General

In emerging and developing countries, but also in crisis areas, there are many opportunities to use hydrogen to overcome energy poverty and establish a reliable, CO₂-neutral power supply. In this context, hydrogen-based microgrids have a decisive role to play. In this form, hydrogen-producing electrolyzers, cylinder racks for hydrogen storage and fuel cell systems for reconversion into electricity can be accommodated in the space of a shipping container. Together, they help to conserve renewable energy for later use.

Politicians have big plans, and to reduce harmful greenhouse gases, they’re putting billions into the expansion of production and pipeline networks for "green" hydrogen. One of the ambitious targets is to increase its share of total energy consumption in the EU to over 20 percent by 2050 if possible. In Germany alone, they want to invest around 19 billion euros in the planned H₂ core network, which is to increase to over 9,000 kilometers across all German states by 2032. With these pipelines, hydrogen should then flow from the northern German ports to storage facilities or power plants. In the final expansion – around 60 percent of the network will be former natural gas pipes – the feed-in capacity is to be over 100 gigawatts, according to the German network agency (Bundesnetzagentur).

After more than 50 years of experience with hydrogen, Honeywell is also banking on green hydrogen with its company Energy and Sustainability Solutions (ESS). The US conglomerate takes the entire value chain into account: from more efficient PEM electrolysis all the way to transport infrastructure.

The US is investing a lot of money in renewable energies and also in hydrogen. With the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Biden administration has released large sums of money to promote sustainable technologies. Even if at least some of this is likely to be reversed under a new Trump administration, a number of states have embarked on this path and - like New Mexico - are focusing on hydrogen. HZwei spoke to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham about this in Rotterdam in the summer of 2024.

UFI Hydrogen may not yet be particularly well known to many industry participants in Germany, but the company, based in the Trento area of Italy, is part of the globally active UFI Group, which has 57 commercial offices and 22 plants worldwide (in Europe, Tunisia, China, India, Korea and Brazil, among others). Its products, mainly filters and components for thermal management, are in demand in many sectors. H2-international spoke to Marco Lazzaroni, CEO of UFI Hydrogen, the youngest company in the UFI Group, about the current economic situation in Europe, the potential of the H₂ economy and, of course, the ambitions of UFI’s hydrogen business.

Offshore wind power stations generate significantly more electricity and more regularly than their onshore counterparts. In the lead project (Leitprojekt) H₂Mare, scientists are working to exploit this potential – and to produce green hydrogen and derivative products directly at sea in the future. Current progress is being made, among other things, in the coupling of wind turbines and electrolyzers.

For hydrogen to be able to be used as an important part of the energy transition comprehensively in industry, mobility and energy supply in Germany, new lines must be built and existing natural gas pipelines must also be upgraded for hydrogen transport. This can be challenging, as hydrogen is explosive and attacks the materials of the pipes. Professional material testing creates the necessary security regarding this.

There is extensive demand for hydrogen in both municipalities and industry. In this environment, plans for implementing these market requirements are now becoming more concrete. The recent decision to set up an H₂ core network (see p. 18) is seen as the initial spark for this. In view of the supply situation, however, it is clear that the focus must increasingly be on the distribution network, which was also made clear at the DVGW Congress.

Two German universities in Oldenburg and Hanover and the Polish training company Studium Wodoru are proving that cross-border training for pioneers in the green hydrogen industry makes sense. The Polish edition of this program has just started for the second time.

The challenge in designing a fuel cell electric drive lies in the vehicle- and vehicle application-specific dimensioning of the drivetrain components. The essential parameters to be considered for an optimization are the fuel cell output, the dynamics of the fuel cell, the mass of hydrogen in the tank, the capacity and maximum charging power of the HV battery, the output of the drive machine in motor and generator mode and also the dynamic behavior of the converters.

For some months now, more and more companies have been entering the market for H2 refueling stations. Although their total number still have not substantially increased, increasingly more well-established as well as numerous new providers are announcing their intentions of opening additional locations for the supply of hydrogen.

The EU has set itself overly ambitious targets in its hydrogen strategy for 2030. This was the conclusion made by the auditors of the ECA in a special report published July 2024. They are now calling for an adaption of the strategy and better controlling.

Many of the technologies for H₂ transport are not yet fully developed. Researchers and industry are working to develop safe H₂ distribution over long distances, also because Germany will be dependent on H₂ imports on a large scale. In addition to ammonia, liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) have a good chance of being employed in projects and industry. Because they could use the conventional infrastructure of oil tanks and tankers.

How to ramp up the production of green hydrogen in just a few years and distribute it quickly across the country independently of the development of the H₂ core network explained Jens Cruse, shipbuilding engineer, at the end of January this year before an expert audience in Hamburg.

“How quickly can we implement the energy transition?” This question has been posed for some time by the Port of Rotterdam, the largest European sea freight transshipment point. In the past – and still today – the huge industrial area was shaped by the oil and gas industry. Among other things, four large refineries are located there, which now need to be decarbonized. Boudewijn Siemons, CEO and COO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, stated, “If it can be done electrically, it should be – with hydrogen otherwise.”

A completely different league to Hannover Messe or Hy-Fcell in Stuttgart: The World Hydrogen Summit & Exhibition in Rotterdam showed from May 13 to 15, 2024 where the H₂ event sector can go. Similarly to the Hydrogen Technology Conference & Expo in Bremen, the organizers staged a large, professional industry gathering, which most participants were impressed by, if not enthusiastic about, which makes you wonder why the fair only lasted two days.

Energy group Axpo and the company Rhiienergie have launched the first H₂ production plant for green hydrogen in the canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland. The plant, which has a capacity of 2.5 megawatts, will produce up to 350 metric tons of hydrogen a year and is situated directly adjacent...

In the past, hydrogen was usually isolated from fossil fuels such as natural gas using steam reforming and stored. Ecologically more sensible is hydrogen generation through the electrolysis of water using green electricity, for example for later electricity generation in fuel cells – but this reduces the efficiency compared to other storage media and the economic efficiency suffers. Hydrogen – itself not a primary energy source – serves primarily as a secondary energy source, so as a storage medium, and can be an ideal buffer to absorb excess capacity in electricity generation (e.g. from wind and solar) and then provide it when needed.

Up until now, Italian company Landi Renzo has been mainly known for its conversion sets for gas engines. Now the automotive supplier, which employs more than 1,200 staff globally, is venturing into the hydrogen sector and developing an advanced electronic pressure regulator for medium- and heavy...

Defossilizing the energy system is an important goal of the clean energy transition – importing green hydrogen a possible option for this. The cooperation project HySupply from the national academy Acatech and the national association Bundesverband der deutschen Industrie (BDI) has therefore examined the feasibility of a German-Australian hydrogen bridge. The result: The production and transport of hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives from Australia to Germany are technically, economically and legally possible. A crucial question here: How could domestic imports be distributed in an economically and technically sensible way?

Ammonia produced from electrolysis-generated hydrogen is to become the green energy carrier and sustainable basic chemical of the future. The infrastructure for the import is being created at lightning speed. In Hamburg and Brunsbüttel, new terminals are to start operation in 2026.

The Plug share price fell quickly to under 3 USD (2.50 USD at low) and then rose again to over 4 USD. At a price of less than 3 USD, it was possible to build up excellent trading positions (see H2-international Feb. 2024). Is there now a turnaround in the price trend or was this just a brief flare...

Hyzon Motors will start production of 200‑kW modules for commercial vehicles in the USA in the second half of 2024. This should then lead to a recovery of the strongly depressed share price via incoming orders. Parallel to this are running product presentations such as the recent one in Melbourne...

FuelCell Energy has with SOFC fuel cell power plants built its own capacities for clean energy totaling 62.8 MW (previous year: 43.7 MW). The company's own high-temperature fuel cell serves as the basis for use in electrolysis, where the company has recognized great potential for itself. Along with...

The share of Cummins Engine brings joy: The share price rose to a new high for the year, after the company was able to settle a long-standing legal dispute – it was about non-compliance with emission standards for engines – with a penalty payment of 1.6 billion USD, and with that this chapter is...