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The statement from ENA comes after a successful trial that saw a blend of 20% hydrogen introduced into the natural gas supply in the UK in 2021.
HyDeploy, the first project in the UK to blend hydrogen into a gas network, saw 100 homes and 30 university buildings on a private gas network at Keele University receive the blended gas for a period of 18 months ending in spring 2021.
Blending up to 20% hydrogen into the gas grid is subject to a final decision by the UK government in 2023.
MELBOURNE, Jan 21 (Reuters) – A Japanese-Australian venture producing hydrogen from brown coal is set to start loading its maiden cargo on the world’s first liquid hydrogen carrier on Friday, in a test delayed by nearly a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why shipping pure hydrogen around the world might already be dead in the water. “Hydrogen transport by ship is technically possible for larger distances where pipelines are not an option. Because of its low energy density by volume, gaseous hydrogen is best converted into a more energy-dense liquid before being loaded onto a ship,” says Irena’s recent report, Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation: The Hydrogen Factor. “There are several vectors for hydrogen transport via ship, but ammonia is the most promising.”
Toyota announced Wednesday that it plans to make hydrogen fuel-cell modules in the U.S., starting in 2023. The fuel-cell stacks, in modular form, will be part of a kit that will essentially replace a traditional heavy-duty diesel engine in big Class 8 semi trucks. The system is capable of delivering up to 160 kw (214 hp) of continuous power. This is the first time such a fuel-cell setup has been built by Toyota outside of Japan.
Great Wall Motor (GWM) wants to become a major hydrogen fuel cell vehicle manufacturer globally. The Chinese automaker is planning to launch the world’s first hydrogen-powered sport utility vehicle and produce 100 hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks in 2021 – and it’s exactly these medium and large passenger vehicles where GWM sees the most potential for hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Swiss-based shipping group MSC, Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri) and gas group Snam are joining forces on a feasibility study with a view to building the world’s first hydrogen-powered cruise ship.
Hyundai motor, following up on 1 million kilometer driving with 46 trucks in Switzerland, will deploy XCIENT fuel cell trucks 
for regional use in California. Glovis America will be the fleet operator of the trucks. The trucks have a maximum driving range of 500 miles.
This McKinsey and Company Insight examines the role of hydrogen primarily in transportation, it outlines hydrogen potential market share, as well as a commercialization adoption timeline.
“Hydrogen is a versatile energy carrier and can be produced with a low carbon footprint. It can play seven major roles in the energy transformation, which span from the backbone of the energy system to the decarbonization of end-use applications.”
“As described, hydrogen has a wide range of applications in the energy system (Exhibit 2), with its role for the decarbonization of the transportation sector among the most prominent ones.”
This blog post from SARTA (Stark Area Regional Transit Authority, Stark County, OH) documents their journey with hydrogen buses for public transit.
“Not only are fuel cells considered safer than gasoline-powered vehicles, they are also 2x-3x more efficient! The fuel cell is able to use 40%-60% of the energy from the fuel, the hydrogen, to power the vehicle. To put that into perspective, a typical gasoline engine is less than 20% efficient at doing the same thing. This efficiency means that the fuel cell can reduce the need for about 9,000 gallons of fuel over the lifetime of the vehicle and that the carbon released into the atmosphere would decrease by 100 tons per vehicle.”
A pilot program is kicking off thanks to a partnership between Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Iwatani Corporation, Shell Japan and J-Power, and last week, Kawasaki delivered on its part of the deal by launching a brand new ship designed to carry liquid hydrogen between the south coast of Australia and an unloading terminal under construction in Kobe, Japan.
This video is from Science Scout via YouTube.
It’s all about hydrogen cars and fuel cell technology. Fuel cells work like batteries, but they do not run down or need recharging.
Japan Is betting big on the future Of hydrogen cars. Hydrogen is not only the most common element in the universe but also the most common element here on Earth. Yet the limited availability of pure hydrogen in gaseous form has held back hydrogen fuel cells for decades. Out in the cosmos, stars are mostly made of hydrogen. Here at home, our hydrogen is mostly bonded with oxygen to make water. To get hydrogen to use in a fuel cell to make electricity, you have to either break down a water molecule or break down a complex hydrocarbon like natural gas. When you break the natural gas molecule, you get hydrogen — but you also get carbon dioxide, which leads to global warming. Plus, you’re using a non-renewable resource.
That leaves the water, which is a great source except that you have to put more energy into breaking the molecule than you’ll get back out when you use the hydrogen to generate electricity. The solution that makes hydrogen a workable fuel is this: using renewable energy to create enough excess electricity that you can break down the water and store that energy in the form of hydrogen. It’s not as elegant as it could be, but it’s pretty good if you consider what had to happen to store solar energy in the form of oil, coal, and natural gas. hydrogen still has niches where its main strengths – lightness and quick refueling – give it a clear advantage. While you can fit your personal driving lifestyle around strategic battery charging stops, this is not ideal for a commercial vehicle that needs to run for very long periods and distances with only short waits to refuel. The weight of batteries for eight hours of continual usage would also be prohibitive in a train, for example.
So, for industrial vehicles, hydrogen seems like a viable option, despite the inefficiency. But for personal car users, it’s no contest. Hydrogen evangelists are still arguing that FCVs are the future of personal transport and the technology would take off in 2020. It’s likely that FCV energy supply-chain efficiency will be improved over time and more renewable energy sources used in hydrogen production.
We will not know for decades to come. We do know that the various vehicle segments – passenger cars, buses, local trucks, long distance trucks, forklifts – have very different requirements. Historically these segments have used different fuels due to these requirements, primarily gasoline, diesel and propane.
For instance Walmart has more than 10,000 hydrogen fuel cell forklifts. Fork lifts and pallet lifts are critical to the efficient running of distribution centers. So much so that Walmart and Amazon invested in fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power who has a deep presence in supply fuel cells for this vehicle segment.
Why hydrogen fuel cells? They cleanly convert hydrogen with only water as a tail pipe emission. Enclosed distribution centers run hundreds of these vehicles constantly. Unburned hydrogens from the previous fuel of choice – propane,
degraded air quality. Lead acid and newer Lithium battery fork lifts address the air quality concerns. They have a major drawback in 24-7 operations such as Walmart and Amazon distribution centers – charging. This takes the fork lift out of service, requiring extra forklifts, floor space to recharge, and often dedicated personnel to optimize charging. Hydrogen fork lifts can be refueled by their operators, in minutes much like refueling your car.
jbarone@shaledirectories.com
