Netherlands: Stellantis delivers 16 Opel Vivaros to construction companies + + + India: Avaada receives 1,2 billion euros for renewable energy and green hydrogen + + + Morocco: Verde Hydrogen builds 2 megawatt electrolyser + + + Dettingen: EKPO supplies stacks for cruise ships + + + Denmark: Orsted orders another methanol service ship + + + Scotland: Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub approved + + + Spain: Iberdrola invests in Latem Aluminum + + + Austria: Verbund AG establishes hydrogen department + + + Canada: Sulphite fuel cells power radio station near Calgary + + + Berlin: Georgia receives 23 million euros for the hydrogen market ramp-up + + + Berlin: BMWK supports DLR procurement of a hydrogen aircraft + + +
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A selection of PtX topics summarized at the end of the week
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Dutch contractor Scholman buys 16 hydrogen-powered Opels from Stellantis. © Stellantis BV
The Amsterdam vehicle manufacturer Stellantis BV delivers 16 Opel Vivaro-e Hydrogen to the Dutch construction company Jos Scholman. The company already uses around thirty hydrogen vehicles, including cars, tractors and hydraulic excavators, and will purchase more tractors and excavators this year. According to co-owner Robert Scholman, the vehicles can even be refueled with self-produced green hydrogen. The company has had a hydrogen filling station and electrolyser on its premises for several years. The electricity comes from solar and wind energy. The Opel Vivaro-e Hydrogen has a range of 400 kilometers and takes around five minutes to refuel. Stellantis is an association of a number of car brands, including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot and Vauxhall.
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The Indian one Avaada Group has closed a financing round worth 10,7 billion rupees (1,2 billion euros). The project developer wants to use the proceeds for projects in the areas of green hydrogen, green methanol, green ammonia, solar production and renewable energy generation. The main investors are Brookfield Renewables and Global Power Synergy Public Company Limited. Avaada says it currently has a renewable energy portfolio of around four gigawatts and seven gigawatts in various stages of implementation.
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The US company Hydrogen green has signed an agreement to install a two-megawatt electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen in Morocco. According to the information, the project will be completed in early 2024. Verde Hydrogen offers container-sized electrolyzers that can be expanded in a modular manner. The “Verde-400” type with a total of five modules is to be used in Morocco, including two 20-foot containers and two 40-foot containers. Details about the location, client or investment volume were not given.
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EKPO headquarters in Dettingen/Ems. © EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies GmbH
The EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies GmbH (EKPO) from Dettingen an der Ems is to deliver NM12 single fuel cell stacks for a cruise ship. The order volume is in the single-digit million euro range. The delivery of the first stacks is already underway. The NM12 single PEMFC stack module is available with 359 cells. At an operating pressure of 2,5 bar, it achieves an output of 123 kilowatts. EKPO did not mention the name of the customer or the scope of the delivery. EKPO is a joint venture between Elringklinger AG and the French Plastic Omnium SE.
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Have decided to build another methanol-powered service vessel: Mark Porter, Head of Operations Europe at Ørsted (left) and Søren Karas, Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer at Esvagt. © Ørsted AS
The Danish energy company Ørsted A/S and the Danish offshore wind turbine services provider Gesagen A/S are investing in another service operation vessel (SOV) that runs on methanol. It is the second vehicle of this kind, the first was in... April 2022 commissioned and is scheduled to go into operation in 2024. The sister ship will be operational in 2026 and will operate from Ørsted's UK East Coast Hub under a 10-year contract. The service ships are often at sea for weeks to maintain wind farms. As reported, Ørsted is building a green methanol plant in Sweden (“FlagshipONE“) and will also provide the fuel for the new SOV. The technical data is identical to the first ship commissioned (93 meters long, 19,60 meters wide, draft 6,50 meters). It can accommodate 124 people.
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In the first phase, the joint venture is expected to produce enough hydrogen to power 25 buses. © Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub
The city council of the Scottish coastal city of Aberdeen has a joint venture between the British oil company BP plc and Aberdeen City Council approved. This paves the way for the planning, construction and operation of a center that will produce green hydrogen with the help of a specially built solar farm. The commissioning of the first phase of the “Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub” by the new company Aberdeen Hydrogen Energy Limited (BP AHEL) is scheduled for 2025. The yield is enough to fuel 25 buses.
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Iberdrola takes over 20 percent of Latem Aluminum (from left): Latem Aluminum CEO Macario Fernández, Iberdrola Spain CEO Mario Ruiz-Tagle and Junta de Castilla y León Deputy Minister of Economy and Competitiveness Carlos Martín Tobalina . © Iberdrola SA
The Spanish energy company Iberdrola SA takes over a 20 percent stake in the Spanish aluminum manufacturer Latem Aluminum SA, making it one of the main shareholders. Iberdrola will also become an energy supplier to Latem with the aim of converting all production processes to renewable electricity and green hydrogen. Latem Aluminum recycles aluminum scrap to produce 55.000 tons of rolled aluminum annually in a new 30.000 square meter factory in the northern Spanish province of Castilia y León. According to the information, investments will amount to 2024 million euros by 120. 2026 jobs are to be created by 800. The SMS Group from Düsseldorf is supplying an aluminum cold rolling plant including auxiliary systems for environmentally friendly operation. Latem Aluminum concluded the contract with the mechanical engineering company from Düsseldorf in October last year. The first coil is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in the first quarter of 2024.
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Photovoltaic system at the Wallsee-Mitterkirchen interconnected power plant site. © Verbund AG
The Austrian energy company Verbund AG founded Verbund Green Hydrogen GmbH. According to the company, this is intended to contribute to business development and the development of a hydrogen economy. Olivia Schauerhuber and Hamead Ahrary will take over the management. In 2021, Verbund had already created its own division in which all activities related to green hydrogen were bundled. Establishing your own company is now “the next logical step”. It is assumed that the demand for green hydrogen in Austria will be around 2035 million tons per year in 0,6 and 2040 million tons per year in 1,8. This cannot be covered by domestic production alone. Verbund is working on building “an extensive value chain to import large quantities of green hydrogen from neighboring regions in the long term.” The first acceptance agreements have been concluded.
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Sunfire's propane fuel cell system supplies power to a radio station on a mountain peak west of Calgary at an altitude of almost 2.500 meters. © Sunfire GmbH
A fuel cell project was inaugurated in Calgary, Canada, in the presence of representatives from business and politics. A propane gas-powered generator supplies electricity to a radio station on a mountain west of the city at an altitude of almost 2.500 meters that is otherwise only accessible on foot or by helicopter. While sufficient energy is available from photovoltaic modules in the summer months, temperatures of below minus 30 degrees Celsius in the winter sometimes result in insufficient power for the radio station. Sunfire Fuel Cells GmbH supplied the technology. With the high-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, SOFC) used in the Sunfire Remote 400, operation with widely available propane is possible. The maintenance intervals would be 10.000 operating hours. The company, together with its Canadian installation and sales partner Ensol Systems Inc., put the system into operation at the beginning of this year. The Project was funded as part of the Renewable Energy Solutions Program (RES Program) of the Energy Export Initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK).
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Federal Minister Svenja Schulze in conversation with Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili in Berlin. © Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
Germany will support Georgia with 23 million euros in the market ramp-up of green hydrogen. The German and Georgian governments agreed on this in Berlin. Over the next few years, the funds will be used to build, among other things, an electrolysis plant with a hydrogen storage system as well as wind and solar systems for the necessary electricity production. This cooperation is the first investment in green hydrogen in the South Caucasus. Due to the existing hydropower, high solar radiation and very good wind conditions, the region has great potential for renewable energies and therefore green hydrogen.
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The DLR will receive 45,2 million euros in funding to purchase a “flying test laboratory for hydrogen technologies”. © German Aerospace Center
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) wants to procure a regional aircraft and convert it into a “flying hydrogen test bed”. The first flight tests are already planned for next year. The test laboratory is open to industry and research partners. This would allow “promising propulsion, fuel and system technologies for the decarbonization of aviation to be tested quickly and under real flight conditions in order to significantly accelerate their development,” says the DLR. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) is funding the project with 45,2 million euros. The funds come from the BMWK aviation research program “LuFo Klima”. In this way, the federal government is supporting the aviation industry on the path to CO2 neutrality. The funding decision is part of the new H2 funding priority “UpLift H2 Aviation” in LuFo Klima, which will place an even greater focus on the early practical testing of hydrogen technologies in flight and in test rigs from 2023.
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Photos
iStock / © Danil Melekhin
