Latest News on the UK Hydrogen Economy - 21/07/21

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:

£10bn hydrogen and floating wind mega-project to be developed for UK North Sea - Weblink

© Cerulean Winds

Cerulean Winds has revealed an ambitious £10bn ($14.3bn) project that will integrate a 200-turbine floating wind and hydrogen development that will decarbonise oil and gas assets in the North Sea.

The development includes over 200 of the largest floating turbines at sites West of Shetland and in the Central North Sea that will have 3GW per hour of capacity, feeding power to offshore facilities with excess 1.5GW per hour power to onshore green hydrogen plants.

In addition to this, the project will be capable of developing green hydrogen at scale with an export potential of £1bn ($1.4bn).

CCC says time is running out for realistic climate commitments in the UK; hydrogen has a key role to play in net zero - Weblink

Despite UK emissions falling to nearly 50% of 1990 levels during the 2020 lockdown, the journey to net zero is far from half completed, and delayed plans on hydrogen must be delivered.

That’s according to two new reports released by the Climate Change Committee, which states that whilst the government has made historic climate promises in the past year, for which is deserves credit for, it has been too slow with delivery.

Expanding on this, the Committee states that whilst the Prime Minister’s Ten-Point-Plan, which proposed to boost hydrogen production and generate 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, was an important statement, it has not yet been backed with firm policies.

Shell starts up Europe’s largest PEM green H2 electrolyzer - Weblink

Europe’s largest PEM hydrogen electrolyzer has begun operations at Shell’s Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland and is producing green hydrogen.

As part of the Refhyne European consortium and with European Commission funding through the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), the fully operational plant is the first to use this technology at such a large scale in a refinery.

Plans are under way to expand capacity of the electrolyzer from 10 MW to 100 MW at the Rheinland site, near Cologne, where Shell also intends to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using renewable power and biomass in the future. A plant for liquefied renewable natural gas (bio-LNG) is also in development.

The European consortium backing the project consists of Shell, ITM Power, research organization SINTEF, consultants Sphera and Element Energy. The electrolyzer was manufactured by ITM power in Sheffield, UK, and includes parts made in Italy, Sweden, Spain and Germany.

50MW hydrogen plant under development in Ireland - Weblink

A 50MW hydrogen plant is set to be operational in Ireland before the end of 2023.

Believed to be the country’s first commercial scale hydrogen production facility, the plant will produce green hydrogen via electrolysis, powered by renewable energy.

Once operational, the facility will supply over 20 tonnes of green hydrogen daily to a diverse commercial market and will remove 63,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

ScottishPower submits plans for UK's largest electrolyser - Weblink

ScottishPower has submitted a planning application to deliver the UK’s largest electrolyser which will be the key component of a green hydrogen facility located close to its Whitelee windfarm.

Alongside the 20MW electrolyser, the application also includes proposals for a combined solar and battery energy storage scheme - up to 40MW and 50MW respectively - to power the electrolyser. They will be installed about 5km west of Lochgoin Reservoir and next to the existing Whitelee Extension substation.

The submission marks an important step for Green Hydrogen for Scotland, a partnership between ScottishPower, BOC and ITM Power, to create green hydrogen production facilities with clusters of refuelling stations across Scotland.

The proposed green hydrogen project will be engineered and operated by BOC, using wind and solar power produced by ScottishPower Renewables, and the electrolyser will be delivered by ITM Power. The project aims to supply hydrogen to the commercial market before 2023.

Land Rover unveils hydrogen-powered Defender; commits to zero tailpipe emissions by 2036 - Weblink

Jaguar Land Rover is developing a hydrogen-powered Defender – and testing is set to begin in the UK later this year.

The vehicle manufacturer today (June 15) confirmed the news as part of its aim to achieve zero tailpipe emissions by 2036, and net zero carbon emissions across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039.

UK’s first hydrogen-powered train to be showcased at COP26; Luxfer technology a key component - Weblink

In less than five months’ time, the UK’s first hydrogen-powered train will operate from Glasgow during the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

Dubbed HydroFLEX, the train has been designed and built by engineers from Porterbrook and the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Railway Research.

London welcomes England’s first hydrogen-powered double decker bus - Weblink

The Mayor of London has today (June 23) launched the first double-decker hydrogen bus fleet with Nel Hydrogen providing a hydrogen refuelling station to support the zero-emission fleet.

The 20 new environmentally friendly buses, believed to be the first of its kind to be launched in England, will be introduced on route seven between East Acton and Oxford Circus.

These buses will be supported by Nel Hydrogen and Linesight who have collaborated on delivering a brand-new hydrogen fuelling station situated in West London that will support the fleet with five minute refuel times.