DISCOUNT promotion: Your ADVERTISING on the PtX portal + + + Berlin: Meta-study on hydrogen use in the transport sector + + + Greece: Advent Technology and DEPA want to develop a cogeneration plant for hydrogen operation + + + Australia: Woodside gets ten million dollars for hydrogen filling station + + + Berlin: Researchers increase the efficiency of oxygen development during electrolysis + + + Norway: Nel builds second production facility in Herøya
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A selection of PtX topics summarized at the end of the week
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In 2045, six to 33 percent of the transport sector's domestic final energy needs will be covered by hydrogen. This requires 25 to 100 terawatt hours, while the total energy requirement of the 
Traffic area is 300 to 400 terawatt hours. 60 to 80 percent of the hydrogen used in transport is required for heavy-duty transport. This is the result of a meta-study by the German Academy of Engineering Sciences. V. (Acatech) and the DECHEMA Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology eV Accordingly, the use of hydrogen could also be very high in bus transport and inland waterway transport, although the overall final energy requirements of these sectors are low. In 2045, 85 to 150 terawatt hours of hydrogen would be used to produce e-fuels, i.e. synthetic fuels produced using hydrogen. These would be used primarily in domestic air transport and, to a lesser extent, in domestic shipping. On German roads, e-fuels would only help to defossilize existing fleets and long-haul heavy goods traffic. “Battery-electric vehicles will be used in the majority of transport applications in the future. Hydrogen and e-fuels are only used where it is not technically possible or economically sensible, and these will be particularly important for the climate-neutral operation of existing fleets,” explains DECHEMA project manager Kurt Wagemann. The meta study “Hydrogen in the mobility sector” is available free of charge as a PDF (55 pages).
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The US fuel cell manufacturer Advent Technologies Holdings Inc. and the Greek natural gas company DEPA Commercial signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on hydrogen projects. Among other things, the companies want to develop a CHP system with an efficiency of almost 90 percent that is ready for series production and that can use different fuels such as hydrogen, natural gas and e-fuels. The establishment of an innovation hub for the Greek hydrogen and fuel cell industry is also being discussed.
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The Australian oil and gas company Woodside Energy Ltd. receives funding of ten million Australian dollars (6,81 million euros) for its plan to build a hydrogen filling station along with an electrolyzer and storage facility. The project, called “Hydrogen Refueler @H2Perth”, will produce the energy source using a two-megawatt electrolyser powered by renewable energy from the South West Interconnected System. Initially, Woodside is aiming to produce 235 kilograms of hydrogen per day and wants to gradually increase this to 800 kilograms per day. Commissioning is scheduled for 2024. The gas station will be open to both industrial customers and the public. There are already preliminary contracts with the construction group BGC and the logistics company Centurion, each of which is adding hydrogen trucks to their fleets. The location is the Rockingham Industry Zone in the state of Western Australia near the project planned by Woodside.H2Perth“ in the greater area of the port city of Perth, a production facility for hydrogen and ammonia for the domestic and export markets. The funding comes from the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation. Its program aims to accelerate the introduction of hydrogen-powered vehicles, promote local hydrogen production and make it available at a price of eleven dollars (7,49 euros) per kilogram over a period of ten years.
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Nanostructured nickel silicide can significantly increase the efficiency of oxygen evolution during electrolysis at the anode. This is what the researchers from the Helmholtz Center Berlin for Materials and Energy GmbH, the Technical University of Berlin and the Free University of Berlin found as part of the research platform CatLab out of here. In order to increase the production of oxygen (at the anode) and hydrogen (at the cathode) during electrolysis, catalytically active materials made from precious metals such as platinum, ruthenium or iridium are currently used, but these are too expensive for large-scale use. “In order to accelerate the oxygen evolution reaction at the anode, nickel-based materials are considered good candidates,” say the scientists. Nickel is corrosion-resistant, hardly toxic and also inexpensive. The researchers have now combined the element nickel with the second most common element in the earth's crust, silicon, and achieved nanostructuring via a chemical reaction. “The resulting material has excellent catalytic properties,” says project leader Prashanth Menezes. Compared to other catalysts based on nickel, cobalt, iron, ruthenium and iridium, the resulting nanoporous nickel silicide (Ni2Si) is “significantly more active and remains stable over longer periods of time under industrial conditions.”
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The Norwegian manufacturer of electrolysers In the SAA builds a new fully automated production line in Herøya. This will double the capacity for the production of alkaline electrolysers to more than one gigawatt, the company said. 
The new production line is expected to be in operation from April 2024. The investments amount to around 35 million euros. The decision to expand came after the company received an order for 200 megawatts of alkaline electrolyzer stacks from a US customer. “As we see the potential for further large orders in the foreseeable future, we have decided to expand our production capacity,” says Nel managing director Håkon Volldal. The first production line opened in April this year. The factory is currently running in three shifts with a capacity of 500 megawatts. The line can be expanded to two gigawatts. (Photo: Nel electrolyzer production. © Nel ASA)
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Photos
iStock / © Danil Melekhin
