in a 90-degree wedge for mixtures of H2 and air. The code used was ddtFoam [1–3] that is a component of the larger OpenFOAM open-source CFD package of density-based code for solving the unsteady compressible Navier-Stokes equations. The numerical model represents the 2-D geometry of the experiments performed by Rudy [4]. The numerical results revealed three potential scenarios in the corner after reflection: shock wave reflection without ignition deflagrative ignition with intermediate transient regimes with a delayed transition to detonation in lagging combustion zone at around 1.8 mm from the apex of the wedge and ignition with an instantaneous transition to detonation with the formation of the detonation wave in the corner tip. In the experimental investigation the transition velocity for the stoichiometric mixture was approximately 715 m/s while in the numerical simulation the transition velocity for the stoichiometric mixture was 675.65 m/s 5.5% decrease in velocity.
Climate Change Mitigation Potentials of on Grid-connected Power-to-X Fuels and Advanced Biofuels for the European Maritime Transport
Jul 2023
Publication
This study proposes a country-based life-cycle assessment (LCA) of several conversion pathways related 10 to both on grid-connected Power-to-X (PtX) fuels and advanced biofuel production for maritime transport 11 in Europe. We estimate the biomass resource availability (both agricultural and forest residues and 12 second-generation energy crops from abandoned cropland) electricity mix and a future-oriented 13 prospective LCA to assess how future climate change mitigation policies influence the results. Our results 14 indicate that the potential of PtX fuels to achieve well-to-wake greenhouse gas intensities lower than 15 those of fossil fuels is limited to countries with a carbon intensity of the electricity mix below 100 gCO2eq kWh-1 16 . The more ambitious FuelEU Maritime goal could be achieved with PtX only if connected to electricity sources below ca. 17 gCO2eq kWh-1 17 which can become possible for most of the national 18 electricity mix in Europe by 2050 if renewable energy sources will become deployed at large scales. For 19 drop-in and hydrogen-based biofuels biomass residues have a higher potential to reduce emissions than 20 dedicated energy crops. In Europe the potentials of energy supply from all renewable and low-carbon 21 fuels (RLFs) range from 32-149% of the current annual fuel consumption in European maritime transport. 22 The full deployment of RLFs with carbon capture and storage technologies could mitigate up to 184% of 23 the current well-to-wake shipping emissions in Europe. Overall our study highlights how the strategic use 24 of both hydrogen-based biofuels and PtX fuels can contribute to the climate mitigation targetsfor present 25 and future scenarios of European maritime transport.
Hydrogen as Fuel in the Maritime Sector: From Production to Propulsion
Nov 2024
Publication
The maritime sector plays a crucial role in global trade yet its contribution to greenhouse gas emissions remains significant. The adoption of hydrogen as a clean energy solution is gaining traction to address this. This review paper delves into the opportunities and challenges of integrating hydrogen as a marine fuel. The entire hydrogen supply chain is investigated from production to end use highlighting advancements limitations and potential safety risks. Key findings reveal that while hydrogen offers promise for reducing emissions its widespread adoption requires a well-established production storage and distribution infrastructure. Challenges persist in large-scale storage transportation and bunkering particularly in addressing space limitations and ensuring safety protocols. Propulsion systems such as internal combustion engines gas turbines and fuel cells show po tential for hydrogen adoption yet further research is needed to optimize efficiency and address technical con straints. Safety considerations also appear prominently necessitating comprehensive bunkering operations and hazard management protocols. Addressing knowledge gaps is imperative for successfully integrating hydrogen as a marine fuel. Future research should focus on optimizing storage methods developing efficient propulsion systems and enhancing safety measures to enhance hydrogen utilization in the maritime sector.
Energy Hub Model for the Massive Adoption of Hydrogen in Power Systems
Sep 2024
Publication
A promising energy carrier and storage solution for integrating renewable energies into the power grid currently being investigated is hydrogen produced via electrolysis. It already serves various purposes but it might also enable the development of hydrogen-based electricity storage systems made up of electrolyzers hydrogen storage systems and generators (fuel cells or engines). The adoption of hydrogen-based technologies is strictly linked to the electrification of end uses and to multicarrier energy grids. This study introduces a generic method to integrate and optimize the sizing and operation phases of hydrogen-based power systems using an energy hub optimization model which can manage and coordinate multiple energy carriers and equipment. Furthermore the uncertainty related to renewables and final demands was carefully assessed. A case study on an urban microgrid with high hydrogen demand for mobility demonstrates the method’s applicability showing how the multi-objective optimization of hydrogen-based power systems can reduce total costs primary energy demand and carbon equivalent emissions for both power grids and mobility down to −145%. Furthermore the adoption of the uncertainty assessment can give additional benefits allowing a downsizing of the equipment.
Industrial Decarbonization through Blended Combustion of Natural Gas and Hydrogen
Aug 2024
Publication
The transition to cleaner energy sources particularly in hard-to-abate industrial sectors often requires the gradual integration of new technologies. Hydrogen crucial for decarbonization is explored as a fuel in blended combustions. Blending or replacing fuels impacts combustion stability and heat transfer rates due to differing densities. An extensive literature review examines blended combustion focusing on hydrogen/methane mixtures. While industrial burners claim to accommodate up to 20% hydrogen theoretical support is lacking. A novel thermodynamic analysis methodology is introduced evaluating methane/hydrogen combustion using the Wobbe index. The findings highlight practical limitations beyond 25% hydrogen volume necessitating a shift to “totally hydrogen” combustion. Blended combustion can be proposed as a medium-term strategy acknowledging hydrogen’s limited penetration. Higher percentages require burner and infrastructure redesign.
Green Hydrogen Energy Production: Current Status and Potential
Jan 2024
Publication
The technique of producing hydrogen by utilizing green and renewable energy sources is called green hydrogen production. Therefore by implementing this technique hydrogen will become a sustainable and clean energy source by lowering greenhouse gas emissions and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. The key beneft of producing green hydrogen by utilizing green energy is that no harmful pollutants or greenhouse gases are directly released throughout the process. Hence to guarantee all of the environmental advantages it is crucial to consider the entire hydrogen supply chain involving storage transportation and end users. Hydrogen is a promising clean energy source and targets plan pathways towards decarbonization and net-zero emissions by 2050. This paper has highlighted the techniques for generating green hydrogen that are needed for a clean environment and sustainable energy solutions. Moreover it summarizes an overview outlook and energy transient of green hydrogen production. Consequently its perspective provides new insights and research directions in order to accelerate the development and identify the potential of green hydrogen production.
Well Integrity in Salt Cavern Hydrogen Storage
Jul 2024
Publication
Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) in salt caverns is a sustainable energy solution to reduce global warming. Salt rocks provide an exceptional insulator to store natural hydrogen as they have low porosity and permeability. Nevertheless the salt creeping nature and hydrogeninduced impact on the operational infrastructure threaten the integrity of the injection/production wells. Furthermore the scarcity of global UHS initiatives indicates that investigations on well integrity remain insufficient. This study strives to profoundly detect the research gap and imperative considerations for well integrity preservation in UHS projects. The research integrates the salt critical characteristics the geomechanical and geochemical risks and the necessary measurements to maintain well integrity. The casing mechanical failure was found as the most challenging threat. Furthermore the corrosive and erosive effects of hydrogen atoms on cement and casing may critically put the well integrity at risk. The research also indicated that the simultaneous impact of temperature on the salt creep behavior and hydrogen-induced corrosion is an unexplored area that has scope for further research. This inclusive research is an up-to-date source for analysis of the previous advancements current shortcomings and future requirements to preserve well integrity in UHS initiatives implemented within salt caverns.
Hydrogen Production from Low-quality Water: Challenges and Perspectives
Sep 2022
Publication
The Next Generation EU plan fosters the development of a large capacity for hydrogen generation. However water and energy resources are strictly connected to an indissoluble nexus. For that water electrolysis may counteract the coexistence of two primary UNO Sustainable Development Goals humankind must face to achieve a prosperous and equal society namely SDG 7 (Affordable access to renewable energy sources) and SDG 6 (clean water). To design innovative energy systems implementing hydrogen as an efficient and sustainable vector water resources need careful management and energy use ought not to compete with freshwater delivery. Therefore the present study reviews the technologies available for hydrogen production and their fitness to water quality standards. Among the feeding possibilities to be scrutinized wastewaters and saline waters are worth attention. Each source of water asks for a specific design and management of the water treatment pre-process. Since these steps are energydemanding in some applications the direct use of low-quality water to produce hydrogen may be envisaged. An example is the direct feeding of seawater to Solid Oxide Electrolysers (SOE). SOEs appear more promising than commercial low-temperature electrolysis systems since water steam production integrates the function of preliminary water treatment.
A Review of Type V Composite Pressure Vessels and Automated Fibre Placement Based Manufacturing
Feb 2023
Publication
Hydrogen is emerging as a promising future energy medium in a wide range of industries. For mobile applica tions it is commonly stored in a gaseous state within high-pressure composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs). The current state of the art pressure vessel technology known as Type V eliminates the internal polymer gas barrier used in Type IV vessels and instead relies on carbon fibre laminate to provide structural properties and prevent gas leakage. Achieving this functionality at high pressure poses several engineering challenges that have thus far prohibited commercial application. Additionally the traditional manufacturing process for COPVs filament winding has several constraints that limit the design space. Automated fibre placement (AFP) a highly flexible robotic composites manufacturing technique has the potential to replace filament winding for composite pressure vessel manufacturing and provide pathways for further vessel optimi sation. A combination of both AFP and Type V technology could provide an avenue for a new generation of highperformance composite pressure vessels. This critical review presents key work on industry-standard Type IV vessels alongside the current state of Type V CPV technology including manufacturing developments challenges cost relevance to commercial standards and future fabrication solutions using AFP. Additionally a novel Type V CPV design concept for a two-piece AFP produced vessel is presented.
An Overview of the Photocatalytic Water Splitting over Suspended Particles
Jan 2021
Publication
The conversion of solar to chemical energy is one of the central processes considered in the emerging renewable energy economy. Hydrogen production from water splitting over particulate semiconductor catalysts has often been proposed as a simple and a cost-effective method for largescale production. In this review we summarize the basic concepts of the overall water splitting (in the absence of sacrificial agents) using particulate photocatalysts with a focus on their synthetic methods and the role of the so-called “co-catalysts”. Then a focus is then given on improving light absorption in which the Z-scheme concept and the overall system efficiency are discussed. A section on reactor design and cost of the overall technology is given where the possibility of the different technologies to be deployed at a commercial scale and the considerable challenges ahead are discussed. To date the highest reported efficiency of any of these systems is at least one order of magnitude lower than that deserving consideration for practical applications.
A Comparative Total Cost of Ownership Analysis of Heavy Duty On-road and Off-road Vehicles Powered by Hydrogen, Electricity, and Diesel
Dec 2022
Publication
This study investigated the cost competitiveness using total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in heavy duty on and off-road fleet applications as a key enabler in the decarbonisation of the transport sector and compares results to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and diesel internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). Assessments were carried out for a present day (2021) scenario and a sensitivity analysis assesses the impact of changing input parameters on FCEV TCO. This identified conditions under which FCEVs become competitive. A future outlook is also carried out examining the impact of time-sensitive parameters on TCO when net zero targets are to be reached in the UK and EU. Several FCEVs are cost competitive with ICEVs in 2021 but not BEVs under base case conditions. However FCEVs do have potential to become competitive with BEVs under specific conditions favouring hydrogen including the application of purchase grants and a reduced hydrogen price. By 2050 a number of FCEVs running on several hydrogen scenarios show a TCO lower than ICEVs and BEVs using rapid chargers but for the majority of vehicles considered BEVs remain the lowest in cost unless specific FCEV incentives are implemented. This paper has identified key factors hindering the deployment of hydrogen and conducted comprehensive TCO analysis in heavy duty on and off-road fleet applications. The output has direct contribution to the decarbonisation of the transport sector.
Cost and Competitiveness of Green Hydrogen and the Effects of the European Union Regulatory Framework
May 2024
Publication
By passing the delegated acts supplementing the revised Renewable Energy Directive the European Commission has recently set a regulatory benchmark for the classifcation of green hydrogen in the European Union. Controversial reactions to the restricted power purchase for electrolyser operation refect the need for more clarity about the efects of the delegated acts on the cost and the renewable characteristics of green hydrogen. To resolve this controversy we compare diferent power purchase scenarios considering major uncertainty factors such as electricity prices and the availability of renewables in various European locations. We show that the permission for unrestricted electricity mix usage does not necessarily lead to an emission intensity increase partially debilitating concerns by the European Commission and could notably decrease green hydrogen production cost. Furthermore our results indicate that the transitional regulations adopted to support a green hydrogen production ramp-up can result in similar cost reductions and ensure high renewable electricity usage.
Water Electrolysis and Hydrogen in the European Union - Status Report on Technology Development, Trends, Value Chains & Markets
Jan 2024
Publication
This report is an output of the Clean Energy Technology Observatory (CETO) and is an update of the “Water electrolysis and hydrogen in the European Union” 2023 CETO report. CETO’s objective is to provide an evidencebased analysis feeding the policy making process and hence increasing the effectiveness of R&I policies for clean energy technologies and solutions. It monitors EU research and innovation activities on clean energy technologies needed for the delivery of the European Green Deal; and assesses the competitiveness of the EU clean energy sector and its positioning in the global energy market. CETO is being implemented by the Joint Research Centre for DG Research and Innovation Energy in coordination with DG Energy.
Assessment of Hydrogen Transport Aircraft
Sep 2022
Publication
Zero-carbon-dioxide-emitting hydrogen-powered aircraft have in recent decades come back on the stage as promising protagonists in the fght against global warming. The main cause for the reduced performance of liquid hydrogen aircraft lays in the fuel storage which demands the use of voluminous and heavy tanks. Literature on the topic shows that the optimal fuel storage solution depends on the aircraft range category but most studies disagree on which solution is optimal for each category. The objective of this research was to identify and compare possible solutions to the integration of the hydrogen fuel containment system on regional short/medium- and large passenger aircraft and to understand why and how the optimal tank integration strategy depends on the aircraft category. This objective was pursued by creating a design and analysis framework for CS-25 aircraft capable of appreciating the efects that diferent combinations of tank structure fuselage diameter tank layout shape venting pressure and pressure control generate at aircraft level. Despite that no large diferences among categories were found the following main observations were made: (1) using an integral tank structure was found to be increasingly more benefcial with increasing aircraft range/size. (2) The use of a forward tank in combination with the aft one appeared to be always benefcial in terms of energy consumption. (3) The increase in fuselage diameter is detrimental especially when an extra aisle is not required and a double-deck cabin is not feasible. (4) Direct venting has when done efciently a small positive efect. (5) The optimal venting pressure varies with the aircraft confguration performance and mission. The impact on performance from sizing the tank for missions longer than the harmonic one was also quantifed.
Research and Development of Hydrogen Carrier Based Solutions for Hydrogen Compression and Storage
Aug 2022
Publication
Martin Dornheim,
Lars Baetcke,
Etsuo Akiba,
Jose-Ramón Ares,
Tom Autrey,
Jussara Barale,
Marcello Baricco,
Kriston Brooks,
Nikolaos Chalkiadakis,
Véronique Charbonnier,
Steven Christensen,
José Bellosta von Colbe,
Mattia Costamagna,
Erika Michela Dematteis,
Jose-Francisco Fernández,
Thomas Gennett,
David Grant,
Tae Wook Heo,
Michael Hirscher,
Katherine Hurst,
Mykhaylo V. Lototskyy,
Oliver Metz,
Paola Rizzi,
Kouji Sakaki,
Sabrina Sartori,
Emmanuel Stamatakis,
Alastair D. Stuart,
Athanasios Stubos,
Gavin Walker,
Colin Webb,
Brandon Wood,
Volodymyr A. Yartys and
Emmanuel Zoulias
Industrial and public interest in hydrogen technologies has risen strongly recently as hydrogen is the ideal means for medium to long term energy storage transport and usage in combination with renewable and green energy supply. In a future energy system the production storage and usage of green hydrogen is a key technology. Hydrogen is and will in future be even more used for industrial production processes as a reduction agent or for the production of synthetic hydrocarbons especially in the chemical industry and in refineries. Under certain conditions material based systems for hydrogen storage and compression offer advantages over the classical systems based on gaseous or liquid hydrogen. This includes in particular lower maintenance costs higher reliability and safety. Hydrogen storage is possible at pressures and temperatures much closer to ambient conditions. Hydrogen compression is possible without any moving parts and only by using waste heat. In this paper we summarize the newest developments of hydrogen carriers for storage and compression and in addition give an overview of the different research activities in this field.
Optimal Hydrogen Carrier: Holistic Evaluation of Hydrogen Storage and Transportation Concepts for Power Generation, Aviation, and Transportation
Oct 2022
Publication
The storage of excess electrical generation enabled through the electrolytic production of hydrogen from water would allow “load-shifting” of power generation. This paves the way for hydrogen as an energy carrier to be further used as a zero‑carbon fuel for land air and sea transportation. However challenges in hydrogen storage and transportation ultimately pose restrictions on its wider adaption along horizontal and vertical vectors. This paper investigates chemical energy carriers ranging from small molecules such as ammonia and methane to formic acid as well as other more complex hydrocarbons in response to this timely engineering problem. The hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of such carrier molecules require energy lowering the effective net heating value of hydrogen up to 32 %. Different carrier approaches are discussed in the light of availability energetics water requirements and suitability for applications in power generation shipping trucking and aviation supplemented by a comprehensive safety review making this study unique in its field. It is found that hydrogen delivered without a carrier is ideal for power generation applications due to the large quantities required. Aviation would benefit from either ammonia or hydrogen and is generally a field challenging to decarbonize. Ammonia appears also to be a good medium for shipping hydrogen between continents and to power container ships due to its high energy density and lower liquid temperature compared with hydrogen. At the same time ammonia can also be used to power the ship's engine. Long-haul trucking would benefit the most from cryogenic or compressed hydrogen due to the lower quantities required and purity requirements of the fuel cells.
Compact Heat Exchangers for Hydrogen-fueled Aero Engine Intercooling and Recuperation
Jan 2024
Publication
This study investigates the application of compact heat exchangers for the purpose of intercooling and recuperation systems for short-to-medium range aircraft equipped with hydrogen-fueled turbofan engines. The primary objective is to assess the potential effects of engine-integrated compact heat exchangers on fuel consumption and emissions. The paper encompasses the conceptual design of integrated heat exchangers and associated ducts followed by aerodynamic optimization studies to identify suitable designs that minimize air-side pressure losses and ensure flow uniformity at the inlet of the high-pressure compressor. Pressure drop correlations are then established for selected duct designs and incorporated into a system-level performance model allowing for a comparison of their impact on specific fuel consumption NOx emissions and fuel burn against an uncooled baseline engine. The intercooled-recuperated engine resulted in the most significant improvement in take-off specific fuel consumption with a reduction of up to 7.7% compared to the baseline uncooled engine whereas the best intercooled engine resulted in an improvement of about 4%. Furthermore the best configuration demonstrated a decrease in NOx emissions by up to 37% at take-off and a reduction in mission fuel burn by 5.5%. These enhancements were attributed to reduced compression work pre-heating of the hydrogen fuel and lower high-pressure compressor outlet temperatures.
Metal Hydrides for Hydrogen Storage - Identification and Evaluation of Stationary and Transportation Applications
Dec 2023
Publication
Hydrogen is becoming increasingly important to achieve the valid defossilization goals. However due to its physical properties especially the storage of hydrogen is challenging. One option in this regard are metal hy drides which are able to store hydrogen in chemically material-bound form. Against this background the goal of this paper is an analysis of possible technical application areas of such metal hydrides – both regarding transport and stationary application. These various options are assessed for metal hydrides as well as selected competing hydrogen storage options. The investigation shows that metal hydrides with a temperature range below 100 ◦C (e.g. TiFe) are of interest particularly for transportation applications; possible areas of application include rail and marine transportation as well as selected non-road vehicles. For stationary applications metal hydrides can be used on low and high temperature levels. Here metal hydrides with operating temperatures below 100 ◦C are particularly useful for selected small-scale applications (e.g. home storage systems). For applications with me dium storage capacities (100 kWh to 100 MWh) metal hydrides with higher temperature levels are also conceivable (e.g. NaAlH4). For even higher storage demands metal hydrides are less promising.
Techno-economic Assessment of Renewable Methanol from Biomass Gasification and PEM Electrolysis for Decarbonization of the Maritime Sector in California
Mar 2022
Publication
At scale biomass-based fuels are seen as long-term alternatives to conventional shipping fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime sector. While the operational benefits of renewable methanol as a marine fuel are well-known its cost and environmental performance depend largely on production method and geographic context. In this study a techno-economic and environmental assessment of renewable methanol produced by gasification of forestry residues is performed. Two biorefinery systems are modeled thermody namically for the first time integrating several design changes to extend past work: (1) methanol synthesized by gasification of torrefied biomass while removing and storing underground a fraction of the carbon initially contained in it and (2) integration of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer for increased carbon efficiency via hydrogen injection into the methanol synthesis process. The chosen use case is set in California with forest residue biomass as the feedstock and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as the shipping fuel demand point. Methanol produced by both systems achieves substantial lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions savings compared to traditional shipping fuels ranging from 38 to 165% from biomass roadside to methanol combustion. Renewable methanol can be carbon-negative if the CO2 captured during the biomass conversion process is sequestered underground with net greenhouse gas emissions along the lifecycle amounting to − 57 gCO2eq/MJ. While the produced methanol in both pathways is still more expensive than conventional fossil fuels the introduction of CO2eq abatement incentives available in the U.S. and California could bring down minimum fuel selling prices substantially. The produced methanol can be competitive with fossil shipping fuels at credit amounts ranging from $150 to $300/tCO2eq depending on the eligible credits.
The Future Technological Potential of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems for Aviation and Preliminary Co-design of a Hybrid Regional Aircraft Powertrain Through a Mathematical Tool
Feb 2023
Publication
The growing demand for air travel in the commercial sector leads to an increase in global emissions whose mitigation entails transitioning from the current fossil-fuel based generation of aircrafts to a cleaner one within a short timeframe. The use of hydrogen and fuel cells has the potential to reach zero emissions in the aerospace sector provided that required innovation and research efforts are substantially accomplished. Development programs investments and new regulations are needed for this technology to be safe and economical. In this context it makes sense to develop a model-based preliminary design methodology for a hybrid regional aircraft assisted by a battery hybridized fuel cell powertrain. The technological assumptions underlying the study refer to both current and expected data for 2035. The major contribution of the proposed methodology is to provide a mathematical tool that considers the interactions between the choice of components in terms of installed power and energy management. This simultaneous study is done because of the availability of versatile control maps. The tool was then deployed to define current and future technological scenarios for fuel cell battery and hydrogen storage systems by quickly adapting control strategies to different sizing criteria and technical specifications. In this way it is possible to facilitate the estimation of the impact of different sizing criteria and technological features at the aircraft level on the onboard electrical system the management of in-flight power the propulsion methods the impact of the masses on consumption and operational characteristics in a typical flight mission. The proposed combination of advanced sizing and energy management strategies allowed meeting mass and volume constraints with state-of-the-art PEM fuel cell and Li-ion battery specifications. Such a solution corresponds to a high degree of hybridization between the fuel cell system and battery pack (i.e. 300 kW and 750 kWh) whereas projected 2035 specs were demonstrated to help reduce mass and volume by 23 % and 40 % respectively.
Design, Development, and Performance of a 10 kW Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Stack as Part of a Hybrid Power Source Designed to Supply a Motor Glider
Aug 2020
Publication
A 10 kW PEMFC (polymer exchange membrane fuel cell) stack consisting of two 5 kW modules (A) and (B) connected in series with a multi-function controller unit was constructed and tested. The electrical performance of the V-shaped PEMFC stack was investigated under constant and variable electrical load. It was found that the PEMFC stack was capable of supplying the required 10 kW of electrical power. An optimised purification process via ‘purge’ or humidification implemented by means of a short-circuit unit (SCU) control strategy enabled slightly improved performance. Online monitoring of the utilisation of the hydrogen system was developed and tested during the operation of the stack especially under variable electrical load. The air-cooling subsystem consisting of a common channel connecting two 5 kW PEMFC modules and two cascade axial fans was designed manufactured using 3D printing technology and tested with respect to the electrical performance of the device. The dependence of total partial-pressure drop vs. ratio of air volumetric flow for the integrated PEMFC stack with cooling devices was also determined. An algorithm of stack operation involving thermal humidity and energy management was elaborated. The safety operation and fault diagnosis of the PEMFC stack was also tested.
Theoretical Limits of Hydrogen Storage in Metal-Organic Frameworks: Opportunities and Trade-offs
Jul 2013
Publication
Because of their high surface areas crystallinity and tunable propertiesmetal−organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted intense interest as next-generationmaterials for gas capture and storage. While much effort has been devoted to thediscovery of new MOFs a vast catalog of existing MOFs resides within the CambridgeStructural Database (CSD) many of whose gas uptake properties have not beenassessed. Here we employ data mining and automated structure analysis to identify“cleanup” and rapidly predict the hydrogen storage properties of these compounds.Approximately 20 000 candidate compounds were generated from the CSD using analgorithm that removes solvent/guest molecules. These compounds were thencharacterized with respect to their surface area and porosity. Employing the empiricalrelationship between excess H2 uptake and surface area we predict the theoretical total hydrogen storage capacity for the subsetof ∼4000 compounds exhibiting nontrivial internal porosity. Our screening identifies several overlooked compounds having hightheoretical capacities; these compounds are suggested as targets of opportunity for additional experimental characterization.More importantly screening reveals that the relationship between gravimetric and volumetric H2 density is concave downwardwith maximal volumetric performance occurring for surface areas of 3100−4800 m2 /g. We conclude that H2 storage in MOFswill not benefit from further improvements in surface area alone. Rather discovery efforts should aim to achieve moderate massdensities and surface areas simultaneously while ensuring framework stability upon solvent removal.
Reliability of Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier-based Energy Storage in a Mobility Applications
Jan 2020
Publication
Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) are a technology that allows storing hy-drogen in a safe and dense manner by reversible chemical conversion. They consti-tute a very promising option for energy storage transport and release combined withelectric power generation by fuel cells in large-scale applications like trains. In orderto establish trains running on LOHC it is mandatory to ensure the reliability of thesystem. This study evaluates various system configurations concerning reliabilityand resilience. The fault tree analysis method has been used to quantify the prob-ability of failure. The S-P matrix was applied to assess the different failure modes incontext of severity as well as their probability. The MTTF of the system can be morethan doubled by introducing single redundancy for the fuel cell and the reactor whilemore than two redundant components diminish the positive effect on reliability dueto higher complexity. It is estimated that the systems full functionality is available formore than 97% of its operating time.
Techno-economic Analysis of High-Pressure Metal Hydride Compression Systems
Jun 2018
Publication
Traditional high-pressure mechanical compressors account for over half of the car station’s cost have insufficient reliability and are not feasible for a large-scale fuel cell market. An alternative technology employing a two-stage hybrid system based on electrochemical and metal hydride compression technologies represents an excellent alternative to conventional compressors. The high-pressure stage operating at 100–875 bar is based on a metal hydride thermal system. A techno-economic analysis of the metal hydride system is presented and discussed. A model of the metal hydride system was developed integrating a lumped parameter mass and energy balance model with an economic model. A novel metal hydride heat exchanger configuration is also presented based on minichannel heat transfer systems allowing for effective high-pressure compression. Several metal hydrides were analyzed and screened demonstrating that one selected material namely (Ti0.97Zr0.03)1.1Cr1.6Mn0.4 is likely the best candidate material to be employed for high-pressure compressors under the specific conditions. System efficiency and costs were assessed based on the properties of currently available materials at industrial levels. Results show that the system can reach pressures on the order of 875 bar with thermal power provided at approximately 150 ◦C. The system cost is comparable with the current mechanical compressors and can be reduced in several ways as discussed in the paper.
A Review of Water Electrolysis-based Systems for Hydrogen Production using Hybrid/Solar/Wind Energy Systems
Oct 2022
Publication
Hydrogen energy as clean and efcient energy is considered signifcant support for the construction of a sustainable society in the face of global climate change and the looming energy revolution. Hydrogen is one of the most important chemical substances on earth and can be obtained through various techniques using renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. However the necessity for a gradual transition to renewable energy sources signifcantly hampers eforts to identify and implement green hydrogen production paths. Therefore this paper’s objective is to provide a technological review of the systems of hydrogen production from solar and wind energy utilizing several types of water electrolyzers. The current paper starts with a short brief about the diferent production techniques. A detailed comparison between water electrolyzer types and a complete illustration of hydrogen production techniques using solar and wind are presented with examples after which an economic assessment of green hydrogen production by comparing the costs of the discussed renewable sources with other production methods. Finally the challenges that face the mentioned production methods are illuminated in the current review.
Recent Development of Fuel Cell Core Components and Key Materials: A Review
Feb 2023
Publication
Fuel cells as key carriers for hydrogen energy development and utilization provide a vital opportunity to achieve zero-emission energy use and have thus attracted considerable attention from fundamental research to industrial application levels. Considering the current status of fuel cell technology and the industry this paper presents a systematic elaboration of progress and development trends in fuel cell core components and key materials such as stacks bipolar plates membrane electrodes proton exchange membranes catalysts gas diffusion layers air compressors and hydrogen circulation systems. In addition some proposals for the development of fuel cell vehicles in China are presented based on the analysis of current supporting policies standards and regulations along with manufacturing costs in China. The fuel cell industry of China is still in the budding stage of development and thus suffers some challenges such as lagging fundamental systems imperfect standards and regulations high product costs and uncertain technical safety and stability levels. Therefore to accelerate the development of the hydrogen energy and fuel cell vehicle industry it is an urgent need to establish a complete supporting policy system accelerate technical breakthroughs transformations and applications of key materials and core components and reduce the cost of hydrogen use.
Ammonia as a Carbon-Free Energy Carrier: NH3 Cracking to H2
Jul 2024
Publication
In the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables hydrogen is a realistic alternative to achieving the decarbonization target. However its chemical and physical properties make its storage and transport expensive. To ensure the cost-effective H2 usage as an energy vector other chemicals are getting attention as H2 carriers. Among them ammonia is the most promising candidate. The value chain of NH3 as a H2 carrier considering the long-distance ship transport includes NH3 synthesis and storage at the loading terminal NH3 storage at the unloading terminal and its cracking to release H2. NH3 synthesis and cracking are the cost drivers of the value chain. Also the NH3 cracking at large scale is not a mature technology and a significant effort has to be made in intensifying the process as much as possible. In this respect this work reviews the available technologies for NH3 cracking critically analyzing them in view of the scale up to the industrial level.
A Unified European Hydrogen Infrastructure Planning to Support the Rapid Scale-up of Hydrogen Production
Jun 2024
Publication
Hydrogen will become a key player in transitioning toward a net-zero energy system. However a clear pathway toward a unified European hydrogen infrastructure to support the rapid scale-up of hydrogen production is still under discussion. This study explores plausible pathways using a fully sector-coupled energy system model. Here we assess the emergence of hydrogen infrastructure build-outs connecting neighboring European nations through hydrogen import and domestic production centers with Western and Central European demands via four distinct hydrogen corridors. We identify a potential lock-in effect of blue hydrogen in the medium term highlighting the risk of longterm dependence on methane. In contrast we show that a self-sufficient Europe relying on domestic green hydrogen by 2050 would increase yearly expenses by around 3% and require 518 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity. This study emphasizes the importance of rapidly scaling up electrolysis capacity building hydrogen networks and storage facilities deploying renewable electricity generation and ensuring coherent coordination across European nations.
Nanoporous Polymer-based Composites for Enhanced Hydrogen Storage
May 2019
Publication
The exploration and evaluation of new composites possessing both processability and enhanced hydrogen storage capacity are of signifcant interest for onboard hydrogen storage systems and fuel cell based electric vehicle development. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of composite membranes with sufcient mechanical properties for enhanced hydrogen storage that are based on a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) matrix containing nano-sized fllers: activated carbon (AX21) or metal–organic framework (MIL-101). This is one of the frst comparative studies of diferent composite systems for hydrogen storage and in addition the frst detailed evaluation of the difusion kinetics of hydrogen in polymer-based nanoporous composites. The composite flms were characterised by surface area and porosity analysis hydrogen adsorption measurements mechanical testing and gas adsorption modelling. The PIM-1/AX21 composite with 60 wt% AX21 provides enhanced hydrogen adsorption kinetics and a total hydrogen storage capacity of up to 9.35 wt% at 77 K; this is superior to the US Department of Energy hydrogen storage target. Tensile testing indicates that the ultimate stress and strain of PIM-1/ AX21 are higher than those of the MIL-101 or PAF-1 containing composites and are sufcient for use in hydrogen storage tanks. The data presented provides new insights into both the design and characterisation methods of polymer-based composite membranes. Our nanoporous polymer-based composites ofer advantages over powders in terms of safety handling and practical manufacturing with potential for hydrogen storage applications either as means of increasing storage or decreasing operating pressures in high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks.
Comprehensive Investigation of Solar-based Hydrogen and Electricity Production in Iran
Jun 2021
Publication
Hydrogen is a clean and environmentally friendly energy vector that can play an important role in meeting the world’s futureenergy needs. Therefore a comprehensive study of the potential for hydrogen production from solar energy could greatlyfacilitate the transition to a hydrogen economy. Because by knowing the exact amount of potential for solar hydrogenproduction the cost-effectiveness of its production can be compared with other methods of hydrogen production. Consideringthe above it can be seen that so far no comprehensive study has been done on finding the exact potential of solar hydrogenproduction in different stations of Iran and finding the most suitable station. Therefore in the present work for the first timeusing the HOMER and ArcGIS softwares the technical-economic study of solar hydrogen production at home-scale was done.The results showed that Jask station with a levelized cost of energy equal to $ 0.172 and annual production of 83.8 kg ofhydrogen is the best station and Darab station with a levelized cost of energy equal to $ 0.286 and annual production of 50.4 kgof hydrogen is the worst station. According to the results other suitable stations were Bushehr and Deyr and other unsuitablestations were Anzali and Khalkhal. Also in 102 under study stations 380 MW of solar electricity equivalent to 70.2 tons ofhydrogen was produced annually. Based on the geographic information system map it is clear that the southern half of Iranespecially the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the sea of Oman is suitable for hydrogen production and the northernnortheastern northwestern and one region in southern of Iran are unsuitable for hydrogen production. The authors of thisarticle hope that the results of the present work will help the energy policymakers to create strategic frameworks and a roadmapfor the production of solar hydrogen in Iran.
Hydrogen Intensified Synthesis Processes to Valorise Process Off-gases in Integrated Steelworks
Jul 2023
Publication
Ismael Matino,
Stefano Dettori,
Amaia Sasiain Conde,
Valentina Colla,
Alice Petrucciani,
Antonella Zaccara,
Vincenzo Iannino,
Claudio Mocci,
Alexander Hauser,
Sebastian Kolb,
Jürgen Karl,
Philipp Wolf-Zoellner,
Stephane Haag,
Michael Bampaou,
Kyriakos Panopoulos,
Eleni Heracleousa,
Nina Kieberger,
Katharina Rechberger,
Leokadia Rog and
Przemyslaw Rompalski
Integrated steelworks off-gases are generally exploited to produce heat and electricity. However further valorization can be achieved by using them as feedstock for the synthesis of valuable products such as methane and methanol with the addition of renewable hydrogen. This was the aim of the recently concluded project entitled “Intelligent and integrated upgrade of carbon sources in steel industries through hydrogen intensified synthesis processes (i3 upgrade)”. Within this project several activities were carried out: from laboratory analyses to simulation investigations from design development and tests of innovative reactor concepts and of advanced process control to detailed economic analyses business models and investigation of implementation cases. The final developed methane production reactors arerespectively an additively manufactured structured fixedbed reactor and a reactor setup using wash-coated honeycomb monoliths as catalyst; both reactors reached almost full COx conversion under slightly over-stoichiometric conditions. A new multi-stage concept of methanol reactor was designed commissioned and extensively tested at pilot-scale; it shows very effective conversion rates near to 100% for CO and slightly lower for CO2 at one-through operation for the methanol synthesis. Online tests proved that developed dispatch controller implements a smooth control strategy in real time with a temporal resolution of 1 min and a forecasting horizon of 2 h. Furthermore both offline simulations and cost analyses highlighted the fundamental role of hydrogen availability and costs for the feasibility of i 3 upgrade solutions and showed that the industrial implementation of the i 3 upgrade solutions can lead to significant environmental and economic benefits for steelworks especially in case green electricity is available at an affordable price.
Flexibility Improvement Evaluation of Hydrogen Storage Based on Electricity-Hydrogen Coupled Energy Model
Nov 2021
Publication
To achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 decarbonization in the energy sector is crucial. Hydrogen is expected to be vital for achieving the aim of carbon neutrality for two reasons: use of power-to-hydrogen (P2H) can avoid carbon emissions from hydrogen production which is traditionally performed using fossil fuels; Hydrogen from P2H can be stored for long durations in large scales and then delivered as industrial raw material or fed back to the power system depending on the demand. In this study we focus on the analysis and evaluation of hydrogen value in terms of improvement in the flexibility of the energy system particularly that derived from hydrogen storage. An electricity–hydrogen coupled energy model is proposed to realize the hourly-level operation simulation and capacity planning optimization aiming at the lowest cost of energy. Based on this model and considering Northwest China as the region of study the potential of improvement in the flexibility of hydrogen storage is determined through optimization calculations in a series of study cases with various hydrogen demand levels. The results of the quantitative calculations prove that effective hydrogen storage can improve the system flexibility by promoting the energy demand balance over a long term contributing toward reducing the investment cost of both generators and battery storage and thus the total energy cost. This advantage can be further improved when the hydrogen demand rises. However a cost reduction by 20% is required for hydrogen-related technologies to initiate hydrogen storage as long-term energy storage for power systems. This study provides a suggestion and reference for the advancement and planning of hydrogen storage development in regions with rich sources of renewable energy.
Using of an Electrochemical Compressor for Hydrogen Recirculation in Fuel Cell Vehicles
Jun 2020
Publication
The automotive industry sees hydrogen-powered fuel cell(FC) drives as a promising option with a high range and shortrefueling time. Current research aims to increase the profitabil-ity of the fuel cell system by reducing hydrogen consumption.This study suggests the use of an electrochemical hydrogencompressor (EHC) for hydrogen recirculation. Compared tomechanical compressors the EHC is very efficient due to thealmost isothermal conditions and due to its modular structurecan only take up a minimal amount of space in vehicles. Inaddition gas separation and purification of the hydrogentakes place in an EHC which is a significant advantage overthe standard recirculation with a blower or a jet pump. Thehigh purity of the hydrogen at the cathode outlet of the EHCalso increased partial pressure of the hydrogen at the fuel cellinlet and its efficiency. The study carried out shows that repla-cing the blower with the EHC reduces the hydrogen loss bypurging by up to ~95% and the efficiency of the FC systemcould be further improved. Thus the EHC has a great poten-tial for recycling hydrogen in FC systems in the automotiveindustry and is a great alternative to the current blower.
Underground Hydrogen Storage in Caverns: Challenges of Impure Salt Stuctures
Oct 2023
Publication
Hydrogen is expected to play a key role in the future as a clean energy source that can mitigate global warming. It can also contribute significantly to reducing the imbalance between energy supply and demand posed by deploying renewable energy. However the infrastructure is not ready for the direct use of hydrogen and largescale storage facilities are needed to store the excess hydrogen production. Geological formations particularly salt caverns seem to be a practical option for this large-scale storage as there is already good experience storing hydrocarbons in caverns worldwide. Salt is known to be ductile impermeable and inert to natural gas. Some cases of hydrogen storage in salt caverns in the United States the United Kingdom and Germany reinforce the idea that salt caverns could be a viable option for underground hydrogen storage especially when the challenges and uncertainties associated with hydrogen storage in porous media are considered. However cavern con struction and management can be challenging when salt deposits are not completely pure and mixed with nonsoluble strata. This review summarises the challenges associated with hydrogen storage in salt caverns and suggests some potential mitigation strategies linked to geomechanical and geochemical interactions. The Zechstein salt group in Northern Europe seems to be a feasible geological site for hydrogen storage but the effect of salt impurity particularly at deep offshore sites such as in the Norwegian North Sea should be carefully analysed. It appears that mechanical integrity geochemical reactions hydrogen loss by halophilic bacteria leaching issues and potential hydrogen diffusion are among the major issues when the internal structure of the salt is not pure.
Impact of Capillary Pressure Hysteresis and Injection-withdrawal Scehemes on Performance of Underground Hydrogen Storage
Oct 2023
Publication
Underground hydrogen storage in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and aquifers has been proposed as a potential long-term solution to storing intermittently produced renewable electricity as the subsurface formations provide secure and large storage space. Various phenomena can lead to hydrogen loss in subsurface systems with the key cause being the trapping especially during the withdrawal cycle. Capillary trapping in particular is strongly related to the hysteresis phenomena observed in the capillary pressure/saturation and relative-permeability/saturation curves. This paper address two key points: (1) the sole impact of hysteresis in capillary pressure on hydrogen trapping during withdrawal cycles and (2) the dependency of optimal operational parameters (injection/withdrawal flow rate) and the reservoir characteristics such as permeability thickness and wettability of the porous medium on the remaining hydrogen saturation.<br/>Model<br/>To study the capillary hysteresis during underground hydrogen storage Killough [1] model was implemented in the MRST toolbox [2]. A comparative study was performed to quantify the impact of changes in capillary pressure behaviour by including and excluding the hysteresis and scanning curves. Additionally this study investigates the impact of injection/withdrawal rates and the aquifer permeability for various capillary and Bond numbers in a homogeneous system.<br/>Findings<br/>It was found that although the hydrogen storage efficiency is not considerably impacted by the inclusion of the capillary-pressure scanning curves the impact of capillary pressure on the well properties (withdrawal rate and pressure) can become significant. Higher injection and withdrawal rates does not necessarily lead to a better performance in terms of productivity. The productivity enhancement depends on the competition between gravitational capillary and viscous forces. The observed water upconing at relatively high capillary numbers resulted in low hydrogen productivity. highlighting the importance of well design and placement.
Contact Angle Measurement for Hydrogen/Brine/Sandstone System Using Captive-Bubble Method Relevant for Underground Hydrogen Storage
May 2021
Publication
Subsurface porous formations provide large capacities for underground hydrogen storage (UHS). Successful utilization of these porous reservoirs for UHS depends on accurate quantification of the hydrogen transport characteristics at continuum (macro) scale specially in contact with other reservoir fluids. Relative-permeability and capillary-pressure curves are among the macro-scale transport characteristics which play crucial roles in quantification of the storage capacity and efficiency. For a given rock sample these functions can be determined if pore-scale (micro-scale) surface properties specially contact angles are known. For hydrogen/brine/rock system these properties are yet to a large extent unknown. In this study we characterize the contact angles of hydrogen in contact with brine and Bentheimer and Berea sandstones at various pressure temperature and brine salinity using captive-bubble method. The experiments are conducted close to the in-situ conditions which resulted in water-wet intrinsic contact angles about 25 to 45 degrees. Moreover no meaningful correlation was found with changing tested parameters. We monitor the bubbles over time and report the average contact angles with their minimum and maximum variations. Given rock pore structures using the contact angles reported in this study one can define relative-permeability and capillary-pressure functions for reservoir-scale simulations and storage optimization.
Integration of Battery and Hydrogen Energy Storage Systems with Small-scale Hydropower Plants in Off-grid Local Energy Communities
Apr 2024
Publication
The energy transition is pushing towards a considerable diffusion of local energy communities based on renewable energy systems and coupled with energy storage systems or energy vectors to provide independence from fossil fuels and limit carbon emissions. Indeed the variable and intermittent nature of renewables make them inadequate to satisfy the end-users’ electricity demand throughout the whole day; thus the study of energy storage systems considering their seasonal storage behaviour (e.g. energy-power coupling selfdischarge loss and minimum state of charge) is fundamental to guarantee the proper energy coverage. This work aims at identifying the off-grid operation of a local energy community powered by a 220 kW small-scale hydropower plant in the center of Italy using either a battery energy storage system or a hydrogen one with the Calliope framework. Results show that whereas the hydrogen storage system is composed of a 137 kW electrolyser a 41 kW fuel cell and a storage of 5247 kgH2 a battery system storage system would have a capacity of 280 MWh. Even though the battery storage has a better round-trip efficiency its self-discharge loss and minimum state of charge limitation involve a discharging phase with a steeper slope thus requiring considerable economic investments because of the high energy-to-power ratio.
Trapping, Hysteresis and Ostwald Ripening in Hydrogen Storage: A Pore-scale Imaging Study
Jan 2024
Publication
Green hydrogen produced from surplus electricity during peak production can be injected into subsurface reservoirs and retrieved during high-demand periods. In this study X-ray tomography was employed to examine hysteresis resulting from repeated hydrogen injection and withdrawal. An unsteady state experiment was performed to evaluate the distribution of hydrogen and brine after drainage and imbibition cycles: images of the pore-space configuration of fluids were taken immediately once injection had stopped and after waiting for a period of 16 h with no flow. A Bentheimer sandstone sample with a length of 60 mm and diameter of 12.8 mm was used and hydrogen was injected at ambient temperature and a pore pressure of 1 MPa. The gas flow rate was decreased from 2 ml/min to 0.08 ml/min over three cycles of gas injection followed by water flooding while the brine injection rate was kept constant. The results showed the presence of capillary pressure hysteresis and hydrogen migration through Ostwald ripening due to the diffusion of gas dissolved in the brine. These phenomena were characterized through analysis of interfacial curvature area connectivity and pore occupancy. The hydrogen tended to reside in the larger pore spaces consistent with water-wet conditions. 16 h after flow had stopped the hydrogen aggregated into larger ganglia with a single large connected ganglion dominating the volume. Moreover the Euler characteristic decreased after 16 h indicating an improvement in connectivity. The work implies that Ostwald ripening – mass transport of dissolved gas – leads to less hysteresis and better connectivity than would be assumed ignoring this effect as done in assessments of hydrocarbon flow and trapping.
Sustainability Assessment of Green Ammonia Production to Promote Industrial Decarbonization in Spain
Oct 2023
Publication
This article investigates the economic and environmental implications of implementing green ammonia production plants in Spain. To this end one business-as-usual scenario for gray ammonia production was compared with three green ammonia scenarios powered with different renewable energy sources (i.e. solar photovoltaic (PV) wind and a combination of solar PV and wind). The results illustrated that green ammonia scenarios reduced the environmental impacts in global warming stratospheric ozone depletion and fossil resource scarcity when compared with conventional gray ammonia scenario. Conversely green ammonia implementation increased the environmental impacts in the categories of land use mineral resource scarcity freshwater eutrophication and terrestrial acidification. The techno-economic analysis revealed that the conventional gray ammonia scenario featured lower costs than green ammonia scenarios when considering a moderate natural gas cost. However green ammonia implementation became the most economically favorable option when the natural gas cost and carbon prices increased. Finally the results showed that developing efficient ammonia-fueled systems is important to make green ammonia a relevant energy vector when considering the entire supply chain (production/transportation). Overall the results of this research demonstrate that green ammonia could play an important role in future decarbonization scenarios.
Effect of Relative Permeability Hysteresis on Reservoir Simulation of Underground Hydrogen Storage in an Offshore Aquifer
Mar 2023
Publication
Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) in porous media is proposed to balance seasonal fluctuations between demand and supply in an emerging hydrogen economy. Despite increasing focus on the topic worldwide the understanding of hydrogen flow in porous media is still not adequate. In particular relative permeability hys teresis and its impact on the storage performance require detailed investigations due to the cyclic nature of H2 injection and withdrawal. We focus our analysis on reservoir simulation of an offshore aquifer setting where we use history matched relative permeability to study the effect of hysteresis and gas type on the storage efficiency. We find that omission of relative permeability hysteresis overestimates the annual working gas capacity by 34 % and the recovered hydrogen volume by 85 %. The UHS performance is similar to natural gas storage when using hysteretic hydrogen relative permeability. Nitrogen relative permeability can be used to model the UHS when hysteresis is ignored but at the cost of the accuracy of the bottom-hole pressure predictions. Our results advance the understanding of the UHS reservoir modeling approaches.
Integration of Water Electrolysis Facilities in Power Grids: A Case Study in Northern Germany
Mar 2022
Publication
This work presents a study of the effects that integration of electrolysis facilities for Power-to-X processes have on the power grid. The novel simulation setup combines a high-resolution grid optimization model and a detailed scheduling model for alkaline water electrolysis. The utilization and congestion of power lines in northern Germany is investigated by setting different installed capacities and production strategies of the electrolysis facility. For electrolysis capacities up to 300 MW (~50 ktH2/a) local impacts on the grid are observed while higher capacities cause supra-regional impacts. Thereby impacts are defined as deviations from the average line utilization greater than 5%. In addition the minimum line congestion is determined to coincide with the dailyconstrained production strategy of the electrolysis facility. Our result show a good compromise for the integrated grid-facility operation with minimum production cost and reduced impact on the grid.
Hydrogen Relative Permeability Hysteresis in Underground Storage
Aug 2022
Publication
Implementation of the hydrogen economy for emission reduction will require storage facilitiesand underground hydrogen storage (UHS) in porous media offers a readily available large-scale option. Lack ofstudies on multiphase hydrogen flow in porous media is one of the several barriers for accurate predictions ofUHS. This paper reports for the first time measurements of hysteresis in hydrogen-water relative permeabilityin a sandstone core under shallow storage conditions. We use the steady state technique to measure primarydrainage imbibition and secondary drainage relative permeabilities and extend laboratory measurements withnumerical history matching and capillary pressure measurements to cover the whole mobile saturation range.We observe that gas and water relative permeabilities show strong hysteresis and nitrogen as substitute forhydrogen in laboratory assessments should be used with care. Our results serve as calibrated input to field scalenumerical modeling of hydrogen injection and withdrawal processes during porous media UHS.
Secure Hydrogen Production Analysis and Prediction Based on Blockchain Service Framework for Intelligent Power Management System
Nov 2023
Publication
The rapid adoption of hydrogen as an eco-friendly energy source has necessitated the development of intelligent power management systems capable of efficiently utilizing hydrogen resources. However guaranteeing the security and integrity of hydrogen-related data has become a significant challenge. This paper proposes a pioneering approach to ensure secure hydrogen data analysis by integrating blockchain technology enhancing trust transparency and privacy in handling hydrogen-related information. Combining blockchain with intelligent power management systems makes the efficient utilization of hydrogen resources feasible. Using smart contracts and distributed ledger technology facilitates secure data analysis (SDA) real-time monitoring prediction and optimization of hydrogen-based power systems. The effectiveness and performance of the proposed approach are demonstrated through comprehensive case studies and simulations. Notably our prediction models including ABiLSTM ALSTM and ARNN consistently delivered high accuracy with MAE values of approximately 0.154 0.151 and 0.151 respectively enhancing the security and efficiency of hydrogen consumption forecasts. The blockchain-based solution offers enhanced security integrity and privacy for hydrogen data analysis thus advancing clean and sustainable energy systems. Additionally the research identifies existing challenges and outlines future directions for further enhancing the proposed system. This study adds to the growing body of research on blockchain applications in the energy sector specifically on secure hydrogen data analysis and intelligent power management systems.
Seasonal Hydrogen Storage Decisions Under Constrained Electricity Distribution Capacity
Jun 2022
Publication
We consider a profit-maximizing renewable energy producer operating in a rural area with limited electricity distribution capacity to the grid. While maximizing profits the energy producer is responsible for the electricity supply of a local community that aims to be self-sufficient. Energy storage is required to deal with the energy productions' uncertain and intermittent character. A promising new solution is to use strategic hydrogen reserves. This provides a long-term storage option to deal with seasonal mismatches in energy production and the local community's demand. Using a Markov decision process we provide a model that determines optimal daily decisions on how much energy to store as hydrogen and buy or sell from the power grid. We explicitly consider the seasonality and uncertainty of production demand and electricity prices. We show that ignoring seasonal demand and production patterns is suboptimal and that introducing hydrogen storage transforms loss-making operations into profitable ones. Extensive numerical experiments show that the distribution capacity should not be too small to prevent local grid congestion. A higher storage capacity increases the number of buying actions from the grid thereby causing more congestion which is problematic for the grid operator. We conclude that a profit-maximizing hydrogen storage operation alone is not an alternative to grid expansion to solve congestion which is essential knowledge for policy-makers and grid operators.
Future Costs of Hydrogen: A Quantitative Review
Mar 2024
Publication
Hydrogen is the key energy carrier of the future. Numerous industrial processes incorporate hydrogen in their transformation towards climate neutrality. To date the high cost of producing hydrogen from renewable sources has been a major barrier to its widespread adoption. Inspired by these two aspects many researchers have published cost predictions for hydrogen. This review provides an overview of the extant literature of more than 7000 publications in the last two decades concerned with the topic. After removing articles that do not provide explicit hydrogen production cost projections for the 2020 to 2050 time horizon 89 articles remain and are analyzed in detail. The review identifies 832 cost forecast data points among these studies and categorizes the data points according to various parameters such as production region production process and publication year of the study. Through a linear regression a main trajectory for the development of hydrogen production costs can be derived. The costs of hydrogen from electrolysis are reduced on the basis of this trajectory starting from the reference 5.3 V per kg in 2020 to 4.4 V per kg in 2030 and to 2.7 V per kg in 2050. The costs for natural gas-based hydrogen are almost constant on a globally aggregated basis. There are also major regional and processrelated differences. In 2050 Asia has the lowest average costs of the regions analyzed at 1.8 V per kg and production by alkaline electrolysis with average costs of 2.0 V per kg appears to be the most costeffective electrolysis technology. Although studies show a high degree of variation it is evident from this review that the trend within certain investigation parameters is well defined. Therefore researchers and practitioners can use this review to set up further analyses that depend on future hydrogen costs.
Optimal Design of Hydrogen-based Storage with a Hybrid Renewable energy System Considering Economic and Environmental Uncertainties
Dec 2023
Publication
Hydrogen and electricity derived from renewable sources present feasible alternative energy options for the decarbonisation of the transportation and power sectors. This study presents the utilisation of hydrogen generated from solar and wind energy resources as a clean fuel for mobility and backup storage for stationary applications under economic and environmental uncertainties. This is achieved by developing a detailed technoeconomic model of an integrated system consisting of a hydrogen refuelling station and an electric power generation system using Mixed Integer Quadratic Constrained Programming (MIQCP) which is further relaxed to Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP). The model is implemented in the Advanced Interactive Multidi mensional Modelling Software (AIMMS) and considering the inherent uncertainties in the wind resource solar resource costs and discount rate the total cost of the three configurations (Hybrid PV-Wind Standalone PV and Standalone wind energy system) was minimised using robust optimisation technique and the corresponding optimal sizes of the components levelised cost of energy (LCOE) excess energy greenhouse emission avoided and carbon tax were evaluated. The levelised cost of the deterministic optimisation solution for all the config uration ranges between 0.0702 $/kWh to 0.0786 $/kWh while the levelised cost of the robust optimisation solution ranges between 0.07188 $/kWh to 0.1125 $/kWh. The proposed integration has the advantages of affordable hydrogen and electricity prices minimisation of carbon emissions and grid export of excess energy.
Place-based Allocation of R&D Funding: Directing the German Innovation System for Hydrogen Technologies in Space
Jul 2024
Publication
The geographical understanding of directionality in the literature on mission-oriented innovation systems is still underdeveloped. Therefore this article reflects on whether the allocation of funding for R&D activities to different places can direct innovation systems in space. A placebased approach to the allocation of funding and its effects on innovation systems is developed to analyze how the German national government allocates funding to the national innovation system for hydrogen technologies. The results show that the allocation of funding considers placebased characteristics and has a range of systemic outcomes encompassing the clustering of research activities the specialization of certain places in certain market segments and the in crease of the spatial reach of the national innovation system by integrating left behind places. However the funding contributes insufficiently to market formation at the local and regional scale and is contested due to existing alternative routes that the innovation system could take.
An Analysis of the Competitiveness of Hydrogen Storage and Li-ion Batteries Based on Price Arbitrage in the Day-ahead Market
Jul 2022
Publication
Acceleration of the hydrogen economy is being observed on a global scale. It is considered to be a potential solution to the problems with high-carbon energy industry and transport systems. The potential of production cost-competitiveness and opportunities are currently being investigated to provide insights to policymakers researchers and industry. In this context this study makes a quantitative assessment of the competitiveness of hydrogen storage compared to Li-ion batteries based on price arbitrage in the day-ahead market. Two scenarios that form the boundaries of rational decision-making regarding the charging and discharging of energy storage are considered. The first one assumes the charging and discharging of energy storage facilities over the same hours throughout the entire year. The selection of these hours is based on historical electricity prices. The second scenario assumes charge and discharge during historical daily minimum and maximum prices. The results show that NPV is below zero for both technologies when current values of investment expenditure are assumed. The outcomes of sensitivity analysis indicate that only a substantial reduction of investment expenditure could improve the financial results of the Li-ion batteries (NPV>0). The investigation also shows that even simplified charge and discharge over the same hours allows one to achieve 47% (hydrogen) and 70% (Li-ion batteries) of the maximum operating profit when the perfect foresight of prices is applied. In each case NPV for Li-ion technology is significantly higher than for hydrogen; for example for a 1 MWh and 1 MWout storage system NPV is EUR -4.85 million in the case of hydrogen and with Li-ion NPV is EUR -0.23 million. Consequently the application of expensive decision support systems in small systems may be unprofitable. The increase in profits may not cover the cost of developing and introducing such a system.
Hydrogen Generation from a Small-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Thermal (PV/T) Electrolyzer System: Numerical Model and Experimental Verification
Jun 2020
Publication
In this study the electrical electrochemical and thermodynamic performance of a PV/T electrolyzer system was investigated and the experimental results were verified with a numerical model. The annual amounts of electrical and thermal energy from the PV/T electrolyzer system were calculated as 556.8 kWh and 1912 kWh respectively. In addition the hydrogen production performance for the PV/T electrolyzer was compared with that of a PV electrolyzer system. The amount of hydrogen was calculated as 3.96 kg annually for the PV system while this value was calculated as 4.49 kg for the PV/T system. Furthermore the amount of hydrogen production was calculated as 4.59 kg for a 65 ◦C operation temperature. The electrical thermal and total energy efficiencies of the PV/T system which were obtained hourly on a daily basis were calculated and varied between 12–13.8% 36.1–45.2% and 49.1–58.4% respectively. The hourly exergy analyses were also carried out on a daily basis and the results showed that the exergy efficiencies changed between 13.8–14.32%. The change in the electrolysis voltage was investigated by changing the current and temperature in the ranges of 200–1600 mA/cm2 A and 30–65 ◦C respectively. While the current and the water temperature varied in the ranges of 400–2350 mA/cm2 and 28.1–45.8 ◦C respectively energy efficiency and exergy efficiency were in the ranges of 57.85–69.45% and 71.1–79.7% respectively.
Highly Efficient Solar Hydrogen Production through the Use of Bifacial Photovoltaics and Membrane Electrolysis
Jul 2020
Publication
T The large-scale implementation of solar hydrogen production requires an optimal combination of photovoltaic systems with suitably-designed electrochemical cells possibly avoiding power electronics for DC-DC conversion to decrease costs. Here a stable solar-driven water splitting system is presented obtained through the direct connection of a state-of-the-art proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer to a bifacial silicon hetero junction (SHJ) solar module of three cells in series with total area of 730 cm2 . The bifaciality of the solar module has been optimized through modeling in terms of the number of cells module height and inclination. During outdoor operation in the standard monofacial configuration the system is able to produce 3.7 gr of H2 h 1 m 2 with an irradiation of 1000 W m 2 and a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency (STH) of 11.55%. The same system operating in bifacial mode gives rise to a higher H2 flux and STH efficiency reaching values of 4.2 gr of H2 h 1 m 2 and STH of 13.5%. Such a noticeable difference is achieved through the collection of albedo radiation from the ground by the bifacial PV system. The system has been tested outdoors for more than 55 h exhibiting very good endurance with no appreciable change in production and eff
Green Hydrogen, a Solution for Replacing Fossil Fuels to Reduce CO2 Emissions
Aug 2024
Publication
The article examines the role of green hydrogen in reducing CO2 emissions in the transition to climate neutrality highlighting both its benefits and challenges. It starts by discussing the production of green hydrogen from renewable sources and provides a brief analysis of primary resource structures for energy production in European countries including Romania. Despite progress there remains a significant reliance on fossil fuels in some countries. Economic technologies for green hydrogen production are explored with a note that its production alone does not solve all issues due to complex and costly compression and storage operations. The concept of impure green hydrogen derived from biomass gasification pyrolysis fermentation and wastewater purification is also discussed. Economic efficiency and future trends in green hydrogen production are outlined. The article concludes with an analysis of hydrogen-methane mixture combustion technologies offering a conceptual framework for economically utilizing green hydrogen in the transition to a green hydrogen economy.
Model for Hydrogen Production Scheduling Optimisation
Feb 2024
Publication
This scientific article presents a developed model for optimising the scheduling of hydrogen production processes addressing the growing demand for efficient and sustainable energy sources. The study focuses on the integration of advanced scheduling techniques to improve the overall performance of the hydrogen electrolyser. The proposed model leverages constraint programming and satisfiability (CP-SAT) techniques to systematically analyse complex production schedules considering factors such as production unit capacities resource availability and energy costs. By incorporating real-world constraints such as fluctuating energy prices and the availability of renewable energy the optimisation model aims to improve overall operational efficiency and reduce production costs. The CP-SAT was applied to achieve more efficient control of the electrolysis process. The optimisation of the scheduling task was set for a 24 h time period with time resolutions of 1 h and 15 min. The performance of the proposed CP-SAT model in this study was then compared with the Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS)-based model (developed in our previous work). The CP-SAT was proven to perform better but has several limitations. The model response to the input parameter change has been analysed.
Thermodynamic Modelling, Testing and Sensitive Analysis of a Directly Pressurized Hydrogen Refuelling Process with a Compressor
Mar 2024
Publication
This paper presents the development of a thermodynamic model for the hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) to simulate the process of refuelling which involves the transfer of hydrogen gas from a high-pressure storage tank to the onboard tank of a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). This model encompasses the fundamental elements of an HRS which consists of a storage tank compressor piping system heat exchanger and an on-board vehicle tank. The model is implemented and validated using experimental data from SAE J2601. Various simulations are conducted to assess the impact of the Joule-Thomson effect and compression on the temperature of hydrogen flow specifically focusing on an average pressure rate of 18 MPa/min. Furthermore a comprehensive analysis is conducted to examine the impact of pressure variations in the storage tank (10–90 MPa) and the initial pressure within the vehicle tank (5–35 MPa) as well as variations in ambient temperature (0–40 °C). The study revealed that the energy consumption in the cooling system surpasses the average power consumption in the more advantageous scenario of 60 MPa by a range of 36% to over 220% when the pressure in the storage system drops below 30 MPa. Furthermore it was noted that the impact of ambient temperature is comparatively less significant when compared to the initial pressure of the vehicle's tank. The impact of an ambient temperature change of 10 °C on the final temperature of a hydrogen vehicle is found to be approximately 2 °C. Similarly a variation in the initial vehicle pressure of 10 MPa results in a modification of the final hydrogen vehicle temperature by approximately 8.5 °C.
Optimizing Sustainable Energy Systems: A Comparative Study of Geothermal-powered Desalination for Green Hydrogen Production
Oct 2024
Publication
The synergy between hydrogen and water is crucial in moving towards a sustainable energy future. This study explores the integration of geothermal energy with desalination and hydrogen production systems to address water and clean energy demands. Two configurations one using multi-effect distillation (MED) and the other reverse osmosis (RO) were designed and compared. Both configurations utilized geothermal energy with MED directly using geothermal heat and RO converting geothermal energy into electricity to power desalination. The systems are evaluated based on various performance indicators including net power output desalinated water production hydrogen production exergy efficiency and levelized costs. Multi-objective optimization using an artificial neural network (ANN) and genetic algorithm (GA) was conducted to identify optimal operational conditions. Results highlighted that the RO-based system demonstrated higher water production efficiency achieving a broader range of optimal solutions and lower levelized costs of water (LCOW) and hydrogen production while the MED-based system offered economic advantages under specific conditions. A case study focused on Canada illustrated the potential benefits of these systems in supporting hydrogen-powered vehicles and residential water needs emphasizing the significant impact of using high-quality desalinated water to enhance the longevity and efficiency of proton exchange membrane electrolyzers (PEME). This research provides valuable insights into the optimal use of geothermal energy for sustainable water and hydrogen production.
The Progress of Autoignition of High-Pressure Hydrogen Gas Leakage: A Comprehensive Review
Aug 2024
Publication
As a paradigm of clean energy hydrogen is gradually attracting global attention. However its unique characteristics of leakage and autoignition pose significant challenges to the development of high-pressure hydrogen storage technologies. In recent years numerous scholars have made significant progress in the field of high-pressure hydrogen leakage autoignition. This paper based on diffusion ignition theory thoroughly explores the mechanism of high-pressure hydrogen leakage autoignition. It reviews the effects of various factors such as gas properties burst disc rupture conditions tube geometric structure obstacles etc. on shock wave growth patterns and autoignition characteristics. Additionally the development of internal flames and propagation characteristics of external flames after ignition kernels generation are summarized. Finally to promote future development in the field of high-pressure hydrogen energy storage and transportation this paper identifies deficiencies in the current research and proposes key directions for future research.
Prediction of Efficiency, Performance, and Emissions Based on a Validated Simulation Model in Hydrogen–Gasoline Dual-Fuel Internal Combustion Engines
Nov 2024
Publication
This study explores the performance and emissions characteristics of a dual-fuel internal combustion engine operating on a blend of hydrogen and gasoline. This research began with a baseline simulation of a conventional gasoline engine which was subsequently validated through experimental testing on an AVL testbed. The simulation results closely matched the testbed data confirming the accuracy of the model with deviations within 5%. Building on this validated model a hydrogen–gasoline dual-fuel engine simulation was developed. The predictive simulation revealed an approximately 5% increase in overall engine efficiency at the optimal operating point primarily due to hydrogen’s combustion properties. Additionally the injected gasoline mass and CO2 emissions were reduced by around 30% across the RPM range. However the introduction of hydrogen also resulted in a slight reduction (~10%) in torque attributed to the lower volumetric efficiency caused by hydrogen displacing intake air. While CO emissions were significantly reduced NOx emissions nearly doubled due to the higher combustion temperatures associated with hydrogen. This research demonstrates the potential of hydrogen–gasoline dual-fuel systems in reducing carbon emissions while highlighting the need for further optimization to balance performance with environmental impact.
Research Progress on Corrosion and Hydrogen Embrittlement in Hydrogen-Natural Gas Pipeline Transportation
Jun 2023
Publication
Hydrogen clean efficient and zero-carbon is seen as a most promising energy source. The use of existing gas pipelines for hydrogenenatural gas transportation is considered to be an effective way to achieve long-distance large-scale efficient and economical hydrogen transportation. However the pipelines for hydrogenenatural gas transportation contain lots of impurities (e.g. CH4 high-pressure H2 H2S and CO2) and free water which will inevitably lead to corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement. This paper presents a systematic review of research and an outlook for corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement in hydrogenenatural gas pipeline transportation. The results show that gasphase hydrogen charging is suitable for hydrogenenatural gas transportation but this technique lacks technical standards. By contrast the liquid-phase hydrogen charging technique is more mature but has large deviation from the engineering reality. In the hydrogenenatural gas transportation pipelines corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement are synergetic and competitive but the failure mechanism and change law when corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement coexist remain unclear which need to be further clarified by experiments. The failure mechanism is believed to be mainly sensitive to three key factors i.e. the H2S/CO2 partial pressure ratio the hydrogen blending ratio and material strength. The increase of the three factors will make the pipeline materials more corrosive and more sensitive to hydrogen embrittlement. The research findings can be used as a reference for research and development of long-distance hydrogenenatural gas transportation technology and will drive the high-quality development of the hydrogenenatural gas blending industry.
Unconfined Hydrogen Detonations: Experiments, Modelling, Scaling
Sep 2023
Publication
A series of unconfined hydrogen detonation bench-mark experiments are analyzed with respect to CFD code validation and safety measures development. 1-Dimensional in-house code COM1D was applied for validation against experimental data for unconfined detonation of a hemispherical envelope of about 3- and 5-m radius with hydrogen-air mixtures from 20 to 30% hydrogen in air. The code demonstrates a very good agreement with experimental data and allows an adequate simulation of the unconfined hydrogen detonation. All calculated data were scaled in Sachs coordinates to compare with experimental data and to approximate the data for practical evaluation of safety distances. Numerical experiments with different hydrogen inventories from 50 g to 50 kg and different sizes of the cloud from 1 to 2 m radius of the same amount of hydrogen 50g were carried out to clarify the problem of energy of gaseous explosion responsible for the strength of blast wave. Additionally a comparison of hydrogen-air explosion pressure with blast wave properties from the hypothetical cloud of hot compressed combustion products (P=Picc; T=Ticc) and simply a hot air of the same initial pressure and temperature as combustion products showed very good agreement of shock wave strength at far distances beyond the cloud. This confirms the governing role of energy of combustion on blast wave propagation and its ability to scale the strength of blast waves. The dynamics of the explosion process and combustion product expansion were also analyzed experimentally and numerically to evaluate the dimension of the heat radiation zone and heat flux from combustion products. To demonstrate the capability of tested COM1D code the modeling and analysis of high-pressure hydrogen tanks rupture at 350 and 700 bar were conducted to investigate blast wave strength and evaluate the safety distances.
A New Method to Quantify the Leakage Scenarios (Frequencies and Flowrates) on Hydrogen High Pressure Components
Sep 2023
Publication
This work is part of the MULTHYFUEL E.U. research program [1] aiming at enabling the implementation of hydrogen dispersers in refuelling stations. One important challenge is the severity of accidents due to a leakage of hydrogen from a dispenser in the forecourt. The work presented in this paper deals with the quantification of the leakage scenarios in terms of frequencies and severities. The risk analysis exercise although performed by experts showed very large discrepancies between the frequencies of leakages of the same categories and even between the consequences. A large part of the disagreement comes from the failure databases chosen as shown in the paper. The mismatch between the components on which the databases have been settled and the actual hydrogen components may be responsible for this situation. However as it stands limited confidence can be laid on the outcome of the risk analysis.<br/>A new method is being developed to calculate the frequencies of the leakage and the flowrate based on an accurate description of each component and of each hazardous situation. For instance the possibility for a fitting to become untight due to pressure cycling is modelled based on the contact mechanics. Human errors can also be introduced by describing the tasks. In addition of the description of the method the application to a disperser is proposed with some comparison to experiments. One of the outcomes is that leakage cross sections can be much larger than expected.
Hydrogen from Waste Gasification
Feb 2024
Publication
Hydrogen is a versatile energy vector for a plethora of applications; nevertheless its production from waste/residues is often overlooked. Gasification and subsequent conversion of the raw synthesis gas to hydrogen are an attractive alternative to produce renewable hydrogen. In this paper recent developments in R&D on waste gasification (municipal solid waste tires plastic waste) are summarised and an overview about suitable gasification processes is given. A literature survey indicated that a broad span of hydrogen relates to productivity depending on the feedstock ranging from 15 to 300 g H2/kg of feedstock. Suitable gas treatment (upgrading and separation) is also covered presenting both direct and indirect (chemical looping) concepts. Hydrogen production via gasification offers a high productivity potential. However regulations like frame conditions or subsidies are necessary to bring the technology into the market.
Modeling the Long-term Evolution of the Italian Power Sector: The Role of Renewable Resources and Energy Storage Facilities
Feb 2024
Publication
The aim of this study is to investigate the long-term planning of the Italian power sector from 2021 to 2050. The key role of photovoltaic and wind technologies in combination with power-to-power systems based on hydrogen and batteries is investigated. An updated version of the OSeMOSYS tool is used which employs a clustering method for the representation of time-varying input data. First the potential of variable renewable energy sources (VRES) is assessed. A sensitivity analysis is also performed on the temporal resolution of the model to determine an adequate trade-off between the computation time and the accuracy of the results. Then a technoeconomic optimization scenario is carried out resulting in a total net present cost of about 233.7 B€. A high penetration of VRES technologies is foreseen by 2050 with a total VRES installed capacity of 272.9 GW (mainly photovoltaic and onshore wind). Batteries are found to be the preferable energy storage solution in the first part of the energy transition while the hydrogen storage starts to be convenient from about the year 2040. Indeed the role of hydrogen storage becomes fundamental as the VRES penetration increases thanks to its cost-effective long-term storage capability. By 2050 74.6 % of electricity generation will be based on VRES which will also enable a significant reduction in CO2 emissions of about 87 %.
Energy Transition Strategies in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries
Sep 2024
Publication
During the last two decades Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have seen their population economies and energy production growing steeply with a substantial increase in Gross Domestic Product. As a result of this growth GCC consumption-based carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions increased from 540.79 Metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2) in 2003 to 1090.93 MtCO2 in 2020. The assumptions and strategies that have driven energy production in the past are now being recast to achieve a more sustainable economic development. The aim of this study is to review and analyze ongoing energy transition strategies that characterize this change to identify challenges and opportunities for bolstering the effectiveness of current strategic orientations. The ensuing analysis shows that since COP26 GCC countries have been pursuing a transition away from carbon-based energy policies largely characterized by the adoption of solar PV with other emerging technologies including energy storage carbon capture and hydrogen generation and storage. While as of 2022 renewable energy adoption in the GCC only represented 0.15 % of global installed capacity GCC countries are making strong efforts to achieve their declared 2030 energy targets that average about 26 % with peaks of 50 % in Saudi Arabia and 30 % in the UAE and Oman. With reference to solar energy plans are afoot to add 42.1 GW of solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power which will increase 8-fold the current installed renewable capacity (5.1 GW). At the same time oil and gas production rates remain stable and fossil fuel subsidies have grown in the last few years. Also there is a marked preference for the deployment of CCUS and utility-scale solar energy technology vs. distributed solar energy energy efficiency and nature-based solutions. The pursuit of energy transition in the GCC will require increased efforts in the latter and other overlooked strategic endeavors to achieve a more balanced portfolio of sustainable energy solutions with stronger emphasis on energy efficiency (as long as rebound effects are mitigated) and nature-based solutions. Increased efforts are also needed in promoting governance practices aimed to institutionalize regulatory frameworks incentives and cooperation activities that promote the reduction of fossil fuel subsidies and the transition away from fossil fuels.
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