Reußenköge: GP Joule to produce more hydrogen +++ Essen: RWE calls for hydrogen subsidies +++ USA: Nikola recalls Class 8 battery trucks +++ Sweden: H2 Green Steel buys iron ore pellets from Vale and Rio Tinto +++ Korea: Researchers make progress in splitting water using solar energy for hydrogen production +++ Berlin: Barbara Fischer becomes sole managing director of FNB Gas +++ NEW: Abbreviated – Energy transition in brief +++ DISCOUNT offer: Your advertisement on the PtX portal
A selection of PtX topics summarized at the end of the week
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Fuel cell bus from the eFarm hydrogen project. © JP Joules
GP Joule GmbH and eFarming GmbH & Co. KG will begin construction of a new hydrogen production facility in Langenhorn, North Frisia , on August 24. The eFarm hydrogen project was initiated by GP Joule in 2017. Twenty regional partners are involved, including community wind and solar farms as well as municipal utilities. The project has created a local hydrogen infrastructure, encompassing everything from production via electrolysis and distribution to fleet use in fuel cell vehicles. The project includes electrolysis plants, two hydrogen refueling stations, and fuel cell buses and cars.
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Sopna Sury is Chief Operating Officer Hydrogen of RWE Generation SE and a member of the Executive Board. © RWE Generation SE
The Essen-based energy company RWE AG will only invest in green hydrogen if the German government subsidizes it. This was stated by the board member responsible for the hydrogen business in an interview with the " Süddeutsche Zeitung ." According to the report, Sopna Sury believes that "projects for the production of climate-friendly hydrogen are only justifiable if the state provides funding." Otherwise, the technology will not become established in Germany. She pointed out that even with wind power and photovoltaics, costs only fell to a competitive level after a decade of subsidies. Roger Miesen, CEO of RWE Generation SE, expressed a similar view at the beginning of August in connection with plans to build hydrogen-capable gas-fired power plants at the company's own former power plant sites by 2030. Miesen called on policymakers to enable the "economical operation of the power plants through appropriate framework conditions." RWE is currently building a 14-megawatt pilot plant for the production of green hydrogen in Lingen . The state of Lower Saxony is contributing eight million euros to the project. Other hydrogen projects are also in the planning or implementation phase.
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The recall of “Nikola Tre” (BEV) trucks was one of the first serious decisions made by CEO Stephen Girsky, who took over his position just a few days ago after his predecessor Michael Lohscheller resigned. © Nikola Corp.
US automaker Nikola Corp. is recalling 209 Class 8 battery-electric (BEV) "Tre" trucks due to suspected battery pack issues. Sales of new BEV trucks have been temporarily halted. The recall does not affect the fuel cell truck currently in production, as its battery pack is designed differently. On June 23, 2023, a truck fire occurred at the company's headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. Another thermal incident occurred on August 10 involving a parked truck at a different company facility. Investigations indicate that a supplier component within the battery pack is likely the cause. Customer vehicles can remain in operation, and remediation is expected to begin in the coming weeks. The two incidents represent less than 0,07 percent of the more than 3.100 battery packs installed by Nikola to date. Nevertheless, for safety reasons, it is recommended that the main battery disconnect switch (MBD) always be set to the "ON" position to enable real-time vehicle monitoring and the operation of the safety systems. Vehicles should also be parked outdoors to allow for remote software updates and improved connectivity with Nikola's vehicle monitoring system. While the company emphasizes that the recall is "voluntary," external investigations apparently also prompted it.
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Several sponge iron pellets are pressed into a briquette and melted as “Hot Briquetted Iron” (HBI) in an electric arc furnace. © Hybrit
The Swedish company H2 Green Steel AB has signed two multi-year contracts for the supply of low-carbon iron ore pellets for its steel plant in northern Sweden. The pellets are produced using the direct reduction (DRI) process. In one contract, the Brazilian mining company and world's largest supplier of DRI pellets, Vale SA, will ship the material from Tubarão in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina to the port of Luleå in Sweden and deliver it to the future steel plant in Boden. H2 Steel has also reached an agreement with Rio Tinto, the world's leading metals and mining company . This supply will be provided by the Iron Ore Company of Canada. Furthermore, the companies have signed an agreement under which Rio Tinto will purchase and market a portion of the surplus hot briquetted iron (HBI) produced by H2 Green Steel during the ramp-up phase of its steel plant. DRI pellets are the feedstock for the production of high-quality HBI, which is then used to manufacture low-emission steel in electric arc furnaces. H2 Green Steel's first plant for the production of green steel is expected to go into operation in 2025. Located in Boden, northern Sweden, it will house one of the world's largest electrolysis plants for the production of green hydrogen. This hydrogen will be used to reduce iron ore to sponge iron.
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The novel photoanodes suppress the undesirable internal and external losses associated with photoelectrochemical water splitting. © Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Researchers from Korea and the USA have developed a highly efficient photoanode based on organometal halide perovskites (OHP). The team at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea, led by Professor Sanghan Lee, sees this as a step closer to photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting using solar energy to produce hydrogen. The novel photoanodes suppressed undesired internal and external losses associated with photoelectrochemical water splitting, "resulting in a previously unattained efficiency of 12,79 percent in converting photons into electricity," the scientists stated. The technology for environmentally friendly hydrogen production using solar energy without an external voltage could be available within the next ten years. The research results were published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials under the title "Suppression of Undesired Losses in Organometal Halide Perovskite-Based Photoanodes for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting . "
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Barbara Fischer will be the sole managing director of FNB Gas eV in the future. She is responsible for hydrogen and natural gas issues as well as network development planning. Inga Posch, previously one of two managing directors, has resigned from this position after ten years of work. FNB Gas, based in Berlin, is the association of national German transmission system operators.
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Shortened – energy transition compact.
Reporter: The Federal Network Agency has... Tender for PV systems 124 bids with a volume of 1.673 MW were awarded. The auction was significantly oversubscribed. A total of 516 bids with a volume of 4.653 MW were submitted. The largest awarded volume is at locations in Bavaria (741 MW), followed by Lower Saxony (169 MW) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (147 MW). *****PV: The Philippine Acen Corp. has the construction of one floating photovoltaic system announced with an output of one gigawatt. A timetable was not given. *****Offshore wind: RWE AG has received this from the Federal Network Agency Award for the North Sea Cluster B receive. The group wants to develop, build and operate two wind farms there with a total output of 900 megawatts. Last year, RWE secured the rights for two North Sea wind farms with a total output of 660 megawatts. *****PV: The US module manufacturer First Solar Inc. is building one at the Acadiana Regional Airport in Iberia Parish, US state of Louisiana 3,5 gigawatt factory for thin-film modules. The company estimates investments at $1,1 billion. *****offshore wind: Renewable energy consultancy OWC has partnered with Portuguese marine and floating technologies specialist Wavec. Portugal is planning an auction of this year ten gigawatts of offshore wind power output, in which the consortium will presumably participate. ****PV: Singapore-based Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd. wants one in the US state of New Mexico 3 gigawatt solar cell factory build. An expansion to 4,5 gigawatts is possible. The total investment is over a billion dollars. *****Financing: Blackstone Inc. has one $7,1 billion fund to finance solar companies, e-mobility and technologies to reduce carbon emissions. According to the “Bloomberg” agency, the target for the “Green Private Credit Fund III” was a sum of six billion dollars. *****Wwater power: The Chinese state-owned State Grid Corp. has started building one in Qinghai Province in northwest China 2,8 gigawatt pumped storage power plant began. The facility has two reservoirs, the lower one uses the Laxiwa Reservoir on the Yellow River, according to an article in the South China Morning Post.
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Photos
iStock / © Danil Melekhin
