Asahi Kasei starts work on pilot plant for hydrogen production
At its Kawasaki Works facility in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan’s Asahi Kasei, a technology business, has begun work on a pilot plant for hydrogen production utilizing alkaline water electrolysis.
The ceremonial ground-breaking took place at the end of October 2022, and early 2024 is the anticipated time for commissioning. The “Green Innovation Fund” of the Japanese New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization provides funding for the initiative (NEDO).
The company’s more than 40 years of experience and proficiency in the field of chlor-alkali electrolysis served as the foundation for the alkaline water electrolysis system for the production of hydrogen. As part of a project overseen by Japan’s NEDO, Asahi Kasei has already erected a 10MW-scale alkaline water electrolysis system in the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R) and has run several trial operations since 2020.
Frontier’s Bristol Springs green hydrogen plant gets pre-certification
Frontier Energy will have its massive renewable hydrogen project in the heart of Western Australia recognized under the Zero Carbon Certification Scheme of the Smart Energy Council.
Pre-certification will be performed on Frontier’s renewable hydrogen project at Waroona, Western Australia, 120 kilometers south of Perth, to confirm its capacity to produce zero carbon renewable hydrogen. The third project to be evaluated under this cutting-edge program will be the Bristol Springs plant.
A review of the production capacity, energy production and consumption, and additional energy needs from auxiliary processes are also part of the verification process. In the end, the audit will establish an emissions profile for the hydrogen produced, measuring the amount of CO2-e released for every kilogram of hydrogen produced.
The Zero Carbon Certification Scheme’s initial partner is the Western Australian government. Along with the Queensland, Victorian, and ACT State Governments, as well as eminent developers Yara International and CWP Global, Frontier Energy has become the 16th participant in the Zero Carbon Certification Scheme. Powerledger, Hydroverse, Star Scientific, Evoenergy, Energy Web, and the COP Climate Champions are additional founding partners. The Green Hydrogen Catapult, a partner project, also supports the plan.
Samsung C&T and KSS Shipping ink clean hydrogen and ammonia transportation deal
A “overseas clean hydrogen and ammonia eco-friendly maritime transportation business agreement” was struck between Samsung C&T Trading and KSS Shipping.
In the ammonia-based clean hydrogen value chain, this agreement was signed to conduct marine transportation. The two companies decided to work together to find the best plan for transporting clean hydrogen/ammonia and to secure clean hydrogen/ammonia carriers and eco-friendly fuel propulsion ships.
The Samsung C&T trading division is creating the full supply chain, from establishing local client connections to creating projects for the generation of clean hydrogen abroad. It also intends to set up a foundation for the volume of transportation in order to secure clean hydrogen and ammonia carriers.
Nuvera fuel cell powers container handler at Port of Los Angeles
Two E-45 fuel cell engines from Nuvera Fuel Cells are powering a Hyster top-pick container handler at the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) in Long Beach, California.
The CMA CGM Group-owned port operator Fenix Marine Services is using the zero-emissions container handler.
The construction of the hydrogen fuel cell-powered container handler was aided by a grant given to the project manager, the Center for Transportation and the Environment, by the California Air Resources Board in 2018. The vehicle is designed to run continuously for eight to ten hours, and refueling is anticipated to take about 15 minutes. The onboard lithium-ion battery and hydrogen fuel cell engines cooperate to either directly power the machinery or to recharge the battery. The battery absorbs the vehicle’s regenerated energy to lower the quantity of fuel needed.
In addition to the POLA top-pick deployment, Clean Port & Logistics (CPL), an innovation cluster to test hydrogen-powered port logistics equipment, will use Nuvera fuel cell engines to power an electric terminal tractor and an empty container handler to be deployed at Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) Container Terminal Tollerort. As part of an H2PORTS pilot project supported by the European Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking initiative, Nuvera will also power a Hyster reach-stacking container handling.
Ashurst advises KfW IPEX-Bank on Heidekrautbahn hydrogen train finance
Ashurst provided advice to KfW IPEX-Bank (KfW) about the financing of Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn’s (NEB) acquisition of seven hydrogen trains for use in the Heidekrautbahn railway network’s local public rail service.
The money will be used to purchase seven Mireo Plus H hydrogen trains from Siemens Mobility through a leasing arrangement with DAL Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing (DAL). From 2024 on, the trains, which have a fuel cell propulsion and a lithium-ion battery, will take the place of the diesel trains still in use today, guaranteeing zero-emission transportation. From the time the trains are delivered, the financing will last for 25 years.
The deployment of hydrogen vehicles on the Heidekrautbahn line is a component of a jointly funded, scientifically backed pilot project by the federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg and the German Federal Government to build a regional, sustainable hydrogen infrastructure. On the basis of indigenous renewable energies, the initiative seeks to provide emission-free local transportation.
In the framework of regional rail passenger transport financings, Ashurst’s German project finance practice frequently provides advice on asset finance transactions.
DOE gives out $1.5M for training hydrogen workforce
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $1.5 million in funding for five initiatives that will advance vital clean-hydrogen technologies while developing the skills and understanding of science and engineering students at Minority Serving Institutions.
The progress made in these programs will contribute to the Hydrogen Shot objective of reducing the cost of clean hydrogen to $1 per 1 kg in a decade (“1 – 1 – 1), as well as President Biden’s vision of a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. The projects will also provide participating students with direct exposure to cutting-edge research, including interactions with DOE national laboratory researchers who are supporting their work, as well as site visits to the labs.
The University of Texas at El Paso, one of the nation’s largest federally recognized Hispanic Serving Institutions, was chosen for two projects (HSI). University partners will be able to use the advanced facilities and expertise of the DOE national laboratories through collaboration with three consortia: HyMARC (Hydrogen Materials – Advanced Research Consortium), ElectroCat (Electrocatalysis Consortium), and H-Mat (Hydrogen Materials – Advanced Research Consortium) (Hydrogen Materials Consortium).
Two projects were chosen from the University of California, Riverside, an HSI, and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) with one of the most ethnically diverse student bodies in the country.
California State University, Los Angeles, which is also a federally designated HSI and AANAPISI, was chosen for one project.
The DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) offered funds for these projects through a modification to a funding opportunity from the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM). In addition to the direct project funding of $1.5 million, $550,000 will be provided for national laboratory support of these initiatives.
Erisha and Greenbox partner on green hydrogen
With the help of German firm Greenbox Global Holding, e-mobility specialist Erisha E-Mobility, part of the Rana Group, has entered the green hydrogen market.
Erisha Hydrogen India is a partnership with the goal of developing environmentally friendly methods of producing, converting, storing, and delivering energy. Using Greenbox technology, it will manufacture a variety of hydrogen products, such as cars, batteries, generators, and storage vessels.
Greenbox is already offering a service in which they deploy green hydrogen plants in a decentralized, scalable manner.
HVS launches hydrogen-electric commercial vehicle
New hydrogen-electric commercial vehicles have been introduced by Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS).
By showcasing its revolutionary hydrogen powertrain in the form of a 40-tonne zero-emission HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) technology demonstrator, HVS achieves its goal of being the first UK-designed and produced hydrogen-electric HGV on the market.
HVS expects to play a significant part in enabling the achievement of emissions reduction targets, with government targets to restrict sales of all non-zero emission 3.5 -26t HGVs set to come into effect by 2035 or early and all new non-zero emission HGV sales by 2040.
The hydrogen powertrain for HVS tractor units, which consists of pressurized hydrogen cylinders, fuel cells, an energy storage system, and an eAxle, will be built on a brand-new chassis that was developed internally.
First hydrogen generator factory in Basque Country launched by H2SITE
The development of the first gadget factory in the Basque Country was made feasible by a technology that produced hydrogen from ammonia.
The project marketed by the Tecnalia technology center is already a working industrial reality, led by the company H2SITE, which will employ 50 people in Loiu (Bizkaia) to produce membranes and reactors to extract hydrogen from mixtures of ammonia or methanol-based gas after investing 3 million euros in it.
It is a substitute for electrolyzers, which use electricity to extract hydrogen from water. The Iberdrola facility that produced the “Iberlyzer” ultimately chose to locate in Gualadajara.
This Wednesday, the project known as H2SITE, which uses the technology created by Tecnalia and the Eindhoven University of Technology, took a further step and left the experimental stage to start mass manufacturing and industrial marketing. Along with the technology partners, the new business is funded in part by the seed capital funds of the Basque Government and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, as well as investors Engie, Breakthroug, and Equinor.
After fifteen years of research, H2SITE’s bet discovers in the palladium alloy a technology that can produce hydrogen at an affordable price, enabling this green hydrogen to be used not only in industries that already use it as a raw material but also in others like steel, paper, or glass that use large ovens that are frequently currently powered by gas.
