Was I One Of The First To Have My Temperature Measured By A Thermometer Reading The Radiation From My Ear?
Last week, a doctor read my body temperature, by using an electronic thermometer, that read the temperature inside my ear.
But it wasn’t the first time!
That must have been in 1968 or 1969, when I was working at ICI in Runcorn.
ICI had a problem, in that they needed to read the temperature of chemical reaction vessels.
- Temperatures could be higher, than 1,000 °C.
- Some mixtures could be highly corrosive.
- Safety needed to be as high as possible.
My colleague; John Baxendale was assigned the problem.
John came up with a solution based on black bodies and their unique black body radiation.
These two paragraphs, from the Wikipedia entry for black body, explain the principle.
A black body or is an idealised physical body that absorbs all incident electromagnetic radiation, regardless of frequency or angle of incidence. The radiation emitted by a black body in thermal equilibrium with its environment is called black-body radiation. The name “black body” is given because it absorbs all colours of light. In contrast, a white body is one with a “rough surface that reflects all incident rays completely and uniformly in all directions.”
A black body in thermal equilibrium (that is, at a constant temperature) emits electromagnetic black-body radiation. The radiation is emitted according to Planck’s law, meaning that it has a spectrum that is determined by the temperature alone, not by the body’s shape or composition.
Note, that I have very mildly edited, what Wikipedia says, to the King’s English.
John had developed some clever electronics, that read the spectrum of the radiation and by decoding the spectrum, he was able to calculate the temperature.
Early on in the testing, John found that nearly all of us, have two black bodies on the side of our heads; our ears, so he could measure the temperature inside them.
City Airport May Help Others To Take Flight
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
The government’s decision to lift the cap on permitted passengers at London City airport is a compromise that could be a template for future growth
These are the first two paragraphs.
Planning decisions always upset someone. Still, credit to housing secretary Angela Rayner and the transport supremo Louise Haigh for annoying all sides with one of the first from the new Labour government: allowing London City airport to lift its cap on permitted passengers a year to nine million from the present 6.5 million.
Their verdict hacked off Newham council, which has long opposed the airport’s expansion, leaving it “deeply concerned” over the noise impact on local residents. It angered environmental campaigners, with Greenpeace saying it’d “undermine the UK’s climate leadership”. And it even “disappointed” the airport’s boss, Alison FitzGerald, who wanted an end to the 24-hour flight curfew from 12.30pm on Saturday but failed to get it pushed out to 6.30pm.
The government seem to have chosen a good compromise that has annoyed several parties.
The article goes on to argue, that we should make the best use of the thirty regional airports in the UK.
So shouldn’t the priority be to utilise regional capacity better, via airline and airport incentives if necessary, to minimise journey times to airports and spread the noise and air pollution around? Only then should ministers consider big new projects.
That seems very sensible to me.
Consider.
- Technology will bring us quieter and more environmentally-friendly aircraft, that will benefit those near the airport.
- Electric aircraft are closer to service entry than you think.
- Good public transport links to an airport, would surely cut car usage for both passengers and employees.
- Bus networks to many airports could be improved and made more attractive to passengers, by using modern electric or hydrogen buses. Even Gatwick is taking this route!
- Cranbrook station and Exeter Airport were supposed to have a bus link, but nothing has happened.
- Several airports are near main railway lines and it would be possible to build a station. It will be interesting to see how passenger traffic at the new Inverness station develops.
- East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford and Liverpool Airports are larger regional airports, that are close, but not directly connected to the rail network.
- Carlisle and Exeter Airports don’t have the best of websites. Humberside sets a good standard.
- Doncaster Sheffield Airport has everything except a rail link and scheduled services.
Some of these improvements are not major and would surely be worthwhile, especially with a small amount of compromise.
Funding Awarded For Study On Hydrogen Storage Potential In The East Midlands
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the British Geological Survey.
This is the sub-heading.
A new study has been awarded funding to explore the underground hydrogen storage potential in the East Midlands.
These are the first three paragraphs.
East Midlands Storage (EMstor), a consortium led by Cadent and partnered with BGS, Star Energy Group, Net Zero Strategy and the University of Edinburgh, has been awarded discovery funding by Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund to undertake a new study to evaluate geological storage potential in the East Midlands.
The EMstor study is the first of its kind in the region. It will undertake a feasibility assessment of the East Midlands’ geology to evaluate its potential to host storage technologies, allowing expansion of Cadent’s proposed 100 per cent hydrogen pipeline.
The East Midlands has numerous depleted oil reservoirs, which may have potential to store hydrogen. The study will characterise the potential geological reservoir to establish if it is suitable for hydrogen storage at scale in the local area.
The oilfields of the East Midlands Oil Province have their own Wikipedia entry, which gives full details of the dozens of small oil fields in the area.
- It may not be the world’s largest oil resource, but it certainly helped us during the Second World War.
- Experienced Texan oil-men were even imported, to help boost production.
- It used to be possible to spot the occasional lonely nodding donkey, as you passed through the area.
Surely, if some of the oilfields can be converted to hydrogen stores, this would be very useful.
London And Edinburgh By Lumo Using the Joint Line Diversion
This press release on the First Group web site is entitled FirstGroup Applies To Run Rochdale To London Rail Service With New British-Built Trains.
These are the first two paragraphs.
FirstGroup plc, the leading private sector transport operator, has submitted the first phase of an application for a new open access rail service between Rochdale and London to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), restoring this direct link for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.
FirstGroup plans to expand its open access rail operations as part of its successful Lumo business, building on Lumo’s existing service which has transformed long-distance connectivity between London and Edinburgh and helped support a growth in passenger numbers for all operators on the East Coast Mainline. All of the trains on this new route will be electric and battery powered, and the service will be operated by brand new trains built in the UK.
Note.
- This service will be run under the Lumo brand.
- Battery-electric trains will be used.
- Stops will include Manchester Victoria, Eccles, Newton-le-Willows and Warrington Bank Quay.
- Only 15 km. of the route, between Miles Platting and Rochdale is not electrified.
Allowing for out and back trips between Platting and Rochdale, a sensible reserve and I suspect a battery-electric train with a range of 40-50 kilometres, would allow the train to be able to do a round trip to Rochdale from London Euston.
Hitachi have now published this page on their web site, which is entitled Intercity Battery Trains.
These are the first two paragraphs.
A quick and easy application of battery technology is to install it on existing or future Hitachi intercity trains. Hitachi Rail’s modular design means this can be done without the need to re-engineer or rebuild the train and return them to service as quickly as possible for passengers.
Replacing one diesel engine with just one battery reduces emissions by more than 20% and offers cost savings of 20-30%. Our intercity battery powered trains can cover 70km on non-electrified routes, operating at intercity speeds at the same or increased performance.
It would appear that Hitachi’s standard Intercity Battery Train will have a range of 70 km.
- A 70 km. range would be more than enough to handle Lumo’s Euston and Rochdale service.
- Lumo’s Class 803 trains don’t have a diesel generator to replace.
- One car does have a smaller battery for emergency hotel power, should the electrification fail.
As an Electrical Engineer, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the traction batteries of Hitachi’s standard Intercity Battery Train and the emergency batteries of Lumo’s Class 803 trains are of a similar design. The batteries could even be interchangeable, which would enable both Lumo’s routes to Scotland and Rochdale to use identical Class 803 trains.
Lumo’s Class 803 trains would have this specification.
- All-electric.
- Emergency battery to provide back-up hotel power.
- A range on battery of 70 km or 43 miles away from electrification.
The off-electrification range could be very useful in getting round incidents or overhead wiring problems.
An extended range of 70 km. would allow the following destinations to have all-electric services from London.
- Beverley #
- Bristol Temple Meads #
- Cheltenham #
- Chester
- Harrogate
- Huddersfield
- Hull
- Lincoln
- Middlesbrough
- Swansea #
Destinations marked with a hash (#), would need charging at the final destination.
A more detailed analysis will probably show other possible routes.
It looks to me, that Hitachi have got the specification of their Intercity Battery Train about right.
Bridging The Joint Line Diversion
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE) or Joint Line.
Note.
- Doncaster is in the North-West corner of the map.
- Peterborough is in the South-East corner of the map.
- The red line connecting them is the East Coast Main Line.
- Lincoln station is marked by the blue arrow.
Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE) is described like this by its Wikipedia entry.
The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, colloquially referred to as “the Joint Line” was a railway line connecting Doncaster and Lincoln with March and Huntingdon in the eastern counties of England. It was owned jointly by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and the Great Eastern Railway (GER).
Over the last decades of the Twentieth Century, the Joint Line declined and British Rail did their worst to simplify the route.
But in the 2010s, Network Rail developed the route into a by-pass for the East Coast Main Line between Werrington and Black Carr junctions via Lincoln.
- Trains are routed via Spalding, Sleaford, Lincoln, Saxilby and Gainsborough.
- There is no electrification.
- The route can handle two freight trains per hour.
- The route can handle 9 ft. 6 in containers.
- There is a passenger service between Doncaster and Peterborough via Lincoln.
- Self-powered trains like InterCity125s, Class 800 trains and Class 802 trains can use their diesel power to use the diversion.
- All-electric trains, like LNER’s Class 801 trains and Lumo’s Class 803 trains have no self-power, so can’t use the diversion.
- Black Carr junction and Lincoln is 35 miles.
- Werrington junction and Lincoln is 51.7 miles.
The January 2024 Edition of Modern Railways says that the diversion is approximately 90 miles or 145 kilometers.
It would appear that there are two simple solutions.
- Electrify a section through Lincoln, so that Lincoln is within 70 kilometres of the electrification at both Werrington and Black Carr junctions.
- Fit bigger batteries to the trains.
A combination of both solutions might be possible.
Solar With Battery In Germany Now Cheaper Than Conventional Power
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Renewables Now.
These two paragraphs outline the article.
Ground-mounted solar PV and onshore wind energy are the most cost-effective technologies among all types of new power plants in Germany, with levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) ranging from EUR 41 (USD 44.75) to EUR 92 per MWh, according to a study by research institute Fraunhofer ISE.
The LCOE for new solar installations in combination with battery systems vary between EUR 60 and EUR 225 per MWh reflecting the high cost differences for battery and solar systems along with the different levels of solar radiation.
Note.
- The article states that these figures are lower than newly-built coal and gas-fired power plants.
- The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany is the largest solar research institute in Europe.
The original Renewables Now article is well worth reading in full.
Conclusion
This paragraph concludes the Renewables Now article.
These calculations show that the large-scale projects currently underway in Germany, which combine ground-mounted PV systems, wind farms and stationary battery storage systems, are good investments,” says Christoph Kost, head of the Energy System Analysis Department at Fraunhofer ISE and lead author of the study.
As the climate for much of Northern Europe is not that different to Germany, I suspect we’ll be seeing large numbers of hybrid wind/solar/battery power plants created in the next few years.
Liverpool Street Station Gets Polka Dot Sculpture
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A huge artwork made up of silver polka dots has been unveiled outside Britain’s busiest railway station.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Infinite Accumulation is Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s first permanent public artwork in the UK and her largest permanent public sculpture.
Funded by British Land and the City of London Corporation, it is the final artwork commissioned and installed by the Crossrail Art Programme for the Elizabeth line.
I took these pictures today.
Note.
- The area is getting to be a bit of a sculpture park, with other sculptures and plaques.
- All are protected by the City of London’s distinctive bollards. See The City Of London’s Soldiers for more pictures.
- The new sculpture, is probably worth nicking, with all that stainless steel.
- Liverpool Street station is a Grade Two Listed Building.
- I shall be adding extra pictures here. I shall be taking some at sunset.
I do like the new sculpture and the way it fits with the surrounding buildings.
‘Windiest Part Of The UK’ Could Power Nearly 500,000 Homes
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Power is flowing from the Shetland Isles to mainland Britain for the first time as the UK’s most productive onshore windfarm comes on stream.
These are the first two paragraphs.
SSE says its 103-turbine project, known as Viking, can generate 443 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power nearly 500,000 homes.
Shetland is the windiest part of the UK, which means it will be rare for the blades, which reach a massive 155m at their tip, not to be spinning.
Note.
- SSE has built a 160-mile long undersea cable to carry the power from Viking to Noss Head, near Wick, on the Scottish mainland.
- The company said it has invested more than £1bn in the windfarm and cable projects.
- SSE plans to plough another £20bn into renewables by the end of the decade.
Companies don’t invest billions and banks don’t lend billions, unless they know they’ll get a return, so the finance for this billion pound project must be sound.
A simple calculation, shows why they do.
- According to Google, the electricity for the average house costs £1926.24 per year.
- 500,000 houses would spend £963,120,000 per year.
Google says this about the life of a wind farm.
The average operational lifespan of a wind turbine is 20–25 years, but some turbines can last up to 30 years.
If the wind farm lasts 25 years, then it will generate something like £24 billion over its lifetime.
It looks to me, that SSE have borrowed a billion and will get almost as much as that back every year.
SSE also have the experience to keep the turbines turning and the distribution network sending electricity to the Scottish mainland.
I have some further thoughts.
What Happens If Scotland Can Get Cheaper Electricity From Its Own Wind Farms?
Shetland’s turbines can be switched off, but that is effectively throwing away electricity that can be generated.
Any spare electricity can also be diverted to an electrolyser, so that the following is produced.
- Hydrogen for transport, rocket fuel for SaxaVord Spaceport and to decarbonise houses and businesses.
- Oxygen for rocket fuel for SaxaVord Spaceport and for fish farms.
Hydrogen may also be exported to those that need it.
Project Orion
Project Orion is Shetland’s master plan to bring all the energy in and around the Shetland Islands together.
This document on the APSE web site is entitled Future Hydrogen Production In Shetland.
This diagram from the report shows the flow of electricity and hydrogen around the islands, terminals and platforms.
Note these points about what the Shetlanders call the Orion Project.
- Offshore installations are electrified.
- There are wind turbines on the islands
- Hydrogen is provided for local energy uses like transport and shipping.
- Oxygen is provided for the fish farms and a future space centre.
- There is tidal power between the islands.
- There are armadas of floating wind turbines to the East of the islands.
- Repurposed oil platforms are used to generate hydrogen.
- Hydrogen can be exported by pipeline to St. Fergus near Aberdeen, which is a distance of about 200 miles.
- Hydrogen can be exported by pipeline to Rotterdam, which is a distance of about 600 miles.
- Hydrogen can be exported by tanker to Rotterdam and other parts of Europe.
It looks a very comprehensive plan, which will turn the islands into a massive hydrogen producer.
Orion And AquaVentus
This video shows the structure of AquaVentus, which is the German North Sea network to collect hydrogen for H2ercules.
I clipped this map from the video.
Note.
- There is a link to Denmark.
- There appears to be a undeveloped link to Norway.
- There appears to be a link to Peterhead in Scotland.
- There appears to be a link to just North of the Humber in England.
- Just North of the Humber are the two massive gas storage sites of Aldbrough owned by SSE and Rough owned by Centrica.
- There appear to be small ships sailing up and down the East Coast of the UK. Are these small coastal tankers distributing the hydrogen to where it is needed?
In the last century, the oil industry, built a substantial oil and gas network in the North Sea. It appears now the Germans are leading the building of a substantial hydrogen network.
This map is only the start and I feel, there would be nothing to stop the connection of the Orion and AquaVentus networks.
SaxaVord Spaceport
SaxaVord Spaceport is now a reality, in that it licensed and tests are being undertaken.
‘World’s First’ O&M Campaign Using Heavy-Lift Cargo Drones Underway At Dutch Offshore Wind Farm
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Ørsted has deployed heavy-lift cargo drones (HLCDs) for maintenance work at the Borssele 1&2 offshore wind farm in the Netherlands. This is the first time heavy-lift cargo drones are being used in an operational campaign, according to the company which tested the concept in 2023 at its Hornsea One offshore wind farm in the UK.
These are the first two paragraphs.
At the 752 MW Dutch offshore wind farm that has been in operation since 2020, the 70-kilogram drones will transport cargo of up to 100 kilograms from a vessel to all 94 wind turbines. The campaign now underway at Borssele 1&2 is being performed to update some critical evacuation and safety equipment in each of the turbines.
A drone can complete a task that typically takes several hours in minutes, according to Ørsted.
Note.
- The article claims, a lot of time is saved.
- I suspect we’ll be seeing the use of drones for multiple deliveries, a lot more in the future.
I like the concept, where deliveries to a number of sites are made by drone, rather than in a traditional way perhaps by a ship or truck with a crane.
Energy In – Hydrogen And Carbon Dioxide Out
This article was inspired by this article in the Sunday Times, which is entitled ‘It’s A Slog’: Life Inside Britain’s Last Coal Power Station.
The article is about Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, which is next to East Midlands Parkway station.
This is the first paragraph of the station’s Wikipedia entry.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by Uniper at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, England. Commissioned in 1968 by the Central Electricity Generating Board, the station has a capacity of 2,000 MW. It is the last remaining operational coal-fired power station in the UK, and is scheduled to close in September 2024.
I took these pictures of the power station in 2019.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar is the last of a number of large coal-fired power stations, that were built in the area, mainly along the River Trent.
- Rugeley – 600 MW – 1961
- Drakelow – 1630 MW – 1964
- Willington – 800 MW – 1962
- Castle Donington – 600 MW – 1958
- Ratcliffe-on-Soar – 2000 MW – 1968
- High Marnham – 1000 MW – 1959
- Cottam – 2000 MW – 1968
- West Burton – 2000 MW – 1968
Note.
- The date is the commissioning date.
- That is 10,630 MW of electricity.
- There are also a few large gas-fired power stations along the river, that are still operating.
- Both coal and gas-fired stations use the water from the River Trent for cooling.
At the mouth of the river, there is the Keadby cluster of gas-fired power stations.
- Keadby 1 – 734 MW – 1996
- Keadby 2 – 849 MW – 2023
- Keadby 3 – 910 MW – 2027
- Keadby Hydrogen – 900 MW – 2030
Note.
- The date is the commissioning date.
- That is 3,393 MW of electricity.
- Keadby 2 is the most efficient CCGT in the world.
- Keadby 3 will be fitted with carbon capture.
- Keadby 2 has been designed to be retrofitted with carbon capture.
- Keadby Hydrogen will be fuelled by zero-carbon hydrogen.
As the years progress, I can see the Keadby cluster of power stations becoming a large zero-carbon power station to back-up wind farms in the North Sea.
- Hydrogen power stations will emit no carbon dioxide.
- Carbon dioxide from all gas-fired stations will be captured.
- Some carbon dioxide will be sold on, to companies who can use it, in industries like construction, agriculture and chemical manufacture.
- The remaining carbon dioxide will be stored in depleted gas fields.
As technology improves, more carbon dioxide will be used rather than stored.
Other Power Sources In The Humberside Area
In the next few sub-sections, I will list the other major power sources in the Humberside area.
Drax Power Station
Drax power station is a shadow of its former self, when it was one of the power stations fed by the newly discovered Selby coalfield.
These days it is a 2,595 MW biomass-fired power station.
Eastern Green Link 2
Eastern Green Link 2 will be a 2 GW interconnector between Peterhead in Scotland and Drax.
It is shown in this map.
Note.
- Most of the route is underwater.
- It is funded by National Grid.
- Contracts have been signed, as I talk about in Contracts Signed For Eastern Green Link 2 Cable And Converter Stations.
- It is scheduled to be completed by 2029.
This interconnector will bring up to 2 GW of Scottish wind-generated electricity to Drax and Humberside.
Drax has the substations and other electrical gubbins to distribute the electricity efficiently to where it is needed.
2 GW could also reduce the amount of biomass used at Drax.
In the long term, if the concept of the four Eastern Green Links is successful, I could see another Eastern Green Link to Drax to replace imported biomass at Drax.
I also, don’t see why a smaller Drax can’t be run on locally-sourced biomass.
Solar Farms And Batteries Along The River Trent
As the coal-fired power stations along the River Trent are demolished, solar farm developers have moved in to develop large solar farms.
Salt End Power Station And Chemical Works
These two paragraphs from the Wikipedia entry for Salt End describes the hamlet and its power station and chemical works.
Salt End or Saltend is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated on the north bank of the Humber Estuary just outside the Hull eastern boundary on the A1033 road. It forms part of the civil parish of Preston.
Salt End is dominated by a chemical park owned by PX group, and a gas-fired power station owned by Triton Power. Chemicals produced at Salt End include acetic acid, acetic anhydride, ammonia, bio-butanol, bio-ethanol, ethyl acetate (ETAC) and ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) with animal feed also being produced on site.
I wonder, if running the complex on hydrogen would give cost and marketing advantages.
Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage Facility
This page on the SSE Thermal web site is entitled Plans For World-Leading Hydrogen Storage Facility At Aldbrough.
This is the most significant paragraph of the page, that is definitely a must-read.
With an initial expected capacity of at least 320GWh, Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage would be significantly larger than any hydrogen storage facility in operation in the world today. The Aldbrough site is ideally located to store the low-carbon hydrogen set to be produced and used in the Humber region.
This is a hydrogen storage facility for a much wider area than Humberside.
Rough Gas Storage Facility
This is the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for the Rough Gas Storage Facility.
Rough is a natural gas storage facility under the North Sea off the east coast of England. It is capable of storing 100 billion cubic feet of gas, nearly double the storage capacities in operation in Great Britain in 2021.
In Wood To Optimise Hydrogen Storage For Centrica’s Rough Field, I describe Centrica’s plans to convert the Rough gas storage into a massive hydrogen storage.
The Location Of Aldbrough Gas Storage, Rough Gas Storage, Salt End And Easington Gas Terminal
This Google Map shows between Salt End and the coast.
Note.
- The river crossing the South-West corner of the map is the Humber.
- Salt End with its power station and chemical works is on the North Bank of the Humber, where the river leaves the map.
- Aldbrough Gas Storage is marked by the red arrow at the top of the map.
- Easington Gas Terminal is in the South-East corner of the map.
- According to Wikipedia, gas flows into and out of the Rough Gas Storage are managed from Easington.
Looking at the map, I feel that the following should be possible.
- The two gas storage sites could be run together.
- Salt End power station and the related chemical works could run on hydrogen.
- Salt End will always have a reliable source of hydrogen.
- This hydrogen could be green if required.
All the chemical works at Salt End, could be run on a zero-carbon basis. Would this mean premium product prices? Just like organic does?
Enter The Germans
The Germans have a huge decarbonisation problem, with all their coal-fired power stations and other industry.
Three massive projects will convert much of the country and industry to hydrogen.
- H2ercules, which is a project of OGE and RWE, will create a hydrogen network to bring hydrogen, to where it is needed.
- In Uniper To Make Wilhelmshaven German Hub For Green Hydrogen; Green Ammonia Import Terminal, I describe how Uniper are going to build a hydrogen import terminal at Wilhelmshaven.
- AquaVentus is an RWE project that will use 10.3 GW of offshore wind power in German territorial waters to create a million tonnes per year of green hydrogen.
These would appear to be three of Europe’s largest hydrogen projects, that few have ever heard of.
AquaVentus And The UK
This video shows the structure of AquaVentus.
I clipped this map from the video.
Note.
- The thick white line running North-West/South-East is the spine of AquaVentus, that delivers hydrogen to Germany.
- There is a link to Denmark.
- There appears to be an undeveloped link to Norway.
- There appears to be an undeveloped link to Peterhead in Scotland.
- There appears to be a link to just North of the Humber in England.
- Just North of the Humber are the two massive gas storage sites of Aldbrough owned by SSE and Brough owned by Centrica.
- There appear to be small ships sailing up and down the East Coast of the UK. Are these small coastal tankers, that are distributing the hydrogen to where it is needed?
In the last century, the oil industry, built a substantial oil and gas network in the North Sea.
It appears now the Germans are leading the building of a substantial hydrogen network in the North Sea.
These are my thoughts about development of the AquaVentus network.
Hydrogen Production And AquaVentus
This RWE graphic shows the layout of the wind farms feeding AquaVentus.
Note.
- There is a total of 10.3 GW.
- Is one of the 2 GW web sites on the UK-side of AquaVentus, the 3 GW Dogger Bank South wind farm, which is being developed by RWE?
- Is the 0.3 GW wind farm, RWE’s Norfolk wind farm cluster, which is also being developed by RWE?
Connecting wind farms using hydrogen pipelines to Europe, must surely mitigate the pylon opposition problem from Nimbys in the East of England.
As the AquaVentus spine pipeline could eventually connect to Peterhead, there will be other opportunities to add more hydrogen to AquaVentus.
Hydrogen Storage And AquaVentus
For AquaVentus to work efficiently and supply a large continuous flow of hydrogen to all users, there would need to be storage built into the system.
As AquaVentus is around 200 kilometres in length and natural gas pipelines can be up to 150 centimetres in diameter, don’t underestimate how much hydrogen can be stored in the pipeline system itself.
This page on the Uniper web site is entitled Green Wilhelmshaven: To New Horizons.
This is a sentence on the page.
Access to local hydrogen underground storage at the Etzel salt cavern site.
An Internet search gives the information, that Etzel gas storage could be developed to hold 1 TWh of hydrogen.
That would be enough hydrogen to supply 10 GW for a hundred hours.
Note that the UK branch of AquaVentus reaches the UK, just to the South of the massive hydrogen storage facilities at Aldbrough and Rough.
It would appear that both Germany and the UK are connected to AquaVentus through substantial storage.
I am certain, that all country connections to AquaVentus will have substantial storage at the country’s hydrogen terminal.
AquaDuctus
This would appear to be the first part of the AquaVentus network and has its own web site.
The web site is entitled Nucleus Of A Offshore Hydrogen Backbone.
These are the first two paragraphs.
The project partners are focusing on a scalable, demand-driven infrastructure: By 2030, AquaDuctus will connect the first large hydrogen wind farm site, SEN-1, with a generation capacity of approximately one gigawatt. SEN-1 is located in the German EEZ in the northwest of Helgoland. The pipeline will transport at a length of approx. 200 km green hydrogen produced from offshore wind to the German mainland and from there to European consumers via the onshore hydrogen infrastructure.
In the next project stage, AquaDuctus will be extended to the remote areas of the German exclusive economic zone towards the tip of the so-called duck’s bill. By that, additional future hydrogen wind farm sites will be connected. Along its way AquaDuctus will provide interconnection points with the opportunity for linking of adjacent national offshore hydrogen infrastructures originating from Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and United Kingdom which opens the door for Europe-wide offshore hydrogen transport by pipeline.
There is also an interactive map, that gives more details.
This paragraph explains, why the Germans have chosen to bring the energy ashore using hydrogen, rather than traditional cables.
Recent studies show that offshore hydrogen production and transport via pipelines is faster, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly than onshore electrolysis with a corresponding connection of offshore wind turbines via power cables. The German federal government has also recognized this advantage and has clearly expressed its intention to promote offshore hydrogen production in the North Sea.
I suspect, that some UK offshore wind farms will use the same techniques.
Hydrogen Production For The UK
Electrolysers will probably be built along the East Coast between Peterhead and Humberside and these will feed hydrogen into the network.
- Some electrolysers will be offshore and others onshore.
- Turning off windfarms will become a thing of the past, as all surplus electricity will be used to make hydrogen for the UK or export to Europe.
- Until needed the hydrogen will be stored in Albrough and Rough.
Backup for wind farms, will be provided using hydrogen-fired power stations like Keadby Hydrogen power station.
Financial Implications
I reported on Rishi Sunak’s Manifesto Speech, which he made on June 11th. This is an extract
This document on the Policy Mogul web site is entitled Rishi Sunak – Conservative Party Manifesto Speech – Jun 11.
These are three paragraphs from the speech.
We don’t just need military and border security. As Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has shown, we need energy security too. It is only by having reliable, home-grown sources of energy that we can deny dictators the ability to send our bills soaring. So, in our approach to energy policy we will put security and your family finances ahead of unaffordable eco zealotry.
Unlike Labour we don’t believe that we will achieve that energy security via a state-controlled energy company that doesn’t in fact produce any energy. That will only increase costs, and as Penny said on Friday there’s only one thing that GB in Starmer and Miliband’s GB Energy stands for, and that’s giant bills.
Our clear plan is to achieve energy security through new gas-powered stations, trebling our offshore wind capacity and by having new fleets of small modular reactors. These will make the UK a net exporter of electricity, giving us greater energy independence and security from the aggressive actions of dictators . Now let me just reiterate that, with our plan, we will produce enough electricity to both meet our domestic needs and export to our neighbours. Look at that. A clear, Conservative plan not only generating security, but also prosperity for our country.
I can’t remember any reports about an energy security policy, which he outlined in the last paragraph of my extract from his speech.
He also said we would have sufficient electricity to export to our neighbours. As I said earlier some of this energy will be in the form of hydrogen, which has been created by offshore electrolysers.
If we are exporting electricity and hydrogen to Europe, this is likely to have three effects.
- An improvement in Europe’s energy security.
- H2ercules will improve and decarbonise German industry, using UK hydrogen.
- The finances of UK plc will improve.
It looks like there would be winners all round.
Rishi Sunak had the cards and he played them very badly.
It is now up to Keir Starmer, Great British Energy and Jürgen Maier to play those cards to link the energy systems of the UK and Germany to ensure security and prosperity for Europe.
AquaVentus
I suggest, that you read this page on the RWE web site called AquaVentus.
The page starts with this RWE graphic.
It appears that 10.3 GW of hydrogen will be created by offshore wind farms and piped to North-West Germany.
These two paragraphs outline the AquaVentus initiative .
Hydrogen is considered the great hope of decarbonisation in all sectors that cannot be electrified, e.g. industrial manufacturing, aviation and shipping. Massive investments in the expansion of renewable energy are needed to enable carbon-neutral hydrogen production. After all, wind, solar and hydroelectric power form the basis of climate-friendly hydrogen.
In its quest for climate-friendly hydrogen production, the AquaVentus initiative has set its sights on one renewable energy generation technology: offshore wind. The initiative aims to use electricity from offshore wind farms to operate electrolysers also installed at sea on an industrial scale. Plans envisage setting up electrolysis units in the North Sea with a total capacity of 10 gigawatts, enough to produce 1 million metric tons of green hydrogen.
The page also gives these numbers.
- Total Capacity – 10 GW
- Tonnes Of Green Hydrogen – 1 million
- Members – 100 +
The web site says this about commissioning.
Commissioning is currently scheduled for early/mid 2030s.
The Germans can’t be accused of lacking ambition.
Conclusion
AquaVentus will bring the Germans all the hydrogen they need.
I suspect AquaVentus can be expanded into the waters of other countries surrounding the German territorial waters.
The Anonymous Widower 