Freiberg: Researchers discover a method for recycling precious metals in electrolyzers +++ Wacken: Rock concert powered by hydrogen +++ USA: JB Hunt Transport Inc. buys 13 trucks from Nikola +++ Munich: Upper Bavaria receives ten hydrogen buses +++ USA: Canadian Pacific further expands its fleet with H2 locomotives +++ Magdeburg: Energy Minister wants Saxony-Anhalt and Salzgitter better integrated into the core H2 network +++ France: Mob'Hy leases 253 hydrogen vehicles from Quantron +++ DISCOUNT offer: Your advertisement on the PtX portal
A selection of PtX topics summarized at the end of the week
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Lesia Sandig-Predzymirska: “We have developed a hydrometallurgical process for recovering ruthenium from electrolyzers.” © TU Bergakademie Freiberg / C. Mokry
A European research team at the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology has developed a process for recycling precious metals in electrolyzers. Electrolyzers require catalysts such as platinum, iridium, or ruthenium for the electrochemical reaction. Since these precious metals cannot yet be completely replaced by other similarly efficient materials, the challenge lies in recovering them without loss. "We have developed a hydrometallurgical process for recovering ruthenium that uses cost-effective chemicals to efficiently obtain the industrially valuable ruthenium complexes," says scientist Lesia Sandig-Predzymirska. Ruthenium complexes are used not only in the chemical industry for the production of catalysts, but also in many other fields such as electronics, medicine, biology, nanoscience, and solar cell manufacturing. Together with a newly developed separation process for the individual metal ions, the team reports achieving a precious metal recovery rate of over 90 percent. The "Recycalyse" project is led by the Danish Technological Institute and supported by nine other partners: TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology, Sustainable Innovations, TWI, Blue World Technologies, University of Bern, Prüfrex, HyCentA Research GmbH, and Accurec. "Recycalyse" is supported with a total of 5,5 million euros from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program until the end of September 2023.
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Parts of the technology in Wacken are powered by electricity from fuel cells. © GP Joules
The energy company GP Joule is sponsoring Wacken Open Air with electricity generated from green hydrogen. Two generators called "H2Genset," specifically designed for mobile and environmentally friendly power generation using fuel cells in areas without access to the conventional power grid, supply electricity for parts of the festival's technical infrastructure. GP Joule sources the hydrogen from renewable energy from eFarm. The fuel cells are supplied by SFC Energy AG. The company is also using an eFarm hydrogen bus as a shuttle for festivalgoers. The multi-day rock festival in northern Germany ended on August 5th. However, the weather did not cooperate this year, and according to reports, only around 50.000 of the 85.000 expected visitors were able to access the festival grounds, which were completely soaked and muddy due to persistent rain.
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JB Hunt Transport Inc. buys ten BEVs and three FCEVs from Nikola. © Nikola Corp.
US logistics company JB Hunt Transport Inc. is purchasing 13 zero-emission trucks from vehicle manufacturer Nikola Corp. According to the company, the order consists of ten battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and three hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in Class 8 (15 tons and above). The trucks will be deployed in the greater Los Angeles and Phoenix areas. Delivery of the first vehicles is scheduled for August. Nikola's hydrogen division, HYLA, will supply the fuel and refueling infrastructure. In November 2022, JB Hunt set a goal to reduce its carbon emissions by 32 percent by 2034 compared to 2019. The company had already integrated its first Class 8 BEV truck into its fleet in the fourth quarter of 2022.
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Bus handover at Geldhauser company (from left): Jürgen John (Geldhauser company), Stefan Münch (Solaris Germany), Bernd Trilling (workshop manager at Geldhauser), Martin Geldhauser (Managing Director of Geldhauser), Rolf Oneis (Solaris Germany). © Solaris
Polish bus manufacturer Solaris has delivered ten Urbino 12 hydrogen buses to Upper Bavaria. Five vehicles went to the transport company Busreisen Ettenhuber GmbH, and another five to Martin Geldhauser GmbH & Co. KG. The two private family businesses placed their orders in April of last year. The buses will be used on various routes in local public transport in the Munich and Ebersberg regions to gather experience regarding route length, weather conditions, passenger load, and other variables. The specifications are similar: they are equipped with one axle with integrated electric motors, and the fuel cells deliver 70 kilowatts. The hydrogen is stored in five tanks with a total capacity of 1.560 liters. The range is at least 350 kilometers. A small traction battery supports the fuel cell during peak electricity demand. The buses are scheduled to enter service this fall, coinciding with the completion of the hydrogen refueling stations currently under construction at the Geldhauser and Ettenhuber depots. The filling stations are supplied with green hydrogen, which is produced from renewable energies in Pfeffenhausen near Landshut.
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Canadian Pacific Kansas City wants to expand its fleet with hydrogen locomotives and is ordering 18 fuel cell engines from Ballard Power. © Canadian Pacific
The US rail operator Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) has ordered an additional 18 fuel cell engines with a combined output of 3,6 megawatts from Canadian manufacturer Ballard Power Systems Corp. The 200-kilowatt engines are scheduled for delivery this year and will be used to expand CPKC's hydrogen locomotive program. Ballard has already delivered 20 fuel cell engines over the past two years for use in three different locomotive types, with a combined output of four megawatts. According to the company, the locomotives were "successfully field-tested" in 2022 and early 2023. Further technological development is now focused on increasing range under temperature fluctuations, heavy-duty operation, fine-tuning for additional loads, and achieving a higher number of operating hours. “Our hydrogen locomotive program has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from locomotive operation, thus supporting the transition to a lower-carbon future in rail freight,” said Kyle Mulligan, Assistant Vice President Operations Technology.
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Armin Willingmann, Minister for Science, Energy, Climate Protection and the Environment of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, calls for the hydrogen core network to be expanded in the first expansion phase. © MWU/Harald Krieg
The Energy Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Armin Willingmann , believes his state is adequately considered in the recently presented plans by the long-distance pipeline operators for the development of Germany's hydrogen network infrastructure, but he wants to achieve a significantly better connection between the state and the core network . In a statement to Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck, Willingmann demands that the east-west pipeline between the Central German Chemical Triangle, Magdeburg, and Salzgitter in Lower Saxony be implemented in the first phase of the network expansion. In current plans, the route is classified only as a "transport alternative." "The pipeline to Salzgitter is about as important for the hydrogen economy as the A2 motorway is for traffic between East and West Germany," he stated. It "undoubtedly belongs to the core hydrogen network" and must be categorized accordingly in the plans. The minister is also pressing for improved connections to the lignite mining region in the south of the state. The core network needs to be extended by approximately ten kilometers to integrate the developing Burgenlandkreis hydrogen cluster and the planned large-scale electrolysis plant in Profen. Furthermore, several districts are currently designated only as "feed-in areas" in the plans. However, by 2032, feed-in demand will also arise at industrial sites such as Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Piesteritz, Arneburg, and Haldensleben. The Ministry of Energy has earmarked a total of €58,9 million for the coming years for the cross-state infrastructure projects "Green Octopus" and "Doing Hydrogen," which are intended to become part of the core hydrogen network. The federal government has pledged approximately €130 million.
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The French company Mob'Hy plans to lease 253 hydrogen-powered vehicles from Quantron AG in Gersthofen, Bavaria. Delivery will take place between 2024 and 2027. The two companies have now signed a corresponding letter of intent (LOI). The exact type of vehicles involved remains undisclosed. Quantron offers both new vehicles and conversions of existing and used vehicles from diesel to battery-electric and hydrogen-electric drives of various sizes. Mob'Hy develops and operates facilities for the production and distribution of hydrogen. The subsidiary of the renewable energy project developer Vent d'Est SAS operates the Fahyence hydrogen filling station in Sarreguemines, France, southeast of Saarbrücken, Germany.
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Photos
iStock / © Danil Melekhin
