Should Hydrogen-Powered Trucks Pay A Lower Charge In The Silvertown And Blackwall Tunnels?
London has a lot of heavy diesel trucks, which include.
Cement mixer trucks.
Large eight-wheeler trucks transporting aggregate, building materials and construction spoil to and from construction sites.
Council refuse trucks.
Skip trucks.
Supermarket delivery trucks.
They are large polluters and the only way they will be made zero-carbon, will be to use hydrogen.
In Cummins Agrees To Integrate Its Hydrogen ICE Technology Into Terex® Advance Trucks, I write about how Cummins and Terex are going to be building hydrogen-powered cement mixers.
This picture shows the baby of the range, which could be ideal for a smaller country like the UK.
Note how it is the other way round to traditional cement mixer trucks.
As companies are now selling low-carbon concrete in the UK, I suspect, it won’t be long before they will be delivering it in a hydrogen-powered zero-carbon truck.
If hydrogen-powered trucks could be given an economic boost, by lowering their charges for the Silvertown And Blackwall Tunnels, this might increase their uptake by owners of large trucks, which would in turn reduce pollution.
But this would need the election of a London Mayor, who had a hydrogen policy other than ignore it and hope it goes away.
Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) Partners With Alstom To Showcase The World’s First Passenger Hydrogen Train In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia
The title of this post, is the same as that as this press release from Alstom.
These are the three bullet points.
-
World’s first hydrogen-powered train demo in the Middle East and Africa
-
Alstom’s Coradia iLint train will be used for the demo in the Kingdom
-
Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) and Alstom highlight their commitment to sustainable mobility and carbon emission reduction in the Kingdom
These are the first two paragraphs.
Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR), in partnership with Alstom, a global leader in smart and sustainable mobility, will operate and demonstrate the world’s first passenger hydrogen-powered train, the Coradia iLint in Riyadh in the month of October. This ground-breaking demonstration marks the first-ever introduction of a hydrogen-powered train in the Middle East and Africa. The collaboration between SAR and Alstom signifies a strong focus by the Kingdom to identify and test innovative sustainable mobility solutions to reduce carbon emissions from transport and meet Vision 2030 targets set by the Kingdom’s leadership.
The planned demonstration follows the memorandum of understanding signed by SAR and Alstom in September 2022 to develop or adapt hydrogen solutions for the needs of the Kingdom. Alstom’s Coradia iLint, a hydrogen-powered passenger train will embark on a first-of-its-kind journey in the Kingdom, travelling 10 to 20 kilometres on Riyadh’s East Network’s Line 1 or Line 2.
Note.
- Hopefully, this is not just green-washing?
- Will the train be powered by green hydrogen?
At least, Alstom will get their trains tested in an atmosphere full of sand.
Hydrogen Rail Project Collaboration Launched By Angel Trains And University of St Andrews
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the sub-heading.
Angel Trains, the UK’s largest rolling stock company, has partnered with the University of St Andrews to support an innovative hydrogen train project.
On Friday 29th September, an event was held to mark the donation of a hydrogen electrolyser to the university by Angel Trains. The electrolyser will form an integral part of the university’s ongoing, cutting-edge green hydrogen research.
This is the first paragraph.
The donation follows Angel Trains’ support for the delivery of Scotland’s first zero-emission hydrogen-powered train. The project entailed the conversion of a three-car Class 314 train to a hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrain. The electrolyser was key to enabling the trial to successfully demonstrate how a green-energy fuel cycle would work.
Hopefully, this initiative will lead to better use of hydrogen on the railways of the UK.
INEOS Inovyn Becomes Europe’s First Green Hydrogen ISCC PLUS Fully Certificated Producer
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from INEOS.
These two bullet points, act as sub-headings.
- INEOS Inovyn’s Antwerp hydrogen production, has been certified under the ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) PLUS scheme.
- We become the first European company to have our renewable hydrogen fully audited with greenhouse gas data certification.
This paragraph describes how the hydrogen is produced.
Our Antwerp site produces hydrogen through Chlor-Alkali electrolysis – the electrolysis of brine producing chlorine, caustic soda/potash, sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen. The electricity used to produce this hydrogen comes directly from wind turbines off Belgium’s North Coast.
The Castner-Kellner process, that I worked on at ICI in the 1960s produced similar products.
DuPont Introduces First Ion Exchange Resin For Green Hydrogen Production
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from DuPont.
This is the sub-heading.
Newly designed ion exchange resin with extended service time designed to enhance electrolyzer operation
This is the first paragraph.
DuPont today announced the launch of its first product dedicated to the production of green hydrogen – the DuPont™ AmberLite™ P2X110 Ion Exchange Resin. To support the production of hydrogen from water, this newly available ion exchange resin is designed for the unique chemistry of electrolyzer
Put simply, it appears, that DuPont’s new product will improve the overall efficiency of the electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen.
New Rolls-Royce Engine For Hybrid-Electric Flight Completes Successful First Fuel Burn
The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from Rolls-Royce.
This is the sub-heading.
A new Rolls-Royce small gas turbine that has been specifically developed to power hybrid-electric flight has successfully completed its first fuel burn. The engine has been designed using novel combustion technology to produce ultra-low emissions and this significant achievement confirms the effectiveness of the compact, power-dense turbine that will be integrated into a light-weight turbogenerator system.
This first paragraph gives more details.
The complete turbogenerator system is being developed for the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) market. This includes electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) or electric short take-off and landing (eSTOL) aircraft for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and commuter aircraft applications up to 19 seats. The gas turbine under test also has potential applications within helicopter, auxiliary power unit (APU) and defense markets.
Looking at Wikipedia, it appears that a typical 19 seat airliner needs two engines with a power between 500 and 600 kW.
This would fit with the next paragraph of the press release.
The turbogenerator system will complement Rolls-Royce’s electrical propulsion portfolio by delivering an on-board power source with scalable power offerings between 500 kW and 1,200 kW enabling extended range on sustainable aviation fuels and later, as it becomes available, through hydrogen combustion. This will open up new, longer routes than electric battery powered aircraft can support today.
I can envisage electric 19-seat airliners powered by either two 600 kW engines or one 1200 kW engine.
But then the mind boggles at the applications for this range of engines.
Wrightbus To Provide Hydrogen Buses For Sizewell C Nuclear Plant
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Ballymena bus manufacturer Wrightbus is providing four hydrogen buses to the Sizewell C nuclear power site as part of a pilot scheme.
These first three paragraphs outline the scheme.
If successful, up to 150 buses could be ordered, making it one of the largest hydrogen bus fleets in the world.
Construction of the plant is to begin next year and multiple vehicles will be needed to move workers to and from the site.
Sizewell C will test the performance of four double-decker buses.
As I used to live in that area, I know the buses are bad and this will surely help.
Biggest Untapped UK Oil Field, Rosebank, Approved By Regulators
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the BBC’s summary so far.
- The UK’s largest untapped oil field has been approved by regulators
- Rosebank, 80 miles west of Shetland, is estimated to contain 500 million barrels of oil
- The UK government welcomes the decision, saying it will raise billions of pounds and “make us more secure against tyrants like Putin”
- But Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf says he’s “disappointed”, while the Green Party calls the decision “morally obscene”
- Regulators said net zero considerations had been taken into account
This is my summary.
I have been reading Equinor’s web site on Rosebank.
Production will use what is known as a Floating Production Storage and Offloading Vessel or FPSO, which means, when they’ve finished, it can just sail away.
The FPSO will also be electrification-ready, so that all operations on the vessel will probably be powered by green electricity from a nearby wind farm, instead of by a gas turbine engine on the vessel, which burns gas.
This means that the offshore operations will be as carbon-free as is reasonably possible. But importantly, we will pipe the maximum amount of gas from the field for either our own use or selling to the gas-thirsty Germans.
We will need the gas for some time to back up wind and solar with gas-fired power stations.
But what about the emissions from the power stations?
Capturing carbon dioxide from a power station is getting easier, but more importantly, researchers are finding more and more innovative ways of using the carbon dioxide.
H & M and Zara are even selling clothes made from captured carbon dioxide.
Ways are also being developed using plasma electrolysis to strip the carbon out of natural gas to leave useful hydrogen.
Natural gas will be our friend for many decades yet, if we can turn it into a zero-carbon fuel, which I believe we can!
Iarnród Éireann And Latvia’s DIGAS To Trial Europe’s First Retrofitted Hydrogen Freight Locomotive
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Irish Rail.
This is the sub-heading.
Cleaner, cheaper and practical initiative towards decarbonisation goals
These are the first three sections.
Cleaner
Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail is providing a locomotive and will test a retrofitted hydrogen locomotive using a cleaner burning renewable fuel.
Cheaper
DIGAS will provide a cost-effective way how to introduce a hydrogen in the fleet of existing diesel locomotives by retrofitting diesel locomotives with a specialised internal combustion engine (ICE) hydrogen system.
Practical
The collaboration will demonstrate a practical path towards complete decarbonisation of the diesel locomotive fleet.
Note.
- The eighteen 071 Class locomotives were built in Canada by General Motors.
- Some date from as early as 1976.
- In the UK, there is a similar project to convert Class 66 locomotives to dual fuel, which I wrote about in Clean Air Power Adds Hydrogen To Class 66 Fuel Mix.
It does look that the technology is being developed to convert freight locomotives to hydrogen.
The Anonymous Widower 