Green hydrogen for emissions-free steel production

Green hydrogen is the future of the German steel industry, which is currently facing major pressure to change due to the challenges of climate protection and increasing international competition. Through H2-aided steel production by direct reduction (DR), on the one hand, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the steel sector can virtually be avoided and, on … Read more

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Five out of 10 hydrogen living labs underway

Here’s a sobering statistic: Out of a total of 10 hydrogen living labs, only five have actually been rolled out. Peter Altmaier, economy minister in the previous German government, had enthused grandiosely about the practical relevance of the projects he was supporting and went to great lengths to rebut any criticism of them. Even during … Read more

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The fuel conundrum for long-haul trucking

Gaseous or liquid hydrogen? It’s a dilemma facing everyone involved in the refueling of heavy-duty vehicles. It makes no difference to the power system whether the fuel is a gas or a liquid as the fuel cells can process the hydrogen regardless. In infrastructure terms, however, it’s another matter. The consensus among experts is that … Read more

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Using hydrogen in freight transport

During a media-effective ceremony on May 12th, 2022 at the event hotel Titanic on the Chausseestraße in Berlin, NOW GmbH together with German transport minister Volker Wissing cheerfully presented the funding decisions for the new HyStarter Regions and the participants in the second round of the HyExperts program. A good two years before, Martin Thaler, … Read more

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The highly efficient hybrid energy pipeline

Commonly known is the ever-increasing need to transport energy from north to south within Germany. The rapidly expanding renewable energy generation capacities from wind in the North Sea and the onshoring of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or hydrogen at German seaports – whether as an international import or generated offshore – are further increasing this … Read more

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Becoming an H2 district pays off

So far, H2 has comprised only a tiny slice of the German gas grid. And the suitability of increasing this share to up to 30 percent is currently only being tested within the framework of individual, time-limited demonstration projects. H2 “micronets,” that is city districts or regions running 100 percent on hydrogen, are yet to … Read more

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Siemens Energy is building in Berlin

The German capital is also becoming increasingly important for hydrogen activities as an industrial location. Siemens Energy announced at the end of March 2022 that the manufacture of electrolyzers will be occurring at its location on the Huttenstraße in Berlin-Moabit. Starting 2023, electrolysis capacities on a gigawatt scale are to be produced there… Read more

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Deutsche Zentrum Mobilität canceled?

The future of the DZM, a national center for future mobility, is more than unknown. The homepage currently only states: “The Deutsche Zentrum Mobilität der Zukunft (DZM) will be restructured and expanded in accordance with the agenda of the new federal administration.” … Read more

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German H2 technology in the far north

For this Scandinavian country, the natural foundation for a hydrogen economy, compared to many others in Central Europe, is rather good. Finland has sufficient renewable energy resources, an enormous amount of water sources at its disposal and competitive electricity prices. Of the electricity generated from renewables in 2021, the highest share in Finland was nuclear … Read mor

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Can Africa solve Germany’s energy problems?

While German economy minister Robert Habeck is busy visiting Qatar and Norway in a bid to ease Germany’s dependence on Russian energy supplies, representatives from the Italian government are heading for Algeria, Angola and the Republic of Congo. The German administration, it would seem, still continues to undervalue Africa, both as a potential supplier of … Read more

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Hamburg gains H2 demo center

All across Germany, more and more sites that focus on hydrogen are popping up. In addition to real-world labs, HyLand Regions and ITZ satellites, there are so-called centers where hydrogen research and development is being driven forward. An additional contact point is now to be created in Hamburg: a demonstration center for sector-coupling and hydrogen … Read more

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A short history

You don’t need to be a history buff to be drawn into this book. “Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind” is neither a historical novel nor a tedious history book. Instead, this work by Yuval Noah Harari features a well-researched narrative that seeks to explain why we humans behave the way we do. … Read more

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Photovoltaic firms discover hydrogen

For an electrolyzer to work with electricity from the grid, it needs a rectifier. The rectifiers work, in essence, like a photovoltaic inverter – but the other way around. Several companies from the solar industry are now active in this area. Positive side effect: Your technology is inherently network friendly.. … Read more

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