Change of Direction Hydrogen Newsletter 03.05.2023
In this week's edition, we look at hydrogen developments in India and the Caribbean, and a new technology that could transform the world of hydrogen.
India is the country with the largest population in the world. It recently overtook China and has now reached 1,4286 billion people that live in the country. But when it comes to modern industrialization, vast parts of India are decades behind western countries. But living standards are rising and with that, the demand for electricity. India has set its sight on becoming energy independent by 2047 and achieving Net Zero by 2070, and is so far in line with their predictions. One major problem for India is their dependence on coal. Currently, over 50% of their energy demands is covered by coal. Nuclear power is one solution for India. So far, the country has seven running nuclear power plants but plans to install up to 14 more in the next 15 years.
Hydrogen also plays a part in the plan. Avaada Group has raised $1.07bn to fund its Indian green hydrogen and ammonia ventures as part of its ongoing $1.3bn fundraising plan. In August last year (2022), the company unveiled plans for a green ammonia facility in Kota, Rajasthan, India, which could boast a capacity of one million tonnes per year. The renewable energy group says it currently operates a portfolio of 4GW, with plans to reach 11GW by 2026.
https://www.h2-view.com/story/avaada-group-raises-1bn-to-fund-green-hydrogen-and-ammonia-ventures-in-india/
Another project is coming from the National Thermal Power Corporation, under the ownership of the Ministry of Power in India. The state organization plans to build a green hydrogen hub in Andhra Pradesh. The total power capacity will amount to 20GW when the project is finished in 2030. The plans are to build a hub that also exports hydrogen to other Asian countries. According to the government, this is only a beginning. By 2030, India wants to produce 125GW per year to bolster their ambitions to become energy independent. https://fuelcellsworks.com/news/ntpc-plans-20-gw-renewable-energy-capacity-in-andhra-pradesh-for-green-hydrogen-production/
To produce hydrogen, you need some form of sustainable energy. This can be done by solar, wind or hydropower. But you can also use geothermal energy. The Dominican Republic has some of this to offer and is now planning to use it to produce hydrogen. On the one hand, this is to cover the country's own needs; on the other hand, it also plans to export it. The state wants to produce up to 1GW per year in the Caribbean. https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/governance/dominica-signs-framework-agreement-for-caribbeans-first-industrial-scale-green-hydrogen-geothermal-development/
A whole series of international companies are considering how hydrogen can be transported over long distances in the future. Pipelines are suitable for short and medium distances, but ships will have to be used for transcontinental transport. The technical challenges for transport are enormous, and the costs are correspondingly high. TotalEnergies, GTT, LMG Marin and Bureau Veritas are now set to develop a large-scale liquid hydrogen carrier concept design. https://www.h2-view.com/story/totalenergies-gtt-lmg-marin-bureau-veritas-to-develop-large-scale-liquid-hydrogen-carrier-vessel/
An existing challenge for fuel cells is their rather low efficiency. A research team at Nagoya University in Japan has now apparently achieved a breakthrough. The scientists have developed a fuel cell with enormous conductivity. Crucial to this is a change in the design for the membrane (PEM) in the fuel cell. Known PEMs often date back to the 1960s and function most reliably at temperatures between 60 and 90 degrees Celsius. The result was a PEM that had about six times the conductivity at 80 degrees Celsius of previously known solutions made of Nafion or Selemion. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsapm.3c00150
In case you missed it: Toyota has developed an engine that uses hydrogen instead of gasoline. We spoke to the CTO of Quantron about the technology and chances of this engine.
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