Grant Shapps Announcement On Friday
I listened to Grant Shapps announcement on Friday, when he gave the daily COVID-19 Press Conference.
This article on the Velocys web site is entitled Government Announces Jet Zero Council And Confirms Support For Velocys Waste-To-Jet-Fuel Project.
The article shows a video of the speech and this summary paragraph.
At this afternoon’s COVID-19 press conference, Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, announced the establishment of a new Jet Zero Council and confirmed Government support for Velocys.
So who are the company with the strange name of Velocys?
This is a quote from the Velocys CEO; Henrik Wareborn.
Today’s announcement on the formation of a Jet Zero Council shows that a new era of net zero carbon flying is on a credible path, at a time when we need it more than ever. This follows news earlier today that our Altalto waste-to-jet fuel facility – the first of its kind in the UK – has received additional funding from Government and formally received planning permission, meaning it could be producing sustainable aviation fuel in commercial scale by the middle of this decade.
Is a new era of net zero carbon flying a possibility or is this a dream too far?
The AltAlto Project
Yhe project is called AltAlto and it has its own web site.
It is backed by British Airways and Shell, and uses technology from Velocys.
This description of the project is on the home page.
Altalto turns household and commercial waste into clean-burning fuels with reduced greenhouse gas emissions for air and road transport.
A page called Technology describes how it is done.
This is the initial summary.
Our process can accept a wide variety of waste, while delivering a clean product. There are very limited emissions to atmosphere from the plant except water and carbon dioxide. Components of the waste which do not get turned into fuel, such as metals and stones, are recycled; a small amount of it (less than 3%) goes to landfill.
This diagram from the Velocys web site illustrates the process.
The then goes through the stages of the process.
- Stage 1 – Preparation – First the waste is treceived, sorted and prepared.
- Stage 2 – Gasification – Next the solid waste is gasified; heated to a high temperature to break it down and convert it into synthesis gas or syngas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen).
- Stage 3 – Synthesis – After cleaning, the syngas is used to synthesis hydrocarbons using the Fischer-Tropsch technology provided by Velocys.
- Stage 4 – Finishing – These hydrocarbons are then refined into the final products; renewable jet fuel (in the form of SPK) and naphtha.
They add this final summary.
The process is fundamentally different to incineration: instead of being burnt, the carbon in the waste is converted into a fuel for use in aircraft or vehicles.
There are many clean ways of making electricity, but it is really difficult to make sustainable jet fuel – this is one of the very few economic ways of doing so. It’s therefore a far better use of household waste than incineration, creating a much more valuable and environmentally beneficial product.
Could the process be considered a sophisticated waste incineration process, where the actual incineration is performed in the turbofan engine in the aircraft or the diesel engine in the truck to provide power?
I have a few questions.
What is Fischer-Tropsch Technology?
This is the first sentence for the Wikipedia entry for the Fischer-Tropsch Process.
The Fischer-Tropsch process is a collection of chemical reactions that converts a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons. These reactions occur in the presence of metal catalysts, typically at temperatures of 150-300 °C (302-572 °F) and pressures of one to several tens of atmospheres. The process was first developed by Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut fur Kohlenforschung in Mulheim an der Ruhr, Germany, in 1925.
One of the companies involved in using the Fischer-Tropsch process is the South African company; Sasol. Wikipedia gives this summary about Sasol’s use of the process.
Another large scale implementation of Fischer-Tropsch technology is a series of plants operated by Sasol in South Africa, a country with large coal reserves, but little oil. The first commercial plant opened in 1952. Sasol uses coal and now natural gas as feedstocks and produces a variety of synthetic petroleum products, including most of the country’s diesel fuel.
The involvement with the apartheid regime in South Africa probably wasn’t the best of publicity for the process.
But have Oxford University and Velocys created a way of making net zero carbon aviation and diesel fuels?
What Is SPK?
SPK is Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene and it is an aviation biofuel.
The Wikipedia entry for aviation biofuel has a sub-section called FT-SPK, where this is said.
The second route involves processing solid biomass using pyrolysis to produce pyrolysis oil or gasification to produce a syngas which is then processed into FT SPK (Fischer-Tropsch Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene)
This sounds like the Velocys process.
What Are The Environmental Effects?
In the Wikipedia entry for aviation biofuel, there is a section called Environmental Effects. This is the first sentence.
A life cycle assessment by the Yale School of Forestry on jatropha, one source of potential biofuels, estimated using it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85% if former agro-pastoral land is used, or increase emissions by up to 60% if natural woodland is converted to use. In addition, biofuels do not contain sulphur compounds and thus do not emit sulphur dioxide.
As Velocys produce their SPK from household waste, their fuel will have a different and more positive effect on greenhouse gas emissions.
This press release on the Velocys web site is entitled Plans Submitted For The First Waste To Jet Fuel Plant In The UK And Europe.
This is a paragraph.
The proposed plant will take hundreds of thousands of tonnes of household and commercial solid waste and turn it into clean burning sustainable aviation fuel, reducing net greenhouse gases by 70% compared to the fossil fuel equivalent – equal to taking up to 40,000 cars per year off the road.
Earlier, I quoted this about the process.
There are very limited emissions to atmosphere from the plant except water and carbon dioxide.
A lot depends on where the carbon dioxide is produced, but if it is produced by a well-designed process plant, it should be possible to capture it for storage.
There are also possibilities to reuse carbon-dioxide in the Fischer-Tropsch process.
Could Diesel Be Produced By The Process?
In the United States, Velocys are developing a project called Bayou Fuels.
This is said on the home page.
We are developing a plant in Mississippi that will create diesel fuel for road transportation in the U.S. It will process waste from the paper and lumber industries – woody biomass forest residue that would otherwise rot on the forest floor or contribute to forest fires.
It should be noted that this is said in the Wikipedia entry for the Port of Immingham.
In 2013 ABP began the development of the “Immingham Renewable Fuels Terminal” on the Humber International Terminal site, as part of a 15-year contract with Drax Power Station to supply biomass (wood pellet) to the powerplant. ABP’s total investment in biomass handling facilities, including installations at Hull and Goole was to be around £100 million.
As Velocys’s new plant will be at Immingham, close to the biomass port, I suspect the answer is yes.
Where Is The Plant Located?
This Google Map shows Immingham Port and the area to the South.
Note.
- Immingham Port is towards the North West corner of the map.
- South Humber Bank Power Station is towards the South East corner of the map.
It would appear that the Altalto plant, will be located on an 80 acre site between the port and the power station.
There would also appear from Google Maps that the Barton Line runs through the area, which would surely be handy for bringing in the waste and taking out the fuel.
This picture from the Altalto web site, shows a visualisation of the plant, looking North East.
INote, what looks to be the railway, through the site in the foreground.
There are also a couple of informative videos, including one from the BBC, on this page of the Velocys web site.
t looks to be the ideal site.
How Much Fuel Will The Plant Produce?
According to the video on the web site, the plant will convert 500,000 tonnes of waste into 60,000,000 litres of fuel. I estimate that would be about 48,000 tonnes of jet fuel.
Could The Diesel Fuel Be Used To Decarbonise The Railways In The UK?
I believe that a substantial amount of the use of diesel on the UK’s railways will be cut by the use of battery and hydrogen power in multiple units and locomotives.
But some services like the heavy stone trains moving aggregates from the Mendips and the Peak District to London will be difficult to decarbonise, unless a locomotive manufacturer produces a hydrogen-powered locomotive with upwards of five megawatts of power. And that is a tough design challenge.
Low sulpur diesel produced from waste would be one way to reduce the carbon footprint.
Conclusion
It sounds a crazy idea to create aviation fuel and diesel from household waste!
Will It Work?
Consider.
- It appears that most of the technology used to produce this fuel has been around for decades.
- Sasol opened their first commercial plant in South Africa, using the Fischer-Tropsch process in 1952 and still use the technique today.
- Oxford University have added magic ingredients to the Fischer-Tropsch process.
- Velocys seem to have put in a lot of serious thought to get the Altalto project ticking all the right boxes.
The project could be late, but I feel it will deliver the main objective of converting household and commercial waste to jet fuel and diesel.
All Quiet On The Oxford Street Front!
These pictures were taken at about 16:00 on Friday this week.
There we’re many people about.
Ryze Hydrogen Wants To Make The North East Of Scotland A World Leader In Hydrogen
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on H2 View.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Ryze Hydrogen has pledged to work with the Scottish Government and local authorities to make the North East of Scotland a world leader in hydrogen.
I think this is both a laudable and a very sensible aim.
- Large offshore wind farms are being built both around Aberdeen and the Far North of Scotland.
- Production of hydrogen is a sensible way to use spare renewable electricity.
- That area of Scotland is not short of wind.
- Aberdeen will be taking delivery of hydrogen buses later this year.
- With their experience of the oil industry, there would not be a shortage of people with the necessary expertise.
The article also details Jo Bamford’s plans for hydrogen buses.
Neutrino Energy And Renewable Energy Decisions
The title of this post, is the same as that pn this article from Cision.
This is the introductory paragraph.
While Fossil fuels pose serious dangers to the future of human civilization, the Neutrino Energy Group proposes safe, clean solutions to the modern energy crisis that will help humanity take genuine leaps forward in development.
I’ve read the whole article and it is interesting.
It could be the biggest development in energy since our ancestors discovered fire or the largest load of hype since ZETA was built at Harwell in 1957. The latter was supposed to provide electricity too cheap to meter.
Every ten years or so, something like this pops up. The only thing different about this one, is that it has come from the Germans! Although in the 1930s. it was in Germany, where people like Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner were leading the world in nuclear research. They discovered nuclear fission for which Hahn won the Nobel Prize.
Meitner spent her last years in Cambridge and I’ve always wondered, if she ever met Rosalind Franklin, the other great female scientist of the time, who many believe should have also received a Nobel Prize. If they did or even if they didn’t, it would surely make a wonderful drama, in the style of Copenhagen.
Luckily for the world, these German nuclear scientists were often Jewish, so they left, probably robbing the Nazis of an atomic bomb. Many ended up on the Manhattan Project.
Gas Network Operators And Energy Suppliers Urge Government To Promote Hydrogen-Fueled Recovery
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Business Green.
This is the introductory paragraph.
In a letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Siemens Energy, Engie, National Grid, and Ryze Hydrogen call for the government to emulate its successful approach to offshore wind development and set an official cost reduction target for green hydrogen.
I think they’re right.
There has also been lots of comment in recent days on The Times web site arguing for more hydrogen.
Points from the Business Green article include.
- Develop a policy for carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS), that was promised in its manifesto.
- Carbon capture and storage would allow the production of zero-carbon blue hydrogen from natural gas.
- The signatories have £900 million ready to invest in a zero-carbon gas grid in the UK.
- Plans will be unveiled before the COP26 conference.
- More emphasis by government on hydrogen buses and HGVs is needed.
The government and the gas industry must work together to deliver an economy, that is as near to zero-carbon as possible.
Britain Goes Coal-Free For Two Months – Longest Period Since Industrial Revolution
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Independent.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Britain is on course to pass an energy milestone as it reaches two months of coal-free power generation on Wednesday – the longest period the country has gone without using the fossil fuel since the industrial revolution.
It is partly due, to a lack of electricity demand due to COVID-19, but overall it is a good thing.
As I write this at 14:30 on the 9th June 2020, UK Electricity Production gives the various sources of production as follows.
- Biomass – 3,045 MW
- CCGT – 17,442 MW
- Hydroelectric – 217 MW
- Interconnects – 1,977 MW
- Nuclear – 4,229 MW
- Other – 75 MW
- Pumped Storage – 0 MW
- Solar – 4,800 MW
- Wind – 697 MW
This all adds up to a total of 32.42 GW.
Note.
- CCGT stands for combined cycle gas turbine.
- Solar power is generating more than nuclear.
- I don’t think today is a very windy day!
I have just used the site to look at a few solar farms in Kent. Most seem to be generating 14.8 % of their capacity.
Spanish Covid-19 Recovery Investment Scheme Funds 12 Energy Start-Ups
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Power Technology.
These are the two introductory paragraphs.
Several energy companies have announced they will assist and invest in a scheme to develop smaller companies assisting in Spain’s Covid-19 recovery.
The Positive Energy+ investment scheme has taken 396 proposals over 13 days. The promoters of the programme have chosen 12 businesses they believe will have a large impact on the country’s decarbonisation, digitalisation and mobility, while also considering their social impact.
It looks like Spain is going a similar route to Norway, with their fund.
Satellite Images Suggest Wuhan Outbreak Began Last Autumn
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Big increases in traffic at Wuhan hospitals last autumn suggest that the coronavirus was spreading in the Chinese city weeks earlier than previously admitted, according to a study by Harvard Medical School.
If this is true and the Chinese had given us the truth, how would it have affected the rest of the world’s response to COVID-19?
A Trading Update From ITM Power
ITM Power issued a Press Release entitled Trading Update, this morning.
It is a document, that is a must-read about the future of hydrogen.
There are some interesting statements on various topics.
The Future Of Hydrogen Production
The Press Release says this.
Alongside the predicted growth trajectory for electrolysis, the cost outlook for green hydrogen is also positive. The Hydrogen Council expects green hydrogen to become cost competitive with grey hydrogen by 2025 assuming a €50 per ton CO2 price. An 80GW electrolyser target for Europe by 2030 has been proposed, where electrolysers feed into a hydrogen transmission network that interconnects the renewable energy resources of the North Sea, Morocco and Ukraine with the demand centres of Europe. Further afield, Australia is actively pursuing opportunities to export green hydrogen and has estimated that 69 per cent of the 2025 global market for hydrogen will lie in its four target markets of China, Japan, Korea and Singapore.
Note.
- Green hydrogen is produced by a zero-carbon process like electrolysis using renewable electricity.
- Grey hydrogen is produced by a process that releases carbon-dioxide like steam reforming of methane.
It looks like green hydrogen will be the future.
Governments And Green Hydrogen
The Press Release says this.
Governments are increasingly recognising the role of green hydrogen as a decarbonisation tool. The U.K. government has introduced an overarching net zero target and placed an early focus on decarbonising industrial clusters that will lead to progressively larger deployments of electrolysers. In the Netherlands, the Dutch government has recently presented its green hydrogen vision for achieving a sustainable energy system that is reliable, clean and affordable. A total of three European governments have now stated explicit electrolyser targets for 2030: Germany 5GW, Holland 3-4GW and Portugal 2GW.
It looks like a lot of electrolysers will be built.
The Germans And Hydrogen
The Press Release says this.
The German government announced in its stimulus package of 3 June 2020 that it will present a national hydrogen strategy in the short term. Accordingly, a programme for the development of hydrogen production plants will be developed to demonstrate industrial-scale production of up to 5GW total output in Germany, operational by 2030. For the period up to 2035, but until 2040 at the latest, an additional 5 GW will be added if possible. To implement all these measures, the German government will invest €7bn.
Not only is hydrogen zero-carbon, it also means they will buy less of Putin’s gas.
Conclusion
Hydrogen has a very long term future.
Understanding Floatovoltaics
Floatovoltaics is mounting panels on floats, on an appropriate stretch of water.
This video, which I think from some of the words in the commentary, is shown to visitors who visit the floating solar farm at Yamakura Dam.
It describes all the advantages of floating solar and shows how this 13.7 MW solar farm was constructed.
We’ve even got a couple of these floating solar farms in the UK.
This Google Map shows the farm in the Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir, near Walton-on-Thames.
There is also this article in the Guardian, which is entitled World’s Biggest Floating Solar Farm Powers Up Outside London. It gives a good description of the project.
The article also states that unlike large solar arrays on land, no planning permission is required.
United Utilities have also installed a system at Godley Reservoir in Hyde, near Manchester, as this Google Map shows.
They must like the first installation, as this Press Release from United Utilities indicates that they are now building a second floating solar farm at Langthwaite Reservoir near Lancaster.
Some points from the Press Release.
- The floats are made locally.
- Godley is three times the size of Langthwaite.
- Godley can generate up to 3 GWh per year.
- It is thought that the panels help to stop the growth of algae in the water.
- United Utilities already has 45 MW of installed solar and intends to add 22 more sites in the next two years.
In some ways, this embracing of solar is a bit surprising, as the North West, is England’s wettest region.
Conclusion
If my excellent physics teacher in the 1960s had said that it will be commonplace by 2020 to generate electricity using solar panels floating on water, I would not have believed him!
The Anonymous Widower 