Change of Directions Newsletter 07.06.2023
Two countries from the African continent are developing more hydrogen facilities, more hydrogen-powered ships are coming, and a breakthrough technology can lower the costs for fuel cells.
Two countries from the African continent are developing more hydrogen facilities, more hydrogen-powered ships are coming, and a breakthrough technology can lower the costs for fuel cells.
The hydrogen market is developing at a fast pace. One interesting observation is that in the past 12 months, more business sectors are looking into the possibilities that hydrogen will give them. Industries with a high-power consumption are especially investing a lot of money into the research and development of hydrogen. Numerous companies have a business strategy for hydrogen now, and more are to follow. From green steel to new engines that burn hydrogen or trucks for mining companies – hydrogen plays an important role. Compared to previous years, the hydrogen market has grown exponentially. And it just seems like the beginning of the hydrogen revolution.
Many countries have shown interest in the production of hydrogen, especially from the African continent. Tunisia was one of those countries, and has been relatively quiet so far. But the government wants to change this. Tunisia can export 5.5 million tonnes to 6 million tonnes of green hydrogen to Europe by 2050, said Director General of the Electricity and Energy Transition at the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy Belhassen Chiboub. This quantity would represent Tunisia's share in Europe's planned imports from the region (Tunisia, Algeria and Libya – a total of 11 million tonnes of green hydrogen), the official said as he referred to figures released by the European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) initiative – a group of European energy infrastructure operators with a vision for a dedicated hydrogen transport infrastructure across Europe.
https://www.zawya.com/en/world/africa/tunisia-can-export-over-55mln-tonnes-of-green-hydrogen-to-europe-by-2050-ojl8873x
Another country that, so far, has not announced any significant news, is Namibia. The country, one of the world's sunniest and most sparsely populated countries, wants to harness its potential for solar and wind energy to produce green hydrogen and position itself as a renewable energy hub in Africa. It has the space for large solar farms, but so far, lacks the infrastructure for the import of hydrogen. Pipelines and facilities in the ports need to be built. However, a German company has seen the potential and signed an agreement with the government. Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, a company that is backed by Enertrag and supported by the EU Commission, is behind the new contract.
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/hyphen-namibia-agree-next-phase-10-bln-green-hydrogen-project-2023-05-24/
One obstacle that currently hinders the use of hydrogen is the fuel cell. The technology is here, but it is still expensive. The reason for this lies in the membrane (PEM) used in the fuel cell stack. PEMs contain a large amount of iridium, which is one of the most expensive metals on earth. However, a team of scientists the US has found a new metal that can be used: cobalt. One troy oz (31 gr.) of iridium costs around 4,600 dollars, while cobalt costs 30 dollars per kilo. This would drive down the costs for fuel cells significantly.
https://www.h2-view.com/story/us-team-develops-cobalt-based-catalyst-that-could-remove-cost-bottleneck-for-clean-hydrogen-production/
The aforementioned news will be welcomed by a lot of companies, but the shipping industry in particular will be closely looking at this. So far, large fuel cell powered ships are still very rare because the costs of one or more large fuel cells for a ship are too high. Since shipping costs (cost per container) are low, there is not a lot of profit to be made. While autonomous ships will drive down costs, they are still not seen as a valid alternative for most shipowners. On the other hand, rising CO2 costs are driving down profits. This is also the reason one of the larger fleet operators has just ordered 15 large vessels that can be converted to use ammonia as marine fuel. https://fuelcellsworks.com/news/grimaldi-group-expands-ammonia-ready-car-carrier-order-to-15-units/
The 24 hours race in Le Mans celebrates its 100 birthday this year. The race has always been of high interest for car companies to try out new technologies. Lightweight materials, new fuels, and new engine technologies have been developed after being tested out in one of the hardest races in the world. The organizers have now announced that they will create a special class for hydrogen-powered race cars by the year 2026. This should draw a lot of attention from small and large car manufacturers, and it will be interesting to see if companies like Hyundai or Toyota will send a race car to Le Mans.
In case you missed it: Hyundai is one of the biggest investors in a hydrogen economy. In our podcast, Michael Cole explains how the company sees the future of hydrogen.
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