New Energies, new possibilities

German energy company Uniper and thyssenkrupp Uhde, a compatriot engineering company in the construction of chemical plants, have teamed up to convert imported ammonia into hydrogen on an industrial scale.

The companies on Tuesday unveiled a strategic partnership to bring the large-scale ammonia cracker, a key technology for global hydrogen trading, to industrial maturity. The two will develop a demonstration plant with a capacity of 28 tonnes of ammonia per day, which will be one of the first of its kind globally. The plant will be built at Uniper’s Gelsenkirchen-Scholven site in Germany and will act as a stepping stone toward the planned hydrogen import terminal in Wilhelmshaven, northwestern Germany.

Holger Kreetz, COO of Uniper, said that Uniper is committed to establishing hydrogen as an important component of the future energy mix and noted that to meet its future hydrogen needs, Germany is dependent on imports.

“With the ammonia cracker in Scholven, we’re laying the groundwork to trade hydrogen internationally and making it available across industries,” Kreetz added.

“Uniper’s position as a leader in the energy markets and experienced asset operator, combined with our proven track record as a global leader in ammonia technology and large-scale plant delivery, forms a strong foundation for success,” commented Nadja Hakansson, CEO of thyssenkrupp Uhde.

The project is supported by funding from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with both companies also investing significant funds.

Construction of the demo cracker has started, and commissioning is slated for the end of 2026.

Uniper, thyssenkrupp Uhde team up on demo ammonia cracker in Germany | Hydrogen News | Renewables Now

Opening the door to mass production of green hydrogen using natural sunlight

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM), under the National Research Council of Science & Technology, has developed a technology that stably generates high photocurrent under natural sunlight to efficiently produce hydrogen.

By simplifying previously complex multi-step processes, this advancement drastically reduces fabrication time and is expected to accelerate the commercialization of solar-powered hydrogen production technologies.

The research team led by Dr. Jihye Lee, a principal researcher and head of the Nano-lithography & Manufacturing Research Center at KIMM’s Nano-convergence Manufacturing Research Division, has developed a technique to enhance the productivity of BiVO4 (bismuth vanadate) photoelectrodes, thereby maximizing hydrogen production.

BiVO4 is a metal oxide recognized as a key material for solar water-splitting systems due to its high light absorption and solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiency.

Previously, BiVO4 precursor solutions could only be prepared at concentrations up to 100 mM. This limitation necessitated over eight repetitions of spin-coating and heat-treatment steps to form high-performance thin films, which significantly slowed the process and increased material consumption, resulting in low productivity.

To overcome these limitations, the research team developed a high-concentration BiVO4 precursor solution by optimally mixing acetylacetone, acetic acid, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). With this new solution, a one-step spin coating is sufficient to produce uniform and high-performance BiVO4 thin films, improving overall productivity by approximately 5.9 times compared to conventional methods.

Furthermore, the team fabricated a large-area 144 cm2 photoelectrode and connected four of them to create a 576 cm2 ultra-large electrode system.

Notably, by linking this system in parallel with Si solar cells, they succeeded in producing hydrogen using only natural sunlight, without any external power source. This system generated stable and high photocurrents even under natural sunlight, thus significantly improving the economic viability and efficiency of eco-friendly hydrogen production and enhancing the prospects for commercialization.

Dr. Jihye Lee stated,

This research represents a breakthrough in the fabrication efficiency and productivity of large-area photoelectrodes through the development of a high-concentration BiVO4 precursor solution.

“We expect it will contribute to accelerating the transition to sustainable energy and the commercialization of green hydrogen production.”

The research team has filed for domestic and PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) patents based on this technology.

READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central

Opening the door to mass production of green hydrogen using natural sunlight

Opening the door to mass production of green hydrogen using natural sunlight - Hydrogen Central

矢野経済研究所は2025年5月14日、燃料電池システムおよび部材の世界市場に関する調査結果を発表した。 　調査によると、2024年の業務・産業用燃料電池システムの世界市場規模（メーカー出荷容量ベース）は前年比3.6％増の550MWになると推計。世界的な電力需要の増加や燃料電池産業の育成に関する支援施策の拡充が需要を押し上げた。中でもデータセンター、人工知能（AI）、暗号通貨セクターなどでの電力需要の急増が追い風になっているとした。 　また、自動車用燃料電池システムの世界市場規模（メーカー出荷台数ベース）は、前年比25％減の1万1960台と推計している。2024年は中国市場において補助金支給の遅れや水素価格の高止まりなどにより、商用車向けの需要が伸び悩んだことが影響した。また、乗用車向けでは車両や燃費価格の高さ、水素ステーションが少ないという二つの要因から減速傾向が鮮明となったため、市場全体は縮小したとしている。 　2025年以降の見通しについては、今後、主要自動車メーカーからFCV（燃料電池車）の新モデルが市場に投入されることで、乗用車向け燃料電池システム市場は回復基調に転じると予測。商用車向けでは中国に加え、欧州や日本でもトラックやトレーラー用の需要が本格化し、乗用車向けよりも高い市場成長率で推移する見通し。この結果、2032年の自動車用燃料電池システムの世界市場規模（メーカー出荷台数ベース）は54万台程度になると予測している。

産業向け燃料電池システム市場は550MW規模に　AI・データセンター需要が追い風（スマートジャパン） - Yahoo!ニュース