Wrightbus to build green hydrogen production plant in Ballymena
In collaboration with the Oxford-based Hygen Energy, Wrightbus plans to construct the new green hydrogen production facility at its Ballymena location.
At its Ballymena headquarters, Wrightbus intends to convert an existing brick structure to make room for the new facility.
The new plant would contribute to the establishment of a dependable source of fuel for the buses as well as other hydrogen-powered vehicles because the company’s business includes the production of buses driven by hydrogen fuel.
The facility is anticipated to produce enough green hydrogen when it first starts operating to power 300 hydrogen buses per day in Northern Ireland.
The initial strategies for obtaining renewable energy for the electrolyzer at the Ballymena site have not yet been decided. The business will either purchase the electricity from a currently operating renewable generator or establish its own ways of producing renewable power, such as through solar or wind energy.
State funding helps First Mode with hybrid hydrogen fuel cell and battery-powered mining trucks
The Economic Alliance of Lewis County received the cash from the Department of Commerce to help First Mode with design and construction expenses for the office and workshop space the company expects to restore and expand at the former coal mine property it has leased from TransAlta.
The First Mode Proving Grounds will support new applications for the infrastructure at the former mine site while assisting the enterprise in hastening the switch to clean energy for heavy industries. The location is perfect because it enables haul trucks to work in a genuine mining environment.
First Mode secured property and office space at the TransAlta Centralia Mine and revealed plans for the proving grounds in October 2022, following the successful deployment of a proof-of-concept hydrogen mine haul truck at Anglo American’s platinum mine in Mogalakwena, South Africa, in May 2022. First Mode was established in Seattle in 2018 and produces its own hybrid fuel cell battery powerplants there.
The next generation of hybrid hydrogen and battery-powered haul trucks, as well as the related infrastructure for recharging and refueling, will be used at mines all over the world. At the First Mode Proving Grounds, the business will show performance and optimize these vehicles. Today’s basic version of these vehicles uses a ton of diesel and emits the same amount of pollution as 700 passenger cars. According to estimates, each vehicle will save 960 metric tons of diesel fuel thanks to First Mode’s pilot retrofit solution.
Deutsche Bahn orders hydrogen buses
For the first time ever, Deutsche Bahn is placing large orders for hydrogen vehicles for its bus operation, DB Regio Bus, as it works to become a climate-neutral business.
Beginning in 2024, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein should see the introduction of the first automobiles.
The purchase is the result of DB’s explicit intention to phase out all diesel buses by 2038.
In just seven years, all recently purchased buses must be operated without emitting any emissions. The largest provider of bus services in Germany is DB Regio Bus, which serves about 470 million passengers yearly.
Implementing Latvia’s hydrogen generation demand problematic
The Renewable Energy Directive has adopted two pieces of legislation that will be a part of the extensive regulatory framework for the use of renewable hydrogen in the industrial and transportation sectors of the EU. These regulations cover energy infrastructure investment, conditions for state aid, targets, and targets for the use of renewable hydrogen. These actions will give investors certainty as the EU works to fulfill the REPowerEU plan’s objectives of producing 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen within EU borders and importing another 10 million tons.
“Finally, clear conditions have been introduced, because without them the industry and business cannot develop. These acts will stimulate the production of green electricity, but they also contain various restrictions for green hydrogen producers, for example, the requirement from 2027 to develop renewable energy production on site, in In Latvia, taking into account how renewable energy projects are currently developing – wind and solar parks, it will be difficult or even impossible to implement,” says Kaspars Liepiņš, Chairman of the Board of H2Latvia.
Although the initial demand for hydrogen will be low, it is anticipated to increase by the end of this decade as a result of the widespread adoption of big electrolyzers.
Coldwell solar acquires solar/hydrogen project
A new gigawatt-scale solar project, unveiled by Coldwell Solar, will encourage some of the output to shift to on-site production of pure hydrogen.
CEO Dave Hood says, ” We are excited about the 2 billion dollar project and look forward to a meeting with the governor’s office to discuss the solar and battery specifics with up to 20% of the project ear marked for hydrogen production including a hydrogen filling station.
Coldwell Solar has been a major developer of utility scale and agriculture renewable projects for over 10 years in California. ” We just completed the sale of a 220 mw project to Nextera and look forward to its completion in 2023/2024″, Hood said. ” We also are excited about the upcoming community solar program currently in front of the California PUC for formal approval.”
