Forecast: Only half of all newly announced coal-fired power plants will be built + + + Austria: First electrolyzer for green hydrogen put into operation + + + Essen: Thyssenkrupp and IRENA agree on hydrogen cooperation + + + USA: Paccard and Toyota develop hydrogen trucks + + + Oldenburg: EWE supplies green hydrogen to Salzgitter AG + + + Cologne: Toyota uses fuel cell trucks from VDL to transport goods + + + Events + + + DISCOUNT promotion: Your ADVERTISING on the PtX portal
A selection of PtX topics summarized at the end of the week
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Only half of all new coal-fired power plants announced worldwide will be built (symbolic image: Scholven/Gelsenkirchen power plant from Uniper SE). © Uniper SE
In the middle of last year, the capacity of new coal-fired power plants under construction or planned worldwide added up to 476 gigawatts. If all of them were completed and operated until the end of their economic useful life, “the international goal of limiting global warming to below two and, if possible, 1,5 degrees would be unattainable,” explained the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change gGmbH (MCC). However, the Berlin research institute is of the opinion that around half of this amount would be canceled over time. Planning and even ongoing construction projects could be put on hold “if, for example, the financing environment, national energy strategies or the costs of renewable energies change,” says Jan Steckel, co-author of the study. Since 2021, countries in the global south have been negotiating with “rich industrialized countries about help in phasing out this particularly climate-damaging form of electricity generation” as part of “Just Energy Transition Partnerships”. There are already the first deals worth billions for South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam. Most of the projects would be stopped in Bangladesh and Mongolia, the fewest in China. The bottom line is that the experts assume that around 215 gigawatts of new coal-fired power plant capacity would be installed in the ten countries they looked at in the next few years. The study was published in the journal “Environmental Research Letters".
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Started the first external plant in Austria for the production of green hydrogen in Gabersdorf for Energie Steiermark AG (from left to right): Christian Purrer (Board Spokesman Energie Steiermark), Andreas Bock (Technical Director Wolfram Mützen und Hütten AG), State Governor Christopher Drexler, Deputy State Governor Anton Lang, Martin Graf (Board Director Energy Styria). © Energie Steiermark
The first off-site production facility for green hydrogen in Austria was opened in the Austrian municipality of Gabersdorf in the state of Styria. The energy supplier's project Energie Steiermark AG with an investment volume of 10,5 million euros was built on an area of 10.000 square meters. The system consists of a photovoltaic power plant, the installed capacity of which was not mentioned, an electrolyser with an equally unquantified capacity, a trailer filling plant and a methanation unit. According to the information, when fully expanded, up to 300 tons of green hydrogen could be produced annually. The first major buyer for 70 tons annually is Wolfram Eisenbahn und Hütten AG, a subsidiary of the Swedish tool and mechanical engineering group Sandvik Group. “With the experience of the Gabersdorf pilot project, we are planning the systematic expansion of hydrogen production in collaboration with industry,” said the board members of Energie Steiermark, Christian Purrer and Martin Graf. Initially 150 megawatts are planned. In addition, the existing natural gas network infrastructure will be upgraded to integrate green gases.
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The agreement between IRENA and Thyssenkrupp was signed by IRENA General Director Francesco La Camera and Thyssenkrupp Managing Director Martina Merz. © Thyssenkrupp AG
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Essen ThyssenKrupp AG have agreed to work together. Accordingly, the aim is to share “knowledge in the area of mass production, provision and transport of green hydrogen and other green energy sources” along the entire value chain “in terms of demand, supply and infrastructure”. The agreement will “significantly advance the exchange of knowledge and enable technical solutions that accelerate the production, supply and use of green hydrogen,” says Francesco La Camera, Director General of IRENA. “Such partnerships are essential to make the green transformation a success,” says Thyssenkrupp Managing Director Martina Merz. However, it is more of a “disruption than just a transformation”. This task can only be accomplished within the framework of a global alliance. The collaboration includes identifying applications for green hydrogen based on different industries, identifying potential hydrogen needs at the national level, and developing the business case for green hydrogen “as a significant contribution to comprehensive decarbonization.”
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The Paccar brands Kenworth (left) and Peterbilt are to be further developed with hydrogen models. © Paccar Inc.
The US truck manufacturer Paccar Inc. and Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (Toyota) want to jointly advance the production of Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks with hydrogen fuel cell drives (FCEV). The agreement supports the ongoing development and marketing of zero-emission versions of the Kenworth T680 and Peterbilt 579 models using Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. The Japanese carmaker will begin assembling the modules in the United States at the end of 2023. The first customer deliveries are planned for 2024. Paccar and Toyota have already worked together on the development of FCEV trucks in recent years. This included a pilot program that deployed ten Kenworth T680 FCEV trucks at the Port of Los Angeles.
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Gunnar Groebler (Salzgitter AG, right) and Stefan Dohler (EWE) sign a cooperation agreement to supply hydrogen. © Salzgitter AG
The Oldenburg energy service provider EWE will Salzgitter AG supply with green hydrogen. The group wants to use the energy source to produce steel that is almost CO2-free. “We are focusing, among other things, on large-scale green hydrogen production,” says EWE CEO Stefan Dohler. “With our well-developed infrastructure – especially in the area of cavern storage and the piped transport of hydrogen – we offer the basis for safely supplying a large consumer like Salzgitter AG with green hydrogen.” EWE wants to use the IPCEI project “Clean Hydrogen Coastline “Build up up to 400 megawatts of electrolysis capacity in several sub-projects near the German North Sea coast. “Depending on the sales market, we can produce up to 40.000 tons of green hydrogen annually.” As reported, Salzgitter AG intends to replace coke in steel production with hydrogen by 2 as part of its “Salzgitter Low CO2033 Steelmaking” (Salcos) project and in three Switch to low-CO2 steel production in stages.
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Model of a fuel cell truck that will drive for Toyota in the future. © Toyota Motors Europe
The Dutch VDL Groep will put its first hydrogen-powered fuel cell truck on the road in summer 2023, followed by further vehicles from autumn. According to the information, these are used on various routes in logistics transport Toyota Motor Europe (TME) is used. The experiences and findings are intended to help “to demonstrate the suitability of fuel cell trucks for everyday use and to consolidate their use.” Unlike batteries in all-electric vehicles, hydrogen systems in fuel cell trucks “have a comparatively low mass, allowing them to continue to provide a large payload,” Toyota says. At the same time, the vehicles “can be refueled with hydrogen almost as quickly as with diesel”.
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Photos
iStock / © Danil Melekhin
