The Green Hydrogen Economy

[Freegrass]

I think we've established by now that cars will be electric, except for a few hydrogen supercars maybe, like this 2000 Hp beauty...

https://www.hyperion.inc/xp1-car

[kassy]

More Bad News For Fossil Fuels: Green Hydrogen Is Making Green Steel Happen

Steelmaking was once thought to be difficult if not impossible to decarbonize, with a key step in the process fully dependent on coal or natural gas. Well, that was then. The world’s first and biggest full scale green steel plant is taking shape in Sweden, with an assist from green hydrogen. That leaves about 1,000 steel plants around the world yet to decarbonize, but at least it’s a start.

Green Hydrogen To Calm Steel’s Carbon Demon
It’s no secret that steel is a carbon demon. Going by one commonly cited estimate, steel production accounts for 11% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally, in part because gas or coal need to be involved.

...

Replacing gas and coal with green hydrogen is a big step in the right direction, though the WSA points out that’s going to be a long row to hoe. As of 2022, they note, about about 76% of the global hydrogen supply currently comes from natural gas, and 23% comes from coal, with green hydrogen barely making a show at less than 0.1%.

In a fact sheet dated June 2022, they cite a model from the International Energy Agency, which  anticipates that only 8% of total steel production will rely on green hydrogen to reduce iron ore by 2050.

One big bottleneck is the availability of renewable energy to generate the electricity needed for whole new fleets of electrolyzers. WSA also notes that the hydrogen transmission network needs some work before it makes the A-team.

“There are close to 5,000 km of hydrogen pipelines around the world today, compared with around 3 million km of natural gas transmission pipelines,” WSA explains. “Existing high-pressure natural gas transmission pipes could be converted to deliver pure hydrogen in the future if they are no longer used for natural gas, but their suitability must be assessed on a case- by-case basis and will depend on the type of steel used in the pipeline and the purity of hydrogen being transported.”

“A further challenge is that three times more volume is needed to supply the same amount of energy as natural gas, they add.

The H2 Green Steel Solution
Steel makers don’t need to take a number and wait for green hydrogen, though. They can overcome the pipeline hurdle by making their own green hydrogen on site, and they can pre-pay renewable energy developers to secure a sufficient supply of clean kilowatts for the electrolyzers.

That’s the plan for the startup H2 Green Steel, which is building a new plant billed as “the world’s first large-scale green steel plant in Northern Sweden.”

H2 Green Steel has already raised millions for the new steel plant since launching in 2020. The latest news broke on January 22, when the company announced new funding additions including a €250 million grant from the EU Innovation Fund, bringing the total to €6.5 billion or about $7 billion USD.

With green hydrogen in the mix, H2 Green estimates that its steel will be produced with 95% lower CO2 emissions compared to coke-fired blast furnaces, leading the company to describe itself as “driving one of the largest climate impact initiatives globally.”

“The construction of the flagship green steel plant in Boden, with integrated green hydrogen and green iron production, is well under way,” they note, towards a planned start in 2025.

“A large portion of the electricity needed has been secured in long-term power purchase agreements, and half of the initial yearly volumes of 2.5 million tonnes of near zero steel have been sold in binding five- to seven-year customer agreements,” they add.

...

https://cleantechnica.com/2024/01/22/green-hydrogen-green-steel-renewable-energy/

[morganism]

(for above article about hydrogen use for steel production, there is an article in mining and rare earths about using slag from aluminum production for steel making also.)

model.energy/future: Future power systems with today's weather

Introduction

This website simulates how a future fully-renewable power system would behave with today's demand and weather. Here is the actual wind and solar generation from the past 10 days in Germany:

(...)

What can we learn?

Despite the many limitations of these simulations, here are a few things we can learn (not an exhaustive list - also note that the model results depend strongly on input assumptions):

    Systems dominated by wind and solar can meet demand in all hours if there is sufficient short- and long-term storage.
    Wind is very helpful in high latitudes to get through the winter periods when the sun shines less.
    There are multi-day periods with low wind and solar output. To bridge these, batteries, pumped hydroelectricity and short-term demand-side management are too expensive. Longer-term storage (in this example: hydrogen) can help despite the high losses, since it is used infrequently.
    Foresight of 24 hours is sufficient to dispatch the system. Long-term storage can be dispatched using heuristics for the value of hydrogen. This is similar to how water values are used to dispatch hydroelectricity-dominated systems today.
    Prices are often set by the value of hydrogen, both when hydrogen turbines are price-setting as supply and when hydrogen electrolysers are price-setting as demand.
    Prices drop to zero in rare situations when wind and solar supply exceeds all flexible demand.
    Market prices are more volatile than prices today on a day-to-day basis, but also don't behave radically differently. Prices in this systems do not depend on world markets for fossil fuels.
    While the whole system can recover most of its costs from the market prices, it is hard for the peaking hydrogen turbines to recover their costs without some load shedding or a generator of last resort (e.g. based on imported fuel). This is the same situation as in conventional power systems, i.e. the missing money problem.
(more)

https://model.energy/future/

[morganism]

Innovative study reveals lithium-ion batteries' potential for hydrogen production

In a groundbreaking development for both the battery and sustainable energy industries, a team of researchers from Meijo University has unveiled a novel approach to hydrogen storage and production using lithium-ion batteries.

Published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy on October 29, 2023, this study, led by Professor Bun Tsuchiya from the Department of General Education of the Faculty of Science and Technology, delves into the potential of lithium-cobalt oxides (LiCoO2) - a common cathode material in lithium-ion batteries - in facilitating hydrogen production through water splitting at room temperature.

Lithium-ion batteries, a cornerstone of modern rechargeable battery technology, owe much of their capacity and performance attributes to the characteristics of their cathode materials, such as LiCoO2. However, one significant challenge in their long-term performance has been the degradation caused by hydrogen buildup through water splitting. Addressing this issue, the study by Prof. Tsuchiya's team marks a significant step towards not only enhancing battery efficiency but also repurposing this degradation phenomenon for environmental benefit.

Prof. Tsuchiya explains the motivation behind this research, stating, "My motivation is to achieve the production of hydrogen (H2) through water (H2O) splitting at room temperature using certain oxide ceramic materials." Traditional hydrogen production methods involve high temperatures, approximately 2000 K, making them less energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. This study's focus on room-temperature processes presents a fresher, more sustainable approach to hydrogen production.

The research team employed a series of sophisticated analytical techniques, including weight gain and elastic recoil detection methods, to investigate hydrogen uptake and loss in LiCoO2 cathodes. Their findings revealed an increase in hydrogen concentration after immersing the material in water for a mere two minutes, a significant discovery given the current hydrogen production complexities.

Furthermore, gas chromatography was utilized to analyze hydrogen gas release, determining that dissociation occurred below 523 K. These insights were complemented by density functional theory calculations, which suggested that hydrogen atoms preferentially occupy lithium sites within the LiCoO2 crystal structure.

These results indicate that LiCoO2, beyond its established role in energy storage, could play a significant part in storing hydrogen at room temperature through water splitting, thereby producing hydrogen gas. Prof. Tsuchiya envisions a future hydrogen-based society, stating, "If it becomes possible to make H2 from the inexhaustible H2O on earth with low energy input, I think that we can potentially establish a hydrogen-based society in the future."

https://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Innovative_study_reveals_lithium_ion_batteries_potential_for_hydrogen_production_999.html


Hydrogen absorption and desorption characteristics of H2O-uptake LiCoO2 materials at room
temperature


Herein, the hydrogen absorption and desorption characteristics of H2O-uptake by LiCoO2 materials at room temperature and the most stable trapping sites of H in LiCoO2 were investigated; this was achieved by using weight gain (WG) measurement, elastic recoil detection (ERD) in ambient air, gas chromatography (GC), and first-principles calculations with a density functional theory code. The WG results and ERD spectra revealed that the H concentration in LiCoO2 increased when soaked in H2O at 288 K for 2 min. The GC analysis revealed that hydrogen molecules (H2) were released from the H2O-uptake LiCoO2 materials at annealing temperatures less than 523 K. In addition, it was found by the first-principles calculations that H atoms dissociated from H2O tend to preferentially occupy lithium (Li) substitution sites in LiCoO2. These results indicate that the LiCoO2 material has a significant impact on H storage at room temperature due to H2O splitting to product H2.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360319923051054?via%3Dihub

[morganism]

Loose 45V guidance would backfire on taxpayers, clean hydrogen, and climate

(...)
In late December, the U.S. Treasury Department released draft guidance for the Inflation Reduction Act’s 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, set to distribute hundreds of billions in taxpayer dollars for early-stage development. The rules clarify how electrolyzers—which split hydrogen from water using electricity—must operate to earn the lucrative subsidy, rewarding genuinely clean hydrogen production as required by statute rather than using fossil power.

Splitting hydrogen from water takes lots of energy, and if that comes from fossil fueled power, then the climate impact would be far worse than how we make today’s dirty hydrogen. Congress specified it wants to incentivize truly clean hydrogen production, and it tasked Treasury with writing regulations that do just that.

But some industry stakeholders are now crying wolf, making baseless claims that these restrictions would suffocate clean hydrogen before it can grow. Unfortunately, these voices are often the loudest in the room, pushing a false narrative that industry stands united against environmentalists.

The truth is completely opposite: Strong guardrails are the only way to grow a truly clean and self-sufficient industry. Loose guidance would use taxpayer dollars to fund a planet-warming boondoggle. If Treasury relents, it risks propping up a frail industry that belches climate pollution—like building a house that collapses once the scaffolding is removed.

Despite having the spotlight wrested from them by a few loud voices, many hydrogen developers agree on strong rules. They did their research and concluded that this structure is critical to grow a clean, enduring industry—essential for cutting emissions from sectors like steel and aviation.

So what’s happening here—is one side of the hydrogen industry advocating to shoot itself in the foot, or is something simpler at play?

When Congress passes a steep subsidy, everyone wants their share. In this case, many companies quickly announced large investments in dirty hydrogen projects masquerading as clean, threatening to cancel if regulators dared set reasonable rules. 45V has a clear mandate to support truly clean hydrogen, but groups ill-equipped to meet this standard—or looking for juicier profit margins—extrapolated their challenges to the whole industry to drum up a crisis, hoping to scare regulators into submission.

By securing weak rules, they’d enrich themselves for a decade or two at minimum, then hold Congress hostage over an extension: “Look at all the jobs we created, never mind the pollution—you wouldn’t want to kill them, would you?” Meanwhile, the flood of cheap, dirty hydrogen pushes out clean projects, worsening climate pollution under the guise of mitigating it.

Compare this to developers fighting for strong standards, confident they can do things right from day one and sounding alarms that weak rules would “irreparably compromise the credibility and longevity” of the hydrogen industry. By themselves, one might wonder whether they’re merely leveraging a competitive advantage. But a large coalition of NGOs, academics, research firms, environmental justice leaders, consumer advocates, and legislators are in their corner.

Restricting subsidies to make an industry succeed may seem bizarre. But while the details are complex, the core concept is simple: Guardrails train the budding industry for long-term success.

A free-for-all approach would flood the market with the cheapest, rudimentary electrolyzers. Subsidies would pay down the cost of expensive dirty electricity and stuff corporate pockets—but should they ever expire, these businesses would collapse, unable to adapt to the new paradigm.

Guardrails would force investment in truly clean hydrogen production from the start, with developers using subsidies to pay for pricier, innovative equipment. These flexible technologies—together with the midstream infrastructure and businesses they stimulate—will be capable of flying on their own when pushed out of the nest, ready to continue making clean hydrogen without taxpayer support.
(more)

https://thehill.com/opinion/4459323-loose-45v-guidance-would-backfire-on-taxpayers-clean-hydrogen-and-climate/

[Freegrass]

'Massive spring' of almost-pure natural hydrogen found in Albanian mine, emitting at least 200 tonnes of H2 a year
It is said to have the highest flow of any natural hydrogen source measured in the world to date

https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/production/massive-spring-of-almost-pure-natural-hydrogen-found-in-albanian-mine-emitting-at-least-200-tonnes-of-h2-a-year/2-1-1596637

A “massive spring” of almost pure natural hydrogen has been found at the bottom of an underground chromium-ore mine in Albania, raising hopes that naturally occurring H2 could be commercially exploited at low cost around the world.

It had long been known that hydrogen had been leaking into the Bulqizë mine — one of the world’s largest sources of the chromium that is required for stainless steel — following three major explosions since 1992, including one that was fatal.

But the quantity and purity of the hydrogen found in the mine had never been measured until now.

Researchers found a small pool of hot water almost 1km underground that H2-rich gas was constantly bubbling into, which could easily be captured and measured.

They discovered that “the jacuzzi”, as they named it, was pumping out 11 tonnes of 84%-pure hydrogen per year, but based on air samples in other shafts and caverns, they calculated that the mine as a whole was releasing about 200 tonnes of H2 annually, and had been doing so for at least the past six years.

That was 1,000 times higher than the hydrogen being released at geologically similar sites — where pieces of iron-rich oceanic tectonic plates (also known as the upper mantle) have been thrust on top of continental plates to leave behind section known as “ophiolites” — elsewhere in the world, such as Oman.

France’s National Centre for Scientific Research, CNRS, which was involved in the research, described it as “the highest natural flow of H2 measured to date”.

‘A game-changer’

The finding has led to hopes that naturally occurring hydrogen — also known as white or gold H2 — may be more common than previously expected.

“If you look for it, you’ll find it,” University of Texas energy systems researcher Michael Webber told Science magazine, which has today published an article about what it describes as a “massive spring of hydrogen”.

“It could really disrupt geopolitics, and in many good ways, because the hydrogen will be where the oil and gas are not.”

According to CNRS: “This discovery lays the foundation for new models for the exploration of natural hydrogen.

“Ophiolite massifs, geological formations originating from the oceanic crust and transported to the continents by plate tectonics, are proving to be potential hosts for these high-quality hydrogen reservoirs. These important geological formations spread across Earth have already been identified as hosting hyperalkaline sources where hydrogen bubbles.”

Frieder Klein, a geochemist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, told Science that ophiolite formations around the world would be good places to look for natural hydrogen.

“Because there are numerous outcrops of such rocks around the globe... we should really be checking out each and every one of those deposits and then see if there is a similar outgassing of hydrogen that we can possible mine.”

CNRS added: “Historically, ophiolites have not been the subject of exploration campaigns by the oil and gas industry because they were not of interest in terms of hydrocarbon resources. In many ways, this discovery could be a game-changer in our relentless search for energy resources.”

However, Laurent Truche, a geochemist at Grenoble Alps University in France who was involved in the measurements at the Albanian site, believes that the total reservoir of H2 (a trapped pocket of gas) under the mine might hold only 5,000 to 50,000 tonnes of hydrogen, which is probably not large enough for commercial exploitation.

When the US Department of Energy announced that it had made $20m of grant funding available for technologies to measure and exploit natural hydrogen, it recommended that prospectors aim for deposits of ten million tonnes or more.

Nevertheless, Truche added that the H2 could be captured and used for on-site power production.

“For the moment [mine managers] are trying to get rid of hydrogen,” he told Science. “In fact, it may be possible to collect this hydrogen and use it in a gas turbine.”

Is natural hydrogen renewable?

And CNRS added: “It is still too early to say whether natural hydrogen will take a significant place in our energy mix, or remain a niche curiosity. We also point out that natural hydrogen is not a renewable resource, in the sense that production rates are far too slow compared to the world's energy needs. In addition, these geological environments are often home to a deep and fragile biosphere that proliferates thanks in part to the presence of hydrogen.

“We therefore also deliver a message of caution and invite in-depth reflection on the potential environmental impacts of any future exploration.

“This discovery could redefine our approach to energy resources and opens up exciting prospects for the exploration of natural hydrogen. However, it is essential to continue research taking into account the environmental impact and sustainability of these initiatives.”

Others disagree with CNRS about whether natural hydrogen is a renewable resource.

Analysis of so-called “fairy circles” — depressions on the Earth’s surface with little vegetation associated with seepage of H2 — indicates that these sites alone produce 23 million tonnes a year, not accounting for additional underground reservoirs of hydrogen.

And given the high amount of hydrogen seeping from fairy circles and the constant pressure from the drilling site in Mali, researchers suggest that these stores of hydrogen may be being actively replenished, rather than a static resource that will be depleted over time.

Companies such as Hyterra and Natural Hydrogen Energy are already drilling for H2 in Nebraska and Kansas, while in July last year, Denver-based start-up Koloma raised $91m in funds, including from billionaire Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy, to tap into these resources.

Outside the US, South Australia has seen a recent boom in start-ups prospecting sites around Kangaroo Island and the Yorke and Eyre peninsulas, which have historically seen high quantities of hydrogen gas when drilling for oil.

And in France, four companies have applied for exploration permits for natural H2 since mining regulations were expanded last year to include this molecule.

[morganism]

Shell Is Immediately Closing All Of Its California Hydrogen Stations

The oil giant is one of the big players in hydrogen globally, but even it can't make its operations work here

Shell Hydrogen will permanently close all seven of its California pumping stations immediately, the company confirmed this week. It will no longer operate light-duty hydrogen stations in the U.S., and represents another blow to the struggling hydrogen car market in the only state where the fuel is widely available at all.

The outlet Hydrogen Insight first reported the news on Thursday. Shell had, until recently, operated seven of the 55 total retail hydrogen stations in California, per the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership (H2FCP). That makes this a blow, but not apocalyptic news for the (small) hydrogen community.
Get Fully Charged

Hydrogen Is Stalling Out

Car manufacturers and gas giants alike have long promoted hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles as an alternative to battery electric vehicles. The technology is promising for commercial trucking and heavy-duty applications, but the light-duty market has failed to materialize in the United States.

Unfortunately, the reason why Shell is closing up shop should give Toyota Mirai, Hyundai Nexo, and Honda Clarity Fuel Cell owners—God bless 'em—even more cause for concern. In the letter announcing the closure, Shell Hydrogen Vice President Andrew Beard said they were shutting them down "due to hydrogen supply complications and other external market factors." It's not hard to see what Beard is referencing here. 
2021 Toyota Mirai (US-spec) exterior

The second-generation Mirai looks great. But unless you live in Southern California or the Bay Area, you won't be able to buy fuel for it.

A brief scan of H2FCP's fantastic station map shows that a majority of the Hydrogen stations in Southern California are offline or operating with reduced hours. Hydrogen Insight reports that this shortage has been disrupting stations since August 13. During my one experience in a Mirai, the Uber driver behind the wheel noted that it had become even more of a nightmare to find fuel, and the situation has gotten worse since then. Each station has a slightly different notice posted on H2FCP's map, but this one from an Iwatani hydrogen filling station captures the spirit of them all:

"Our primary hydrogen supplier has experienced a disruption that will impact our access to hydrogen for the Hawaiian Gardens station. We currently do not have an ETA to return to normal service levels and will provide updates as soon as we have more information. We greatly appreciate your patience for the additional downtime this will cause."

Some are also down for repairs, as many hydrogen stations suffer from serious reliability issues. Iwatani, a Japanese gas company that is one of the two largest names in American hydrogen filling stations, is currently suing the company that provided the core technology for its stations. In a court filing viewed by Hydrogen Insight, Iwatini alleges that its provider did not test its equipment in a real-world commercial scenario, hid defects, and misled the company. It is, in short, a big mess.
(more)

https://insideevs.com/news/708156/shell-closes-california-hydrogen-stations/

[Freegrass]

Could natural hydrogen discovered in France be the fuel of the future? • FRANCE 24 English

Jan 12, 2024
In France's eastern Lorraine region, scientists have uncovered vast deposits of natural hydrogen, one of the cleanest fuels in nature. The discovery could be the biggest of its kind so far, spurring a global energy race for the fuel of the future. The Down to Earth team takes a closer look.

[Freegrass]

'There is enough natural hydrogen underground to meet all demand for hundreds of years', says US government agency
Geologists expect 'gold rush' for natural H2 resources, conference told

https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/innovation/there-is-enough-natural-hydrogen-underground-to-meet-all-demand-for-hundreds-of-years-says-us-government-agency/2-1-1600507

There are trillions of tonnes of naturally occurring hydrogen in underground reservoirs, a tiny percentage of which would meet all the world’s H2 needs for hundreds of years, geologists said last week — arguing that a “gold rush” to exploit reserves is about to start.

An unpublished report from the US Geological Survey (USGS) — an agency of the US government — has found that there are as much as five trillion tonnes of natural hydrogen underground, USGS researcher Geoffery Ellis told a US conference last week, according to the Financial Times.

And just a fraction of that would be enough to meet global H2 demand for years to come, Ellis told the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Denver.

“Most hydrogen is likely inaccessible, but a few per cent recovery would still supply all projected demand — 500 million tonnes a year — for hundreds of years,” he said, during a preview of the USGC report at the conference.

The Hydrogen Council estimates that global hydrogen demand will reach 375 million tonnes per year by 2050.

Read more...


I can't wait for that USGC report to come out. It could send shockwaves through the entire energy sector.

[Freegrass]

The Financial Times is also getting very excited about natural hydrogen.

Ellis said the Bourakébougou gas well may have inspired a hydrogen rush comparable with the birth of the petroleum industry in 1859, when Edwin Drake drove a pipe into the ground at Titusville, Pennsylvania and struck oil.

https://www.ft.com/content/81819f64-1025-489b-959a-c3d9b14cc77a

[interstitial]

Just in time because the numbers for hydrogen from excess renewables do not look great.

[jai mitchell]

I found this (IEA Global Hydrogen Review 2021)

FYI $1.50 per kg of h2 is the current industrial cost of natural gas ($1.20 per therm) on a BTU basis.

[interstitial]

so by truck it is too expensive to transport and by pipe it is only reasonable to transport it short distances maybe <200 km for 100t h2/d and >1000 km for 500t h2/d. The thing I wonder is how much a 1 GW CCGT would use per day in t.

[Richard Rathbone]

so by truck it is too expensive to transport and by pipe it is only reasonable to transport it short distances maybe <200 km for 100t h2/d and >1000 km for 500t h2/d. The thing I wonder is how much a 1 GW CCGT would use per day in t.

286kJ/mol from combustion
143MJ/kg
143GJ/t

so 1GW (thermal) requires 1t per 143s = 600 t/day.
if 60% efficiency then 1 GW (electrical) would  be  1000 t/day.

[interstitial]

thanks Richard so a hydrogen plant could probably be built within 1000 km of wells with pipeline but likely not profitably 1500 km away. That is a vast generalization of course "mileage may vary".

[Freegrass]

thanks Richard so a hydrogen plant could probably be built within 1000 km of wells with pipeline but likely not profitably 1500 km away. That is a vast generalization of course "mileage may vary".

My guess is that factories are going to want to move as close as possible to an inexhaustible clean energy source, make their products, and ship the products around the world, not the hydrogen.

Also energy plants may want to move as close as possible and ship the electricity. But I've heard that shipping H2 through pipes may be cheaper than moving electricity? Depends on the distance I guess, and thus the amount of natural hydrogen wells we'll be able to find.

The find in France is just 300 km in a straight line from Antwerp, which has the biggest petrochemical cluster in the world. That find is gold dust for us.

[kassy]

Electrical wiring must be cheaper then pipelines, especially ones that hold H2 well.

[oren]

The recent finds appear to be too small, a factory would need many of these seeps located close together to make it commercially viable.

[interstitial]

I think the chart on shipping costs for hydrogen based on distance shows that costs for moving hydrogen are far higher than moving electricity but I don't have an equivalent chart for electricity. Some consideration must be given to the whole system. Once you create electricity it must be used immediately while hydrogen can be stored. It will likely take many hydrogen wells to gather enough to power one power plant and other considerations must be taken into account.


I know their was one article that said piping gas from a wind farm would be cheaper than moving the electricity but I believe that was time specific and not generally true. Pipe and cable prices do fluctuate wildly with the underlying metals and immediate demand. There were several major undersea cable projects at the time and all undersea cable capacity was reserved for the immediate future. Generally even when a product is scarce you can get it if you are willing to pay enough its just that the price might be ridiculous. This was all discussed at the time.

[Freegrass]

Electrical wiring must be cheaper then pipelines, especially ones that hold H2 well.

No, it's not. There's a lot of loss on high voltage power lines. But then again, HVDC lines could be cheaper for long distances. So I hope we have someone here who can draw us a chart. I'm pretty sure it all comes down to distances, pipe diameters, and cable losses. An interesting exercise to make...

[interstitial]

Electrical wiring must be cheaper then pipelines, especially ones that hold H2 well.

No, it's not. There's a lot of loss on high voltage power lines. But then again, HVDC lines could be cheaper for long distances. So I hope we have someone here who can draw us a chart. I'm pretty sure it all comes down to distances, pipe diameters, and cable losses. An interesting exercise to make...

There is loss on high voltage power lines but a lot? Depends on what you mean be a lot. EIA estimates about 5%.
https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=105&t=3
Australia estimates about 10% but they have lower population density on average


Lets not forget that hydrogen takes energy to pump as well with booster stations required for longer distances.


Yes the specifics matter.

[interstitial]

Between 1.9-2.8% line loss per 1000 km.
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2010/ph240/harting1/


compare this to about $0.40 to move a kg 1000km which costs $1.50 to produce according to the chart in a prior post. That sounds much more expensive to me.

[Freegrass]

Lets not forget that hydrogen takes energy to pump as well with booster stations required for longer distances.

Yes, of course, but hydrogen comes out of the ground now, for free. It will need processing and transportation, just like oil. But electricity needs to be made, with solar and wind, or whatever...

All energy has its price to be "made", and transported.
How does it all level out?

Distances, pipe width, and cable size, it all matters, and so I'm curious if anyone has figured this out yet.

I guess not, because last year, I still thought that natural hydrogen didn't exist on our planet. That's what I've always been taught. And so were you!

So we're living in a brand-new world right now. And we have to get educated again. What's better where? How many H2 wells will there be? And what will they produce?

Lots of questions, so I hope we can figure this out.

And please change the title of this thread to clean hydrogen now Kassy!!! Green hydrogen is already old, and will probably remain a niche for a long time until we really have too much energy production. Green hydrogen is dead for now.

[kassy]

No it is the general hydrogen economy thread. If ´clean´ wins over time we might consider it but i still think that it is more logical to produce it locally with excess energy.

[jai mitchell]

Between 1.9-2.8% line loss per 1000 km.
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2010/ph240/harting1/


compare this to about $0.40 to move a kg 1000km which costs $1.50 to produce according to the chart in a prior post. That sounds much more expensive to me.

The chart is transportation costs only.  Not production costs.

it costs $1.50 to move 1 kg (at 100,000 kg/day) 1000 km in a pipeline.

Current production costs are closer to $5.00 per kg of green hydrogen, depending on the input costs of electricity and electrolyzer utilization.

[Freegrass]

No it is the general hydrogen economy thread. If ´clean´ wins over time we might consider it but i still think that it is more logical to produce it locally with excess energy.

But green is also clean. If it's the general hydrogen thread as you say, clean would be the better fit. It encompasses all.

[interstitial]

Between 1.9-2.8% line loss per 1000 km.
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2010/ph240/harting1/


compare this to about $0.40 to move a kg 1000km which costs $1.50 to produce according to the chart in a prior post. That sounds much more expensive to me.

The chart is transportation costs only.  Not production costs.

it costs $1.50 to move 1 kg (at 100,000 kg/day) 1000 km in a pipeline.

Current production costs are closer to $5.00 per kg of green hydrogen, depending on the input costs of electricity and electrolyzer utilization.

some confusion on my part about your previous post I guess it was saying their is $1.50 of natural gas needed at todays prices to make 1 kg of hydrogen not that the hydrogen cost $1.50


The cost looks closer to $1.70 than $1.50 to me to move 1 kg (at 100,000 kg/day or 100 t/day) 1000km in a pipeline but I was quoting that it is about $0.40 to move 1 kg (at 500 t/day) 1000km in a pipeline.
I chose at 500 t/day because the estimate given was it would take in rough numbers 1000 t/day for a 1 GW powerplant. A 500 MW powerplant is also a reasonable size and would use by this estimate 500 t/day but a 100 MW powerplant is on the small side for a baseload plant. IF we consider a smaller peaker plant 100 t/day is more accurate and the numbers are obviously worse than for a larger plant.


If hydrogen only occurs in spread out seeps a pipeline moving more than 100 t/day may be optimistic. If so that only makes the financial prospects even dimmer.

[interstitial]

With the US inflation reduction act they are talking about building one of the hydrogen hubs in my region using green energy. The problem with that statement is unless they build enough new renewables to at least cover the electrolyzer energy use that energy will not be green it will be fossil fuel based because we already use all of the green energy produced and about 10% fossil fuels. The electrolyzer will use 600 MW while we currently use about 40 MW. The renewable energy does not have to be local it could be several thousand kilometers away because that is where the coal plant at the sight currently sends its power to California. We also have several gas plants in the region despite the fact that the local power mix is less than 10% fossil fuels


I noticed shell recently announced they are closing their hydrogen fueling stations in the US because they spend 40% of the stations capitol costs annually to maintain those fueling stations.

[jai mitchell]

some confusion on my part about your previous post I guess it was saying their is $1.50 of natural gas needed at todays prices to make 1 kg of hydrogen not that the hydrogen cost $1.50

the btu (heat energy cost equivalent of $1.00 per kg is (about) $1.50 per therm of natural gas - this is close to U.S. industrial natural gas prices)

The cost looks closer to $1.70 than $1.50 to me to move 1 kg (at 100,000 kg/day or 100 t/day) 1000km in a pipeline but I was quoting that it is about $0.40 to move 1 kg (at 500 t/day) 1000km in a pipeline.

I read that the solid regions should be lines.  So the top of the 500t/day graph at 1000 km is about $0.75 per kg.

I chose at 500 t/day because the estimate given was it would take in rough numbers 1000 t/day for a 1 GW powerplant. A 500 MW powerplant is also a reasonable size and would use by this estimate 500 t/day but a 100 MW powerplant is on the small side for a baseload plant. IF we consider a smaller peaker plant 100 t/day is more accurate and the numbers are obviously worse than for a larger plant.


If hydrogen only occurs in spread out seeps a pipeline moving more than 100 t/day may be optimistic. If so that only makes the financial prospects even dimmer.

To produce the hydrogen from renewables and compress and store it for baseload (meaning in this case, off of renewable production peak) you would end up having to generate 1.7GW-d of electricity to use in the electrolyzer and hydrogen supply chain (compression, transport, storage etc) to produce 1 GW-d of electricity from it.

You may as well just dump that solar energy into thermal storage and generate steam from it off solar peak.

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In its current form the hydrogen hubs do not really make sense as they are but you do have to do this sort of thing to see if they can ever become useful. The current project if it proceeds would never be built without huge subsides. Personally I am not convinced that hydrogen is the right way to go for long term storage. On the other hand it may be feasible assuming a massive excess of solar producing very cheap energy in summer. That solar will not be produced locally our climate is overcast to much of the time. We need to build that massive excess of solar even if green hydrogen is not workable. That should make that summer excess very cheap and the real question is can we do all of the other things cheaply enough. That includes producing hydrogen, storing it and then converting back to electricity. I am sure this region was selected in part because we have underground formations that can store large quantities of the gas and many gas plants that can be readily converted to burn at least a percentage of hydrogen. In short they can try it here without building much more than the electrolyzer. We also run on about 80% hydro so they will probably use that to obfuscate where the power actually comes from. It is certainly more likely to be experimental engineering than profitable commercial venture at this point. Interestingly nearly all of the power from the many fossil fuel plants in the region mostly get exported to California.     

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I read that the solid regions should be lines.  So the top of the 500t/day graph at 1000 km is about $0.75 per kg.

There are three colors on that graph and only two are labeled the other appears to me to be a mix of the other two. At least that is the way I read it. Now that I looked again we are probably both wrong and the colors represent a range and the third color is just the overlap of those ranges.

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Storing the energy as heat may indeed be a better way but the problem there is energy density. If the block needs to be the size of a mountain that is not very practical either. Seasonal storage needs to be able to store about 1-2 months worth of energy to fill in for slow times in winter.


Daily storage is already more efficiently done with batteries though better chemistries may yet be developed.

[interstitial]

Sorry my responses are so scattered.
Using a natural cavern as can be done in my area avoids the need to liquify the gas and saves that energy.

[jai mitchell]

I read that the solid regions should be lines.  So the top of the 500t/day graph at 1000 km is about $0.75 per kg.

There are three colors on that graph and only two are labeled the other appears to me to be a mix of the other two. At least that is the way I read it. Now that I looked again we are probably both wrong and the colors represent a range and the third color is just the overlap of those ranges.

Yeah, I thought of that but, the cost can't really go down to zero now, can it?  I don't think so that is why I suggest it is the top of the area.  Not sure though.

Thermal energy density is already very high look up sand batteries.  A demo housing development does seasonal storage using heat from thermal solar.

https://www.dlsc.ca/

Note: Correction to above $1.00 per kg is thermal equivalent to $0.82 per therm.  Industrial natural gas prices range from $1.00 to $1.50 per therm.

[interstitial]

It does not go down quite to zero though just close.

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That system is about 20 m^2 of land and 37 m down for storage per house and stores the energy for a total of 52 houses. I am not against really but that is considerable size reservoir and I doubt it would be easy to retrofit. I am not even sure it would be better than a geothermal heating district. As described 37 m time 144 holes is 5328 m a geothermal heating well is 0.5 km to 7 km. I am not sure how equivalent that would be cost wise but scrapping all of the heat collection equipment above ground and replacing it with a pump seems like it would be much simpler and cheaper to build and operate. I do not have any idea how the costs actually compare but these are systems for a small cluster of houses and each house would probably need to chip in $20,000 or more.


A 1 gigawatt power plant in rough approximation can power one million homes and can be done without convincing everyone in a neighborhood to contribute a large chunk of cash or building all the homes new from the beginning.


Even if the idea is economic and catches on seasonal energy storage for the electric grid will be required though if widely adopted thermal storage could help significantly reduce that need. 


https://surgeaccelerator.com/how-deep-for-geothermal-heating/

I am not trying to claim I know the answer about what is the best. I think it is unresolved at this time. Every solution for seasonal storage has unresolved problems at this time IMO.

[jai mitchell]

It does not go down quite to zero though just close.

ah yes, ok well.  That changes things.  Must be a range based on construction cost (?). 

[Freegrass]

‘Gas seeps’: Philippines opens auction for natural-hydrogen exploration rights
The ‘predetermined areas’ include four locations where hydrogen ‘gas seeps’ have already been located

https://www.upstreamonline.com/hydrogen/-gas-seeps-philippines-opens-auction-for-natural-hydrogen-exploration-rights/2-1-1604061

The Philippines has opened up an auction for the rights to explore for natural hydrogen across two zones about 200 kilometres from the capital city, Manila.

The two “predetermined areas”, known as PDA 1 and 2 — covering 134,096 and 96,439 hectares, respectively, in the westernmost part of the island of Luzon — include four locations where hydrogen “gas seeps” have already been located (highlighted as stars on map below).

“Several studies revealed that native hydrogen forms primarily in two major geologic environments. These include Precambrian crystalline shields and serpentinised ultramafic rocks within land-based ophiolites, the latter of which is abundant in the Philippines,” according to the country’s Department of Energy (DOE).

“The Philippines has nine ophiolite belts, several of which showcased gas seeps. Of these areas, the Zambales Ophiolite Complex is deemed to be the most promising location for native hydrogen exploration, being home to serpentinised ultramafic rocks.”

It adds: “DOE Undersecretary Alessandro O. Sales said the DOE will select applicants who can demonstrate a good understanding of the possible resource potential of these areas and will carry out a work program that will efficiently map and test the potential. Applicants must have experience from exploration and field development in similar areas and the necessary risk capital and financial capability to explore and develop.”

The 2024 Philippine Bid Round is accepting bids from developers until 27 August, with exploration rights to be awarded as early as November this year.

According to the government’s news agency, the PDA launch has already “attracted” Anglo-Spanish pioneer Helios Aragon, which holds natural-hydrogen exploration licences in the Aragon of northeast Spain, and a local subsidiary of Freedom Solar Group, a US company owned by American military veterans.

Six other PDAs in the Philippines have also simultaneously been opened for oil and coal exploration by the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

[NeilT]

Jai you asked me to respond here.

I wasn't involved in the gas part of the business, I'm strictly IT.

The main thing I remember very clearly was when in the offices in Sydney I went into the operations room.  It was full of screens all over the walls.  Those screens showed every gas operation, including H2, going on all over Asia.

The key message was that it was so expensive to produce these gasses, H2 included, that operations were shut down and started up, quite literally, on an hourly basis, based on fluctuations in Electricity prices.

That is the reality of a company which used to produce 90% of all hydrogen consumed in the world.

[jai mitchell]

very cool.

I am very VERY skeptical of hydrogen as a primary energy storage mechanism.

[Freegrass]

British company hunts for white hydrogen in Cornwall and Scotland

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/british-company-hunts-for-white-hydrogen-in-cornwall-and-scotland/ar-BB1kOGwE

A British company is prospecting for vast deposits of hydrogen buried in ancient rocks around the world, including at potential sites in Cornwall, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Getech, a London-listed tech company, is collating data from across Britain and has pinpointed potential hydrogen-bearing rocks in parts of the British Isles too.

The deposits lie in a belt across Scotland stretching roughly from Greenock in the west to Aberdeen on the north east coast. There are others on Shetland, the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall and near Omagh in Northern Ireland.

Chris Jepps, chief operating officer of Getech, said: “This is an embryonic industry right now. So it’s too early to say much but it’s also very exciting. There’s some evidence it could be as big a market as oil and gas.”

If confirmed, the hydrogen could provide a rich resource for generating clean energy because it burns to produce nothing but water.

The gas is locked within rocks called ophiolites and is already confirmed in various places around the world such as the mountains of Oman, Australia and the central southern US.

The best known resource of white hydrogen is beneath the village of Bourakébougou in Mali where the 98pc purity gas was discovered in the 1980s when a man drilling for water lit a cigarette and triggered a small explosion.

Another prospector, Gold Hydrogen, has found accumulations with 80pc hydrogen at 500 metres in the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia.

Another deposit found in France last year could yield high-purity hydrogen at a depth of only 3,000 metres.

And last month Koloma, a US company based on extracting white hydrogen, won a US Energy Department grant and raised $246m (£195m) in a financing round, adding to the $50m already pledged by investors including Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Venture.

The company is commercialising research by Ohio State University geologist Tom Darrah, its cofounder, who has spent years studying natural hydrogen deposits and how to extract them.

Hydrogen is the universe’s most abundant element but is mostly found in compounds, joined to other elements, for example forming water when joined with oxygen or creating hydrocarbons when linked to carbon.

Splitting it out from those compounds is difficult. So-called green hydrogen is made by splitting water molecules using renewable electricity, which is expensive, while “blue hydrogen” made by splitting methane molecules and storing the carbon dioxide, is energy intensive.

However, its ability to burn at high temperatures and release a lot of energy makes it ideal as a fuel for powering heavy vehicles and as an industrial fuel.

Such geological hydrogen has a mix of origins – some is probably left over from the formation of the planet while the rest is released from rocks by chemical reactions or by radioactivity.

However, until now the amounts were thought to be small and too difficult to track down.

The US Geological Survey said last year that its own data suggested there could be enough white hydrogen to meet total global demand for “hundreds of years”.

Getch’s approach is to apply artificial intelligence to the global geological database it has built up from data gleaned from the oil and gas industry. The aim, said Mr Bennett, is to create a “digital genome” for the planet – showing the location and scale of its richest mineral deposits.

For hydrogen the aim is to spot the “sweet spots” where on-the-ground prospecting might be worthwhile.

Mr Bennett said: “Natural hydrogen is believed to be a potential game-changer for the energy transition. Getech can identify locations and conditions where natural hydrogen is likely to become trapped in reservoirs with economic potential.

“We’re looking mainly in eastern Europe and parts of Africa at the moment. It’s a very nascent sort of industry, everybody’s looking for the right places, but very few people have actually started putting drill bits in the ground. But once they do, who knows what could happen. It’s an exciting time.”

[Freegrass]

Gold Hydrogen delivers “amazing” hydrogen and helium results

https://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/1043947/gold-hydrogen-delivers-amazing-hydrogen-and-helium-results-1043947.html

Gold Hydrogen Ltd (ASX:GHY) managing director Neil McDonald joins Jonathan Jackson in the Proactive studio to discuss the recent “amazing” findings of natural hydrogen and helium at the Ramsay Project in South Australia. With hydrogen purity reaching 86% and helium at 17.5% air-corrected purity, these results are significant not just for Gold Hydrogen but on a global scale.

McDonald emphasises the early success in recovering these gases from multiple formations at Ramsay 1 and 2 wells, highlighting the project's potential. This early testing phase is crucial, as it lays the groundwork for scaling up to commercial levels.

Further testing scheduled for April is anticipated to provide more insights, supporting the company's progression toward establishing a pilot plant. This initiative aligns with Gold Hydrogen’s strategy to leverage its significant resources of both gases within the Ramsay Project area.

The market reacted positively to these developments, with Gold Hydrogen's shares surging almost 16%. This response reflects growing investor recognition of the company's potential in the emerging hydrogen and helium markets, underpinned by promising early results and strategic project execution.


There's a great video interview with the CEO if you click the link.

Conclusion: 2 holes drilled (France and Australia), and twice they hit the jackpot.
This bodes well for the rest of the world, so let's get going on this at full speed!

[Freegrass]

Pretty good 15-minute video on the development of a new ammonia shipping engine from MAN.

Moral of the story: We need lots of natural hydrogen ASAP.

[morganism]

4,000% boost! Eco-friendly hydrogen on the horizon

Scientists have developed a long-lasting, sustainable catalyst for hydrogen production from water.

A team of researchers led by Ryuhei Nakamura at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan has made significant strides in the field of sustainable hydrogen extraction. Their research, published in Nature Catalysis, details an innovative method of extracting hydrogen from water using a custom-made catalyst. By manipulating the catalyst’s 3D structure, they achieved a remarkable increase in stability and extended the catalyst’s lifetime by nearly 4,000%. This breakthrough has profound implications for the establishment of a sustainable hydrogen-based energy economy.

Water electrolysis using proton exchange membranes (PEMs) is a green electrochemical process that splits water into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen produced can be stored and used later, for instance, to power an electric car when combined with a PEM fuel cell. However, PEM electrolysis has limitations that hinder its widespread industrial use, such as in power plants.

The chemical reactions necessary for this process occur in a highly acidic environment, and the most effective catalysts for these reactions are extremely rare earth metals like iridium. Nakamura explains, “Scaling up PEM electrolysis to the terawatt scale would require 40 years’ worth of iridium, which is certainly impractical and highly unsustainable.”
A breakthrough in acid-water electrolysis

Nearly two years ago, Nakamura and his team developed a groundbreaking process that enabled acid water electrolysis without relying on rare earth metals. By inserting manganese into a cobalt oxide lattice, they created a process that depended solely on common and sustainable earth metals. Despite the success, the process was not as stable as required in a PEM electrolyzer. Building on their previous discovery, they have now developed a longer-lasting, earth-abundant catalyst.

The new catalyst is a form of manganese oxide (MnO2). The researchers found that the reaction stability could be increased over 40 times by altering the catalyst’s lattice structure. Oxygen in the 3D lattice structure of manganese oxide comes in two configurations: planar and pyramidal. The planar version forms stronger bonds with manganese, and the researchers discovered that increasing the amount of planar oxygen in the lattice significantly enhanced catalytic stability.
Testing and results

The team tested four different manganese oxides, which varied in the percentage of planar oxygen. When using the version with the highest achievable percentage, 94%, the critical oxygen evolution reaction could be maintained in acid for one month at 1000 mA/cm2. The total amount of charge transferred in this case was 100 times more than anything seen in previous studies.

When tested in a PEM electrolyzer, water electrolysis could be sustained for about six weeks at 200 mA/cm2. The total amount of water electrolyzed in this time period, and therefore the amount of hydrogen produced, was ten times more than has been achieved in the past with other non-rare metal catalysts. Co-first author Shuang Kong notes, “Surprisingly, the improved stability did not come at a cost in activity, which is usually the case. A PEM water electrolyzer that generates hydrogen with an earth-abundant catalyst at a rate of 200 mA/cm2 is highly efficient.”
The road ahead

While there is still work to be done, the researchers are optimistic about the potential for tangible, real-world applications that contribute to carbon neutrality. Industrial applications typically require a stable current density of 1000 mA/cm2 that lasts for several years, rather than a month. However, Nakamura is confident about the future, stating, “We will continue to modify catalyst structure to increase both current density and catalyst lifetime. In the long-term, our efforts should help achieve the ultimate objective for all stakeholders – to conduct PEM water electrolysis without the use of iridium.”

https://interestingengineering.com/energy/4000-boost-eco-friendly-hydrogen-on-the-horizon

[Freegrass]

Pretty good interview about natural hydrogen from 2 months ago.

[Freegrass]

Hysata announces $111m USD Series B investment round

https://hysata.com/news/hysata-announces-111m-usd-series-b-investment-round/

Hysata has closed the largest Series B in Australian clean tech history, announcing an $111m USD investment round with strong backing from existing major strategic and financial global investors. This is a significant milestone that demonstrates global recognition for Hysata’s game changing high efficiency electrolyser (41.5 kwh/kg incl BoP) with intrinsically low capex and a capital efficient path to mass manufacturing.

See our press release below. For media enquiries, please contact media@hysata.com.

Australian green hydrogen electrolyser manufacturer, Hysata raises $111m USD led by BP Ventures and Templewater

• BP Ventures and Templewater each invest $10m to co-lead the $111.3m USD Series B round
• Hysata is developing high-efficiency electrolysers with a simpler, cheaper and modular system

Australia-based company Hysata is developing new high-efficiency electrolysers that aim to produce green hydrogen at scale with higher energy efficiency and lower costs than alternative technologies. The company’s technology combines engineering and science in a unique capillary-fed alkaline electrolyser that uses less energy to convert water to hydrogen.

BP Ventures and Templewater led the recent $111.3 million USD investment round in the company, with strong backing from existing major strategic and financial investors IP Group Australia, Kiko Ventures (IP Group plc’s cleantech platform), Virescent Ventures on behalf of Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Hostplus, Vestas Ventures and BlueScopeX.

The company also welcomed new major strategic and financial investors POSCO Holdings, POSCO E&C, IMM Investment Hong Kong, Shinhan Financial Group Co., Twin Towers Ventures, Oman Investment Authority’s VC arm IDO and TelstraSuper.

Hysata will use the funding to expand production capacity at its iconic beachside manufacturing facility in Wollongong, New South Wales and further develop its technology as it focuses on reaching gigawatt scale manufacturing.

Hysata CEO, Paul Barrett, said: “Our mission at Hysata is to accelerate the deep decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, chemical manufacture, and heavy transport, by delivering the world’s most efficient, simple, and reliable electrolysers. With high-efficiency, intrinsically low capex and a mass-manufacturable design, Hysata aims to drive down the levelised cost of hydrogen.

“This funding round, backed by a world class syndicate of investors, demonstrates the game changing impact Hysata is having on the green hydrogen landscape. It will strengthen our team and enhance our capabilities, as we propel towards widespread commercial availability.

“I am thrilled to have BP Ventures, Templewater and other new investors join ranks with our incredible existing shareholder base. Hysata’s technology is a breakthrough innovation because of its high efficiency and low installed costs. We look forward to working with our shareholders, customers and partners as we continue our scale up journey.”

The International Energy Agency has said that to meet climate ambitions, there is an urgent need to switch hydrogen use in existing applications to low carbon hydrogen and to expand its use to new applications in heavy industry or long-distance transport. At scale, Hysata’s electrolysers could achieve energy efficiency well above International Renewable Energy Agency’s 2050 efficiency target.

Gareth Burns, Vice President of BP Ventures, added: “We know that green hydrogen can play a big role in decarbonisation. This is the first advanced alkaline electrolyser technology that BP Ventures has invested in. It could provide optionality for our hydrogen business as BP aims to become a global leader in low carbon hydrogen production.

“Hysata’s technology could help save energy and reduce production costs, addressing two challenges of the green hydrogen market. We’re excited for Hysata’s next steps.”

Alfred Wong, Partner of Templewater, said: “We are thrilled at Templewater to be driving the green revolution, jointly leading this impactful investment in Hysata. The high efficiency of Hysata’s electrolyser technology holds the potential to be a cornerstone in the worldwide shift to sustainable energy sources. Our investment in Hysata is a testament to Templewater’s commitment to support mission-driven companies that are working towards solving the world’s biggest climate challenges.”

Hydrogen is one of BP’s transition growth engines that it plans to grow by the end of the decade. BP has a number of regional hydrogen energy hubs it is developing, including in Australia, such as H2 Kwinana and the Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH).

[Freegrass]

What does this statement mean that can be seen in this video? Can anyone translate it into normal English?

$3 billion seems like a big number.

For a 1 million tonne per annum green hydrogen production facility, our electrolyzers will save producers around $3 billion in renewable capex

[Freegrass]

Hydrogen Storage Could Slash Renewables’ Costs
Modeling competing storage technologies reveals H2’s grid-scale strengths

https://spectrum.ieee.org/hydrogen-storage-grid-scale

As countries around the world increasingly tap into renewable energy, scientists are exploring the best ways to manage excess energy efficiently for all times of the day and night—including at times of peak usage, on cloudy days, or when the wind isn’t blowing. In a recent study, a group of Turkish researchers have computed models suggesting that hydrogen storage can store renewable energy at large scales and relatively low costs.

For example, their model suggests that if Germany expanded its use of hydrogen storage at renewable energy plants nationwide, this would result in roughly 60 percent lower costs than the nation’s current energy systems. The results were published earlier this year in IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are key to a sustainable future, yet supply from these sources can fluctuate depending on environmental conditions. As a result, there’s a need to be able to efficiently store any excess energy while production is high, which could be used later on when wind or solar conditions are less favorable and production is low.

One viable option is through hydrogen storage, which involves compressing the element into tanks, cooling it to form a liquid, binding it with metals, storing it in chemical compounds, or adsorbing it onto materials like activated carbon.

“Each method has its pros and cons, with factors like safety, efficiency, and practicality influencing their use in various applications,” explains, Zeynep Bektas, an assistant professor at Kadir Has University, in Türkiye.

Bektas and her colleagues were interested in exploring how well various forms of energy storage compare to one another at large scales. They had a panel of experts score six different energy-storage methods—including hydrogen storage, compressed air, and four different battery types (lithium ion, sodium sulfur, vanadium redox, and lead acid)—finding hydrogen storage to be the most suitable for grid-scale operations.

How well does hydrogen store renewable energy?

The researchers then created models to evaluate the impact of integrating hydrogen storage at large scales. For the first case study, they used data from one of the first power plants designed to combine renewable energy and on-site hydrogen storage, established in Germany by one of the country’s renewable energy producers, Enertrag, in 2011. The researchers’ simulations revealed that scaling up hydrogen tech across Germany could cut the nation’s energy costs by nearly two-thirds.

Bektas and her colleagues also modeled hydrogen storage in the Netherlands using data from one the nation’s energy network operators, Gasunie, whose network includes renewable energy, natural gas, and hydrogen storage. Bektas’s group’s model suggested that hydrogen storage would lead to an estimated 58 percent reduction in energy costs for the country.

Denizhan Guven, a research assistant at Istanbul Technical University, one of the study’s coauthors, says the environmental impact of hydrogen usage is notable, too. Total life-cycle emissions of green hydrogen, he says, represent about 1 kilogram of carbon dioxide per kilogram of H2, while one kilogram of petroleum yields some 10.16 kg of CO2.

“These numbers demonstrate a substantial difference in carbon emissions between green hydrogen and petrol, with green hydrogen being significantly cleaner,” he says, adding, “We strongly believe the green hydrogen can be a game changer once optimal scales are achieved.”

On the other hand, the researchers note, hydrogen is of course highly flammable and must be stored under high pressure conditions. These limitations make it challenging and costly today to safely manage and store hydrogen.

However, Bektas says the price of hydrogen storage will go down as it is more widely adopted on large scales, and this is where the cost-savings identified in the study would come from. Notably, what they are proposing is a renewable energy system integrated with hydrogen storage, rather than a system that relies solely on hydrogen.

“Because green hydrogen is clean…versatile, and compatible with energy transition, it is one of the most promising energy-storage technologies for the coming decades,” she says.

[Freegrass]

The transition from the exploration phase to the early pilot phase and subsequent industrial-scale phase will take time and large-scale natural hydrogen production for the global market is unlikely to be seen much before the period 2035-2040. Appropriate research funding is thus required and needs to be stepped up in order to better understand the resource and estimate reserves and production conditions.

https://www.ifpenergiesnouvelles.com/article/expert-advice-natural-hydrogen

That's a bummer... 
Let's hope China puts a little more speed behind it.


The occurrence pattern of natural hydrogen in the Songliao Basin, P.R. China: Insights on natural hydrogen exploration

Institute of Energy, Peking University, Chinab
Sinopec Exploration and Development Research Institute, China

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373637210_The_occurrence_pattern_of_natural_hydrogen_in_the_Songliao_Basin_PR_China_Insights_on_natural_hydrogen_exploration

[Freegrass]

TotalEnergies, partners plan green hydrogen export from Tunisia

https://renewablesnow.com/news/totalenergies-partners-plan-green-hydrogen-export-from-tunisia-859047/

A joint venture between TotalEnergies and EREN Groupe, together with Austria's Verbund will study the implementation of a project in Tunisia with an initial capacity to produce 200,000 tons of green hydrogen per year for export to Central Europe.

The joint company, TE H2, and Verbund have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tunisia's government for the large-scale project.

The study will focus on southern Tunisia, utilising electrolysers powered by 5 GW of onshore wind and solar energy combined with desalinated seawater. Plans include the potential expansion of the plant to produce one million tons of green hydrogen per year in its final phase.

The initial phase of the project, dubbed H2 Notos, will require investments of about EUR 8 billion (USD 8.67bn), the government said in a statement.

If implemented, H2 Notos will be connected to the planned SoutH2 Corridor pipeline, which will transport green hydrogen from North Africa to Italy, Austria, and Germany, and is expected to be commissioned around 2030.

"H2 Notos has the potential to become a significant supplier of green hydrogen for Europe while fostering significant jobs creation in Tunisia. We are entering into a phase of greenfield development and major technical work to assess the feasibility of the project [...]", commented TE H2's chief executive David Corchia.

TUNISIA'S GREEN HYDROGEN AMBITIONS

This large-scale initiative aligns with Tunisia's 2035 national energy strategy, which aims to reduce the North African country's energy deficit, diversify energy sources, and boost investment in the renewable energy sector. It also seeks to promote innovative technologies such as green hydrogen.

The national strategy for green hydrogen and its derivatives aims to attract both domestic and foreign investment, leveraging the country's competencies, industrial and energy infrastructure, and strategic location.

Tunisia aims to produce 8.3 million tons of green hydrogen and its derivatives by 2050, with 2.3 million tons allocated for the local market and 6 million tons designated for export. This represents a total investment of about EUR 120 billion and is expected to create 430,000 new direct and indirect jobs, based on government estimates.