Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS, a fully owned subsidiary of Nel ASA, has been awarded a grant from the EU Innovation Fund of up to €135 million for industrialisation of its next-generation pressurised alkaline technology. The technology is currently being prototyped, and the potential industrialisation is planned at Herøya, Norway.
“We continue to realise the full potential of our current technology at the same time as we develop future technologies to help our customers drive down the cost of green hydrogen. This grant will make it significantly easier for us to bring our new innovative pressurised alkaline technology to market,” said Nel’s President and CEO, Håkon Volldal.
Nel has been developing its next-generation pressurised alkaline technology for more than five years. The technology is currently in the prototype stage with promising results. Nel has now been awarded a grant for a phased build-out of production at Herøya, Norway. The grant application was supported by Enova SF, the Norwegian national contact point for the EU Innovation Fund.
“Building on nearly 100 years of electrolyser innovation, we have developed this new, differentiated technology that will be a step-change in cost and performance for renewable hydrogen. Bringing a new technology to market always entails risk, and we are thankful for the support we have previously received from the Research Council of Norway and Innovation Norway. With this substantially larger grant from the EU Innovation Fund, we will be able to bring the innovation to market at an accelerated pace,” Volldal said.
The initial build-out is planned for an annual capacity of 1-2 GW, utilising existing space at Nel’s current facility in Herøya, Norway. The support will be phased with Nel’s own investments for up to 4 GW of capacity for pressurised electrolyser equipment in Norway. A Final Investment Decision (FID) to start building the capacity depends on achieving successful testing in the current prototype and planned pilot stage, as well as market acceptance of the new technology.
ExxonMobil is advancing its planned Baytown, Texas facility, set to be the world's largest low-carbon hydrogen facility with ammonia production and offtake capabilities. The facility – expected to startup in 2029, contingent on supportive government policy and necessary regulatory permits – aims to help hard-to-abate sectors like manufacturing and power generation reduce emissions.
ExxonMobil is well-positioned to overcome challenges the industry faces, and lead the energy transition, with its expertise in managing large-scale projects, regulatory navigation, and innovative technology integration.
In addition, ExxonMobil has established critical alliances to advance lower carbon technologies and provide markets with long-term supply reliability, including:
JERA to procure 500 000 t of low-carbon ammonia from ExxonMobil’s Baytown hydrogen facility.
ADNOC has acquired a 35% equity stake in the Baytown hydrogen facility.
Air Liquide to supply 9000 t of oxygen and up to 6500 tons of nitrogen for the Baytown hydrogen facility using low-carbon electricity.
Exxon partners with Zeeco, Inc. and Honeywell to cut emissions at the Baytown Olefins Plant.
Green Hydrogen Price Starting to Come Down in India, Hygenco Says
(Bloomberg) — Hydrogen produced using renewable power is starting to sell for less than that made with natural gas in India, according to a producer there.
The country is reliant on imports to meet its demand for natural gas, and that expense is reflected in the price of so-called gray hydrogen. That may be tilting the balance in favor of the green version, which has typically been far costlier to produce.
Anshul Gupta,co-founder of Hygenco Green Energies Pvt Ltd., said in an interview.
For some 20-year contracts, we have priced green hydrogen below gray hydrogen, and we are still making money on that,
Hesaid,
Gray hydrogen fluctuates between $2.70 and $4 a kilogram, making renewables an attractive alternative,
Green hydrogen has been touted as a tool to cut carbon emissions in industries such as steelmaking and chemicals, as well as transportation. But it sells for about $3 to $7 a kilogram globally, with recent estimates suggesting costs could be even higher when taking storage and distribution into account.
India aims to lower prices to $1.50 and raise annual output to 5 million tons by 2030, from negligible volumes today. To achieve that, it has announced a slew of incentives and is considering cutting import duties on the machinery needed.
Indian businesses have pledged about $187 billion to produce 15 million tons a year, vastly exceeding the government’s target, but a lack of binding sales agreements may curtail production to more like 500,000 tons a year, according to researcher BloombergNEF.
Hygenco has two projects in operation and a third expected online by year’s end — targeting annual output of about 150 million kilograms by 2030 — but that’s still a tiny volume when compared with India’s targets.
QuickTake Explainer: Will Hydrogen Fuel a Clean-Energy Future, or Fizzle?
One of the misnomers in the market is that green hydrogen is very expensive,
according to Gupta, who said it’s wrong to focus exclusively on the cost of inputs when calculating prices. Hygenco has kept a lid on costs by focusing on efficiency in the manufacturing process, he said.
VINSSEN Co., Ltd, a maritime decarbonisation technology specialist focused on hydrogen fuel cells and integrated propulsion systems, held a launch ceremony to mark the start of hull construction of a 17.4m leisure boat.
The boat, which can accommodate up to 10 passengers, has a maximum speed of 20 knots powered by a 600 kW propulsion system incorporating hydrogen fuel cells and high-voltage batteries developed by VINSSEN. Design approval has already been issued by Korea Marine Traffic Safety Authority (KOMSA), establishing it as the first leisure boat of its kind in the country.
VINSSEN first received special approval from Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy to proceed with the R&D Project in 2023. The project, officially titled 'Demonstration of the Charging and Operation of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Boat', is conducted in collaboration with JNTP, KOMERI, and KITECH. Specifically, JNTP will provide technical and regulatory sandbox execution support, KOMERI will conduct hull stability assessment hydrogen fuel cell system performance evaluation, and KITECH will share hull welding technology and quality management expertise.
As part of this initiative, VINSSEN, with the support of Jeollanam-do and Yeongam-gun, plans to construct hydrogen fuel cell leisure boats during the demonstration period based on the establishment of a safe testing environment. Additionally, the company will install a moorage facility in Yeongam-gun, and set up and operate a specialised mobile package-type hydrogen charging station that incorporates differentiated monitoring technology.
Chil Han LEE, CEO of VINSSEN, stated,: "This R&D project is essential to eventually achieving carbon neutrality and improving the maritime environment in Korea." He added, "Through this project, we will continue to accelerate safe and efficient eco-friendly maritime mobility technologies." With the project, VINSSEN aims to promote the widespread adoption of hydrogen power in Korea and beyond as a more sustainable solution.
