Fortescue Future Industries Invests In Dutch Thin-Film Solar And H2 Firm HyET
I missed this article, when it was published, so I’m publishing it now!
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Renewables Now.
These two paragraphs outline the deal.
Australia’s Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) has taken a 60% stake in Dutch company High yield Energy Technologies (HyET) Group to assist in its ambition to supply 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen globally by 2030.
The green energy company of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) has also provided the majority of financing for the expansion of the Dutch solar photovoltaic (PV) factory of HyET Solar.
Andrew Forrest certainly seems to be splashing the cash.
I first wrote about the hydrogen innovation of the HyET Group in December 2020 in New Device Separates Hydrogen From Natural Gas When The Two Gases Are Blended In Pipelines.
I finished that post, with this simple sentence.
This invention could change the world!
In the UK, there is a project called HyDeploy, which aims to blend twenty percent hydrogen into the UK’s natural gas.
- At this level, all boilers, appliances and processes would work without major changes.
- A significant amount of carbon emissions would be saved.
- Gas imports would be reduced.
Could HyET’s technology be used to piggyback a hydrogen delivery network alongside the UK’s gas network?
It might even be possible to attach hydrogen filling stations direct to the gas network.
HyDeploy
I could have called this post; What Do You Do With Surplus Electricity?.
Believe it or not, one thing you can do is inject it into the gas main, by converting it into hydrogen first.
The Project
The concept is being tested in a project called HyDeploy at Keele University.
- The project has its own web site, from where I have obtained much of the information on this post.
- Keele University has its own gas network.
- Keele has a campus population similar to a small town.
- Keele University has a reputation for research excellence.
This paragraph outlines the project.
HyDeploy is a pioneering energy demonstration to establish the potential for blending hydrogen, up to 20%, into the normal gas supply so that we can reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
A 10 month live demonstration of blended gas is taking place on part of the Keele gas network and will finish in August 2020.
HyDeploy will help to determine the level of hydrogen which can be used by customers safely and with no changes to their existing domestic appliances.
The HyDeploy project has been split into the following phases.
- Phase One will be live test using the Keele University gas network to learn about injecting hydrogen into a natural gas network.
- Phase Two will move to a larger demonstration on public network in the North East.
- Phase Three will be another large demonstration in the North West.
Once the evidence has been submitted to Government policy makers, we very much expect hydrogen to take its place alongside other forms of zero carbon energy in meeting the needs of the UK population.
The Electrolyser
ITM Power are providing the 0.5 MW electrolyser to turn electricity into hydrogen.
It’s only a small one, but this is about proving the technology.