Production & Supply Chain
Significantly Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity of Copper for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Through Femtosecond Laser Blackening
Jan 2021
Publication
In this work we report on the creation of a black copper via femtosecond laser processing and its application as a novel electrode material. We show that the black copper exhibits an excellent electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline solution. The laser processing results in a unique microstructure: microparticles covered by finer nanoparticles on top. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the kinetics of the HER is significantly accelerated after bare copper is treated and turned black. At −0.325 V (v.s. RHE) in 1 M KOH aqueous solution the calculated area-specific charge transfer resistance of the electrode decreases sharply from 159 Ω cm2 for the untreated copper to 1 Ω cm2 for the black copper. The electrochemical surface area of the black copper is measured to be only 2.4 times that of the untreated copper and therefore the significantly enhanced electrocatalytic activity of the black copper for HER is mostly a result of its unique microstructure that favors the formation and enrichment of protons on the surface of copper. This work provides a new strategy for developing high-efficient electrodes for hydrogen generation.
Suitable Site Selection for Solar‐Based Green Hydrogen in Southern Thailand Using GIS‐MCDM Approach
May 2022
Publication
Climate change mitigation efforts are in dire need of greener and more versatile fuel al‐ ternatives to fossil fuels. Green hydrogen being both renewable and flexible has the potential to offset fossil fuels as the primary fuel source. Countries around the world are planning to develop their green hydrogen industries and accurate potential assessment is vital. This study employed the consolidation of a geographic information system (GIS) and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) technique of multicriteria decision making (MCDM) for the potential assessment of green hydrogen in southern Thailand through the selection of suitable sites for solar‐based green hy‐ drogen production. Technical economic and environmental criteria with 10 sub‐criteria were con‐ sidered for the selection of suitable sites. With 0.243 (24.3%) weight the distance from protected areas turned out to be the most important sub‐criterion whereas the criterion of elevation with a 0.017 (1.7%) score was considered the least important. Southern Thailand is a well‐suited area for solar‐based green hydrogen production with a 4302 km2 area of high suitability and a 3350 km2 area of moderate suitability. These suitable areas can be utilized to develop the green hydrogen industry of Thailand and the method developed can be employed for the assessment of green hydrogen potential in other parts of the country. Studies like these are vital for the development of green hydrogen road maps for Thailand to develop its hydrogen policy and promote investments in the sector.
Valorization and Sequestration of Hydrogen Gas from Biomass Combustion in Solid Waste Incineration NaOH Oxides of Carbon Entrapment Model (SWI-NaOH-OCE Model)
Dec 2019
Publication
The valorization of biomass-based solid wastes for both geotechnical engineering purposes and energy needs has been reviewed to achieve eco-friendly eco-efficient and sustainable engineering and reengineering of civil engineering materials and structures. The objective of this work was to review the procedure developed by SWI-NaOH-OCE Model for the valorization of biomass through controlled direct combustion and the sequestration of hydrogen gas for energy needs. The incineration model gave a lead to the sequestration of emissions released during the direct combustion of biomass and the subsequent entrapment of oxides of carbon and the eventual release of abundant hydrogen gas in the entrapment jar. The generation of geomaterials ash for the purpose of soil stabilization concrete and asphalt modification has encouraged greenhouse emissions but eventually the technology that has been put in place has made it possible to manage and extract these emissions for energy needs. The contribution from researchers has shown that hydrogen sequestration from other sources requires high amount of energy because of the lower energy states of the compounds undergoing thermal decomposition. But this work has presented a more efficient approach to release hydrogen gas which can easily be extracted and stored to meet the energy needs of the future as fuel cell batteries to power vehicles mobile devices robotic systems etc. More so the development of MXene as an exfoliated two-dimensional nanosheets with permeability and filtration selectivity properties which are connected to its chemical composition and structure used in hydrogen gas extraction and separation from its molecular combination has presented an efficient procedure for the production and management of hydrogen gas for energy purposes.
Flare Gas Monetization and Greener Hydrogen Production via Combination with Crypto Currency Mining and Carbon Dioxide Capture
Jan 2022
Publication
In view of the continuous debates on the environmental impact of blockchain technologies in particular crypto currency mining accompanied by severe carbon dioxide emissions a technical solution has been considered assuming direct monetization of associated petroleum gas currently being flared. The proposed approach is based on the technology of low-temperature steam reforming of hydrocarbons which allows flare gas conditioning towards the requirements for fuel for gas piston and gas turbine power plants. The generation of electricity directly at the oil field and its use for on-site crypto currency mining transforms the process of wasteful flaring of valuable hydrocarbons into an economically attractive integrated processing of natural resources. The process is not carbon neutral and is not intended to compete zero-emission technologies but its combination with technologies for carbon dioxide capture and re-injection into the oil reservoir can both enhance the oil recovery and reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The produced gas can be used for local transport needs while the generated heat and electricity can be utilized for on-site food production and biological carbon dioxide capture in vertical greenhouse farms. The suggested approach allows significant decrease in the carbon dioxide emissions at oil fields and although it may seem paradoxically on-site cryptocurrency mining actually may lead to a decrease in the carbon footprint. The amount of captured CO2 could be transformed into CO2 emission quotas which can be spent for the production of virtually “blue” hydrogen by steam reforming of natural gas in locations where the CO2 capture is technically impossible and/or unprofitable.
Electrolyzer Modeling and Real-time Control for Optimized Production of Hydrogen Gas
Oct 2020
Publication
We present a method that operates an electrolyzer to meet the demand of a hydrogen refueling station in a cost-effective manner by solving a model-based optimal control problem. To formulate the underlying problem we first conduct an experimental characterization of a Siemens SILYZER 100 polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzer with 100 kW of rated power. We run experiments to determine the electrolyzer’s conversion efficiency and thermal dynamics as well as the overload-limiting algorithm used in the electrolyzer. The resulting detailed nonlinear models are used to design a real-time optimal controller which is then implemented on the actual system. Each minute the controller solves a deterministic receding-horizon problem which seeks to minimize the cost of satisfying a given hydrogen demand while using a storage tank to take advantage of time-varying electricity prices and photovoltaic inflow. We illustrate in simulation the significant cost reduction achieved by our method compared to others in the literature and then validate our method by demonstrating it in real-time operation on the actual system.
Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production by Screen-Printed Copper Oxide Electrodes
May 2021
Publication
In this work copper oxides-based photocathodes for photoelectrochemical cells (PEC) were produced for the first time by screen printing. A total 7 × 10−3 g/m2 glycerine trioleate was found as optimum deflocculant amount to assure stable and homogeneous inks based on CuO nano-powder. The inks were formulated considering different binder amounts and deposited producing films with homogenous thickness microstructure and roughness. The as-produced films were thermally treated to obtain Cu2O- and Cu2O/CuO-based electrodes. The increased porosity obtained by adding higher amounts of binder in the ink positively affected the electron transfer from the surface of the electrode to the electrolyte thus increasing the corresponding photocurrent values. Moreover the Cu2O/CuO system showed a higher charge carrier and photocurrent density than the Cu2O-based one. The mixed Cu2O/CuO films allowed the most significant hydrogen production especially in slightly acid reaction conditions.
A Fundamental Viewpoint on the Hydrogen Spillover Phenomenon of Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution
Jun 2021
Publication
Hydrogen spillover phenomenon of metal-supported electrocatalysts can significantly impact their activity in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However design of active electrocatalysts faces grand challenges due to the insufficient understandings on how to overcome this thermodynamically and kinetically adverse process. Here we theoretically profile that the interfacial charge accumulation induces by the large work function difference between metal and support (∆Φ) and sequentially strong interfacial proton adsorption construct a high energy barrier for hydrogen transfer. Theoretical simulations and control experiments rationalize that small ∆Φ induces interfacial charge dilution and relocation thereby weakening interfacial proton adsorption and enabling efficient hydrogen spillover for HER. Experimentally a series of Pt alloys-CoP catalysts with tailorable ∆Φ show a strong ∆Φ-dependent HER activity in which PtIr/CoP with the smallest ∆Φ = 0.02 eV delivers the best HER performance. These findings have conclusively identified ∆Φ as the criterion in guiding the design of hydrogen spillover-based binary HER electrocatalysts
Ammonia-hydrogen Combustion in a Swirl Burner with Reduction of NOx Emissions
Sep 2019
Publication
Recently ammonia is being considered for fuelling gas turbines as a new sustainable source. It can undergo thermal cracking producing nitrogen hydrogen and unburned ammonia thus enabling the use of these chemicals most efficiently for combustion purposes. Ammonia being carbon-free may allow the transition towards a hydrogen economy. However one of the main constraints of this fuelling technique is that although the combustion of ammonia produces no CO2 there is a large NOx proportion of emissions using this fuel. In this work cracked ammonia obtained from a modified combustion rig designed at Cardiff University was used to simulate a swirl burner under preheating conditions via heat exchangers. The primary objective of this system is to find new ways for the reduction of NOx emissions by injecting various amounts of ammonia/hydrogen at different mixtures downstream of the primary flame zone. The amount of injected ammonia/hydrogen mixture (X) taken from the thermal cracking system was ranged from 0%-4% (vol %) of the total available fuel in the system while the remaining gas (1.00-X) was then employed as primary fuel into the burner. CHEMKIN- PRO calculations were conducted by employing a novel chemical reaction code developed at Cardiff University to achieve the goal of this paper. The predictions were performed under low pressure and rich conditions with an equivalence ratio ϕ =1.2 in a swirl burner previously characterised at output powers of ~10 kW. Ammonia and hydrogen blends were evaluated from 50% NH3 (vol %) with the remaining gas as hydrogen continuing in steps of 10% (vol %) NH3 increments. Results showed that the minimum unburned ammonia and higher flame temperature were achieved at 60%-40% NH3-H2 when compared to other blends but with high NO emissions. These NO levels were reduced by injecting a small amount of NH3/H2 mixture (X=4 %) downstream the primary zone in a generated circulations promoted by the new design of the burner which affecting the residence time hence reducing the NO emission in the exhaust gas.
Low-Cost and Durable Bipolar Plates for Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers
Mar 2017
Publication
Cost reduction and high efficiency are the mayor challenges for sustainable H2 production via proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. Titanium-based components such as bipolar plates (BPP) have the largest contribution to the capital cost. This work proposes the use of stainless steel BPPs coated with Nb and Ti by magnetron sputtering physical vapor deposition (PVD) and vacuum plasma spraying (VPS) respectively. The physical properties of the coatings are thoroughly characterized by scanning electron atomic force microscopies (SEM AFM); and X-ray diffraction photoelectron spectroscopies (XRD XPS). The Ti coating (50μm) protects the stainless steel substrate against corrosion while a 50- fold thinner layer of Nb decreases the contact resistance by almost one order of magnitude. The Nb/ Ti-coated stainless steel bipolar BPPs endure the harsh environment of the anode for more than 1000h of operation under nominal conditions showing a potential use in PEM electrolyzers for large-scale H2 production from renewables.
Hydrogen and Oxygen Production via Water Splitting in a Solar-Powered Membrane Reactor—A Conceptual Study
Jan 2021
Publication
Among the processes for producing hydrogen and oxygen from water via the use of solar energy water splitting has the advantage of being carried out in onestep. According to thermodynamics this process exhibits conversions of practical interest at very high temperatures and needs efficient separation systems in order to separate the reaction products hydrogen and oxygen. In this conceptual work the behaviour of a membrane reactor that uses two membranes perm-selective to hydrogen and oxygen is investigated in the temperature range 2000–2500 °C of interest for coupling this device with solar receivers. The effect of the reaction pressure has been evaluated at 0.5 and 1 bar while the permeate pressure has been fixed at 100 Pa. As a first result the use of the membrane perm-selective to oxygen in addition to the hydrogen one has improved significantly the reaction conversion that for instance at 0.5 bar and 2000 °C moves from 9.8% up to 18.8%. Based on these critical data a preliminary design of a membrane reactor consisting of a Ta tubular membrane separating the hydrogen and a hafnia camera separating the oxygen is presented: optimaloperating temperature of the reactor results in being around 2500 °C a value making impracticable its coupling with solar receivers even in view of an optimistic development of this technology. The study has verified that at 2000 °C with a water feed flow rate of 1000 kg h−1 about 200 and 100 m3 h−1 of hydrogen and oxygen are produced. In this case a surface of the hafnia membrane of the order of hundreds m2 is required: the design of such a membrane device may be feasible when considering special reactor configurations.
Power Generation Analysis of Terrestrial Ultraviolet-Assisted Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell
Jan 2022
Publication
This paper presents a novel system design that considerably improves the entrapment of terrestrial ultraviolet (UV) irradiance in a customized honeycomb structure to produce hydrogen at a standard rate of 7.57 slpm for places with a UV index > 11. Thermolysis of high salinity water is done by employing a solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) which comprises three customized novel active optical subsystems to filter track and concentrate terrestrial UV solar irradiance by Fresnel lenses. The output of systems is fed to a desalinator a photovoltaic system to produce electrical energy and a steam generator with modified surface morphology to generate the required superheated steam for the SOEC. A simulation in COMSOL Multiphysics ver. 5.6 has shown that a customized honeycomb structure when incorporated on the copper–nickel surface of a steam generator improves its absorptance coefficient up to 93.43% (48.98%—flat case). This results in generating the required superheated steam of 650 ◦C with a designed active optical system comprising nine Fresnel lenses (7 m2 ) that offer the concentration of 36 suns on the honeycomb structure of the steam generator as input. The required 1.27 kW of electrical power is obtained by concentrating the photovoltaic system using In0.33Ga0.67N/Si/InN solar cells. This production of hydrogen is sustainable and cost effective as the estimated cost over 5 years by the proposed system is 0.51 USD/kg compared to the commercially available system which costs 3.18 USD/kg.
Hydrogen for Australia’s Future
Aug 2018
Publication
The Hydrogen Strategy Group chaired by Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel has today released a briefing paper on the potential domestic and export opportunities of a hydrogen industry in Australia.
Like natural gas hydrogen can be used to heat buildings and power vehicles. Unlike natural gas or petrol when hydrogen is burned there are no CO2 emissions. The only by-products are water vapour and heat.
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe not freely available as a gas on Earth but bound into many common substances including water and fossil fuels.
Hydrogen was first formally presented as a credible alternative energy source in the early 1970s but never proved competitive at scale as an energy source – until now. We find that the worldwide demand for hydrogen is set to increase substantially over coming decades driven by Japan’s decision to put imported hydrogen at the heart of its economy. Production costs are falling technologies are progressing and the push for non-nuclear low-emissions fuels is building momentum. We conclude that Australia is remarkably well-positioned to benefit from the growth of hydrogen industries and markets.
Like natural gas hydrogen can be used to heat buildings and power vehicles. Unlike natural gas or petrol when hydrogen is burned there are no CO2 emissions. The only by-products are water vapour and heat.
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe not freely available as a gas on Earth but bound into many common substances including water and fossil fuels.
Hydrogen was first formally presented as a credible alternative energy source in the early 1970s but never proved competitive at scale as an energy source – until now. We find that the worldwide demand for hydrogen is set to increase substantially over coming decades driven by Japan’s decision to put imported hydrogen at the heart of its economy. Production costs are falling technologies are progressing and the push for non-nuclear low-emissions fuels is building momentum. We conclude that Australia is remarkably well-positioned to benefit from the growth of hydrogen industries and markets.
Australian Hydrogen Hubs Study
Nov 2019
Publication
Arup have conducted interviews with targeted industry and government stakeholders to gather data and perspectives to support the development of this study. Arup have also utilised private and publicly available data sources building on recent work undertaken by Geoscience Australia and Deloitte and the comprehensive stakeholder engagement process to inform our research. This study considers the supply chain and infrastructure requirements to support the development of export and domestic hubs. The study aims to provide a succinct “Hydrogen Hubs” report for presentation to the hydrogen working group.
The hydrogen supply chain infrastructure required to produce hydrogen for export and domestic hubs was identified along with feedback from the stakeholder engagement process. These infrastructure requirements can be used to determine the factors for assessing export and domestic hub opportunities. Hydrogen production pathways transportation mechanisms and uses were also further evaluated to identify how hubs can be used to balance supply and demand of hydrogen.
A preliminary list of current or anticipated locations has been developed through desktop research Arup project knowledge and the stakeholder consultation process. Over 30 potential hydrogen export locations have been identified in Australia through desktop research and the stakeholder survey and consultation process. In addition to establishing export hubs the creation of domestic demand hubs will be essential to the development of an Australian hydrogen economy. It is for this reason that a list of criteria has been developed for stakeholders to consider in the siting and design of hydrogen hubs. The key considerations explored are based on demand supply chain infrastructure and investment and policy areas.
Based on these considerations a list of criteria were developed to assess the viability of export and domestic hydrogen hubs. Criteria relevant to assessing the suitability of export and domestic hubs include:
A framework that includes the assessment criteria has been developed to aid decision making rather than recommending specific locations that would be most appropriate for a hub. This is because there are so many dynamic factors that go into selecting a location of a hydrogen hub that it is not appropriate to be overly prescriptive or prevent stakeholders from selecting the best location themselves or from the market making decisions based on its own research and knowledge. The developed framework rather provides information and support to enable these decision-making processes.
The hydrogen supply chain infrastructure required to produce hydrogen for export and domestic hubs was identified along with feedback from the stakeholder engagement process. These infrastructure requirements can be used to determine the factors for assessing export and domestic hub opportunities. Hydrogen production pathways transportation mechanisms and uses were also further evaluated to identify how hubs can be used to balance supply and demand of hydrogen.
A preliminary list of current or anticipated locations has been developed through desktop research Arup project knowledge and the stakeholder consultation process. Over 30 potential hydrogen export locations have been identified in Australia through desktop research and the stakeholder survey and consultation process. In addition to establishing export hubs the creation of domestic demand hubs will be essential to the development of an Australian hydrogen economy. It is for this reason that a list of criteria has been developed for stakeholders to consider in the siting and design of hydrogen hubs. The key considerations explored are based on demand supply chain infrastructure and investment and policy areas.
Based on these considerations a list of criteria were developed to assess the viability of export and domestic hydrogen hubs. Criteria relevant to assessing the suitability of export and domestic hubs include:
- Health and safety provisions;
- Environmental considerations;
- Economic and social considerations;
- Land availability with appropriate zoning and buffer distances & ownership (new terminals storage solar PV industries etc.);•
- Availability of gas pipeline infrastructure;
- Availability of electricity grid connectivity backup energy supply or co-location of renewables;
- Road & rail infrastructure (site access);
- Community and environmental concerns and weather. Social licence consideration;
- Berths (berthing depth ship storage loading facilities existing LNG and/or petroleum infrastructure etc.);
- Port potential (current capacity & occupancy expandability & scalability);
- Availability of or potential for skilled workers (construction & operation);
- Availability of or potential for water (recycled & desalinated);
- Opportunity for co-location with industrial ammonia production and future industrial opportunities;
- Interest (projects priority ports state development areas politics etc.);
- Shipping distance to target market (Japan & South Korea);
- Availability of demand-based infrastructure (i.e. refuelling stations).
A framework that includes the assessment criteria has been developed to aid decision making rather than recommending specific locations that would be most appropriate for a hub. This is because there are so many dynamic factors that go into selecting a location of a hydrogen hub that it is not appropriate to be overly prescriptive or prevent stakeholders from selecting the best location themselves or from the market making decisions based on its own research and knowledge. The developed framework rather provides information and support to enable these decision-making processes.
Suspension Plasma Sprayed Coatings Using Dilute Hydrothermally Produced Titania Feedstocks for Photocatalytic Applications
May 2015
Publication
Titanium dioxide coatings have potential applications including photocatalysts for solar assisted hydrogen production solar water disinfection and self-cleaning windows. Herein we report the use of suspension plasma spraying (SPS) for the deposition of conformal titanium dioxide coatings. The process utilises a nanoparticle slurry of TiO2 (ca. 6 and 12 nm respectively) in water which is fed into a high temperature plasma jet (ca. 7000–20 000 K). This facilitated the deposition of adherent coatings of nanostructured titanium dioxide with predominantly anatase crystal structure. In this study suspensions of nano-titanium dioxide made via continuous hydrothermal flow synthesis (CHFS) were used directly as a feedstock for the SPS process. Coatings were produced by varying the feedstock crystallite size spray distance and plasma conditions. The coatings produced exhibited ca. 90–100% anatase phase content with the emainder being rutile (demonstrated by XRD). Phase distribution was homogenous throughout the coatings as determined by micro-Raman spectroscopy. The coatings had a granular surface with a high specific surface area and consisted of densely packed agglomerates interspersed with some melted material. All of the coatings were shown to be photoactive by means of a sacrificial hydrogen evolution test under UV radiation and compared favourably with reported values for CVD coatings and compressed discs of P25.
Raw Biomass Electroreforming Coupled to Green Hydrogen Generation
Mar 2021
Publication
Despite the tremendous progress of coupling organic electrooxidation with hydrogen generation in a hybrid electrolysis electroreforming of raw biomass coupled to green hydrogen generation has not been reported yet due to the rigid polymeric structures of raw biomass. Herein we electrooxidize the most abundant natural amino biopolymer chitin to acetate with over 90% yield in hybrid electrolysis. The overall energy consumption of electrolysis can be reduced by 15% due to the thermodynamically and kinetically more favorable chitin oxidation over water oxidation. In obvious contrast to small organics as the anodic reactant the abundance of chitin endows the new oxidation reaction excellent scalability. A solar-driven electroreforming of chitin and chitin-containing shrimp shell waste is coupled to safe green hydrogen production thanks to the liquid anodic product and suppression of oxygen evolution. Our work thus demonstrates a scalable and safe process for resource upcycling and green hydrogen production for a sustainable energy future.
Effect of Copper Cobalt Oxide Composition on Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalysts for Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis
Nov 2020
Publication
Copper cobalt oxide nanoparticles (CCO NPs) were synthesized as an oxygen evolution electrocatalyst via a simple co-precipitation method with the composition being controlled by altering the precursor ratio to 1:1 1:2 and 1:3 (Cu:Co) to investigate the effects of composition changes. The effect of the ratio of Cu2+/Co3+ and the degree of oxidation during the co-precipitation and annealing steps on the crystal structure morphology and electrocatalytic properties of the produced CCO NPs were studied. The CCO1:2 electrode exhibited an outstanding performance and high stability owing to the suitable electrochemical kinetics which was provided by the presence of sufficient Co3+ as active sites for oxygen evolution and the uniform sizes of the NPs in the half cell. Furthermore single cell tests were performed to confirm the possibility of using the synthesized electrocatalyst in a practical water splitting system. The CCO1:2 electrocatalyst was used as an anode to develop an anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE) cell. The full cell showed stable hydrogen production for 100 h with an energetic efficiency of >71%. In addition it was possible tomass produce the uniform highly active electrocatalyst for such applications through the co-precipitation method.
Comparison of Hydrogen Powertrains with the Battery Powered Electric Vehicle and Investigation of Small-Scale Local Hydrogen Production Using Renewable Energy
Jan 2021
Publication
Climate change is one of the major problems that people face in this century with fossil fuel combustion engines being huge contributors. Currently the battery powered electric vehicle is considered the predecessor while hydrogen vehicles only have an insignificant market share. To evaluate if this is justified different hydrogen power train technologies are analyzed and compared to the battery powered electric vehicle. Even though most research focuses on the hydrogen fuel cells it is shown that despite the lower efficiency the often-neglected hydrogen combustion engine could be the right solution for transitioning away from fossil fuels. This is mainly due to the lower costs and possibility of the use of existing manufacturing infrastructure. To achieve a similar level of refueling comfort as with the battery powered electric vehicle the economic and technological aspects of the local small-scale hydrogen production are being investigated. Due to the low efficiency and high prices for the required components this domestically produced hydrogen cannot compete with hydrogen produced from fossil fuels on a larger scale
Electrochemical Hydrogen Production Powered by PVCSP Hybrid Power Plants A Modelling Approach for Cost Optimal System Design
Jun 2021
Publication
Global trade of green hydrogen will probably become a vital factor in reaching climate neutrality. The sunbelt of the Earth has a great potential for large-scale hydrogen production. One promising pathway to solar hydrogen is to use economically priced electricity from photovoltaics (PV) for electrochemical water splitting. However storing electricity with batteries is still expensive and without storage only a small operating capacity of electrolyser systems can be reached. Combining PV with concentrated solar power (CSP) and thermal energy storage (TES) seems a good pathway to reach more electrolyser full load hours and thereby lower levelized costs of hydrogen (LCOH). This work introduces an energy system model for finding cost-optimal designs of such PV/CSP hybrid hydrogen production plants based on a global optimization algorithm. The model includes an operational strategy which improves the interplay between PV and CSP part allowing also to store PV surplus electricity as heat. An exemplary study for stand-alone hydrogen production with an alkaline electrolyser (AEL) system is carried out. Three different locations with different solar resources are considered regarding the total installed costs (TIC) to obtain realistic LCOH values. The study shows that a combination of PV and CSP is an auspicious concept for large-scale solar hydrogen production leading to lower costs than using one of the technologies on its own. For today’s PV and CSP costs minimum levelized costs of hydrogen of 4.04 USD/kg were determined for a plant located in Ouarzazate (Morocco). Considering the foreseen decrease in PV and CSP costs until 2030 cuts the LCOH to 3.09 USD/kg while still a combination of PV and CSP is the most economic system.
The Case for High-pressure PEM Water Electrolysis
Apr 2022
Publication
Hydrogen compression is a key part of the green hydrogen supply chain but mechanical compressors are prone to failure and add system complexity and cost. High-pressure water electrolysis can alleviate this problem through electrochemical compression of the gas internally in the electrolyzer and thereby eliminating the need for an external hydrogen compressor. In this work a detailed techno-economic assessment of high-pressure proton exchange membrane-based water electrolysis (PEMEL) systems was carried out. Electrolyzers operating at 80 200 350 and 700 bar were compared to state-of-the-art systems operating at 30 bar in combination with a mechanical compressor. The results show that it is possible to achieve economically viable solutions with high-pressure PEMEL-systems operating up to 200 bar. These pressure levels fit well with the requirements in existing and future industrial applications such as e-fuel production (30–120 bar) injection of hydrogen into natural gas grids (70 bar) hydrogen gas storage (≥200 bar) and ammonia production (200–300 bar). A sensitivity analysis also showed that if the cost of electricity is sufficiently low (
Blue Hydrogen
Apr 2021
Publication
The urgency of reaching net-zero emissions requires a rapid acceleration in the deployment of all emissions reducing technologies. Near-zero emissions hydrogen (clean hydrogen) has the potential to make a significant contribution to emissions reduction in the power generation transportation and industrial sectors.
As part of the Circular Carbon Economy: Keystone to Global Sustainability series with the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA this report explores the potential contribution of blue hydrogen to climate mitigation.
The report looks at:
As part of the Circular Carbon Economy: Keystone to Global Sustainability series with the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA this report explores the potential contribution of blue hydrogen to climate mitigation.
The report looks at:
- Cost drivers for renewable hydrogen and hydrogen produced with fossil fuels and CCS;
- Resource requirements and cost reduction opportunities for clean hydrogen; and
- Policy recommendations to drive investment in clean hydrogen production.
- Blue hydrogen is well placed to kickstart the rapid increase in the utilisation of clean hydrogen for climate mitigation purposes but requires strong and sustained policy to incentivise investment at the rate necessary to meet global climate goals.
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