A rendering of the project to produce green hydrogen that Gransolar is planning for the Port of Almería.

Image: Gransolar

A company spokesperson told pv magazine that the plant will produce hydrogen from seawater and will be powered by a 30 MW solar plant and a 20 MWh storage system with an autonomy of 4 hours.

The facility will be based on double-reverse osmosis treatment with energy recovery followed by electrolysis of deionized water through proton exchange membrane (PEM). Furthermore, secondary electrolysis of concentrated brine will be implemented by cell membrane electrolysis.

The main electrolyzer at the facility will have an installed capacity of 20 MW and an estimated production of 1,000 tons per year. The produced fuel will be then stored in trucks for pressurized gas at 400 bar pressure.

Hydrogen will be used as fuel for public transport at the port and urban cleaning vehicles in the city of Almería. It will also be utilized to feed the port's unloading machinery, the national and international transport of goods, and part of the energy demand of local manufacturing industries.

The project has a required investment of €80.5 million euros and is scheduled to be built by the end of 2024. Gransolar confirms that it has the interest and commitment of the Almería City Council, as well as multiple companies from different professional sectors, without providing further details.

Almería will not be the only Andalusian port with plans to produce hydrogen. The Port of Malaga is also expected to host green hydrogen production through a project that also contemplates the use of artificial intelligence.

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-usa.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-usa.com)

Los Angles skyline

Image by Armin Forster from Pixabay

The Green Hydrogen Coalition, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and other partners launched HyDeal LA, an initiative to achieve at-scale green hydrogen procurement at $1.50/kilogram in the Los Angeles Basin by 2030.

HyDeal LA aims to overcome the biggest barrier to the green hydrogen economy—its high cost—by launching a commercial green hydrogen cluster at scale.

Green hydrogen can be produced from renewable electricity and water or organic waste, can be used as a carbon-free fuel, and provide long-duration seasonal energy storage.

Phase 1 of HyDeal LA will design the supply chain needed to achieve $1.50/kg delivered green hydrogen in the LA Basin. It also will strive to agreen on terms and conditions to achieve production, storage, transport, and delivery of green hydrogen at scale.

LADWP said that green hydrogen “is the key to reliably achieving 100% renewable energy.”  The HyDeal LA effort aims to catalyze the supply chain needed to achieve large-scale, low-cost green hydrogen power supply for LADWP’s local power plants.

In March, a study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory said that Los Angeles’ goal of reaching a 100% renewable, reliable, and resilient grid could be met as early as 2035. Doing so will require adding new solar, batteries, wind, and transmission, along with operational practices that make more efficient use of those assets. The study did not address specific costs, but said that economic impacts to the city would be “small relative to the overall size” of LA’s economy.

Power plant conversion

LADWP is currently leading the conversion of the Intermountain Power Project in Delta, Utah, to become one of the world’s first gas turbines designed and built to operate on 100% green hydrogen.

Dubbed “IPP Renewed,” Intermountain project includes retiring existing coal-fired units at the power plant site and installing new natural gas-fired electricity generating units capable of utilizing hydrogen for 840 MW net generation output. Additional investment will modernize the power plants transmission system to southern California, and develop hydrogen production and long-term storage capabilities.  The new natural gas generating units will be provided by Mitsubishi Power and designed to use 30% hydrogen fuel at start-up, transitioning to 100% hydrogen fuel by 2045 as technology improves.

HyDeal LA is part of HyDeal North America, a commercialization platform launched by the Green Hydrogen Coalition. It is modeled after HyDeal Ambition, a similar project in Europe committed to producing and buying 3.6 million tons of green hydrogen per year for the energy, industry, and mobility sectors at €1.5/kilogram (kg) before 2030.

In addition to LADWP, HyDeal LA leaders include 174 Power Global, Mitsubishi Power, and SoCalGas. Key implementation partners include Clifford Chance, Corporate Value Associates, Cranmore Partners, Energeia, Marathon Capital, Sheppard Mullin, and Strategen.

Earlier in May, Mitsubishi Power and Texas Brine Co. agreed to develop large-scale long-duration hydrogen storage to support decarbonization efforts across the eastern United States.

This collaboration expands Mitsubishi Power’s capability to store hydrogen in salt caverns across North America. As one of the nation’s largest brine producers, Texas Brine and its affiliates have salt positions in New York, Virginia, Texas, and Louisiana that will enable access to major load centers in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and the Gulf Coast.

Expanding the use of salt caverns for hydrogen energy storage offers an opportunity to create an infrastructure for clean energy resources throughout the U.S. to benefit industries such as power, transportation, and manufacturing that are targeting net zero carbon emissions.

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-usa.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-usa.com).

A hydrogen bus developed by Poland-based Solaris Bus & Coach.

Image: Solaris Bus & Coach

U.S. trading company Tramo, Vienna-based Austria Energy Group and Austrian renewable energy developer Oekowind have signed a memorandum of understanding for the production of a hydrogen/green ammonia plant to be developed in Chile with an estimated annual production capacity of 1 million tons of green ammonia. This project, in Chile, will be one of the first to commercialize green ammonia. It will be based on a 2 GW wind farm.

A team of researchers at the Research Center for Energy Networks and Energy Storage (FENES) of the East Bavarian Technical University (OTH) Regensburg, led by Professor Michael Sterner, is developing a hydrogen atlas for Germany. The interactive, continuously updated database will show which power-to-X plants are installed, indicating also related regional value chains. The project will be built gradually. The final version should be available in 2023. “The hydrogen atlas offers users the opportunity to assess potential, consumption, costs and emission reductions on a regional level,” Sterner explains. “This provides them with a comprehensive tool that facilitates entry into concrete technical planning.”

Canadian integrated energy company Suncor and Canadian holding company ATCO are looking into a potential “world scale clean hydrogen project” in Alberta. The decision follows support messages from the government of Canada and the government of Alberta, both in favor of emission-reduction projects. “Approximately 20% of the produced clean hydrogen could be used in the Alberta natural gas grid to further reduce emissions,” read a note released on Tuesday, adding that the majority would be used in refining processes and co-generation of steam and electricity at the Suncor Edmonton Refinery. The project should produce more than 300,000 tonnes per year of clean hydrogen.

Japanese petroleum company Eneos and Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer Toyota Motor are exploring hydrogen applications at Woven City, a prototype city in Susono City, Shizuoka prefecture. Eneos should establish a hydrogen refueling station and produce green hydrogen. The two companies are also interested in conducting joint advanced research on hydrogen supply. “At Woven City, they intend to promote carbon neutrality in everyday mobility, people's lives, and within the infrastructure of the city itself,” read a statement released on Monday.

Japanese transport company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Mitsui E&S Machinery are carrying out a joint study to introduce hydrogen fuel port cargo handling machinery. As part of the agreement, MOL signed a “contract for a new, near-zero emission, rubber-tired gantry container yard crane, and decided to introduce it at the MOL-operated Kobe International Container Terminal.”

Professor Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou, who leads the Hydrogen Energy Research Centre (HERC) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), said that Australia is at the cutting edge of the hydrogen revolution and will increasingly collaborate with other countries. The comment came at the launch of a new hydrogen advisory firm called H2Potential, which will act as an incubator and an accelerator of hydrogen businesses. In collaboration with LAVO, Aguey-Zinsou helped produce the world’s first residential/commercial hydrogen battery, which stores 40 kWh of energy. That’s almost three times the capacity of a Tesla Powerwall 2, which offers 13.5 kWh.

An international alliance of 45 companies, knowledge institutes and port authorities, headed by the Port of Rotterdam Authority, has been awarded nearly €25 million in EU funding, wrote the Port of Rotterdam on Tuesday. “The consortium will be using this grant to execute ten pilot projects and demonstration projects that focus on sustainable and smart logistics in port operations,” read the note, adding that many details are not yet clear. Anyhow, the Port of Rotterdam explicitly mentioned green hydrogen among the potential renewable fuels and energy carriers.

Germany confirmed its interest in funding hydrogen, with both Länder and the federal state looking into projects that could allow the country to become a “global technology supplier.” An example is the hydrogen hub planned in Huntorf by Oldenburg-based energy, telecommunications and information technology company EWE and Dusseldorf-headquartered energy company Uniper. “Green hydrogen is an indispensable building block for the energy transition. That's why we are funding five innovative research projects across Lower Saxony with a total of €6 million. Here in Huntorf, the DLR Institute for Networked Energy Systems and Clausthal University of Technology are now using the compressed air storage power plant to investigate the potential of using green hydrogen in thermal processes,” Lower Saxony's minister for science and culture, Björn Thümler, commented in a note released on Monday.

Poland-based Solaris Bus & Coach has sold 13 hydrogen vehicles to Frankfurt. The buses are to be deployed on target routes in 2022. “The technology used in the Urbino hydrogen [bus] makes for absolutely environmentally friendly transport, thanks to the use of energy supplied by a fuel cell (of 70 kW),” read a note released last week. Earlier this year, the company signed deals for hydrogen buses with companies based in Germany, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands.

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-usa.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-usa.com).

Image: Siemens

Within Florida Power & Light’s (FPL) recently-filed four-year rate request with the Florida Public Service Commission is a commitment to “investments to build a more sustainable energy future.”

The pledge in the regulatory filing includes the utility’s “30-by-30” plan to install 30 million solar panels in Florida by 2030, as well as plans to build what the utility said would be the world’s largest integrated solar-powered battery and a green hydrogen pilot project.

The battery system is the Manatee Energy Storage Center, a 409 MW behemoth that could begin serving customers in late 2021. FPL’s Gulf Power unit said on Feb. 25 that it had begun construction on the project. The project is expected to help speed the retirement of aging natural gas units at a nearby power plant.

The green hydrogen pilot project was first announced by NextEra Energy, FPL’s parent company, in July 2020.

NextEra plans to invest $65 million into the pilot, which will use power from otherwise curtailed solar energy to produce green hydrogen via a 20 MW electrolysis system.

It’s worth noting that NextEra ranks as one of the nation’s largest solar and wind developers. So, although a 20 MW pilot may not initially move the needle toot much, NextEra’s vast wind and solar also comes with a lot of curtailed renewable generation. If the pilot proves successful and scalable, the company could look toward a serious buildout of more hydrogen producing facilities that could replace fossil fuels.

For now, the green hydrogen produced as part of the pilot would replace some of the natural gas combusted at FPL’s 1.75 GW Okeechobee power plant. Rather than build a new hydrogen plant, FPL is retrofitting an existing plant to accommodate the fuel source.

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-usa.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-usa.com).

Image: Swinburne University

Researchers from Swinburne University’s Centre for Translational Atomaterials and Shaanxi Normal University have developed a novel catalyst that can produce high-performance solar-triggered hydrogen from seawater. If there is one thing that we all know about seawater, it’s that there is a lot of it, so it's no surprise that this  scientific discovery has great potential.

In order to utilize this new catalyst, the researchers had to develop a prototype device, the Ocean-H2-Rig. It can float on the ocean's surface to produce green hydrogen from seawater.

One of the easiest and greenest ways to produce hydrogen is through photocatalytic water splitting, which uses solar energy to split water into its composite atoms, securing the hydrogen and harmlessly emitting the oxygen. The novelty of the single-atom platinum catalyst the researchers have developed is that the photo-generated electrons and holes triggered by solar radiation do not try to recombine, which greatly improves hydrogen production efficiency.

The proposed algorithm was validated on a hybrid system for application in both off-grid and on-grid scenarios.

Image: Frerk Meyer/Flickr

Researchers from Saudi Arabia's Qassim University and the Minia University, and the Aswan University in Egypt, have developed a new model to integrate PV, wind, and hydrogen generation in a hybrid system for application in both off-grid and on-grid scenarios.

The model is based on a metaheuristic algorithm called Improved Artificial Ecosystem Optimization (IAEO), which the scientists claim is an improved version of the conventional Artificial Ecosystem Optimization (AEO) algorithm. The latter is a nature-inspired algorithm known for mimicking three typical behaviors of living organisms, such as production, consumption, and decomposition.

The producers are any kind of green plant and consumers are animals that cannot make their food and, therefore, obtain it from a producer or other consumers. Decomposers are agents that feed on both producers, in the form of dead plants, and consumers, in the form of waste from living organisms. In an AEO algorithm, there is only one decomposer and one producer, and the other individuals are considered consumers.

The AEO works according to these three phases and is commonly used to optimize the flow of energy in an ecosystem on the earth. “The ecosystem can be expressed as a group of living organisms [which] live in a certain space, and the ecosystem describes the relations between them,” the researchers said, adding that IAEO is mainly intended at improving the consumption phase.

The proposed energy system consists of PV and wind power generation, a water electrolyzer, a tank of hydrogen gas, a fuel cell, and an inverter that brings the generated electricity to final consumers. “The hybrid system is suggested to be located in [the] Ataka region, [in the] Suez gulf (latitude 30.0, longitude 32.5), Egypt, and the whole lifetime of the suggested case study is 25 years,” the scientists specified.

In this configuration, which the academics have assessed for both off-grid and grid-connected projects, wind and solar plants are used to power the electrolyzer that produces hydrogen, which is then stored in the tank and used to produce electricity through the fuel cell. The inverter receives electricity from the fuel cell and also surplus power from the wind and solar facilities. “When the level of hydrogen in the tank becomes below the lowest allowable level, the shortage in the electrical energy required to store the hydrogen gas in the tank is dispatched from the national grid,” they further explained.

Both the IAEO and conventional AEO algorithms were applied for generating the optimal design for the system. “In the case of the isolated configuration, when the electrical power produced from PV and wind resources is higher than the load needs plus the rated power of the electrolyzer, a dummy load is used for generation-demand balance,” the Saudi-Egyptian group stated.

The IAEO algorithm was validated in six different configurations of the proposed hybrid system and, according to the research team, has provided better results not only compared to the AEO, but also to other kinds of algorithms. “The proposed IAEO algorithm provides fast convergence characteristics, the best minimum values of the objective function, and minimum cost of energy,” it concluded. “Based on the optimal configuration of the hybrid systems, it is found that the fuel cell system has the highest contribution to the net present cost.”

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-usa.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-usa.com).

The model was presented in the paper An improved artificial ecosystem optimization algorithm for optimal configuration of a hybrid PV/WT/FC energy system, published in the Alexandria Engineering Journal.

A major consortium led by UK-based ITM Power, which claims the world’s largest electrolyser facility, with 1GW per annum manufacturing capacity in Sheffield, England, has signed a memorandum of understanding to test and demonstrate the viability of hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses in Australia’s public transport networks.

Dubbed the H2OzBus Project, it intends to initially deploy 100 hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses across up to 10 city hubs in Australia where interest and demand for fuel-cell buses has already been expressed.

Transport New South Wales, for example, is one state jurisdiction looking to transition its entire bus fleet to zero-emissions electric power in coming years and has invited expressions of interest from technology providers.

Vesna Olles, Director for Strategy and Business Development at BOC, a consortium member with groundbreaking Australian projects to its name, told pv magazine,“NSW is targeting 8,000 of its buses coming off diesel, so we hope to be able to be bold and consider how big this project could become.”

Olles said she was on a phone call today during which subject matter experts had been nominated from each of the five consortium members — Transit Systems (a subsidiary of Australia’s SeaLink Travel Group transport service provider); Canadian-headquartered fuel-cell manufacturer, Ballard Power Systems; infrastructure manager Palisade Investment Partners; BOC a supplier of compressed and bulk gases, chemicals and equipment in the South Pacific region; and ITM Power.

“H2OzBus is an exciting project which builds on the international partnerships that have been developed in recent years by ITM Power in the fuel-cell electric bus markets across the UK and France,” said Dr Neil Thompson, Managing Director of ITM Power commenting on how the company’s Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysers using renewable energy and tap water to generate hydrogen, have found a market in Europe.

In the Australian context, Olles says, many different scenarios could play out in terms of infrastructure positioning, and technologies used, and “now that we’ve signed the MOU and some confidentiality terms, it allows us to share some workings with each other so we can put together a concept paper of what Phase 1 will look like.”

From brown and blue, to green hydrogen sources

Although the consortium’s long-term strategy is to provide hydrogen from renewable power sources, BOC already produces hydrogen in Australia via brown (coal) and blue (steam methane reforming) pathways, and these are likely to be the source of hydrogen to kickstart the H2OzBus proof-of-concept project.

However the consortium’s green intentions are underscored by the fact that it plans to seek funding support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency under its remit to accelerate hydrogen projects that will contribute to decarbonising industry.

Further funds will be raised by Palisade Investment Partners, which will also provide strategic financial oversight of the project.

Palisade is known for managing renewable generation and transportation assets, such as Ross River Solar Farm and Snowtown 2 Wind Farm; and Gold Coast Rapid Transit, and Darwin, Alice Springs and Sunshine Coast airports. It provides institutional investors with access to such Australian infrastructure projects via tailored portfolios and co-mingled funds.

“Palisade believes green hydrogen will play an important role in the further decarbonisation of our economy,” said Palisade Managing Director and CEO Roger Lloyd.

Designing for infrastructure and efficiency

In Phase 1, the consortium will focus on the logistics of enabling fleets of hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses on designated public transport routes.

ITM Power and BOC will provide expertise on hydrogen production and refuelling infrastructure, while Ballard Power Systems is set to supply the fuel-cell system that will be integrated into the public-transport vehicles supplied by bus manufacturers.

Olles told pv magazine that the group will also explore the potential for technology startups in Australia to provide the fuel-cell technology; and the possibility of Ballard manufacturing fuel cells in Australia.

Ballard Power Systems President and CEO, Randy MacEwen said from Vancouver that the project will “provide bus operators with an alternative electric bus option with no compromise on performance and operation.” 

He added that, “Use cases requiring extended range, air conditioning and rapid refuelling are an ideal fit for our fuel-cell systems, which have been proven through more than 30 million kilometres of on-road experience to date.”

Ballard is pleased to sign MOU with strategic partners @boconline, @ITMPowerPlc & Transit Systems Australia for #H2OzBus Project investigating #zeroemissions #fuelcell buses for Australia #zeroemissions https://t.co/8NFnvOdNbD @STG_AUD @Lindeplc #hydrogen #cleantech pic.twitter.com/uMLos5zDNq

— Ballard Power (@BallardPwr) May 22, 2020

Keeping the fleet on schedule

Once in service, the 100 trial buses will be maintained and operated by Transit Systems.

CEO of Transit Systems’ parent company SeaLink Travel Group, Clint Feuerherdt, said taking part in the project allows Transit Systems to showcase its extensive network and capabilities.

Australia’s largest integrated land and marine, tourism and public transport service provider, SeaLink is known for its mainland-to-island ferry services, cruising and land-based tours, and resorts. It acquired Transit Systems, with its metropolitan bus operations in Australia, London and Singapore in January this year.

Feuerherdt said the company’s participation in H2OzBus is about ensuring “that our solutions continue to set the benchmark for what is possible”, which could serve as the project slogan.

Olles adds green fuel to this notion, saying, “For BOC this is a proof of concept for hydrogen mobility in Australia.”

She says it will provide a foundation for what the country’s  hydrogen future looks like, “not just for mobility but for other end uses such as power generation and as a fuel source for major industries such as steel refining.”

Although value adding to Australia’s iron ore resources may be a way down the track, Olles says that as a demonstration project H2OzBus holds promise for “contributing to the goal of zero emissions” — a bus the majority of Australians are eager to board.

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-australia.com and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-australia.com.)

IBE estimates that the offtake agreements for its Project NEO will amount to over $7.5 billion.

Image: Horizon Power

Perth-based Infinite Blue Energy (IBE) has unveiled a bold plan to deliver Australia’s first green hydrogen baseload power plant that could change the electricity landscape in New South Wales (NSW). Project NEO is initially focused on providing 1000 MW of green hydrogen using solar, wind and hydrogen fuel cells for 24/7 electricity supply.

The project, which will commence with a feasibility study and detailed design over the next 18 months, aims to transition energy-intensive, fossil fuel-dependent industries in NSW to 100% renewables by 2027. To provide reliable baseload power, NEO will use solar and wind to produce hydrogen, a certain amount of which will be stored in fuel cells and available when there is no wind or sun, on cloudy days and at night. 

“The vision at IBE is to show the world, first and foremost, that Australia has the technology, skills and entrepreneurial mindset to be a true leader in the development of green hydrogen plants,” IBE CEO Stephen Gauld said. “We are currently in robust negotiations with major electricity users in the NSW Hunter Region that have confirmed their intentions to transition to green hydrogen baseload electricity this decade.”

Led by a team with substantial experience in the oil and gas sector, IBE has only recently appeared on the Australian energy scene. In April, the company unveiled plans for the first of its many green hydrogen projects in Western Australia (WA), announcing an initial $300 million investment for its first phase of construction. Other companies that have announced gigawatt-scale plans in WA include BP Australia, which is looking to develop around 1.5 GW of greenfield solar and wind projects for its green hydrogen and ammonia plans, and Siemens, which aims to produce green hydrogen for local industry and export to Asia from up to 5 GW of wind and solar capacity.

Another megaproject underway in WA is the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), which could feature up to 15 GW of solar and wind capacity with the goal to supply local energy users in the Pilbara region and develop a green hydrogen manufacturing hub for domestic use and export to Asia. Recently, AREH has moved forward after being recommended for environmental approval.

Fast-tracking NSW’s energy transition

Project NEO, which comes with a $2.7 billion price tag, is expected to feature 235 wind turbines and a PV array covering approximately 1,250 hectares of land. The cumulative renewable energy capacity will stand at around 3.5 GW and will be deployed at high-value sites for solar and wind production, in combination with a “distributed generation model”. “This allows the generation sites to blend in with existing land users with minimal impact,” IBE says.

Over 2 million NSW homes stand to benefit from Project NEO, the company says, in addition to other economic benefits. IBE anticipates that a significant proportion of the workforce required for Project NEO will be drawn from the existing coal-fired power stations in NSW, since many of the skills are similar.

“Project NEO will produce local and indirect employment, allow existing industries to decarbonize, and facilitate the establishment of new industries,” Gauld says. “It will localize manufacturing, give a 100% green supply of power to NSW, fuel the reduction of the state’s carbon emissions and can therefore play a pivotal role in ultimately helping Australia become leaders in carbon emission reduction.”

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-australia.com and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-australia.com).

Renewable energy makes sense of hydrogen.

Image: Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO)

This morning Federal Government Ministers Mathias Cormann and Angus Taylor announced a $300 million Advancing Hydrogen Fund in terms of a panacea:

“From cheaper energy bills and job creation in regional Australia, to playing a role in reducing global emissions both at home and in countries that buy Australian produced hydrogen, the industry’s potential cannot be ignored,” said Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Taylor in the joint announcement.

The fund is designed to mesh with priorities under the national Hydrogen Strategy and as such will back areas that advance hydrogen production, developing export and domestic supply chains, establishing hydrogen hubs and building domestic demand for hydrogen.

Just a month ago, BloombergNEF released a report, Hydrogen Economy Outlook, which concluded that only a widespread global commitment to net zero emissions could generate the kind of investment — it calculated the need for US$150 billion in cumulative subsidies to 2030 — required to bring down the cost of producing hydrogen and make it competitive with other fuels.

Hydrogen is not a free kick

“Once you set a net zero target, and are serious about putting policies and measures in place to achieve that, then hydrogen becomes a necessary option,” Kobad Bavhnagri, Global Head of Industrial Decarbonisation at BNEF and lead author of the report, told pv magazine at the end of March.

“If you don’t have that clarity and that purpose,” Bhavnagri continued, “then actually there’s no need to do hydrogen and it won’t stand up.” A higher cost, less convenient energy source than fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil, hydrogen only starts to make sense when the demand is created for a zero-emissions alternative.

Bhavnagri explained that development of hydrogen is a global task. It requires mass participation to achieve the economies of scale that will make hydrogen viable.

Based on fuel prices in March, the Hydrogen Economy Outlook estimated, for example, that if the electrolysers used to produce hydrogen from water (one method of hydrogen production that lends itself to using renewable energy to power the process of atom splitting) could be driven dramatically down in cost by demand and manufacturing efficiencies, renewable hydrogen could be produced for US$0.8 to US$1.6/kg by 2050. This was then equivalent to gas priced at US$6-12/MMBtu, making it competitive with natural gas.

Australia’s Federal Government has set the open-ended goal — dubbed ‘H2 under 2’ — of producing hydrogen for AU$2 a kilogram as part of its as yet unreleased but much anticipated Technology Investment Roadmap.

Its $300 million Advancing Hydrogen Fund is to be administered by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), which this morning welcomed the announcement of its amended mandate to make the $300 million available from its existing funds. 

“We are confident we can use our capital to help build investor confidence in the emerging hydrogen sector,” said CEFC CEO, Ian Learmonth.

It’s not easy staying green

This morning’s CEFC statement also emphasised that, “In line with the CEFC Act, projects seeking CEFC finance through the Advancing Hydrogen Fund are required to be commercial, draw on renewable energy, energy efficiency and/or low emissions technologies and contribute to emissions reduction.”

The CEFC says that from the allocated Advancing Hydrogen Fund it anticipates providing either debt or equity finance to eligible larger-scale commercial and industrial projects likely to require $10 million or more in CEFC capital, alongside finance raised from other sources.

CEFC identifies an early priority for funding to coincide with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) $70 million Renewable Hydrogen Deployment Fund. 

This ARENA funding round opened on 15 April, and expressions of interest are currently set to close on 26 May. Outcomes are expected to be announced on 30 November this year.

“We see green hydrogen as offering the most credible pathway to decarbonisation for high emitting sectors and those which lack scaleable electrification options,” said CEFC’s Learmonth. CEFC identifies some of these sectors as manufacturing, heavy transport such as trucks and shipping, mining, processing of metals and production of chemicals.

Exports going nowhere: use it on shore

One clear point of departure between BNEF’s Hydrogen Economy Outlook and the stated ambitions of the Government Advancing Hydrogen Fund is in relation to hydrogen as an export industry for Australia.

Cormann describes the Fund as a “catalyst for the future growth of Australia’s hydrogen industry,” which has the potential to become “a major new export industry”. Taylor adds the commitment made in the National Hydrogen Strategy, launched in November last year, “to build Australia’s hydrogen industry into a global export industry by 2030”.

Bhavnagri, on the other hand, found in his BNEF report that, “the economics of exporting hydrogen by ship are very poor”.

He told pv magazine, “This narrative about Australia being able to export hydrogen is a bit misplaced … Hydrogen is not like natural gas; it’s far less dense and has a liquefaction temperature much lower than natural gas, so it’s just much harder to put on a ship in a liquefied state — it’s really expensive to do.”

He concluded that “Australia can be a hydrogen superpower by using it onshore and exporting value-added products.”

Both the Australian Government and BNEF champion the establishment of hydrogen hubs, with BNEF explaining the efficiencies that such developments could offer: hubs might include clusters of wind-and-solar-powered electrolysers, and large storage facilities to smooth and buffer hydrogen supply, served by networks of dedicated pipelines feeding hydrogen to co-located industrial customers. 

Renewable resource can make Australia’s hydrogen the cheapest

Writing in BNEF’s Hydrogen Economy Outlook, Bhavnagri notes: “Our analysis suggests that a delivered cost of green hydrogen of around US$2/kg in 2030 and US$1/kg in 2050” is achievable in China, India and Western Europe. Countries with the best renewable and hydrogen storage resources, such as Australia, could achieve 20-25% reductions on these costs.

But BNEF cautions that even at US$1/kg the use of hydrogen in place of fossil fuels is still likely to require a carbon price or other policy measures to make it the most attractive option: “This is because hydrogen must be manufactured, whereas natural gas, coal and oil need only to be extracted, so it is likely to always be a more expensive form of energy.”

Ultimately Bhavnagri is optimistic about the potential for hydrogen to help decarbonise the planet, and to open new opportunities for green manufacturing in Australia that could significantly boost employment opportunities.

Signs of hydrogen life

The Hydrogen Economy Outlook said investors keen to be involved in hydrogen projects should look out for evidence of seven key events that signal opportunity for green hydrogen to scale as needed to provide a viable alternative to fossil fuels, and act as an accelerator to decarbonisation . In order of importance, the first three indications are:

1. Legislation of net-zero climate targets
2. Harmonisation of international standards governing hydrogen use
3. Introduction of targets with investment mechanisms

We now have an investment mechanism, administered by a trusted body which has previously facilitated almost $28 billion worth of clean-energy projects in Australia since its inception in mid-2012, but this investment seems still untethered from Government political will and policy needed to reach net zero emissions within a timeframe that will help global citizens avoid the next looming threat to our lives. Prosperity assumes a healthy planet.

Schedule a call with us to see how Green Hydrogen can help take you further.

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-usa.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-usa.com).

The researchers have made a green hydrogen production breakthrough.

Image: Griffith University

Griffith University researchers have reported a breakthrough in clean hydrogen electrolysis using CoSe₂ nanobelts, ultrathin sheets made out of a lattice of cobalt (Co) and selenium (Se), as highly-efficient water splitting electrocatalysts. To fully unleash the power of CoSe₂ nanobelts as an electrocatalyst for the oxidation or breakdown of water, the researchers have combined two separate processes.

In a paper published in Nature Communications, the Griffith University researchers describe how they have implemented both ‘Iron (Fe) doping’, replacing some of the cobalt on the nanobelt with iron, and ‘Cobalt (Co) vacancy’, removing some of the cobalt. When applied individually, the two processes improve the nanobelt’s ability to speed up reactions to a small degree but put together their combined effect dramatically increases catalytic activity.