Abstract
Green hydrogen is increasingly seen as a clean energy priority as the world looks at how best to manage economic recovery from the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic [see alsopage 1].
This issue reports on some of the initiatives focused on renewably produced hydrogen, for refueling fuel cell electric vehicles as well as supplying hydrogen for industrial uses that have previously relied on fossil fuel sources.
For example, the MW-scale Power-to-Gas plant in the German town of Grenzach-Wyhlen has been running reliably since the beginning of the year [page 9]. Elsewhere, Nel will supply up to 60 MW of electrolysers to Lhyfe in France, building on a previous order for an electrolyser to produce green hydrogen for a fleet of buses in Bouin [page 10].
In the UK, ITM Power and Element Energy are assessing the feasibility of deploying green hydrogen with major industrial partners in Humberside [page 10]. The Green Hydrogen for Humberside project will lead to the GW-scale production of renewable hydrogen, distributed to industrial energy users in Immingham, utilising North Sea offshore wind. And in Germany, Uniper is partnering with Siemens Gas and Power to develop projects relating to decarbonisation of power generation and promotion of sector coupling, in particular producing and using hydrogen from renewable energy sources [page 10].
Looking at the bigger picture, Hydrogen Europe has published the 2×40 GW Green Hydrogen Initiative paper, to promote a massive increase in electrolyser production in the EU to support green hydrogen production [page 10]. The paper envisages boosting EU electrolyser capacity to 40 GW by 2030, alongside 40 GW in neighbouring countries, especially in North Africa and Ukraine.
Toyota Australia has unveiled the first stage of its Hydrogen Centre in Altona, Melbourne, which will incorporate a hydrogen production and storage facility alongside a refueling station linked to a solar system [page 11]. And the Arrowsmith Hydrogen Project in Western Australia plans to produce cryogenic green hydrogen using solar and wind energy in large-scale water electrolysis [page 11].
In Japan, Asahi Kasei's 10 MW alkaline water electrolysis system has started supplying hydrogen at the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R) in Namie, utilising power from a large solar farm [page 11].
Meanwhile, Norwegian Hydrogen AS has raised new capital as it works towards starting work on the Hellesylt Hydrogen Hub project, which will produce green hydrogen for use by ferries, cruise ships, and other mobility applications in the Geirangerfjord region [page 13].