Wrightbus: Ballymena Company Gets Order For 117 Buses
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
County Antrim firm Wrightbus has secured a £25.3m order to build 117 zero-emission buses for use in England
And this is the first paragraph.
Operated by First Bus, the vehicles will be used in Yorkshire, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampshire.
They don’t say, whether the buses are battery or hydrogen powered.
Prince Madog Research Vessel To Be Powered By Hydrogen In £5.5M Transship II Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Bangor University.
This is the sub-heading.
The UK’s only fully seagoing research ship within the UK’s higher education sector, the Prince Madog, is set to reduce its emissions by up to 60% thanks to a pioneering £5.5 million hydrogen power initiative that could help re-shape the future of shipping.
This is the first paragraph.
The Transship II project is the largest retrofit of its kind to-date and will see the Prince Madog retrofitted with a hydrogen electric hybrid propulsion system that will enable zero to low emission operation by 2025.
And this paragraph describes the system.
The new hydrogen propulsion system, which will work in conjunction with a diesel-fuelled main engine, will enable zero emission operation at slow speeds or over short distances – such as daily teaching trips with the students from the School of Ocean Sciences at Bangor University. In normal operation, the hybrid system and new novel propulsion design will reduce emissions by up to 60%.
The whole news item is a must read.
The project is certainly a good start on using hydrogen, as a fuel for shipping.
First-Of-Its-Kind Electriq Powder Manufacturing Plant To Be Built In Amsterdam
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
This is the sub-heading.
The powder plant can provide a safe end-to-end hydrogen solution.
The home page of their web site has this bold statement.
Meet the Safe & Practical Hydrogen Powder
Underneath is this explanation.
Electriq is a hydrogen carrier that acts like coffee powder for a coffee machine – simplifying storage, transport, and use of hydrogen in off-grid applications and long-term storage.
Similar processes have been proposed for hydrogen in the past, but no-one has compared them to coffee before.
This Technology page gives a lot more details.
These two paragraphs outline the chemistry used.
Electriq’s Fuel and Release technologies turn hydrogen into a coffee-like powder form, then back into electricity through a proprietary catalyst and release system.
Our hydrogenation process reacts hydrogen gas with KBO2 to produce a powdery coffee-like compound (KBH4), ready for easy storage and transportation. Our dehydrogenation process releases the hydrogen – and KBO2 as a by-product – thus forming a full cycle.
The Electriq Release system uses a proprietary catalyst to release hydrogen from the Electriq Fuel, after mixing it with water. The dehydrogenation (release) process provides fuel-cell grade hydrogen and zero-emissions electricity.
Note.
- KBO2 is a chemical compound formed of one potassium, one boron and two oxygen atoms.
- KBH4 is a chemical compound formed of one potassium, one boron and four hydrogen atoms.
- As is with often the case with these processes, It appears that there may be a clever catalyst doing some hard work.
The Technology page finishes with a comparison with other methods of transporting hydrogen.
This Press & Insights page has more information on the company and some interesting videos.
It would certainly be something new, if you filled up your electric bike with a canister of dry powder.
But they have a video of that!
Utility Completes Testing Of Revolutionary Zero-Electricity Hydrogen Reactor
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Central.
These two paragraphs introduce the article.
Utility completes testing of revolutionary zero-electricity hydrogen reactor.
Utility announced at its 3rd annual technology day event, the successful completion of their pilot plant testing program for the H2Gen™ reactor product line. Utility is the only decarbonization technology company pioneering the eXEROTM technology platform optimized for hard to abate industry sectors.
Am I right in thinking, that Utility have developed a way of splitting hydrogen out of hydrocarbons by cleverly exploiting physics and chemistry?
This is the first paragraph on their Learn More page.
The Electroless Coupled Exchange Reduction Oxidation technology platform (eXERO™) capitalizes on both the advantages of electrochemical processes (which yield high product purity without the need for expensive purification steps) and chemical processes (which have comparatively low capital and operating costs, especially avoiding the losses of electricity generation and transmission). The eXERO™ technology platform is achieved by removing the external electrical circuit from an electrolyzer and instead driving the electrolysis reaction with the overpotential (voltage) that exists between different gas compositions. Similar to a conventional solid oxide electrolyzer, oxygen ions are transferred from the cathode to the anode through an oxygen ion conducting electrolyte. However, unlike a conventional electrochemical reactor, electrons are transferred from the anode to the cathode through an electronically conducting phase within the electrolyte, also known as a mixed conducting electrolyte.
In a section on the page, with a heading of Principles, this is said.
The eXERO™ technology platform is based on two streams which are separated by an impermeable electrolyte, and counter-exchange of oxygen ions and electrons. Thus, one of the streams undergoes reduction while the other stream simultaneously undergoes oxidation. Unlike traditional fuel cells or electrolyzers, no current is extracted or delivered to the reactor to drive the process. Rather, an overpotential can be induced by introducing gases of different composition at the anode and cathode the cell. Examples of gases introduced at the anode to induce an overpotential, relative to steam (water) are shown below:
This is interesting. Very interesting!
Dutch Take Aim At Lower Green Hydrogen Costs By Combining Offshore Wind And Floating Solar
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
A consortium of Dutch companies has launched a government-backed project to explore the synergies between offshore wind, offshore solar and hydrogen production at sea for improved sustainability of North Sea renewable energy projects.
T thought about calling this post, The Dutch Go For The Full Monty, but there is no mention of wave or tidal power.
These two paragraphs outline the project.
The four-year project, dubbed Solar Enhanced North Sea Energy Hub (SENSE-HUB), is expected to accelerate the rollout of offshore solar into offshore renewable energy systems.
Let by TNO, short for Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, the project will address the integration of various energy system modules for the Dutch North Sea by understanding and removing the implementation barriers for future SENSE-HUBs from a technical, economical, ecological, legal and societal perspective.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see more integrated systems like this in the waters around our coasts.
I also believe that the ultimate offshore energy production system will also use wave and tidal power to generate electricity and have inbuilt energy storage.
Preparing For Take-Off: Aviation Embraces Clean Hydrogen
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this article on Ryse Hydrogen.
These three paragraphs introduce the article.
Aviation’s clean hydrogen revolution is coming from all directions.
Taking a bottom-up approach, start-ups such as ZeroAvia are developing technology to convert small aircraft to hydrogen fuel, while at the other end of the spectrum, industry giants such as Airbus and Rolls-Royce are exploring how they can carry hundreds of passengers 1,000s of miles across the world.
The timescales for these projects are very different but progress is visible for both approaches.
The last two paragraphs are optimistic.
Hydrogen fuel could make up 32% of the market by 2050 if it becomes commercially available by 2035, according to a study from climate think-tank Energy Transition Commission.
It would seem that it’s only a matter of time before truly clean air travel is cleared for take-off and hydrogen-powered aircraft are carrying passengers and cargo across the skies.
The article is a good summary of the state of zero-carbon hydrogen-powered aircraft. Read it!
Racing Towards A Green Future
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ricardo.
This is the first paragraph.
While Formula E and its sibling electric race series, Extreme E and RX2e, are burnishing battery-powered vehicles credentials, motorsport from Formula 1 down is actively pursuing how traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) race and rally cars can be made more environmentally acceptable.
The article, which is a must-read, then describes the various routes and options, that motorsport is taking towards zero-carbon.
The article finishes with this paragraph.
While motorsport technology can, and does, transfer to production cars, especially in the higher echelons, whether the path it is beating on AS fuels will convince legislators that battery electric vehicles are only an answer rather than the answer remains to be seen.
I believe that when an affordable small hatchback powered by hydrogen hits the road as it inevitably will, it will have Ricardo’s fingerprints all over it.
Coal Sales Could Lose Tens Of Millions For Consumers
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
These two paragraphs outline the story.
A huge stockpile of coal bought for emergency use in power stations this winter is due to be resold at a loss of tens of millions of pounds to consumers.
National Grid funded the procurement of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of coal as part of a deal to keep open five coal-fired units this winter. The estimated £368 million cost of the “winter contingency contracts”, which includes an undisclosed sum for the coal purchases, is being recouped via energy bills.
Note.
- None of the coal has been burned, as the weather was warmer than expected,
- It is now sitting in various places around the country.
- It will probably sell at a loss and there will be transport costs.
I will look at the mathematics of disposal.
Burning Fossil Fuels
On the Internet, I have found these figures.
- If you burn a kilogram of natural gas you create 15.5 KWh of electricity and 2.75 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
- If you burn a kilogram of coal you create 2.46 KWh of electricity and 2.38 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
This means that natural gas and coal create 0.18 and 0.97 kilograms of carbon dioxide respectively for every KWh generated.
I believe these figures say, that if we have to use a fossil fuel, gas will be much better than coal for climate change reasons.
The Size Of The Problem
We are talking about 130,000 tonnes of coal for EDF and 400,000 for Drax. Uniper’s figure is not stated. Let’s say they make the coal pile up to 600,000 tonnes.
Burning this pile will generate 1,476,000 KWh or 1.476 GWh of electricity and create 1428,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Effect On Total UK Carbon Dioxide Emissions
According to government figures on the Internet in 2021 we emitted 107.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Burning all that coal in a year, would add less than 1.5 % to our carbon dioxide emissions. Perhaps we should burn it strategically over a number of years, when there are energy supply problems, as it is after all a crude form of energy storage.
What Would I Do With The Savings?
The money saved on the transport and making loss-making sales could be spent on other ways to save carbon emissions, like converting surplus wind energy into hydrogen and blending it with the gas.
I discussed the mathematics of hydrogen blending in UK – Hydrogen To Be Added To Britain’s Gas Supply By 2025.
If we put 2 % hydrogen in our natural gas, this would save nearly 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in a year. This figure is much bigger than the 1428,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, that would be created by burning all the coal.
At a level of 2 %, most appliances, boilers and industrial processes would work without change. But a good service would help.
UK – Hydrogen To Be Added To Britain’s Gas Supply By 2025
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Central.
These are the first three paragraphs.
Hydrogen to be added to Britain’s gas supply by 2025.
Hydrogen is to be pumped into Britain’s main gas pipeline by 2025 as part of a scramble to ditch fossil fuels and move to net zero.
Between 2% and 5% of the fuel flowing through the country’s transmission network will be hydrogen in two years under plans drawn up by National Gas, which owns the pipelines.
Note.
- The article says that.on a winter’s day, you’ve got seven times more energy going through the gas network than the electricity network.
- Between 2% and 5% of hydrogen, would be unlikely to mean that appliances, boilers and industrial processes would need to be changed.
- I suspect that domestic appliances and boilers would just need a good service.
- HyDeploy has shown that 20 % of hydrogen could be possible.
- The hydrogen could be added, where the natural gas enters the UK gas network.
The exercise would save a lot of carbon emissions.
How Much Electricity Would Be Needed To Create The Hydrogen?
In The Mathematics Of Blending Twenty Percent Of Hydrogen Into The UK Gas Grid, I calculated the amount of hydrogen that would be needed for 20 %, how much electricity it would need and how much carbon dioxide would not be emitted.
How Much Hydrogen Needs To Be Added?
This page on worldodometer says this about UK gas consumption.
The United Kingdom consumes 2,795,569 million cubic feet (MMcf) of natural gas per year as of the year 2017.
I will now calculate the weight of hydrogen needed to be added.
- 2,795,569 million cubic feet converts to 79161.69851 million cubic metres.
- I will round that to 79161.7 million cubic metres.
- Twenty percent is 15832.34 million cubic metres.
- A cubic metre of hydrogen weighs 0.082 Kg, which gives that in a year 1,298.25188 million kilograms will need to be added to the UK gas supply.
This is 1,298,251.88 tonnes per year, 3,556.85 tonnes per day or 148.2 tonnes per hour.
How Much Electricity Is Needed To Create This Amount Of Hydrogen?
In Can The UK Have A Capacity To Create Five GW Of Green Hydrogen?, I said the following.
Ryze Hydrogen are building the Herne Bay electrolyser.
- It will consume 23 MW of solar and wind power.
- It will produce ten tonnes of hydrogen per day.
The electrolyser will consume 552 MWh to produce ten tonnes of hydrogen, so creating one tonne of hydrogen needs 55.2 MWh of electricity.
To create 148.2 tonnes per hour of hydrogen would need 8,180.64 MW of electricity or just under 8.2 GW.
How Much Carbon Dioxide Would Be Saved?
This page on the Engineering Toolbox is entitled Combustion Of Fuels – Carbon Dioxide Emission and it gives a list of how much carbon dioxide is emitted, when a fuel is burned.
For each Kg of these fuels, the following Kg of carbon dioxide will be released on combustion.
- Methane – 2.75
- Gasoline – 3.30
- Kerosene – 3.00
- Diesel – 3.15
- Bituminous coal – 2.38
- Lignite 1.10
- Wood – 1.83
Engineering Toolbox seems a very useful web site.
I will now calculate how much carbon dioxide would be saved.
- In 2017, UK methane consumption was 79161.7 million cubic metres.
- One cubic metre of methane weighs 0.554 Kg.
- The total weight of methane used is 43,855,581.8 tonnes.
- Multiplying by 2.75 shows that 120,602,849.95 tonnes of carbon dioxide will be produced.
As twenty percent will be replaced by hydrogen, carbon dioxide emission savings will be 6,030,142.498 tonnes.
That seems a good saving, from a small country like the UK.
The UK would also reduce natural gas consumption by twenty percent or 15832.34 million cubic metres per year.
How Much Electricity Would Be Needed To Create The Hydrogen for a 5 % Blend?
I’ll now repeat the calculation for a 5 % blend,
How Much Hydrogen Needs To Be Added?
I will now calculate the weight of hydrogen needed to be added.
- UK gas consumption rounds to 79161.7 million cubic metres.
- Five percent is 3958.085 million cubic metres.
- A cubic metre of hydrogen weighs 0.082 Kg, which gives that in a year 324.56297 million kilograms will need to be added to the UK gas supply.
This is 324,563 tonnes per year, 889.21 tonnes per day or 37 tonnes per hour.
How Much Electricity Is Needed To Create This Amount Of Hydrogen?
Earlier I said this.
The electrolyser will consume 552 MWh to produce ten tonnes of hydrogen, so creating one tonne of hydrogen needs 55.2 MWh of electricity.
To create 37 tonnes per hour of hydrogen would need 2,045.16 MW of electricity or just over 2 GW.
How Much Carbon Dioxide Would Be Saved?
Earlier, I found that a Kg of methane will produce 2.75 Kg of carbon dioxide on combustion.
I will now calculate how much carbon dioxide would be saved.
- In 2017, UK methane consumption was 79161.7 million cubic metres.
- One cubic metre of methane weighs 0.554 Kg.
- The total weight of methane used is 43,855,581.8 tonnes.
- Multiplying by 2.75 shows that 120,602,849.95 tonnes of carbon dioxide will be produced.
As five percent will be replaced by hydrogen, carbon dioxide emission savings will be 6030,142.4975 tonnes.
The UK would also reduce natural gas consumption by five percent or 3958.085 million cubic metres per year.
How Much Electricity Would Be Needed To Create The Hydrogen for a 2 % Blend?
I’ll now repeat the calculation for a 2 % blend,
How Much Hydrogen Needs To Be Added?
I will now calculate the weight of hydrogen needed to be added.
- UK gas consumption rounds to 79161.7 million cubic metres.
- Two percent is 1,583.234 million cubic metres.
- A cubic metre of hydrogen weighs 0.082 Kg, which gives that in a year 129.825 million kilograms will need to be added to the UK gas supply.
This is 129,825 tonnes per year, 355.68 tonnes per day or 14.8 tonnes per hour.
How Much Electricity Is Needed To Create This Amount Of Hydrogen?
Earlier I said this.
The electrolyser will consume 552 MWh to produce ten tonnes of hydrogen, so creating one tonne of hydrogen needs 55.2 MWh of electricity.
To create 14.8 tonnes per hour of hydrogen would need 817 MW of electricity or not even a GW.
How Much Carbon Dioxide Would Be Saved?
Earlier, I found that a Kg of methane will produce 2.75 Kg of carbon dioxide on combustion.
I will now calculate how much carbon dioxide would be saved.
- In 2017, UK methane consumption was 79161.7 million cubic metres.
- One cubic metre of methane weighs 0.554 Kg.
- The total weight of methane used is 43,855,581.8 tonnes.
- Multiplying by 2.75 shows that 120,602,849.95 tonnes of carbon dioxide will be produced.
As two percent will be replaced by hydrogen, carbon dioxide emission savings will be 2,412,057 tonnes.
The UK would also reduce natural gas consumption by two percent or 1,583.234 million cubic metres per year.
Summary Of Savings And Electricity Needed
2 %
- Hydrogen To Add – 14.8 tonnes per hour
- Electricity Needed – 817 MW per year
- Carbon Dioxide Savings – 2,412,057 tonnes per year
- Natural Gas Reduction – 1,583.234 million cubic metres per year
5 %
- Hydrogen To Add – 37 tonnes per hour
- Electricity Needed – 2,045.16 MW per year
- Carbon Dioxide Savings – 6,030,142.498 tonnes per year
- Natural Gas Reduction – 3,958.085 million cubic metres per year
20 %
- Hydrogen To Add – 148.2 tonnes per hour
- Electricity Needed – 8,180.64 MW per year
- Carbon Dioxide Savings – 24,120,569.99 tonnes per year
- Natural Gas Reduction – 1,5832.34 million cubic metres per year
Ballymena: Wrightbus To Develop Hydrogen Production Facility
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Wrightbus is planning to develop a green hydrogen production facility at its factory in Ballymena.
And these first three paragraphs outline the project.
The proposal is being made in partnership with a sister company, Hygen Energy.
Part of the Wrightbus business is the manufacturing of hydrogen-powered buses, some of which are operated by Translink.
The new facility would help create a reliable source of fuel for those buses and other hydrogen-powered vehicles.
It seems a well-designed project and it appears Hygen are building a similar facility in Bradford.
Some months ago, I had a drink in my house, with three senior London bus company executives.
One has had problems with electric buses, as getting the required power to charge a fleet in some Central London garages is not easy.
I showed them these figures, from the Wrightbus web site.
- A Wrightbus electric double-decker takes 2.5 hours to charge for a 200 mile range.
- A hydrogen double-decker takes 8 minutes to refuel with up to a 280 miles range.
They were impressed. Especially, as a typical duty for a bus in London is almost 200 miles. A hydrogen bus seemed to make a lot more sense.
So why isn’t London preparing for scores of hydrogen buses?
Ask the Mayor!
The Anonymous Widower 