New Energies, new possibilities

2024年5月27日、出光興産、ENEOS、トヨタ自動車、三菱重工業の4社は共同で、自動車向けのカーボンニュートラルな次世代燃料をどのように市場へ普及させていくか、制度整備の面も含めた検討を開始すると発表した。水素だけでなく合成燃料やバイオ燃料などさまざまな可能性を議論し、2050年のカーボンニュートラル実現の目標に近づけていくという。

【写真】合成燃料とその派生図＆CN燃料で走るクルマなどを見る

CO2排出量を実質ゼロにするカーボンニュートラル燃料（CN燃料）の開発は2050年の目標に向けて自動車、バイク、航空機、船舶、あらゆる運輸産業で進められ、バイオ燃料（HVO）、合成燃料、アンモニア、メタノールなどさまざまな燃料が候補として挙げられている。 近年自動車向けのエネルギーとして、燃料電池車（FCEV）に用いられる液体水素が再び注目を浴びているが、こちらは液化に大きなコストがかかり、専用の輸送・貯蔵施設、そして水素スタンドを必要とするなど費用面での課題が多いのも事実。日本政府は2030年までに水素の価格を3分の1程度に低減させることを目標としているが、直近の2024年に販売価格が30％以上も上昇するなど先行きが明るいわけではない。 そうした中、出光興産とENEOS、トヨタ、三菱重工の4社は共同で、自動車向けカーボンニュートラル燃料の導入と普及に向けた検討を開始した。日本の自動車市場におけるCN燃料の導入シナリオやロードマップ、制度の整備などについて議論・検討するとともに、製造の実現可能性を調査するとしている。 今回公開された情報は少なく、特定の燃料を挙げているわけではないが、ガソリン代替の合成燃料（e-fuel）や軽油代替のHVOといった液体CN燃料は貯蔵や輸送をしやすく、自動車向けに普及していく可能性が高いことを予感させられる。 CN社会の実現に向けたCN燃料の普及には産業を超えた連携・仲間づくりが不可欠とした上で、その第一歩として4社が連携して導入・普及に向けた検討を進めていくという。今回の発表にあたって、各社がコメントを発表している。 【出光興産】 2050年ビジョン「変革をカタチに」のもと、中期経営計画で表明した3つの事業領域の1つとして、多様で地球環境に優しい「一歩先のエネルギー」の社会実装に取り組んでいます。その一環として、国内外の様々な企業と連携しながら、合成燃料やバイオ燃料といったCN燃料の早期導入・普及を目指しています。 【ENEOS】 グループの長期ビジョンにおいて「エネルギー・素材の安定供給」と「CN社会の実現」との両立への挑戦を掲げ、水素や再生可能エネルギーの活用を推進し、合成燃料などのCN燃料の事業開発を進めるなど、温室効果ガス排出量を削減するためのさまざまな取り組みを行っています。 【トヨタ】 CNに向けて、マルチパスウェイを軸に、電動車の普及だけではなく、エンジン搭載車両におけるCO2排出量削減にも取り組んでいます。2007年には、ブラジルでフレックス燃料車（バイオ燃料とガソリンの混合燃料で走る自動車）を導入。今後も、保有車を含むエンジン搭載車両のCO2削減に取り組むとともに、CN燃料の普及に貢献するエンジンの開発も検討してまいります。 【三菱重工グループ】 2040年までにCNを達成する「MISSION NET ZERO」を宣言し、CO2エコシステム、水素エコシステムの構築などに取り組んでいます。CO2削減に貢献できる三菱重工グループの製品・技術・サービス、世界中のパートナーとの新しいソリューション・イノベーションによりCN社会の実現に貢献していきます。

クルマの次世代燃料は水素か合成燃料かバイオ燃料か。トヨタなど4社が共同で検討開始（スマートモビリティJP） - Yahoo!ニュース

The South Korean government has today launched the world’s first auction for clean-hydrogen fired power generation, for up to 6,500GWh of electricity produced per year over a 15-year period, starting by 2028. The 15-year contracts are available for 100% H2-based electricity generation (using turbines or fuel cells), ammonia co-fired in coal power plants, or to hydrogen co-fired at natural gas power plants. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Motie) has reportedly set a bidding deadline of 8 November to take into account the time it would take for power-generation companies to enter into hydrogen-purchase contracts.
Bidders will be evaluated both on the price bid for the electricity produced — which will take the form of a top-up on the market power price — and on non-price criteria, including the level of greenhouse gas emissions emitted by the production of the clean hydrogen.
The auction is open to power generation companies using hydrogen produced with greenhouse gas emissions of up to 4kg of CO2-equivalent (CO2e) per kilogram, but projects with such high emissions will be unlikely to win at auction. The emissions-based grading system gives a maximum 35 points to hydrogen produced with less than 0.1kgCO2e/kgH2, while hydrogen made with 4kgCO2e/kgH2 will receive just one point.
This gives green hydrogen made from renewables an advantage over blue H2 made from fossil fuel with carbon capture and storage. But using renewable electricity to produce hydrogen or ammonia that will be burned in fossil-fuel power stations to produce electricity has been heavily criticised.
Co-firing ammonia with coal, in particular, has come under fire for being dirtier than unabated natural gas power generation, producing power that would be significantly more expensive than using renewable energy directly, and a greenwashed excuse to keep highly polluting fossil-fuel assets on line for as long as possible at the expense of the planet. The auction is due to be the first of several, with the government targeting 13TWh of cumulative clean-hydrogen power generation by 2030. Presuming round-the clock generation, that equates to about 750MW of power capacity.
Both South Korea and Japan are planning to reach net-zero emissions by importing large amounts of green hydrogen, based on the belief that they do not have enough available land to produce enough electricity for their densely populated, energy-hungry nations.
But critics have pointed out that neither country is planning to make full use of its offshore wind or rooftop solar potential, and that using imported H2 would make its electricity so expensive that each country’s products might not be able to compete on international markets.
Grey hydrogen power auction Motie also simultaneously launched its third auction for general hydrogen-fired power generation — essentially for grey hydrogen produced from unabated fossil fuels — of up to 1,300GWh/year, for delivery in 2026. The ministry launched its first general hydrogen power auction in March last year, with 715GWh of annual generating capacity awarded for 20 years to five projects in August 2023 — and a second one, for 650GWh, in September 2023. Winners at these two tenders are due to deliver electricity in 2025.

South Korea launches world’s first auction for clean-hydrogen power generation | Hydrogen Insight

The many nations around the world that are planning to become exporters of clean hydrogen will be left disappointed at the end of the decade as the global demand for imported H2 will be far less than they hope, according to a new report from research house BloombergNEF (BNEF).
This is mainly because the US and Europe will be the world’s largest producers of clean hydrogen, with blue H2 making up most of the total in America.
“Government policies and targets will be the prime driver of clean hydrogen project deployment this decade. As a result, three markets with the strongest public support – the US, Europe and China –dominate global H2 supply in this outlook,” says the new report, Hydrogen Supply Outlook 2024: Regional deep dives.
“Most other markets fall behind in their ambitions… Prospective export markets are likely to undershoot their 2030 goals.
“Project progress in Latin America, Australia, the Middle East and Africa is constrained by low demand and export policies that have a limited impact before 2030. The US and Canada could meet most export demand, particularly for blue H2, due to the maturity of projects and strong subsidies.”
In total, 16.4 million tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen will be produced annually around the world by 2030, from 477 projects, says BNEF, with 37.2% manufactured in the US, followed by Europe (24.3%), China (18.9%), Canada (5.5%), Middle East and Africa (4.9%), India (3%), Latin America (2.4%), Australia (1.8%) and the rest of Asia (1.2%). For full figures, see table below.
Of this global total, 9.6 million tonnes will be green hydrogen made from renewables, while 6.8 million tonnes will be blue (made from natural gas with carbon capture and storage), with most of the latter coming from North America.
In Europe, the UK is forecast to be the biggest clean H2 producer, with 0.8 million tonnes a year in 2030 (0.6 million of which will be blue), followed by the Netherlands (0.7 million), Germany (0.5 million), Norway and Spain (0.4 million each).
Countries with big clean hydrogen amibtions, but low levels of public support — such as Egypt and Chile — will see little, if any, projects completed by 2030 without further incentives, says the report.
It adds that the 3.1-million-tonne forecast for China is “highly uncertain due to a lack of project visibility and targets for 2030”, adding that tightening environmental regulation for coal-based chemicals producers and state-owned companies “could drive faster projects deployment”.
And in India, the subsidies awarded in its first green hydrogen auction “are low by international standards and probably not enough to justify the projects’ final investment decisions”.
BNEF’s figures — which are based on a bottom-up analysis of more than 1,600 projects in its Hydrogen Data Hub — are far more pessimistic than a similar report unveiled by the Hydrogen Council in November, which expected 40 million tonnes of clean hydrogen being produced in 2030, with 20 million tonnes transported between continents.

US and Europe will lead global clean hydrogen production in 2030, with little supply from exporting nations: BNEF | Hydrogen Insight

https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/electrolysers/johnson-matthey-reduces-hydrogen-investments-due-to-slower-than-expected-sector-development/2-1-1648837

Ohmium International has been chosen to supply PEM electrolyzers for the first green hydrogen project in Croatia. IVICOM, a Croatian engineering and construction firm, selected Ohmium as the electrolyzer supplier for a 10 MW green hydrogen production plant at the INA Rijeka Refinery.
The project will pair Ohmium’s PEM electrolyzers with a new solar power plant to produce green hydrogen to help decarbonize INA’s Rijeka Refinery and supply sustainable fuel for Croatia’s growing transportation market. The green hydrogen project and affiliated solar plant are supported by the Croatian government’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, which incorporates measures to improve the sustainability and diversity of EU members’ energy supplies. The project also advances Croatia’s National Hydrogen strategy goals, which are to install 70 MW of hydrogen production facilities by 2030, and ramp up to 2750 MW by 2050, to help achieve climate neutrality by 2050.\\\\

“The synergy between IVICOM’s engineering expertise and Ohmium’s cutting-edge PEM electrolyzer technology will be key to successful project realization,” said Mr. Dinko Čondić, President of IVICOM’s Management Board. “This partnership is in line with our company vision of prioritizing green projects and green hydrogen innovation for a sustainable future.”

“The green hydrogen installation at the Rijeka Refinery will be a premier example of the green transition in Europe,” said Arne Ballantine, Ohmium CEO. “Ohmium is pleased to be working with leaders such as IVICOM and INA on this pioneering project, as our PEM electrolyzers are uniquely suited for pairing with solar power for promoting refinery decarbonization and green transportation.”