Mining magnate Fortescue warns against expanding coal subsidies +++ Development of a hydrogen network in the Ruhr region +++ Study: Ammonia for hydrogen transport +++ Fraunhofer IAO prepares H2 strategy paper for the Stuttgart region +++ Essity converts paper production to hydrogen +++ Plug Power and Lhyfe develop H2 production plants in Europe +++ Hyzon shows first images of the European factory +++ Studies
A selection of PtX topics summarized at the end of the week
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The Australian mining tycoon Andrew Forrest Ahead of the COP26 climate talks, calls on governments to ensure that massive existing fossil fuel subsidies do not undermine efforts to develop clean alternatives such as green hydrogen. Regulators around the world should “give green hydrogen a chance,” he told the news outlet.Reuters“. Forrest, whose Fortescue Metals Group wants to become carbon neutral by 2030, is promoting the use of green hydrogen worldwide and has already initiated a number of projects to produce hydrogen using renewable energy.
“I want a level playing field. If you subsidize the old energy, you also have to treat the new energy fairly,” Forrest is quoted by “Reuters”. According to the agency, $70 trillion is spent annually on fossil fuel subsidies worldwide. This includes around XNUMX percent of the costs caused by environmental damage.
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The energy companies Eon (Germany), Enel (Italy), and Iberdrola (Spain) plan to build a distribution network for hydrogen and ammonia in the Ruhr region. The energy required for production will come from newly constructed photovoltaic and wind power plants in Italy and Spain. From 2032, up to 80.000 tons of hydrogen per year could be available for regional customers. In Spain, ammonia will be produced using hydrogen and then transported to Germany by ship. Imports are expected to begin in 2024. As part of the project, Eon is investigating the feasibility of efficiently converting ammonia back into hydrogen in the Ruhr region.
They want to export green electricity from Italy for hydrogen production in Germany. To this end, the construction of a local electrolyser with a starting capacity of 2025 megawatts is planned by 20, which will be constantly expanded. The green hydrogen obtained from ammonia or produced using electrolysis will be fed directly into a new hydrogen network and distributed to companies. A new regional pipeline network between Duisburg and Dortmund is to be gradually created by 2032. However, the companies only want to implement the project with tax money: “The H2.Ruhr project is subject to the availability of funding.”
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A new study by management consultancy Kearney in collaboration with Uniper examines the conditions under which green hydrogen can be competitive by 2025. Accordingly, ammonia, which is now primarily used as a raw material for fertilizers, is crucial as a transport medium for hydrogen from regions with cheap green electricity. Driven by the current CO2 price development, importing green ammonia is already worthwhile today, “which will contribute to the decarbonization of the fertilizer industry and at the same time enable investments to recover hydrogen from ammonia.” Although the recovery is energy-intensive, the study shows that the ammonia route is more cost-effective than locally produced green hydrogen. There is also potential for cost reductions along the value chain. Other transport routes such as liquefied hydrogen or LOHC (Liquefied Organic Hydrogen Carrier) will not yet be available on a large scale in the next few years. “Ammonia is expected to be the predominant hydrogen carrier by 2025,” the authors said.
The study "Competitiveness of green hydrogen import pathways for Germany in 2025“ is available free of charge as a PDF (14 pages).
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The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering and Organization IAO has on behalf of the Economic Development Region Stuttgart GmbH together with the Center for Solar energy and hydrogen research (ZSW) as well as the German Aerospace Center (DLR) developed a hydrogen and fuel cell strategy for the Stuttgart region. Based on one Analysis Based on the current situation, potential and needs, the research team has developed the vision “Green Hydrogen Region Stuttgart 2035”, which shows how the supply of green hydrogen can be achieved with ever-increasing demand and integrated into all sectors and value creation stages in the region by 2035. To realize and concretely implement this vision, the strategy paper includes 57 measures at regional, state and federal levels. The analysis is based on the various roadmaps of the EU, Germany and Baden-Württemberg.
The study "Hydrogen and fuel cell strategy for the Stuttgart regionis available free of charge as a PDF.
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Swedish hygiene paper manufacturer Essity (Zewa, Leukoplast) is launching a pilot project at its German plant in Mainz-Kostheim to operate a paper machine CO2-free. Natural gas will be gradually replaced with green hydrogen during ongoing production. According to the company, this is the first project of this scale in the paper industry. They aim to demonstrate that even energy-intensive production can be CO2-free. The investment amounts to four million euros.
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US hydrogen solutions provider Plug Power Inc. and French hydrogen producer Lhyfe Hydrogen plan to jointly build green hydrogen production facilities across Europe. A total capacity of 300 MW is to be established by 2025, and the companies also intend to begin developing a one-gigawatt production facility. This project builds on an agreement already in place between the two companies earlier this year, under which Plug Power will provide the one-megawatt hydrogen electrolyzer technology for an offshore production plant developed by Lhyfe. The electricity will be generated by a floating wind turbine off the coast of Le Croisic at Centrale Nantes' SEM-REV offshore test site. The plant is scheduled to go into operation in 2022.
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Hyzon Motors Inc. , a US manufacturer of fuel cell vehicles, has released the first images of its production facility in Winschoten, Netherlands. The factory opened in March 2021 and has a capacity to build up to 500 trucks per year. The company plans to expand capacity to up to 1.000 trucks in 2022. The Winschoten plant will serve as the European hub for vehicle assembly and the development of new vehicle technologies.
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Internal editorial note : Due to illness, the newsletter distribution had to be cancelled last week.
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Photos
iStock / © aryos
