Rolls-Royce Makes Duisburg Container Terminal Climate Neutral With MTU Hydrogen Technology
The title of this post, is the same as this press release from Rolls-Royce.
This is the first sentence.
Rolls-Royce will ensure a climate-neutral energy supply at the container terminal currently under construction at the Port of Duisburg, Germany.
There is also this Rolls-Royce graphic, which shows the energy sources.
It would appear batteries, combined heat and power (CHP), grid electricity, hydrogen electrolyser, hydrogen storage and renewable electricity are being brought together to create a climate-neutral energy system.
- As the graphic was named hydrogen technology for ports, I would assume that this is a Rolls-Royce mtu system that will be deployed at more than one port around the world.
- Note the H2 CHPs in the graphic. Could these be applications for Rolls-Royce’s beer keg-sized 2.5 MW electrical generator based on a Super Hercules engine?
- One of Rolls-Royce’s small modular nuclear reactors could be ideal for a large port outside Germany.
This is the last paragraph of the press release.
“Hydrogen technology is no longer a dream of the future, but hydrogen technology will prove itself in everyday use in Duisburg. The parallel use of fuel cell solutions and hydrogen engines shows that we have taken the right path with our technology-open approach to the development of new solutions for the energy supply of the future,” says Andreas Schell, CEO of Rolls-Royce Power Systems.
Rolls-Royce mtu appear to be very serious about the possibilities of hydrogen.
Caterpillar To Offer Power Solutions Generator Operating On 100% Hydrogen To Customers In 2021
The title of this post is the same as that, of this article on Hydrogen Central.
The title says most of it, although engines will soon be offered that can run on natural gas with up to ten percent of hydrogen added.
The last part of the article described various projects being undertaken by Caterpillar with hydrogen.
It looks like Caterpillar are taking the route chosen by Cummins and JCB to embrace hydrogen, rather than fight it.
Mote – World’s First Carbon Removal Plant Converting Wood Waste To Hydrogen
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Central.
This paragraph caught my eye.
Mote is also in discussions with carbon utilization company CarbonCure Technologies on the potential of permanently storing its CO2 in concrete via CarbonCure’s carbon removal technologies, deployed in hundreds of CO2 mineralization systems at concrete plants worldwide.
So I looked up CarbonCure Technologies web site.
This page gives an overview of their technology.
According to their web site, they can add carbon dioxide to precast concrete sections. How much carbon dioxide would it have been possible to bury, if the tunnel linings for Crossrail had used CarbonCure’s technology?
New California Hydrogen Fuel Plant Will Use Wood Waste
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
- It is being developed by a company called Mote.
- They are spending $100 million on the development.
- The plant will be built at Bakersfield in California.
The Mote web site is worth a look.
It explains their process with a good graphic.
- Wood waste is gasified and processed, so that the carbon dioxide and hydrogen are separated.
- The hydrogen is used as normal.
- The carbon dioxide is stored.
The company claims the process is carbon negative.
They also give figures for their first facility.
- It will remove 150,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year.
- It will produce twenty tonnes of hydrogen per day.
Fluor, who are one of the United States largest construction companies are involved.
Conclusion
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.
This would mean that Mote’s Bakersfield plant is twice the size in terms of hydrogen production, than the electrolyser at Herne Bay.
Looking up Bakersfield on Wikipedia, it appears that there is a lot of agriculture in the area and it ranks in the top five in the States.
I’d like to learn more about this company and their method of hydrogen production.
Does it count as green hydrogen, as it appears the carbon dioxide is stored.
Given the agriculture in the area, could the carbon dioxide be fed to plants growing in greenhouses.
What Will Happen To Northern’s Class 195 Trains?
Northern’s Class 195 trains could be a problem in the future.
- They are diesel multiple units.
- There are twenty-five two-car trains and thirty-three three-car trains.
- All cars have a Rolls-Royce MTU 6H1800R85L diesel engine, that drives the train through a ZF EcoLife 6-speed transmission.
- They are 100 mph trains, which is adequate for the routes they serve.
- According to Wikipedia, the trains are designed for a lifespan of thirty-five years, which takes the trains past the date, when it is intended that all trains should be zero-carbon.
It looks to me, that a plan will be needed to decarbonise these trains, as they are probably too new and costly to scrap.
These are possibilities to upgrade them to zero-carbon.
Rebuild as Class 331 Electric Trains
The design of the Class 195 trains is based on the same platform as that of the Class 331 trains.
I would expect that it could be possible to rebuild the Class 195 trains as Class 331 trains.
But it would be an expensive and disruptive process and would require a lot of electrification.
Some battery-electric versions could be created to cut the need for electrification.
Run The Trains On Net-Zero Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil Or Other Fuels
In Powered By HVO, I wrote about research going on into the use of Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil or HVO.
There is also ongoing research into other net-zero fuels that can be used in a diesel engine.
The process used by Velocys to create sustainable aviation fuel can also be used to produce diesel from various sources like disposable nappies, household waste and scrap wood.
Run The Trains On A Dual Fuel Basis With Hydrogen
In Grand Central DMU To Be Used For Dual-Fuel Trial, I talk about how Grand Central in collaboration with a company called G-volution are running experiments with dual-fuelling a Class 180 train. G-volution state that they could dual fuel with hydrogen using their technology.
The Class 180 trains have Cummins engines, but I suspect G-volution’s technology or something similar could be applied to the Rolls-Royce MTU engines in the Class 195 trains.
This could be a very promising route.
Convert The Diesel Engines To Run On Hydrogen
Cummins and JCB have developed internal combustion engines, that can run on hydrogen. I would be very surprised if Rolls-Royce MTU are not developing this technology.
Conclusion
There are options to convert the Class 195 trains into low or zero-carbon trains.
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Anglo American And Aurizon Look To Hydrogen-Powered Trains
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on World Coal.
This is the first paragraph.
Australia’s largest rail freight operator, Aurizon, and leading global mining company, Anglo American, have agreed to work together on a feasibility study to assess the introduction of hydrogen-powered trains for bulk freight in Queensland.
I find it interesting and very ironic, that this partnership has been formed, partly to transport the product, with the most polluting of end uses; coal.
The article also says this about Anglo American’s policy on decarbonisation of their mines.
As part of its commitment to carbon neutral mines by 2040, Anglo American has taken a global lead in the development of green hydrogen solutions for its ultra-class 290 t payload mine haul trucking fleet. Anglo American’s unique combination of powertrain technologies, designed to operate safely and effectively in real-world mine conditions, will displace the use of the majority of diesel at its mining operations, with an advanced trial of the prototype truck at its Mogalakwena platinum group metals mine in South Africa.
It does appear that the partnership are starting from a proven base of hydrogen technology.
Conclusion
This looks like a sound real-world project to produce a hydrogen-powered zero-carbon locomotive.
10GW Green Hydrogen Project Aims To Electrolyze Water Drawn From Desert Air
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
This is the first paragraph.
Desert Bloom, an AUD$10.75 billion (USD $7.63 billion) 10GW green hydrogen project will begin construction in Australia’s Northern Territory in 2022.
Desert Bloom is not a small project and uses new technology from Aqua Aerem.
ZeroAvia Raises $35 Million From United And Alaska Air Group to Provide Hydrogen-Electric Engines For Large Aircraft
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Aviation Today.
This is the first paragraph.
United Airlines announced an investment this week in ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engines. ZeroAvia has secured $35 million in this latest round of investments from both United and Alaska Air Group. The total amount of investments in ZeroAvia is now $115 million and includes previous investors AP Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Shell Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Summa Equity, and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund.
ZeroAvia certainly seem to be bringing in the investment.
After, yesterday’s trip in a dual-fuel train, lower- and zero-carbon fuels seem to be on the way.
Hydrogen Freight Locomotive Demonstration Planned
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this article on Railway Gazette.
The first two paragraphs explain the project.
Progress Rail, BNSF and Chevron have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a fuel cell demonstrator locomotive to assess the viability of using hydrogen as an alternative to diesel for main line freight operations.
Progress Rail plans to design and build a prototype fuel cell locomotive, with Chevron developing the hydrogen fuelling infrastructure. BNSF would then operate the locomotive for a period of time.
It can’t be long before we start to see large-scale hydrogen locomotive projects in the UK and Europe.
Hydrogen Hub Plan Will Cut Transport Sector Emissions In The Highlands
The total of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Ross-Shire Journal.
This is the introduction to the article.
The site of one of the Highland capital’s most distinctive industrial landmarks is set to take on new life and a new role, helping decarbonise transport in the region.
The former SGN gas holder site on Harbour Road, Inverness, has been identified by H2 Green as an ideal location for its new green hydrogen production, storage, and distribution facility.
H2 Green, which is part of the Getech Group, signed a deal with gas network operator SGN for use of the site, which lies between Inverness’s rail depot and industrial area.
This Google Map shows the centre of Inverness.
Note.
- Inverness station in the South West corner of the map.
- Inverness bus station is nearby.
- Harbour Road runs across the top of the map.
It looks to me that the round structure in the North East corner is the former SGN gas holder.
These are my thoughts.
The Size Of The Electrolyser
At eight tonnes of hydrogen per day, the proposed electrolyser would be almost as big as the Herne Bay Electrolyser, which creates ten tonnes of hydrogen per day.
Could The Gas Holder Be Used To Store Hydrogen?
As the gas holder was probably built for town gas, which contains a lot of hydrogen, I suspect it could be refurbished to hold hydrogen.
Oxygen Production
The article also says this about oxygen production.
The hub could also provide zero-carbon heat and medical-grade oxygen for hospitals, aquaculture and water treatment works in the area.
Could it be that oxygen is at a premium in the Highlands, so H2 Green are filling a need?
At the height of the pandemic, when hospitals had an oxygen shortage, I asked ITM Power, if they could produce medical grade oxygen, as a by-product of creating hydrogen. They replied in the affirmative.
Conclusion
It looks to me, that H2 Green have a well-thought out plan for hydrogen in The Highlands.
The Anonymous Widower 