WindH2 Hydrogen Project Commissioned In Germany
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on Chemical Engineering.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Salzgitter AG, Avacon and Linde have taken an important step on the path to decarbonizing the steel industry. With the commissioning of “Wind Hydrogen Salzgitter – WindH2”, Germany’s only cross-sector project, green hydrogen will be produced in future with electricity generated by wind power on the site of the steelworks in Salzgitter.
This sentence describes the hydrogen production.
Avacon, a member of the E.ON Group, operates seven newly built wind turbines with an output totaling 30 megawatts on the premises of Salzgitter AG. Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH has installed two Siemens 1.25 megawatt PEM electrolyzer units on its plant site that are capable of producing around 450 m3 per hour of ultra pure hydrogen.
It appears that Salzgitter AG are initially using hydrogen to cut their carbon footprint.
To get an impression of the size of the steelworks, look at this Google Map.
Note that if you click on the map to show it in a large scale, stahl is German for steel.
The article is certainly worth a read.
Morocco Could Produce Up To 4% Of World’s Green Hydrogen By 2030
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Morocco World News.
This is the first paragraph.
Morocco could produce up to 4% of the global demand for green hydrogen by 2030, according to the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.
They are aiming to produce 10,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year by 2025.
Wikipedia has an informative topic called Energy Policy in Morocco, which indicates the following.
- The country has little oil and gas reserves. Although it does have some oil shale, that could be developed.
- Wind, solar and hydro power are being developed.
- They could install a nuclear power station East of Rabat.
It sounds, that they could have an electricity structure, that would be ideal for the production of green hydrogen.
Conclusion
Morocco could be joining an ever growing club, which includes Australia, Saudi Arabia and Spain, who will produce hydrogen for export to countries like Germany, Japan and South Korea.
Get H2 Partners Propose Green Hydrogen Pipeline In Europe
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Green Car Congress.
This is the first paragraph.
Seven companies from the GET H2 initiative in Europe want to build a cross-border pipeline for green hydrogen. From Lingen (Emsland) to Gelsenkirchen and from the Dutch border to Salzgitter, production, transport, storage and industrial acceptance of green hydrogen are to be connected in several steps between 2024 and 2030 under the umbrella of the overall project.
Note.
- I suspect this could be almost four hundred kilometres of hydrogen pipeline.
- The hydrogen will be used in refineries, for steelmaking and other industrial uses.
- It could avoid production of sixteen million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030.
This will need a lot of wind-turbines and electrolysers, most of which I expect will be in the German and Dutch parts of the North Sea.
First French Region Signs Hydrogen Train Contract
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the International Railway Journal.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The Bourgogne-Franche Comté region has signed a contract with Alstom, through operator French National Railways (SNCF), for the supply of three Coradia Polyvalent electro-hydrogen dual-mode multiple units.
These are some points from the article.
- The three trains are from an order for 14 from four French regions.
- The trains can use 1500 VDC and 25 KVAC electrification.
- They will be able to use hydrogen power, where there is no electrification.
- Range on hydrogen will be 400-600 km.
- Operating speed will be up to 160 kph.
- Trains will be four cars, with a capacity of 220 passengers.
- Trains will start test running in 2024 on the 19km non-electrified Auxerre – Laroche – Migennes line.
As with the Alstom Class 600 hydrogen trains for the UK, deliveries don’t seem to be fast.
I wrote Hydrogen Trains Ready To Steam Ahead in January 2019. This is the first few paragraphs.
The title of this post is the same as that of an article in today’s copy of The Times.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Hydrogen trains will be introduced in as little as two years under ambitious plans to phase out dirty diesel engines.
The trains, which are almost silent and have zero emissions, will operate at speeds of up to 90 mph and release steam only as a by-product. The new trains, which will be called “Breeze” will be employed on commuter and suburban lines by early 2021.
Wikipedia is now saying, that these trains will enter service in 2024.
As Alstom haven’t got any orders for the train, I will be very surprised if they achieve that date.
Is it Alstom, French project management or problems with hydrogen?
I don’t think it’s anything to do with hydrogen, as the Germans built the successful iLint for Alstom and Birmingham University put together a hydrogen demonstration train in double-quick time.
Given all the problems that the French are having with rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine could it be that the French have a Can’t Do! attitude, rather than most other countries, which seem to have a Can Do! attitude.
Ex-Steelworks To Make Wind Farm Parts In Plan For 6,000 Green Jobs
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The government will invest almost £100 million creating new wind turbine ports in northeast England, with a big renewables company announcing plans to make crucial parts in Teesside.
The two ports will be on Teesside and North Lincolnshire.
The next generation of wind turbines in the North Sea will be very different.
Larger Turbines
They will be larger and the blades will be bigger, so building them close to, where they will be installed is a sensible idea.
We are also very good at aerodynamics in the UK. This is the reason Airbus designs and builds wings in the UK.
Floating Turbines
The next generation of wind farms will be floating, as for some reason, they have a higher capacity factor.
I am personally pleased about this, as it appears they are based on a patented but failed design of floating oil production platform from the 1970s, where I performed the calculations on how to install them.
Some of these floating wind turbines can also be floated into port for major services and upgrades, which probably means we need local manufacturing of as many parts as possible.
Hydrogen Rather Than Electrical Connection
They will also create hydrogen, rather than electricity, by using a combination of wind turbine and hydrogen electrolyser.
As distances between shore and wind farm get longer, it is cheaper to use a gas pipe, rather than a DC electricity link.
Hydrogen can also be stored in worked out gas fields and also brought ashore in redundant pipelines.
The hydrogen electrolysers will probably be built in the world’s largest electrolyser factory in Rotherham, owned by ITM Power; a UK company.
Conclusion
As we are going to build almost 70 GW of offshore wind in the next few years, we’re going to need a turbines and I believe increasingly, they will be built in the UK.
So these two wind ports at Teesside and in Lincolnshire are a good idea.
CP Hydrogen Locomotive Pilot Powered By Ballard
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Age.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Canadian Pacific (CP) will use fuel cell modules from Ballard Power Systems for its first hydrogen fuel cell (HFC)-powered linehaul freight locomotive.
I have said that someone will build a hydrogen powered freight locomotive for some time and it looks like Canada is first to show their hand.
The engine shown in the picture in the Railway Age article is 4107, which is an EMD FP9, which looks to be a typical North American diesel-electric locomotive.
- It has a power of 1300 kW.
- It can haul freight or passenger trains.
- Ninety were built in the 1950s.
- They have a maximum speed of between 65-105 mph.
The diesel engine and alternator will be swapped for six 200 kW fuel cells from Ballard and a battery.
This video shows 4107 leading the Royal Canadian Pacific, which is a luxury excursion passenger train.
Will this train be hydrogen powered in the future? It would be an interesting way to bring in the tourists.
Engine Development At ABC Shaped By Sustainability
The title of this post, is the same as that on this article on Riviera Maritime Media.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Belgian engine manufacturer ABC is supplying the power for a new ‘green’ oceanographic research vessel, while it continues development of a hydrogen engine.
The article then gives a good summary of the progress being made by ABC in developing diesel, dual and hydrogen power for ships, based on their existing diesel technology.
- Their diesel engines will be powering the new Belgian maritime research ship; Belgica.
- They are developing hydrogen engines up to 10 MW.
- They aim to have a hydrogen engine working by Q2 2021.
- They have the capacity to build up to a hundred engines a year.
The company seems to be following an alternative route to decarbonisation, by converting existing large diesel designs to hydrogen.
The article is very much worth a read.
Ryze Hydrogen’s Suffolk Freeport Hydrogen Vision Takes Shape
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on S & P Global.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Ryze Hydrogen plans to install a 6 MW electrolyzer at the Sizewell nuclear site in Suffolk as a launchpad for mass production of low carbon hydrogen in and around the future freeport of Felixstowe, company founder Jo Bamford told S&P Global Platts March 3.
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.
This would mean that Sizewell’s 6 MW electrolyser could be producing around a thousand tonnes of hydrogen per year or 2.6 tonnes per day.
Note that the port and the power station are only about thirty miles apart.
Suffolk is thinking big again!
The last part of the article is where Jo Bamford discusses the cost of hydrogen and hydrogen buses and how he intends to sell them to the UK and ultimately the world.
Suffolk and Jo Bamford appear to be made for each other, with complementary ambitions.
Biggest Mobile Hydrogen Fuel Cell In The World To Power Sergey Brin’s Mysterious Airship
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Hydrogen Fuel News.
This is the introductory paragraph.
LTA Research and Exploration, the secretive and mysterious airship company owned by Google co-founder and former Alphabet President Sergey Brin, will use the biggest mobile hydrogen fuel cell in the world to power its disaster relief airship.
The size of the fuel cell appears to be 1.5 MW according to the Hydrogen Fuel News article.
The company has a web site with a title of The Future Off 21st Century Airships.
The web site talks about vision, focus and their response to Covid-19, so it is certainly not vapourware, although it seems to be more about building the team.
Conclusion
Sergey Brin has his heart in the right place
But he is ploughing a furrow, that has been attempted many times and sadly most attempts have ended in failure.
H2 Green Steel Plans 800 MW Hydrogen Plant In Sweden
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on montel.
The title says it all.
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 H2 Green Steel’s electrolyser could be producing around one hundred and forty thousand tonnes of hydrogen per year or 380 tonnes per day.
What About Scunthorpe?
I very much believe that Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire, would be the ideal place for hydrogen steelmaking in the UK as I outlined in Green Hydrogen To Power First Zero Carbon Steel Plant.
So could 800 MW of electricity be available to produce the hydrogen in the area.
Currently, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is Hornsea One with a capacity of 1218 MW, which feeds into the National Grid at Killingholme.
This Google Map shows the distance between Scunthorpe and Killingholme.
Note.
- Scunthorpe is in the South-West corner of the map.
- Killingholme is in the North-East corner of the map.
The distance is about twenty miles.
When fully developed, the Hornsea Wind Farm is planned to have a capacity of 6 GW or 6000 MW, so there should be enough renewable energy.
Could The Hydrogen Be Created Offshore?
In ITM Power and Ørsted: Wind Turbine Electrolyser Integration, I wrote about combining wind turbines and electrolysers to create an offshore wind turbine, that generates hydrogen, rather than electricity.
This approach may be ideal for the later phases of the Hornsea Wind Farm.
- Redundant gas pipes can be used to bring the hydrogen ashore.
- Worked-out offshore gas fields can be used to store hydrogen.
- Worked-out gas fields in the area, are already being used to store natural gas from Norway.
- The hydrogen can be fed directly into the HumberZero hydrogen network.
But the main reason, is that some serious commentators feel it is more affordable approach in terms of capital and maintenance costs.
It is also easy to convert hydrogen back to zero-carbon electricity, if you have a handy gas-fired power station. There could be as many of three of these at Keadby.
Conclusion
It’s all coming together on Humberside.
Anything the Swedes can do, we can do better!
The Anonymous Widower 