Advanced BioFuels USA

by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) It’s been a hot week for hydrogen with DiviGas securing $3.6 million in seed funding for the commercialization of a new next-generation polymeric hydrogen separation membrane that is a filter at a molecular level that purifies hydrogen and helps capture the associated CO2. The disruptive membrane will help reduce emissions by >1000 Million Tons of CO2 Per Year.

In today’s Digest, DiviGas tech plus Neste’s funding to develop its Porvoo refinery through green hydrogen production, Ballard’s hydrogen strategy, Toyota’s big bets on hydrogen, pledges to decarbonize hydrogen at COP26, NREL and PNNL latest research on hydrogen and more…this is one story you won’t want to miss on all things hydrogen.

Let’s start with the companies taking action on hydrogen….  READ MORE

DiviGas starts off on the right foot with $3.6M

In Singapore, start-up DiviGas announced a $3.6 million seed round to support the commercialization of a new next-generation polymeric hydrogen separation membrane, which is a filter at a molecular level that purifies hydrogen and helps capture the associated CO2. The disruptive membrane will help reduce emissions by >1000 Million Tons of CO2 Per Year.

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Every year $110 billion of hydrogen gas is generated in refineries, chemical plants, and fertilizer plants of which 15% or $16 billion are lost to flaring. Divi-H, DiviGas’ groundbreaking membrane, can recycle this previously unrecoverable hydrogen gas, netting the average refinery $3-6 million annually with a 2-3x return on investment (ROI).

Hydrogen production is also a major emitter of CO2, generating approximately 1000 Million Tons or more than 2% of global CO2 emissions. DiviGas’ disruptive membrane enables the upgrade of existing hydrogen plants to generate so-called ‘blue’ hydrogen where the CO2 is captured.

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The innovative solution presented by DiviGas can operate in refineries, petrochemical plants, ammonia plants, methanol and metallurgical production, power-to-gas systems, gasifiers, and many other production facilities. The polymeric membrane, Divi-H, can be used in a wide range of applications, from fuel gas recovery to loop optimization through H2/CO adjustment and carbon capture.

More on the story here.    READ MORE

Neste to develop Porvoo refinery through green hydrogen

Then there’s news that Neste will receive funding from the EU Innovation Fund to develop its Porvoo refinery through green hydrogen production and carbon capture & storage. The EU Innovation Fund has given a positive grant decision of EUR 88 million funding to Neste’s green hydrogen and CO2 capture & storage project, which aims to quickly and efficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the Porvoo refinery in Finland. The project introduces carbon capture and storage (CCS) and electrolysis solutions that allow decarbonisation of production at the refinery. The project is currently in the feasibility phase.

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Neste also aims to gather a network of leading European technology suppliers and R&D institutes, laying the foundation for a world-class European hub for renewable hydrogen and CO2 utilisation.

The EU Innovation Fund is investing over €1.1 billion in seven large-scale innovative projects. 

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And speaking of investments, in Luxembourg, the European Investment Bank and Hydrogen Europe, an umbrella association representing European industry, research, and national and regional associations in the hydrogen and fuel cell sector, signed an agreement for advisory services which will help identify projects that could receive EIB financing and support their bankability. Total investment in clean hydrogen in Europe is expected to reach up to €470 billion by 2050.

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The European Hydrogen Strategy, which is part of the European Green Deal, aims to enable widespread use of hydrogen by 2050. According to the strategy, green hydrogen will be produced on a systemically relevant scale between 2030 and 2050. Consequently, investments in renewable or low-carbon hydrogen will need to increase. The strategy anticipates that between €180 and €470 billion will be required for production capacities in the European Union by 2050.

More on the story here.   READ MORE

Ballard sees hydrogen fuel cell buses scale-up in Europe

Ballard points out that as zero-emission bus fleets moves from the demonstration phase to large-scale deployment, many authorities and operators are finding they cannot meet their mandates with battery electric buses alone. For many routes, only Fuel Cell Electric Buses (FCEBs) have the performance to replace diesel and CNG buses due to their fast fueling and longer range. The environmental advantages of FCEBs go beyond zero emissions: the hydrogen value chain offers the potential for system-wide “well-to-wheel” CO2 neutrality as when hydrogen is produced from renewable energy, it is a 100% zero-emission fuel.

Ballard’s early European demonstrations included:

• Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) projects:
  • CHiC (Clean Hydrogen in European Cities)
  • 3Emotion (Environmentally friendly, efficient, electric motion)
  • High V.L.O.-City
  • HyTransit  READ MORE

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Toyota bets big on hydrogen for transition to carbon-neutrality, says GlobalData

Toyota is betting big on hydrogen technology in automobiles, both through fuel-cell EVs (FCEVs) and the hydrogen-powered engines, in a bid to become a carbon-neutral company, observes GlobalData.

Recently, Toyota, Kawasaki, Subaru, Mazda and Yamaha have collaborated for production, transportation and use of hydrogen, the carbon-neutral fuel in the future vehicles. Toyota already has a hydrogen-powered engine vehicle under development, which debuted recently at a racing event in Japan.

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Japan also shares Toyota’s hydrogen vision and has 154 hydrogen fuel stations across the country, the highest globally.

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Agwan (Bakar Sadik Agwan, Senior Automotive Consulting Analyst at GlobalData) concludes: “Toyota needs to overcome a slew of challenges associated with hydrogen-powered engines to prove that the technology is not over-hyped, which will definitely take some time.  READ MORE

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28 companies pledge to accelerate use of decarbonized hydrogen at COP26

While there was lots of news coming from COP26 in Scotland in the last week or so, one you may have missed is the pledge of 28 companies to drive growth in the demand for, and supply of, hydrogen. The pledges equate to nearly one quarter of the decarbonization potential for hydrogen by 2030, as estimated by the Hydrogen Council.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) announcement said this new initiative, comprising of these companies – H2Zero – will accelerate the use and production of hydrogen as an essential part of the future net-zero energy system.

Pledges across three categories – demand, supply and financial or technical support – have been made by 28 companies representing different sectors from mining to energy, vehicle and equipment manufacturers, and financial services.  READ MORE

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Columbia looks to green hydrogen for country’s energy future

Now let’s look at news from Colombia that just a few weeks ago the Colombian president signed a law for energy transition that includes tax incentives for non-conventional renewable energy investments, including blue and green hydrogen.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia announced that by the first half of this year the country will already have a roadmap for the implementation of green hydrogen as an energy source, not only to meet local demand, as well as for export. The Ministry of Mines and Energy and ProColombia presented the document “Hydrogen Perspectives in Colombia” that exposes the advantages and opportunities of this energy source for the consolidation and development of the national energy matrix.

More on the story here.  READ MORE

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Lastly, a look at the latest research on hydrogen from PNNL and NREL

First, in Colorado, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and clean hydrogen company Electric Hydrogen inked an agreement to develop high-performance electrolyzer components, helping to scale clean hydrogen and invent new opportunities for decarbonization. The three-year, $3.6 million collaboration will diagnose sources of degradation in commercial electrolysis cells and will validate advanced designs that use higher stack currents.

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More on the story here.

Secondly, in Washington, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed a valuation tool that analyzes different energy storage technologies as part of an integrated and increasingly decarbonized energy system. Hydrogen energy storage is the latest addition to the modeling suite, and it brings a unique capability to the tool.

The Energy Storage Evaluation Tool (ESET) is a suite of modules and applications that utilities, regulators, vendors, and researchers can use to model, optimize, and evaluate various energy storage systems: hydrogen, pumped storage hydropower, microgrids, batteries, and thermal mass stored in buildings. The tool examines a broad range of use cases and grid applications to maximize energy storage system benefits from stacked value streams—multiple uses at the same time.

More on the story here.   READ MORE

New sustainable fuel partnerships formed as Japan strives for 10% SAF use by 2030 (GreenAir Online)

Excerpt from GreenAir Online: The MoU signed by Airbus and Kawasaki is focused on preparation of a hydrogen-fuelled ecosystem, from production to plane. The companies will address challenges and develop an advocacy plan to support aviation’s hydrogen requirements, with specific focus on the establishment of airport hydrogen hubs.

Stephane Ginoux, Head of North Asia Region for Airbus and President of Airbus Japan, said the partnership with Kawasaki would “accelerate and promote” the ambitions of the Japanese government to decarbonise aircraft operations by 2050, adding: “We strongly believe that the use of hydrogen, both in synthetic fuels and as a primary power source for commercial aircraft, has the potential to significantly reduce aviation’s climate impact.”   

Dr Motohiko Nishimura, Executive Officer and Deputy General Manager of Hydrogen Strategy Division, Kawasaki, said: “We have specialised in the development of infrastructure for liquefaction, transportation, storage and transport to receiving terminals, contributing to the construction and expansion of supply chains for the hydrogen market.” He expressed confidence that Kawasaki’s technology would connect hydrogen production and consumption areas, via a new ‘Hydrogen Road’.

As it has in similar collaborations in New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore, Airbus, a leading advocate of hydrogen propulsion, said it would provide aircraft characteristics, fleet energy usage and insight on hydrogen-powered aircraft for ground operations, while Kawasaki has committed to provide supply chain technology and infrastructure deployment scenarios to supply targeted airports.  READ MORE