Latest News on the UK Hydrogen Economy - 04/07/22

Ames Goldsmith Ceimig, as a manufacturer of catalysts such as Iridium Oxide, Iridium Ruthenium Oxide, Iridium Black, Platinum Black & Platinum on Carbon support, are strong supports of the emerging Hydrogen Economy and supply many manufacturers of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology including PEM Electrolysers and PEM Fuel Cells.

In the UK we are members of the UKHFCA & SHFCA. Here are some of the recent developments in Hydrogen happening in the UK and affecting the Hydrogen Economy more broadly:

Scaling up H2 with REPowerEU & North Sea Declaration - Weblink

The European Commission presented their REPowerEU plan for saving energy, producing more clean energy, and diversifying energy supplies. It is backed by financial and legal measures to build the new energy infrastructure and system that Europe needs to rapidly reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels. The REPowerEU Plan prepares the ground for achieving both the increased target of 10 million tonnes of domestic renewable hydrogen production and the new target of 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen imports into the EU by 2030.

REPowerEU will accelerate the green transition, including the increased renewables and production of with green hydrogen. The European Commission estimates that delivering REPowerEU objectives will require additional investment of €210 billion between now and 2027, but can save almost €100 billion per year in reduced fossil-fuel imports. The Commission has committed to finalising the regulatory framework for hydrogen, and work should also accelerate with industry on technical hydrogen standards and expedition of authorisation procedures for hydrogen infrastructure.

• Hydrogen production across Europe will be boosted by accelerating the project pipeline through swift adoption of state aid decisions on IPCEIs, for which a complete assessment will be finalised by the summer

• Hydrogen imports will be facilitated by a new dedicated work stream under the EU Energy Platform which should operationalise the European Global Hydrogen Facility and support Green hydrogen partnerships, which will kick-start the global renewable hydrogen market.

• The Commission will support the development of three major hydrogen import corridors via the Mediterranean, the North Sea area and, as soon as conditions allow, with Ukraine

• Horizon Europe investments in the Clean Hydrogen Partnership have been increased by €200 million to double the number of Hydrogen Valleys, and it will also implement the Electrolyser Declaration of 5th May 2022 to address value chain bottlenecks

Raising the EU’s electrolyser capacity: Have the floodgates been opened for hydrogen production? - Weblink

Thursday (May 5), the European Commission and 20 CEOs of leading European electrolyser manufacturing companies, signed a joint declaration, committing to increase the EU’s manufacturing capacity to 17.5GW by 2025.

Following an agreement on the European Climate Law in spring 2021, a legally binding target of Net Zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 for all EU Institutions and member states was set. Underpinning the agreement was another target – this focuses on reducing net GHGs by at least 55% compared to levels recorded in 1990, by 2030.

Additionally, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February this year, a renewed push to ween Europe off Russian fossil fuels finally seems like it will follow through. With a near-total ban on EU states importing gas and oil, it appears the time for energy independence in Europe is now.

Given both challenges, current capacity of electrolyser manufacturers in Europe is estimated at 1.75GW per year. This will obviously require dramatic scaling up to meet the expected demand for renewable hydrogen.

UK Energy Bill announcement gives hope of green hydrogen scale up - Weblink

The May 10 speech delivered by HRH the Prince of Wales, on behalf of The Queen, for the UK State Opening of Parliament has given some hope that the UK will scale up green hydrogen use in the country.

The speech, written by the Government, sets out its legislative agenda for the new parliamentary session.

The Queen’s son, the Prince of Wales read, “My Government will improve transport across the United Kingdom, delivering safer, cleaner services and enabling more innovations. Legislation will be introduced to modernise rail services and improve reliability for passengers.”

Continuing, “My ministers will bring forward an Energy Bill to deliver the transition to cheaper, cleaner, and more secure energy. This will build on the success of the COP26 Summit in Glasgow last year.”

Scottish Government report forecasts H2 demand for Transport - Weblink

The Scottish Government has published a new report on Zero Emission Energy for Transport Report: National Demand Forecasts for Electricity and Hydrogen. This projects the renewable energy requirements as hydrogen and electricity needed for the transport sector across Scotland between now and 2045. In addition to the main report, Transport Scotland has published an interactive tool so that transport planners, energy professionals and investors can see how different scenarios and vehicle types interact.

The key finding from the report is that the amount of hydrogen and electricity demand for transport system is expected to need is well within the limits of what the energy sector is expected to generate. The total demand forecast for hydrogen in Scotland ranges from 0.43 to 1.19 Terawatt Hours (TWh) in 2030 and 4.45 to 14.83 TWh in 2045 across all six scenarios outlined in the report.

BOC actively engaging in growing the UK’s hydrogen economy - Weblink

As the UK’s hydrogen industry continues to achieve new heights, a key part of its wider adoption needs to be explored. Safety protocols surrounding hydrogen is seen as a key area to explore and develop before the wider adoption of hydrogen in the UK.

Once this has been achieved, the nation could become a key player in the hydrogen market.

One company aiming to support not only safety protocols with hydrogen but actively seeking opportunities to turn the UK into a global hydrogen powerhouse is BOC. BOC has several large-scale hydrogen production projects being developed in the UK and, according to Ian Hibbitt Business Development Manager Industrial Decarbonisation & Applications at BOC, they also have the ‘largest’.

Airbus increases hydrogen commitment with new UK development centre - Weblink

Airbus announced yesterday (May 25), it is set to launch its UK Zero Emission Development Centre (ZEDC) in Bristol, UK, for hydrogen technologies.

The UK ZEDC will focus on the development of cost-competitive cryogenic fuel systems, required for its ZEROe passenger aircraft by 2035, as well as accelerating UK skills on hydrogen-propulsion technology.

Salt cavern hydrogen storage could be coming to the UK - Weblink

An Agreement to Lease (A2L) between UK Oil & Gas PLC’s subsidiary, UK Energy Storage LTD (UKEn) and Portland Port Limited (PPL), could see 1.2 billion m3 of underground salt caverns utilised for hydrogen storage.

Announced today (May 30), the UKEn plans hope to develop an integration Energy-Hub, centred around hydrogen-ready gas storage and future hydrogen production capability, at two sites at the former Royal Navy port in Dorset, UK.

Aberdeen H2 fueling station hosts deployment of innovative fuel cell generator trial - Weblink

A H2-power 25kW energy generator is being trialed by H2 start-up company Hydrologiq at the Aberdeen City Hydrogen Energy Storage (ACHES) site, in partnership with Aberdeen City Council and Norco Energy.

The generator, believed to be the first of its size deployed in the UK, uses a fuel cell to convert H2 and water into an electrical current and is aimed at replacing traditional diesel-fueled generators to produce clean energy with the added benefit of vastly reduced noise and vibration output which lends itself to use at construction sites, filmsets, events and festivals.

British Steel launches feasibility study into the use of green hydrogen - Weblink

British Steel is conducting a major study into the use of green hydrogen in the company’s drive to decarbonise its operations and manufacture net-zero steel.

The steelmaker, which is collaborating with EDF UK, UCL (University College London) and the Materials Processing Institute, has pledged to deliver net-zero steel by 2050 and significantly reduce its CO2 intensity by 2030 and 2035.

UK hydrogen project lays the foundations for a decarbonised construction industry - Weblink

Hydrogen-fired bricks could be become the building blocks for future end use as the UK Government awards a Sussex-based project £292,000 ($367.855) of funding.

Announced on Tuesday (May 31), members of Hydrogen Sussex and West Sussex-based brick maker, Michelmersh, will work on a project to make and test the ‘world’s first’ 100% hydrogen-fired bricks.