Siemens Energy has been awarded a contract to supply a 280-megawatt electrolysis system by German utility EWE. The plant in the German city of Emden is expected to go into operation in 2027 and will provide up to 26,000 tons of green hydrogen annually for various industrial applications in the region.
The electrolysis plant is part of EWE’s large-scale hydrogen project ‘Clean Hydrogen Coastline’, which consists of four sub-projects. The electrolyzer represents the core of the Emden hydrogen production plant, which, including other necessary components such as compressors and cooling systems, has an average power consumption of 320 MW over its entire lifetime. In addition to supplying the electrolyzer, EWE and Siemens Energy have agreed a ten-year service contract.
The German government and the European Commission had classified the project as a strategic funding measure, a so-called IPCEI project (Important Project of Common European Interest). The funding decision for this project was handed over to EWE in mid-July at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection. With the signing of the contract, EWE and Siemens Energy immediately gave the go-ahead for implementation.
“This project is an important element in the ramp-up of the green hydrogen industry in Germany,” said Anne-Laure de Chammard, Member of the Executive Board of Siemens Energy. “With the long-awaited funding commitments, the German government has placed the final piece of the puzzle to realize strategically important projects like this on a large scale. The immediate conclusion of the contract with EWE demonstrates that the industry is ready to swiftly implement these projects.”
“EWE is active along the entire value chain with its hydrogen projects, from production to transportation and storage. Our choice of location in north-west Germany and our decision to work with Siemens Energy means that we are focusing on both regional and national value creation,” said EWE CEO Stefan Dohler. In a selection process that lasted twelve months, EWE had thoroughly examined ten electrolysis manufacturers worldwide. “I am delighted that we are also working with Siemens Energy on hydrogen, as the company is already a long-standing partner for EWE in all aspects of our energy infrastructure,” added Stefan Dohler.
Reaction discovered by MIT researchers when ‘playing around’ in the lab could remove the need for marine vessels to carry massive onboard tanks filled with hydrogen, ammonia or methanol
Decarbonising the worldwide shipping industry — which produces about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions — may prve to be one of the toughest tasks on the road to achieving net-zero emissions.
Tens of thousands of vessels will need to switch from using fossil fuels to biofuels or green hydrogen-based fuel — with green ammonia or methanol currently being touted as the most likely solutions, which would require gargantuan amounts of money and renewable energy.
But what if the hydrogen could be produced onboard without the need for renewable energy, using inexpensive waste materials?
Researchers at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston believe they may have found such a solution — one that was discovered when they were “playing about” in the lab.
It has long been known that when pure aluminium (known as “aluminum” in the US] that has not been contaminated by oxygen in the air comes into contact with water, a chemical reaction occurs that produces hydrogen gas, heat and a type of aluminium oxide.
The researchers found that this reaction also worked using seawater, but that it was a pretty slow reaction.
“On a lark, they tossed into the mix some coffee grounds [the remains of coffee beans leftover after brewing coffee] and found, to their surprise, that the reaction picked up its pace,” explained an MIT press release.
“In the end, the team discovered that a low concentration of imidazole — an active ingredient in caffeine — is enough to significantly speed up the reaction, producing the same amount of hydrogen in just five minutes, compared to two hours without the added stimulant.”
Kombargi (left) and fellow researcher Niko Tsakiris (right) working on a new hydrogen reactor that will be able tp produce hydrogen gas from aluminium and seawater at sea.Photo: MIT
PhD student Aly Kombargi, who is the lead author on the resulting study, explained: “We were just playing around with things in the kitchen, and found that when we added coffee grounds into seawater and dropped aluminum pellets in, the reaction was quite fast compared to just seawater.”
However, the aluminium-water reaction comes with a “sort of Catch-22”, the university explained, as the metal forms a “shield-like layer” of oxide as soon as it comes into contact with oxygen in the air — which is why aluminium soda cans do not react with H2O.
“In previous work [in 2021], using fresh water, the team found they could pierce aluminum’s shield and keep the reaction with water going by pretreating the aluminum with a small amount of rare metal alloy made from a specific concentration of gallium and indium. The alloy serves as an ‘activator’, scrubbing away any oxide build-up and creating a pure aluminum surface that is free to react with water.”
The researchers estimate that 1g of recycled-aluminium pellets would generate 1.3 litres (0.09g) of hydrogen in five seconds. In other words, roughly 9.3kg of aluminium would be required to produce 1kg of H2.
But in order to make the process sustainable and affordable, the researchers needed to find a way of recovering and recycling the expensive gallium indium (GaIn).
They found that ions (atoms or molecules with an electrical charge) protected the GaIn from reacting with the water and helped it “precipitate into a form that can be scooped out and reused”.
“Lucky for us, seawater is an ionic solution that is very cheap and available,” said Kombargi, who tested the idea with seawater from a nearby Boston beach. “I literally went to Revere Beach with a friend and we grabbed our bottles and filled them, and then I just filtered out algae and sand, added aluminum to it, and it worked with the same consistent results.”
A researcher protects aluminum pellets from the air by dipping them in a mixture of gallium-indium.Photo: MIT
Even the waste product from the process — aluminium oxyhydroxide (also known as boehmite) — is a valuable commodity that can be collected and sold for use in a wide range of industries — including as a coating material that enhances the thermal and mechanical stability of electric vehicle batteries, as a flame retardant in plastics and electronics, and as a strengthening material in ceramics. Selling this mineral would help to lower the costs of hydrogen production.
The research team — led by mechanical engineering professor Douglas Hart — is now developing a small reactor that could run on a ship or submarine.
“The vessel would hold a supply of aluminum pellets (recycled from old soda cans and other aluminum products), along with a small amount of gallium-indium and caffeine,” MIT explained in the press release.
“These ingredients could be periodically funneled into the reactor, along with some of the surrounding seawater, to produce hydrogen on demand. The hydrogen could then fuel an onboard engine to drive a motor or generate electricity to power the ship.”
Kombargi added: “This is very interesting for maritime applications like boats or underwater vehicles because you wouldn’t have to carry around seawater — it’s readily available. We also don’t have to carry a tank of hydrogen. Instead, we would transport aluminum as the ‘fuel,’ and just add water to produce the hydrogen that we need.”
The researchers — who have published their findings in the Cell Reports Physical Science journal — did not, however, say how much the resulting hydrogen would cost to produce, merely stating at the end of their study: “The carbon footprint and overall cost of the process are subjects of ongoing analysis, with plans for a detailed life cycle analysis and further economic evaluations in upcoming studies.
“These assessments are essential to determine the sustainability and economic viability of this technology.”
German manufacturer issues note to the market that it does not expect to maintain current sales pace for the coming year
Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Nucera may be one of the most lauded electrolyser companies in Europe, racking up mentions in Time magazine’s 100 most influential firms and topping some consultancies’ rankings of leading electrolyser OEMs.
But in a note to investors, the manufacturer cautioned that while it continued to see strong sales for the past quarter and expected to meet its full-year forecast, it would not maintain this same expectation in the coming year.
Thyssenkrupp Nucera announced last Friday that based on unaudited results for its third quarter (its financial year beginning in September), it would see €500m-550m ($542m-596m) in alkaline electrolyser sales, with €820m-900m in sales for the group if including chlor-alkali equipment.
However, this is slightly below the €600m-700m in electrolyser sales that the firm had projected in its first quarter results published in February.
“Unfortunately, the known braking factors, such as regulatory and funding uncertainties, have not lost any of their negative force,” said Werner Ponikwar, CEO of Thyssenkrupp Nucera, in Friday’s message to the market.
“Progress on the regulatory side is recognizable, but at the same time not yet sufficient to accelerate investment momentum again,” he added. “The result is further delays to new projects on the customer side.”
Thyssenkrupp Nucera has a number of large orders on its books, including 2.2GW of capacity to the Neom green hydrogen and ammonia project in Saudi Arabia, 700MW to H2 Green Steel’s integrated green steelmaking complex in Sweden, and 200MW to Shell’s Holland Hydrogen 1 facility in the Netherlands.
However, many large-scale projects have been slower to take a final investment decision than expected, either due to a lack of regulatory certainty on what will count as “green” hydrogen or delays in securing government subsidies.
Beyond sales, Thyssenkrupp Nucera continues to expect negative earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) for 2023-24 in the “mid-double-digit million euro” range. However, the company expects to report a positive Ebit of €1m for its third quarter.
Yanmar Commercializes Compact Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power System.
Yanmar Energy Systems Co., Ltd. (Yanmar ES), a subsidiary of Yanmar Holdings, has commercialized the “HP35FA1Z”, a compact and multi-unit controllable hydrogen fuel cell power generation system, and will begin accepting orders in Japan from September 2, 2024.
With the increased focus on renewable energy to achieve a decarbonized society, government and municipalities in Japan are advancing efforts to promote the use of hydrogen as a fuel, including the enactment of the Hydrogen Society Promotion Bill in May 2024. In September 2023, Yanmar ES opened the YANMAR CLEAN ENERGY SITE in Okayama Prefecture to develop and demonstrate hydrogen-related technologies, which are expected to be lead the way in decarbonizing society.
The HP35FA1Z hydrogen fuel cell power generation system with a power output of 35kW does not emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) or air pollutants like nitrogen oxides (NOx) during operation, ensuring a clean power supply. The system’s compact design includes all necessary operating equipment, simplifying installation and achieving one of the smallest footprints in its power output class. It supports the integrated control of up to 16 units, allowing for easy adjustment of operating units and output control based on power demand and available hydrogen supply, as well as straightforward expansion to meet decarbonization goals.
Product Overview
Product Name: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power Generation System HP35FA1Z Order Start Date: September 2, 2024 (Japan)
Main features
Zero emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants during power generation.
Simplified on-site installation due to the inclusion of related equipment such as grid-interconnected power conversion devices.
Compact design achieving one of the smallest installation footprints in its power output class.
Capable of integrated control of up to 16 units, adjustable based on power demand and available hydrogen supply.
Autonomous power output (blackout specification) enabling power supply during outages.
