Romania: Rolls Royce delivers H2-ready CHP + + + Lower Saxony: Fraunhofer IMWS and IWES combine know-how + + + Japan: Sojitz wants to deliver hydrogen from Australia to Palau + + + Canada: AES-100 develops hydrogen generator for home use + + + Australia: Promoting hydrogen exports to Japan + + + Norway: Teco 2030 and Gen2 Energy cooperate + + + Canada: Hydrogen Optimized receives order for 40 MW electrolyzer + + + NRW: Saint Gobain wants to use hydrogen to produce glass + + + Brandenburg: Enerparc and Lhyfe are building a 5 MW electrolyser + + + India: Adani establishes green hydrogen subsidiary + + + India: Hero Future Energies and Ohmium are developing hydrogen production with 1.000 MW capacity + + + Saxony: Sunfire receives 60 million euros from the BMBF + + + Appointments
A selection of PtX topics summarized at the end of the week
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Rolls-Royce, together with its sales partner Knopf & Wallisch (K&W), has delivered three combined heat and power (CHP) systems to the Romanian cloud service provider Cluster Power. The location is a new technology campus near the southern Romanian city of Craiova, where the IT company is opening what it says is the “largest data center in Romania” on 273.000 square meters. The aggregates were based on Mtu gas engines of type 20V 4000 L64 FNER, which enabled quick startup and shutdown. The systems would be used as the main power generator, with the general power grid serving as a backup. The engines offer the possibility of adding up to 25 percent hydrogen to the natural gas as fuel and could be used to operate with pure hydrogen in the future. A total of five data centers are scheduled to be completed by 2025, the first in this quarter.
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The hydrogen competence field of the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems (IMWS) will be integrated into the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (IWES). This is entertaining in Leuna and Görlitz IWES This means additional locations that are aimed at different focal points of the hydrogen value chain and will be further expanded. This not only accelerates the “expansion of the competence base in the field of hydrogen, but also creates a unique infrastructure,” according to the institutes. The three test fields for electrolysers and their components, some of which are currently in operation and some of which are under construction, would then be managed from a single source. Connected by a digitally networked infrastructure, Fraunhofer IWES then has testing and qualification capacities for electrolyzer and fuel cell systems of over 25 megawatts. Sylvia Schattauer from Fraunhofer IMWS will become acting director of the Fraunhofer IWES and, together with Andreas Reuter, will provide dual leadership at the institute.
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The Japanese trading company Sojitz Corp. wants to deliver green hydrogen from Australia to Palau. In the Pacific island state, fuel cells would then replace the diesel currently used in emergency power generators and in ships, the news agency reports Reuters. Together with the Australian power producer CS Energy Ltd and the Japanese company Nippon Engineering Consultants Co Ltd, Sojitz plans to produce hydrogen from solar energy in the Australian state of Queensland with financial support from the Japanese Ministry of the Environment. Nippon Engineering is studying the demand and economic feasibility of sea transport. The projects would begin “shortly” and run until March 2024. Details such as the type of hydrogen carrier and the sea route would be determined later.
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The Canadian AES-100 Inc. is developing a small unit for the production of green hydrogen. The device is designed for applications that cover the needs of average North American households and will produce “a few kilowatts”. AES is initially focusing on commercialization in states like California, where there is a surplus of green electricity. The systems for its production are “routinely throttled down” and the profits are thus wasted. The AES technology bridge the surplus of green electricity during the day and the shortage in the evening when no solar energy is available. AES expects a development time that will be about half as long as the development time for systems for industrial applications, but did not provide any information about when the company plans to reach market maturity. AES-100 is 49 percent owned by Powertap Hydrogen Capital Corp., a subsidiary of Powertap Hydrogen Fueling Corp. focused on installing blue hydrogen production and utilization infrastructure in the United States.
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The Australian government has announced a clean hydrogen trading partnership with Japan. According to the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor, the “Australian Clean Hydrogen Trade Program” (ACHTP) has been awarded 150 million Australian dollars (95 million euros) over five years to support Australian-based projects and secure public or private sector investment from overseas. “Building clean hydrogen supply chains will facilitate investment and create jobs for Australians,” Taylor said.
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The Norwegian fuel cell manufacturer Teco 2030 ASA and the Norwegian Gen2 Energy AS want to work more closely together in the future. Accordingly, should Teco 2030 Supply fuel cells for Gen2 projects that require green hydrogen, for example for ports, offshore fish farms or heavy industry. The companies intend to cooperate in financing maritime hydrogen applications as part of the “Hydrogen Hub Nordland” project and to develop a value chain for the hydrogen industry in Northern Norway, enabling zero-emission shipping along the Norwegian coast.
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Canada's Hydrogen Optimized Inc. has signed an agreement to supply its Rugged Cell electrolyzer. This is a pre-contractual matter Memorandum of Understanding with an unnamed company to provide a system with a cumulative output of 40 megawatts. The potential client plans to “install hundreds of megawatts of electrolyzer capacity at one or more locations over time.” The systems could be expanded as demand for hydrogen increases. The Rugged Cell technology does not require iridium or other expensive metals, which makes mass production easier. Because of their quick response time, Rugged Cell electrolyzers are particularly suitable for combination with intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind or solar energy and for networks or microgrids with highly fluctuating electricity availability. Hydrogen Optimized is a subsidiary of Key DH Technologies Inc.
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Saint Gobain wants to use green hydrogen for climate-neutral glass production in Herzogenrath, North Rhine-Westphalia. The project "COSiMa – CO2-neutral Saint-Gobain industrial site in Herzogenrath” “If successful”, it could be transferred to numerous locations in Europe and worldwide. The state government is supporting the 5,6 million euro project with 3,6 million euros. In addition to Saint-Gobain, the Gas and Heat Institute Essen eV and the institutes for industrial furnace construction and heat technology as well as technical thermodynamics at RWTH Aachen are also taking part in the project. The goal is to prepare for climate-neutral glass production in 2030.
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The French company Lhyfe Labs SAS and the Hamburg-based Enerparc AG are cooperating on a hydrogen production project. Lhyfe builds and operates an electrolyzer in Luckau, Brandenburg. This will be coupled with a 20 megawatt photovoltaic system. According to the information, the electrolyzer with an output of five megawatts can produce up to 1.200 kilograms of green hydrogen per day. The energy source is intended to be used in industrial processes and transport in the region. Production will start at the end of 2023.
Only recently opened Lhyfe an industrial-scale green hydrogen production facility through direct coupling to onshore wind turbines. At the Tübingen train station, Lhyfe is also working on the ““H2goesRail” involved with Deutsche Bahn.
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The Indian Adani Group is setting up a subsidiary for green hydrogen projects. Adani Enterprises Ltd. of billionaire Gautam Adani has the Adani New Industries Ltd (ANIL) was launched, which, according to the Indian daily “Economic Times”, will be responsible for the generation of low-carbon electricity and the manufacture of wind turbines, solar modules and batteries. The goal is nothing less than “to become the world’s largest renewable energy company and produce the cheapest hydrogen.” Adani said in November that its group would invest $70 billion (61 billion euros) in renewable energy this decade.
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Hero Future Energies and Ohmium want to develop electrolyzers for green hydrogen with a cumulative output of 1.000 megawatts. The locations mentioned are India, Great Britain and Europe. The Indian company is the owner of the facilities Hero Future Energies (HFE) Pvt.Ltd., developer of solar, wind and hybrid/BESS projects. The US-based Ohmium International Inc. is responsible for the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of the hydrogen production facilities.
HFE is a third-generation company and part of the Munjal family's Hero Group. The current portfolio includes 1,7 gigawatts of commissioned wind and solar energy projects, with an additional 1,5 gigawatts under construction or planned. Ohmium International is headquartered in the United States with research and development centers in Silicon Valley (USA) and Bangalore (India) and a manufacturing center in India.
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Dresden-based Sunfire GmbH receives funding of 60 million euros from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). According to the information, 33 million euros of this are used to prepare for series production High temperature electrolyzers (SOEC) available. Under Sunfire's leadership, 15 companies are working to establish manufacturing processes and optimize systems. By using waste heat from industrial processes, Sunfire's SOEC electrolyzers required up to 30 percent less renewable electricity to produce one kilogram of hydrogen compared to other technologies.
A further 27 million euros will be used to produce pressurized alkaline electrolyzers on an industrial scale. Although these systems have been proven in industry for decades, they have not yet been mass-produced, according to the company. The funds come from the BMBF lead project “H2Giga”.
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Photos
iStock / © Danil Melekhin
