Brazil: EDF wants to set up hydrogen production in Ceará + + + Namibia: Hyphen signs Austrian consultants + + + Finland: Consortium wants to produce green methane + + + Herzogenaurach: Schaeffler improves bipolar plates + + + Chile: Walmart plans H2 production + + + USA: Las Vegas gets BZ bus + + + Shortened – energy transition compact + + + DISCOUNT promotion: yours ADVERTISING on the PtX portal + + + Events
A selection of PtX topics summarized at the end of the week
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EDF Renewables Brasil and the Government of Ceará after signing a memorandum of understanding to develop green hydrogen projects. © EDF Renewables Brasil
EDF Renewables Brasil and the Brazilian state government Ceará have signed a cooperation agreement to promote the production chain of the green hydrogen industry. Within this framework, the company plans to work with universities to carry out studies and analyzes on the construction of a plant for the production of green hydrogen. The State Secretary for Economic Development of Ceará, Salmito Filho, emphasized that this reaffirms the government's commitment to expanding the production of green hydrogen in the state.
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Tsau Mountains in Namibia. © Olga Ernst & Hp.Baumeler – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
Hyphen Hydrogen Energy Pty Ltd. has signed a contract with Austrian engineering and consulting firm ILF Consulting Engineers for its green hydrogen project in Tsau/Khaeb National Park in Namibia. The company plans to as reported, the construction of electrolysers to produce green hydrogen for regional and global markets. Solar and wind power plants with an initial output of 2.000 megawatts are to be installed to generate electricity, later increasing to 5.000 megawatts. The total investment volume is ten billion dollars. ILF is intended to provide project management services and technical expertise, as well as procurement and contract award advice. Hyphen is a joint venture between Enertrag South Africa Ltd., a subsidiary of the German energy company Enertrag SE, and the investor Nicholas Holdings.
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Rendering of the planned LSM facility in Kristinestad. © Koppö Energia / Ramboll
In Kristinestad, western Finland, preparations are being made for the construction of a plant for the liquefaction and storage of synthetic methane (LSM). The developer is Koppö Energia Oy, a joint venture between the German Prime Green Energy Infrastructure Fund and CPC Finland Oy, a subsidiary of the project developer CPC Germania. The output of the Power-to-X system is 200 megawatts. First, green hydrogen is produced there and then LSM is produced, which serves as a sustainable fuel for heavy-duty transport. New wind turbines with an installed capacity of 500 megawatts and solar power plants with an output of 100 megawatts will provide the electricity to produce the fuel. Before construction begins, create now MAN Energy Solutions, the Finnish technology group Wärtsilä Corporation and the Austrian plant manufacturer Andritz as well as Ramboll the front-end engineering design (FEED) for specialized sub-areas. The investment decision for the plant with a production capacity of 55.000 tons is expected to be made in early 2024.
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Schaeffler has developed a new generation of bipolar plates. © Schaeffler AG
The Schaeffler AG is developing a new generation of bipolar plates for fuel cell drives. The panels have a new design and use an “innovative coating process,” the company said. “Fuel cell stacks equipped with this achieve a power density that is around 20 percent higher than stacks with the plates of the previous generation.” The plates are about the size of an A4 envelope and weigh around 60 grams. They separate and distribute the process gases and the coolant and carry it water created by the chemical reaction. “The finer and more precise the structures on the bipolar plates, the more efficiently they work,” says Jochen Schröder, head of the e-mobility division at Schaeffler. The power density of the fuel cell stack is 4,6 kilowatts per liter. In Herzogenaurach, the company builds the new panels for prototypes and small series from international vehicle manufacturers with up to tens of thousands of units. From the beginning of 2024, Schaeffler will produce bipolar plates in the Innoplate joint venture founded together with Symbio in Haguenau, France. Symbio is a hydrogen technology joint venture between the tire manufacturer Michelin and the automotive supplier Faurecia.
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The retail group Walmart is putting hydrogen production into operation in Santiago de Chile. In the first phase, 200 forklifts will be equipped with fuel cells. © Walmart Inc.
The US trading house walmart inc. produces green hydrogen in Chile. The first phase of a new facility has now opened at the Walmart Quilicura distribution center in Santiago. Initially, the proceeds will be used to replace the lead-acid batteries of 200 forklifts with fuel cells. The project was developed in collaboration with the energy supplier Engie. “We want to expand the use of this technology to all distribution centers across the country, with the goal of operating on 2025 percent green hydrogen by 100,” said Walmart Chile Managing Director Cristián Barrientos. In its home country of USA, the group converted a fleet of 2012 vehicles and forklifts to hydrogen for the first time in 50, and there are now over 9.500.
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Nevada gets its first two fuel cell buses. Seven more have been ordered. © RTCSVD
The US state of Nevada is getting its first two fuel cell buses. A statement from the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTCSNV) According to the report, the vehicles were put into operation in Las Vegas in the presence of officials and regional and federal politicians. Financing of $3,8 million (3,5 million euros) came from the US Department of Transportation. The grant also includes funds to train maintenance and operations staff. The twelve-meter (40-foot) long fuel cell vehicles can be refueled in less than fifteen minutes, it is said. Seven additional 18-meter (60-foot) buses have been ordered and will be delivered to Southern Nevada in fall 2024. The new buses were manufactured by New Flyer and feature fuel cell technology from Canada's Ballard Power Systems Inc. Hydrogen for the first two vehicles will be provided by U.S. industrial gases provider Air Products. No further technical details were given; In particular, it remains unclear whether it is green or gray hydrogen.
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Shortened – energy transition compact.
Reporter: The US solar company Great Lakes Solex PR LLC wants to build a solar module factory with a capacity of six gigawatts in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. This would create 800 jobs. They also want to develop educational institutions and training programs for the workforce. US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm recently announced funding initiatives to enable disadvantaged residents in the US external region to use solar energy. *****PV: The Chemnitz module manufacturer Heckert Solar GmbH wants to set up vertically integrated PV production on a gigawatt scale at three locations in Germany together with Wattkraft Systems GmbH & Co. KG and the solar glass manufacturer Interfloat Corporation. This includes the entire chain from polysilicon and wafers (annual capacity of five gigawatts each), solar glass and cells to solar modules (2,8 GW). The required financial volume amounts to two billion euros. The companies submitted a project outline as a “lighthouse project” to the Federal Ministry of Economics in an expression of interest process. *****Addition Germany: In Germany, around 10.000 MW of new wind and solar power were connected to the grid in the first seven months of the year, an increase of 84,4 percent compared to the same period last year. PV accounts for the largest share of this with 7.927 MW. The database is the Federal Network Agency's market master data register. According to the IWR In Münster, wind and solar systems with a cumulative output of 2022 MW went into operation throughout 10.213. For 2023, the IWR forecasts 15.000 MW of new solar and wind power plants with a generation capacity of 20 billion kilowatt hours per year. ****Offshore wind: Around 2023 GW of new offshore wind turbines were built in Europe in the first half of 2,1. Investment decisions were made for a further 5 GW. The currently installed capacity in this segment amounts to a cumulative 32 GW. More than half of them were installed in the Netherlands. The rest came from the United Kingdom, Germany and Norway, the portal reports “Wind Europe”. The EU wants to build an average of eleven gigawatts per year of offshore systems by 2030. The current pace of 1,4 GW is below average.
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Photos
iStock / © Danil Melekhin
