Hydrogen

Scientists compared hydrogen storage techniques and found that physical methods are closer to commercial feasibility, while materials-based techniques have strong potential.

Newly appointed CEO of Fortescue Future Industries Mark Hutchinson has made it clear that demand for green hydrogen has already far outstripped the company’s upcoming 2 GW electrolyser factory in Gladstone, Queensland. The announcement of new investments in green hydrogen plants from Fortescue Future Industries is now expected in the near future.

BMW Group said it is targeting the premium segment with its iX5 Hydrogen car, Topsoe revealed that it will invest US$267 million (AU$392m) to build the world’s largest SOEC electrolyzer plant in Denmark, and Bosch announced plans to invest US$200 million (AU$292m) in US fuel cell production.

Aspiring green hydrogen manufacturer Countrywide Hydrogen will explore solar-to-hydrogen co-development opportunities in the island state of Tasmania after inking a deal with large-scale solar PV and battery energy storage specialist Wirsol Energy, which already operates a portfolio of Australian projects with a combined capacity of more than 720 MW.

Clean energy start-up H2X Global has notched a major milestone with the first of its hydrogen-powered generators – built to replace traditional fossil-fuel fired gensets and provide green electricity for emergency supply and off-grid operations – released to the Australian market.

The University of Wollongong professor behind the capillary-fed electrolyser breakthrough now being commercialised by Hysata has received grant funding to develop a cell for extracting pure hydrogen from methane mixtures.

Germany has launched the world’s first operational hydrogen trains and US researchers have presented a novel design for a tubular PEM fuel cell. ABB and Hydrogen Optimized, meanwhile, have expanded their strategic ties and Slovakia has moved forward with a major gas-blending pilot project.

Ravi Verma, senior executive vice president of Avaada, told pv magazine the group will invest US$5 billion (AU$7.18 billion) in an integrated green hydrogen and ammonia plant with 6 GW of captive renewables capacity. The green ammonia facility will have a production capacity of 1 million tonnes per year.

The two will study the scaling and integration of fuel cell systems for stationary power generation.

Japanese researchers have developed a new way to improve water splitting, while South Korea has completed its largest hydrogen production complex. Scotland and England have announced new hydrogen investments, and Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power have agreed to collaborate on hydrogen projects.