Thank you for the many positive messages following the successful launch of our newsletter last month. Recently we heard many ambitious announcements for the hydrogen sector, to mention here the President of the European Commission announcing the recovery plan in which hydrogen will play an important role and the German National Hydrogen plan. The FCH JU is ready to help stakeholders to turn these ambitions into reality.
In this newsletter, we want to highlight one of our projects - HEATSTACK. During their 4-year research on Fuel Cells for stationary application, the consortia achieved a serious cost and manufacturing time reduction thanks to novel production technologies and materials. The fact of the month talks about the FCH JU activity on hydrogen trucks and the progress we are making to achieve the sector's emissions targets. The FCH JU actively supports this through two demonstration projects: one on refuelling protocol standards and a study on the business cases. In addition, this year’s call aims to award further projects in this field. The FCH JU is determined to support the truck sector on hydrogen today and in the future.
Interested in the future of Hydrogen-powered aviation? The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking and Clean Sky Joint Undertaking are launching a fact-based, independent study on the technological and economic aspects of H2-powered aviation, its feasibility and impact on the climate.
Following the call for Expressions of Interest to receive funded Project Development Assistance (PDA) that closed on 12 March, 11 regional hydrogen projects have been selected. These projects are located in Asturias, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Gdynia, Limburg, Mariestad, Médio Tejo, Mocenok, Ruse, Sofia, Texel and Zagreb, as shown on the map.
The EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) Awards’ competition recognizes the year’s top sustainable energy projects in the categories of Engagement, Innovation and Youth. REMOTE is among the finalists! Until June 15th, there is the chance to vote for the selection
Clean mobility research and consultancy company Cenex Nederland has joined Europe’s largest fuel cell vehicle and refuelling infrastructure demonstration project H2ME, funded by the FCH JU programme. The announcement follows the ambitious targets of the National Climate Agreement, the Dutch....
The Hydrogen Valley South Tyrol is one of 40 lighthouse projects that have been selected by the Mission Innovation as a particularly successful project. The 40 projects share one common goal; the promotion of hydrogen as a sustainable link between energy and mobility.
ENGIE and partners announced MULTIPLHY, a pioneering project to build the first multi-megawatt high-temperature electrolyser that generates renewable hydrogen to produce high-quality biofuels. The project was recently launched at Neste’s renewable products refinery in Rotterdam.
Connexxion put on the road its first hydrogen bus for the concession Hoeksche Waard-Goeree Overflakkee. And, surprise! It carries VDL Bus & Coach ‘s logo. The Dutch manufacturer, Connexxion points out, will deliver a batch of four hydrogen vehicles, which are realized adding a trailer (housing the....
The CertifHy system for tracking the origin of green (renewable) and blue (low-carbon) hydrogen has moved past the pilot stage and can now be used throughout the EU to certify the gas and issue guarantees of origin. The recent dynamism in the hydrogen market has led to discussions about the methods....
A fleet of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are safely transporting NHS staff and other key workers across London during the coronavirus outbreak. Peter Jones, a Toyota Mirai driver at Green Tomato Cars, has seen a rise in demand since restrictions were implemented a month ago.
Since January 2020, the first ComSos SOFC module, provided by Sunfire GmbH, the German SOFC manufacturer in the project, started its operation. The first installation, serving an industrial customer in the Asian market, located in Taiwan, has a nominal size
The aim is to make the electrolysis of water with electricity production after the unit of energy production of TiBi at Charleroi. The walloon government has approved Friday, the result of the call for projects for the establishment of a station of production and distribution of hydrogen.
Original text: L’objectif est de faire de l’électrolyse d’eau avec la production électrique issue de l’unité de production énergétique de TiBi à Charleroi. Le gouvernement wallon a approuvé, vendredi, le résultat de l’appel à projets pour la mise en place d’une station de production et de distribution d’hydrogène....
Heatstack project reduces production costs of fuel cell micro-cogeneration
fch, 27.05.2020
FCH JU funded project Heatstack successfully concluded in March 2020, after 4 years of research aimed at cutting the production cost of fuel cells for stationary applications.
The project addressed in particular the costs of the most expensive components within the system - the fuel cell stack and the heat exchanger. A significant cost reduction was achieved through manufacturing innovation, materials research and increasing system durability.
The system will use now an innovative cathode air preheater (CAPH) developed by Senior Flexonics UK. The CAPH uses AluChrom 318, a new material tested by the University of Birmingham, which proved to reduce the chromium leakage rates in the long term.
Novel tooling and automated processes decreased CAPH manufacturing time from 9 to 2.5 hours and the costs up to 50%. The tooling developed in the project was installed and recommissioned at Senior’s manufacturing site in the Czech Republic, ready for volume production.
Fuel cell manufacturer Sunfire developed the fuel cell stack by designing production and optimising the process of applying the glass sealant onto the SOFC stack repetition units to save both costs and time. This resulted in a 10% cost saving for the stack.
The stack and the heat exchanger were integrated into full fuel cell co-generation units, which underwent extensive tests showing these technologies are ready for use in series production of Sunfire-Home units.
The FCH JU project has therefore proven that decreasing the costs of the SOFC stack and CAPH will render fuel cell micro-cogeneration more cost competitive and attractive to the market.
The steel industry accounts for 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions, making it an urgent target for decarbonisation. With global steel demand set to increase by around 6% by 2030, greening the steel industry is essential for the energy transition. The complex nature of steel production makes green....
Environmentally sustainable hydrogen is essential for decarbonising the energy system. However, hydrogen and fuel cell technologies have yet to be used as widely or effectively as the energy transition demands. With a series of important guidance documents, a hydrogen roadmap and green hydrogen....
Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) reduce air pollution and fossil fuel use, while exceeding the performance and comfort of internal combustion engine cars. The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) is laying the foundations for wider market uptake of FCEVs through projects addressing cost and infrastructure challenges.
The report provides an overview of the progress achieved so far and a comprehensive analysis on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for various hydrogen technologies and processes. The review considers 73 FCH 2 JU founded projects. The LCAs have been assessed regarding the adherence to guideline recommendations, methodology and overall quality of the work.
At EU level, heavy duty vehicles (HDV) are responsible for 27% of CO2 road transport emissions and almost 5% of EU greenhouse gas emissions[1]. The FCH JU has already allocated around € 30 M[2] funds to support 5 European projects testing hydrogen-powered trucks.
The projects advance the state of the development of key components – such as fuel cell stack and on board hydrogen storage and will demonstrate the readiness of hydrogen technology for heavy-duty applications in real-life conditions.
Projects REVIVE and H2Haul will deploy a total of 30 fuel cell trucks in the coming years by preparing the European market for the deployment of fuel cell HDV.
Seven European countries will be involved in the deployment of the fuel cell heavy duty applications and in the expansion of the HDV HRS (DE, BE, CH, IT, FR, NL, SE).
Over 13 demonstration sites will be equipped with HRS capable of servicing heavy-duty applications.
H2HAUL fleet will have travelled at least 9 million km by the end of the project.
REVIVE fleet will be operated for at least 120.000 hours.
Project PRHYDE (Protocol for Heavy Duty Hydrogen Refuelling) is developing in an international consortium the heavy duty refuelling protocols for large tank systems at pressure levels of 35MPa, 50MPa and 70MPa but also for non-gaseous storage options.
The European Commission announced today its proposal for a major EU economic recovery plan, with the Green Deal at its core. According to the Communication on "Europe's moment: Repair and Prepare for the Next Generation", the Commission will focus on unlocking investment in clean technologies and....
Speech by President von der Leyen at the European Parliament Plenary on the new MFF, own resources and the Recovery Plan
EC [BE], 13.05.2020
We already knew before the crisis that we also need major private investment in key sectors and technologies: from 5G to Artificial Intelligence, from clean hydrogen to offshore renewable energy. This crisis has only made the need greater than it was before. This is why we will strengthen InvestEU. We will also create for the first time a new Strategic Investment Facility.
In June I will present a Strategy to set out a vision of how the future integrated energy system should be. (...)
Hydrogen is central to this discussion. It has strong potential to emerge as a key new energy carrier, a solution to decarbonise particularly difficult sectors like heavy industry and some parts of transport. In particular, renewable hydrogen, produced from water with renewable electricity can provide the missing link with multiple benefits, from grid management, to feedstock for industry to storage.
That’s why I will present, in parallel to our Energy System Integration, a stand-alone Communication on a strategic outlook for building a hydrogen economy in Europe.
“Sector coupling” is the new energy buzzword in town. In essence, it means bringing energy supply closer to large consuming sectors such as transport, buildings and industry in search of more renewables, greater efficiency, and lower carbon emissions.
90+ Hydrogen Europe CEOs ready to support Clean Hydrogen Alliance
hydrogeneurope [BE], 02.06.2020
Hydrogen Europe members share the common vision to promote hydrogen as an enabler of the post-corona economy and a zero-emission society and are willing to swiftly engage with the European Commission and the other European institutions in the Clean Hydrogen Alliance to scale-up the production and deployment of hydrogen by 2030.
(...) clean hydrogen is expected to play a key role in the decarbonisation of sectors where other alternatives might not be feasible or be more expensive. This includes heavy-duty and long-range transport and energy-intensive industrial processes...
Post COVID-19 and the Hydrogen Sector - A Hydrogen Europe Analysis
hydrogeneurope [BE], 08.05.2020
Following the unprecedented Covid-19 outbreak currently unfolding, Hydrogen Europe is publishing its latest paper: "Post COVID-19 and the Hydrogen Sector - A Hydrogen Europe Analysis".
Cédric Philibert at the IFRI Centre for Energy & Climate summarises their detailed report that makes the case for clean hydrogen. Though production costs are declining, large scale demand will still be needed to make it cost effective. That means policies that guarantee customers, supported by transport and distribution infrastructure, and more clean electricity capacity to fuel the hydrogen production. (...)
The main issue facing the industry now is how to scale up production. But as green hydrogen only represents 1% of the market, supporters of the technology say the fossil sort will be needed initially in order to get the market off the ground. Scaling up hydrogen with renewable electricity “would....
Developing low-carbon hydrogen production routes is critical for hydrogen to aid in clean energy transitions. Most hydrogen is currently produced through emissions-intensive natural gas reforming and coal gasification. The two main low-carbon production routes involve: coupling conventional....
The Portuguese cabinet approved on Thursday the legislation concerning the National Hydrogen Strategy (EN-H2), which will guide the gradual introduction of green hydrogen into the country's energy mix.
With EN-H2, the government intends to make hydrogen a sustainable and integral pillar of the country's energy transition.
The strategy, which is the first of its kind ever, will lay the foundation for the government’s further work on hydrogen. Hydrogen is an energy carrier that can help reduce emissions and create value for Norwegian business and industry. The Government wants to prioritize efforts in those areas where....
Powered by offshore wind. Most of the energy required will be provided by offshore wind farms, while the 14 TWh would require about 20 TWh of green electricity. The Social Democrats (SPD) had demanded twice that amount. However, when the federal government presented its economic stimulus package last week, the cabinet quickly reached an agreement.
The Romanian government wants to give a strong signal of support to research and innovation by adopting a memorandum for the establishment of the ROHYDROHUB, Romanian Hydrogen and New Energy Technologies Hub, as research in the use of hydrogen as an energy source is a component worth encouraging,....
A world-first programme using green hydrogen to heat homes could be built in Scotland by SGN if proposals are approved by regulator Ofgem. SHFCA member SGN’s H100 Fife project is intended to provide critical evidence for a potential zero carbon energy source, helping to inform the UK’s long-term policy decisions for decarbonisation.
Włocławek, Poland, will soon be the home of a new hydrogen hub that will produce up to 600kg of purified hydrogen per hour. Due for completion in 2021, the project will include the construction of a plant that will produce fuel-cell grade hydrogen, logistics infrastructure and hydrogen refuelling stations.
Fuel cells are a cost-effective way for households and businesses to generate their own electricity and heat with hydrogen. On- and off-grid units are today commercially available and already more than 10,000 systems have been installed in Europe. The demand for this new technology is increasing as customers are growing more interested.
24/06/2020 FCH JU Participation. Webinar: Hydrogen for a green recovery of European islands
fch [BE], 15.06.2020
This online session will showcase the ability of hydrogen & associated technologies to decarbonize islands, while generating jobs and growth needed for the economic recovery.
Cooperation, both at the EU and international levels, is an essential element to boost the hydrogen economy worldwide. Projects that can help to unlock the potential of the technology and contribute to smart systems and sector integration have never been more fundamental.
Decarbonising the EU’s energy system and ramping up our renewable energy use are critical to reach climate objectives. The route to decarbonisation can take many forms, though biogas, biomethane and clean hydrogen are likely to feature in most of the pathways.
17/06/2020 Webinar: Economics and market analysis of the SOFC technology
fch [BE], 05.06.2020
Which are the technical and scientific concepts behind the DEMOSOFC site? Which are the achievements? Join the Economics and Market Analysis of the SOFC Technology webinar to discover more about the biogas cleaning unit, the SOFC module performance, the economic of the installation and the needs for integrating an SOFC system within a biogas plant.
Launched in 2006 by the European Commission, the EUSEW is the biggest event dedicated to renewables and efficient energy use in Europe. It brings together public authorities, private companies, NGOs and consumers to promote initiatives to save energy and move towards cleaner, more secure and more efficient power.
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