New Energies, new possibilities

Angola’s state-owned oil and gas company Sonangol plans to make a final investment decision (FID) on the country’s first green hydrogen project in 2025.

CWP Global joined Angolan and German players in the project last month. The initiative, which will begin in 2027 with a first phase of up to 400,000 tonnes of green ammonia per year, has the potential to scale up.

Speaking at the Africa Energy Week, Vladimir Machado, R&D CEO of Sonangol earmarked the FID for 2025, reiterating the potential that Angola has in the green hydrogen market.

“Due to its existing energy infrastructure, such as refineries, ports and other projects like the Lobito Corridor, Angola has the potential to become a large green hydrogen exporter,” he said.

“Between 2030 and 2050, the annual expected growth in demand for green hydrogen will be between five and 30 million tonnes per year.”

Machado expects that the green molecule will support the decarbonisation of hard-to-electrify sectors, such as steel aviation and textiles.

“Africa will have opportunities to dominate the value chain of green hydrogen,” the CEO added.

German engineering firms Conjuncta and Gauff are also developing the 600MW project alongside CWP and Sonangol. The partners intend to use power generation, port and grid infrastructure, and available land for downstream facilities.

Mike Scholey, CWP’s CEO for Hydrogen, previously said, “We plan to supply vital green hydrogen and ammonia to the world, helping to meet critical gateways for industrial decarbonisation strategies and targets in Europe and elsewhere.”

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Newark, CALIFORNIA, November 7, 2024 – Ohmium International (“Ohmium”), a leading green hydrogen company that designs, manufactures and deploys advanced Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, today announced that it has earned the first-ever industrial “Hydrogen Generator Using Water Electrolysis” certification from UL Solutions, a global safety science leader. This achievement highlights dedication to safety and reliability and demonstrates Ohmium leadership in the rapidly evolving hydrogen energy sector.

Ohmium develops hydrogen generators, known as electrolyzers, that convert water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity.  When powered by renewable energy, these electrolyzers produce green hydrogen, a clean fuel that is positioned to play an important role in the transition to a sustainable energy future. Ohmium cutting-edge PEM electrolyzers feature integrated advanced power electronics that enable rapid dynamic ramping, essential for pairing with intermittent renewable energy. Delivering both high efficiency and high energy density, they are an ideal solution for hydrogen production.

The Ohmium electrolyzer system, models LCC, LWC, LHC, LPC, LTC and UIB, was certified by UL Solutions after extensive design, component, and verification testing. The review was conducted in accordance with UL 2264A, the Outline of Investigation for Water Electrolysis Type Hydrogen Generators. UL 2264A identifies relevant codes and standards that address risk management and defines the construction and performance testing requirements associated with factors such as electrical, pressure, leakage, and protection of service personnel.

“The global focus on sustainability is driving technological advancements and energy infrastructure investments to decarbonize the economy. Hydrogen energy is a promising alternative, particularly for transportation and power generation,” said Kenneth Boyce, Vice President of Principal Engineering in the Industrial Testing, Inspection and Certification group at UL Solutions. “Ohmium is the first company to successfully complete the extensive and rigorous testing this UL 2264A requires, and we salute their commitment to safety and their efforts to empower the energy transition.”

“Ohmium is proud that our electrolyzer system is the first industrial hydrogen generator to obtain a UL Listing – it is a concrete affirmation of our team’s commitment to safety, reliability, and operational excellence,” said Arne Ballantine, Ohmium CEO. “Ohmium’s purpose is to enable customers around the world to transition to green hydrogen quickly, easily, and cost-effectively. The UL Certification is an important milestone for safety assurance, making it even easier for our customers to achieve their goals.”  

ABOUT OHMIUM

Ohmium designs, manufactures, and deploys modular, scalable Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers that enable cost-competitive green hydrogen production. The company’s suite of electrochemical products helps customers achieve their sustainable energy goals across various industrial, transportation, and energy projects. Headquartered in the United States with manufacturing facilities in India and operations worldwide, Ohmium has a global green hydrogen project pipeline exceeding 2 GW across three continents. In 2023, Ohmium raised $250Million in Series C financing, led by TPG Rise Climate.

Source:  Ohmium

Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (“Osaka Gas”) announced its investment in Koloma, Inc. (“Koloma”), a U.S. startup engaged in the exploration, development, and production of natural hydrogen. This strategic investment marks Osaka Gas’ collaboration with Koloma to advance the production and utilization of natural hydrogen, recognized as an affordable and clean source of hydrogen.

Natural hydrogen, found in natural deposits located several hundred meters to several kilometers underground around the globe, is currently under development in the U.S. and Australia. It is expected to be extracted leveraging established oil and natural gas drilling techniques and produced with lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to existing energy sources. This makes it a cost-effective and environmentally friendly source of hydrogen that can significantly contribute to achieving a carbon-neutral society.

The widespread adoption and utilization of carbon-free hydrogen and its derivatives, such as e-methane and ammonia, are crucial for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, a goal set by over 120 countries and regions worldwide. Natural hydrogen has the potential to play a vital role in this global effort.

Koloma is a startup aiming to commercialize natural hydrogen utilizing its proprietary exploration and production technologies and extensive global data. Through the collaboration with Koloma, Osaka Gas seeks to explore the potential of producing and utilizing natural hydrogen as a new clean energy source.

About the Daigas Group

The Daigas Group is committed to the development of technologies and services that contribute to the decarbonization of society by implementing its Carbon Neutral Vision announced in January 2021 and Energy Transition 2030 released in March 2023. The Group aims to be a corporate group that powers continuous advancement in customers’ lives and businesses by resolving social issues, including climate change.

Company Overview

• Company Name: Koloma, Inc.
• CEO: Pete Johnson
• Established: April 2021
• Headquarters: Denver, Colorado, USA
• Business Activities: Exploration, development, production, and sales of natural hydrogen in the U.S. and abroad

Source: Fuel Cells Works

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has pledged to accelerate policies to scale up the green hydrogen sector, in a pre-recorded speech at the Renewable Hydrogen Summit in Brussels that seemed designed to court developers back from the increasingly uncertain US market.

She highlighted that 11 large-scale renewable hydrogen projects across the EU have already reached a final investment decision (FID) and started construction. “To put that into perspective, the United States saw just two such decisions during the same period.”

Von der Leyen also praised final investment decisions on more than 2GW of green H2 facilities in the past year — quadruple what has been installed in Europe to date — while adding that investment in 2024 would grow by 140% and represent a third of global investment into electrolysers.

“So why is Europe leading? We set clear targets,” she said. The EU has set out a broad ambition to produce ten million tonnes a year of hydrogen domestically by 2030, as well as importing another ten million tonnes a year to meet demand by the start of next decade.

But while this strategy has been criticised as unrealistic and overly ambitious without being legally binding, the EU has also set targets for 42% of industrial H2 to be renewable and 1% of transport energy demand to come from green hydrogen or its derivatives by 2030.

Member states are required to transpose these into law by May 2025, with the EU issuing guidelines in September to aid in policymaking.

“If done right, this will be a game-changer, unlocking demand across the entire value chain,” said von der Leyen, noting that the European Commission is working closely with member states and potential major offtakers in steel, chemicals, transport and energy storage to identify priorities.

“We want to prioritise the infrastructure needed to connect large-scale hydrogen projects with end users,” she said, referring to plans to build out or repurpose pipelines to transport H2 produced in areas with strong wind and solar resource, such as Iberia and northern Sweden, to industrial centres, particularly in Germany.

“We will tap into Europe's vast renewables potential and bring it to our industries to help them decarbonise.

“This would significantly lower prices, not only for clean steel, cement, fuel and plastics, but also for fertilisers, glass, and a range of other hard-to-decarbonise sectors. The competitive benefits to European industry could be immense.”

Von der Leyen suggested that by 2030, the price of a mid-sized electric car built with green steel would be almost the same price as a car built with steel produced from a coal-fired blast furnace.

However, this is likely to be partly because free allowances on the Emissions Trading System for steelmaking will be phased out between 2026 and 2034, in addition to green hydrogen getting cheaper as projects scale up.

“As demands shift towards cleaner solutions, companies investing in renewable hydrogen today will hold a clear market advantage,” she said.

Von der Leyen confirmed that the second round of the European Hydrogen Bank, which offers a fixed payment per kilogram of hydrogen in order to support projects in reaching FID, will be held in December with a budget of €1.2bn ($1.3bn).

“And we have added a critical new element: a clause that specifically encourages the use of equipment from European companies, because they are the very innovators that pioneered renewable hydrogen tech in the first place,” von der Leyen said, referring to a rule that only 25% of a project’s equipment can be made in China.

“This secures Europe's energy independence. And this creates good jobs here in Europe.”

She concluded: “Rome was not built in a day, and neither will a world-leading, climate-neutral European economy. But together, step by step, we are building it. And the European Commission is fully committed to staying the course.”

Source:HydrogenInsight