The Hydrogen Stream:
New magnesium-based composite for hydrogen storage and a big push from
South Korea – –
pv magazine International
Researchers at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) identified a new
magnesium-based alloy that could be used for hydrogen storage.
Furthermore, Hyundai Mobis announced a $1.1 billion (€0.95 billion)
investment in two new fuel cell plants in South Korea, while South
Korea’s SK Group formed a joint venture with US hydrogen solutions
company Plug Power to develop green hydrogen across several Asian
countries.
The new alloy developed by the CNL team is capable of storing just a
little over 6% of its weight in hydrogen.
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL)
Canadian
Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canada’s nuclear science and
technology organization, identified a new magnesium-based alloy that
promises a significant improvement in hydrogen storage. The idea is to
use a catalyst to bind the hydrogen to the alloy. When heated, the
hydrogen is then released. “While the specific chemistry remains part
of our ‘secret sauce’ so to speak, we have developed a magnesium-based
composite which is proving in testing to be a very promising material
for hydrogen storage purposes,” research scientist Brian Ellis said in
a press release on Tuesday. According to CNL, the new alloy is capable
of storing “just a little over 6% of its weight in hydrogen.”
Researchers say that the development might be prohibitive for small
passenger vehicles, but an advantage in heavy equipment. “A
hydrogen-powered passenger car currently carries approximately 10
kilograms of hydrogen (as a compressed gas) to allow its full
operating range. That same 10 kilograms of hydrogen stored in metal
would weigh upwards of 150 kilograms,” CNL stated, adding that the
magnesium-based alloy would, for instance, come in handy for fork
lifts.
South Korean
car parts company Hyundai Mobis announced a $1.1 billion
(€0.95 billion) investment in two new fuel cell plants in Korea. The
aim is to accelerate the hydrogen economy and “to secure broader
global market dominance.” According to the South Korean public
company, the new plants will start mass production in the second half
of 2023. “When fully operational, the facilities are expected to
produce 100,000 hydrogen fuel cells every year,” the company announced
on Thursday. Hyundai Mobis already operates one fuel cell plant in
Chungju with a capacity of 23,000 hydrogen cell systems a year. “We
will continue to invest more in facilities and strengthen our R&D
capability for the development of the hydrogen industry and expand the
ecosystem,” said Hyundai Mobis President and CEO Sung Hwan Cho.
Current production mainly targets fuel cell EVs, but the company wants
to also provide fuel cells to other sectors, mostly construction
machinery and logistics equipment.
Hyundai's new facilities are expected to produce
100,000 hydrogen fuel cells every year
Image: Hyundai Mobis
U.S.-based
hydrogen solutions company Plug
Power and SK E&S, part of South Korea’s SK Group, formed
a joint venture to accelerate the use of hydrogen as an alternative
energy source in Asian markets. The scope of the collaboration will
include hydrogen fuel cell systems, hydrogen fueling stations,
electrolyzers, and green hydrogen. Earlier this year, SK Group made a
$1.6 billion (€1.38 billion) capital investment in Plug Power. SK E&S
and Plug Power will own 51% and 49% of the joint venture. Plans
include the construction of a gigafactory in South Korea by 2024.
Spanish oil and
gas major Repsol,
which produced renewable hydrogen using biomethane as a raw material
for the first time earlier this month, increased its targets for
renewable generation and emission reductions. The company said it was
increasing “investments in the 2021-2025 period to €19.3 billion,
allocating an additional €1 billion over the period of the Strategic
Plan to step up its renewable electricity generation capacity and
production of renewable hydrogen, as well as other low-carbon
initiatives.” Repsol plans to produce 552 MW equivalent of renewable
hydrogen in 2025, and 1.9 GW in 2030. The company said it would
achieve its objectives through the installation of electrolyzers and
biogas production plants at its industrial complexes, as well as the
development of photoelectrocatalysis technology. “This technology is a
joint development of Repsol and Enagas, and a demonstration plant will
be installed at the Puertollano industrial complex in 2025 to obtain
hydrogen directly from water using solar energy,” the company said.
Repsol announced earlier this week that it had produced 10 tons of
renewable hydrogen from 500 MWh of biomethane at its Cartagena
Industrial Complex.
South Africa’s
integrated energy and chemical company Sasol signed
a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Northern Cape Development
Agency (NCEDA) to lead a feasibility study exploring the potential of
Boegoebaai as an export hub for green hydrogen and ammonia. “The
Boegoebaai ‘green hydrogen’ development has been designated a
Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) in the South African National
Development Plan and is located in the Namakwa Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
The project’s location and classification as a SIP are key enablers to
exploring Boegoebaai’s potential as a global green hydrogen hub,” the
company wrote on Wednesday. It expects the feasibility study to take
approximately 24 months. Sasol partnered with the Gauteng provincial
government to leverage special economic zones and with the Industrial
Development Corporation for joint funding. The focus should be on
mobility for the local market and aviation for international markets.
The project has the potential to produce 400 kilotons of hydrogen per
annum, according to local media reports, which cited Priscillah
Mabelane, Sasol's executive vice president for energy.
Australia’s Northern Territory government released
its Renewable Hydrogen Master Plan to guide the development of a
Northern Territory renewable hydrogen industry. “The Territory is well
placed to position itself at the forefront of the developing renewable
hydrogen industry with large areas of land, high solar irradiance,
close proximity to export markets, and an established world-scale
energy production and export industry,” the government said Thursday.
The plan hinges on a two-step approach. The government first wants to
support the early adoption of renewable hydrogen as a fuel source
locally through transport corridors before scaling up to export it.
It's also banking on large-scale geological storage. The Northern
Territory represents around 15% of Australia’s total LNG production
and export. It now wants to replicate, or even increase, this share of
total Australian hydrogen production and export. “Darwin is the
closest Australian capital city and deep sea port to key export
markets such as Japan, Korea, China and Singapore,” reads the complete
Master Plan.
