Hydrogen production in Romania

by Hydrogeit | Dec 15, 2022 | Germany

While most countries in Western Europe laid out their strategies for hydrogen extraction some time ago, this southeastern member of the European Union has yet to take this step. Indeed the Romanian government isn’t planning to announce its hydrogen strategy until 2023. Huge potential exists for Romania to excel in the production of carbon-free hydrogen, however, given the country’s impressive sustainable energy mix.

In 2021, over 30 percent of Romania’s electricity consumption was met by hydropower. Almost 20 percent of electricity generation is provided for by nuclear power plants. And wind power, at over 11 percent, accounts for a significant share which is also growing rapidly.

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Despite the lack of a national strategy, hydrogen development is well underway in Romania. The infrastructure side is being supported by the Three Seas Initiative or 3SI. This project has been actively involved in all EU states located between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black seas since 2016. It aims to promote cooperation on the implementation of major infrastructure schemes which will connect the region economically and drive it forward.

One of the ways in which 3SI has provided assistance is by helping grid operator Hidroelectrica Romania establish a joint venture for the construction of hydrogen pipelines. What’s more, Hidroelectrica has been taking part in the Green Hydrogen @ Blue Danube project alongside Austria (see fig. 1). Within the framework of the European Commission’s Important Projects of Common European Interest or IPCEIs, the states in the Danube region and in southeastern Europe are to be supplied with green hydrogen along the Danube and in southeastern Europe. Other participants include Austrian power company VERBUND as well as Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies in Germany.

A multitude of separate schemes

In 2009, Romania witnessed the founding of the National Research and Development Institute for Cryogenic and Isotopic Technologies ICSI and the National Center for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells CNHPC. Their remit is to encourage the introduction, development and spread of hydrogen-based energy technologies. However these initiatives have enjoyed only modest success. So far researchers from ICSI have developed two electric car prototypes that are powered by fuel cells and have a maximum range of around 200 miles (320 kilometers).

A pot of EUR 115 million is envisaged for the first 100 megawatts of green hydrogen production capacity. This funding is a key pillar in the country’s recovery program entitled Național de Redresare și Reziliență or PNNR for short. In Romania, industry giants Hidroelectrica, Romgaz (SNG), OMV Petrom (SNP), Liberty Galați as well as several wind power producers are all currently investigating options to produce green hydrogen.

Liberty Galați recently announced its intention to manufacture green steel and also to develop hydrogen-powered vehicles. Romgaz is planning use photovoltaic power plants to generate electricity which it will use to make hydrogen. The hydrogen will then fuel the company’s fleet of vehicles, 20 percent of which are to be converted to run on hydrogen. Also involved is Russian group Lukoil, which has a refinery in Ploiești. It too is expecting to take the first steps toward green hydrogen manufacturing. At the moment there are 13 industrial hydrogen producers in Romania and these principally use fossil fuels in their processes. Only Chimcomplex (CHOB) and Liberty Galați have projects to produce green hydrogen on their agenda.

Hence there is no shortage of initiatives from the hydrogen industry in Romania, but the lack of coordinated strategic planning has been viewed critically by local experts. Răzvan Nicolescu, Romania’s former energy minister, sees insufficient investment particularly when it comes to the integrated production chains needed by the hydrogen sector. “We talk a lot about hydrogen (…), but we haven’t yet actually asked ourselves how we can convince Cummins, one of the largest manufacturers of hydrogen plants, which is already based in Craiova, to produce electrolyzers in Romania,” explained Nicolescu with disappointment.

Infrastructure expansion

The operator of the national natural gas grid Transgaz (TGN) has been helped by the 3SI project in setting up a joint venture for the construction of hydrogen pipelines. Given the specifics of Romania’s energy requirement, the need to expand pipeline infrastructure is of primary importance. Romania anticipates that hydrogen will be chiefly deployed in industrial applications. The country experiences particularly high demand for energy from its domestic refineries, chemical works and steelmaking plants.

The focal point for the development of the Romanian hydrogen sector is the region to the southeast of the country. This is because the Black Sea coast is home to major branches of industry and is also the location for the planned expansion in offshore wind. The port of Constanta is often cited in this connection.

The Black Sea area offers Romania enormous potential in terms of wind energy generation – estimated at over 70,000 megawatts. “This energy is also due to be used for hydrogen production,” said former state secretary at the economy and energy ministry Niculae Havrilet.

The region that borders Ukraine in the north and Bulgaria in the south is known as Dobrogea. “Dobrogea ranks second after Scotland in terms of the size of potential for wind power generation in Europe. And this is where electrolyzer technology comes in, which allows the green energy generated by the wind turbines to be turned into green hydrogen,” explained Alexandru Bădescu from Cluster South East Europe at Linde Gaz Romania, speaking to the Romanian media.

In Dobrogea the wind conditions are well-nigh ideal for electricity generation. The area is inspiring lively interest from national and international wind farm developers. Leading the way in the use of wind power for hydrogen production in Dobrogea are companies Romgaz and OMV Petrom which are already working in partnership to unlock natural gas resources from the Black Sea.

Author: Aleksandra Fedorska

Green hydrogen from the northwest

by Hydrogeit | Dec 15, 2022 | Germany

The HyWays for Future project will boost efforts to ramp up renewable hydrogen production and use in northwestern Germany through a network of around 250 members. The aim of the initiative is to firmly embed sustainable hydrogen in the industry, energy supply and mobility sectors. Its initial focus will be on the deployment of hydrogen within transportation. As part of the project, investment will be channeled into various schemes, including the construction of hydrogen refueling stations, mobile storage, the procurement of hydrogen buses for local public transport, street sweepers and hydrogen-powered cars.

Hydrogen’s role as an energy carrier makes it a vital building block in the energy transition and northwestern Germany lends itself as a location for establishing a strong, sustainable hydrogen economy, in other words a veritable hydrogen hub. The focal point for this flagship hydrogen region is the Northwest Metropolitan Region which is home to the towns and cities of Cuxhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven, Oldenburg and Bremen.

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National hydrogen hub

The HyWays area is well placed to become a leading region for hydrogen in the transport sector. Thanks to the high number of wind plants, situated both onshore and offshore, the electricity consumed here is already nearly 100 percent renewable. What’s more, the region offers caverns that are suitable for hydrogen storage and there are a wide range of possible outlets here for hydrogen use. Consequently a hydrogen economy will have enormous potential to create new added value in the region. It’s this favorable location and potential for development which the project is hoping to exploit.

HyWays for Future is founded upon two pillars: the implementation project and the innovation cluster.

HyFri – hydrogen buses for the Friesland district

The German district of Friesland is deploying hydrogen buses to enable zero-emission public transportation in some parts of its local network. The project, which will initially see five vehicles enter service, is designed to kick-start the expansion of the local hydrogen economy. The title HyFri, a contraction of Hydrogen and Friesland, underlines the project’s local roots and the regional nature of the value chain. The hydrogen buses, operated by regional bus company Weser-Ems-Bus, will pioneer the use of green hydrogen in the area. This is because of the potential to save vast amounts of carbon dioxide within the transportation sector.

Bus refueling will take place at a new hydrogen filling station which is to be conveniently situated in the town of Schortens. Operation of the refueling station will fall under the remit of a new operating company founded by the partners Weser-Ems-Bus, EWE and the Gödens Group. HyFri will be funded by the German transportation ministry as part of the HyWays for Future scheme.

The implementation project

The clearly communicated aim of the HyWays for Future initiative is to not only produce clean hydrogen locally with sustainable energy but to use it locally too. To make this happen, the implementation project plans to develop electrolyzer capacities and hydrogen refueling stations as well as invest in hydrogen vehicles.

Hydrogen production: HyWays for Future will rely on a variety of models for the manufacture of green hydrogen depending on local circumstances. Options include decentralized on-site production at refueling stations using small electrolyzers and large-scale centralized production, for example at industrial parks from which the hydrogen will then be transported to the filling stations.

Hydrogen refueling stations: Filling stations are vital facilities that underpin the use of hydrogen within the transportation sector. Up to five such refueling stations could be created in the flagship region as part of HyWays for Future. These stations will then form a network that will ensure widespread availability of hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles.

Fuel cell vehicles: Finally there are the zero-emission vehicles powered by green energy that will consume the hydrogen. The project foresees the purchase of buses, municipal vehicles such as street sweepers, and cars.

HY.City.Bremerhaven builds local green hydrogen infrastructure

A scheme in Bremerhaven will create a regional green hydrogen ecosystem from the end of 2022. To enable this vision, the company HY.City.Bremerhaven will build and operate an electrolyzer plant with a 2-megawatt capacity and a hydrogen refueling station located immediately adjacent to the service yard of Bremerhaven Bus. HY.City.Bremerhaven was established especially for this project by Bremerhaven startup Green Fuels, Bremerhaven Bus, construction service provider Georg Grube and tank logistics company UTG together with energy transition experts GP Joule. The project will construct a 2-megawatt electrolyzer and a public hydrogen refueling station for buses, trucks and cars. Funding for HY.City.Bremerhaven will come from the German transportation ministry as part of the HyWays for Future scheme.

SLRV – Light two-seater with fuel cell

by Hydrogeit | Dec 15, 2022 | Germany

The Safe Light Regional Vehicle (SLRV) was developed by the German aerospace center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR) as part of the research project Next Generation Car (NGC). It addresses concerns about the safety of today’s lightweight microcars with the novel metal sandwich construction. This together with an innovative entry concept, highly efficient H₂ fuel cell drive system and crash-optimized chassis were able to achieve the ambitious targets regarding weight (450 kg), safety, energy consumption and manufacturing cost.

The body of the two-seat SLRV is 3.8 meters long and low to the ground, for the lowest possible air resistance. The additionally low weight is crucial for low energy consumption. Even for electrified vehicles with recuperation, up to 93 percent of energy consumption, depending on which point in the drive cycle, is weight-dependent [FRI2010]. A low body mass also enables secondary mass reduction, so smaller and more cost-effective drive components, and its effects [ECK2011].

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According to initial simulation results, the SLRV is expected to consume only half as much hydrogen as a conventional fuel cell-powered passenger car.

Sandwich construction: light, low-cost, safe

To achieve the goal of a lightweight and safe construction that is nevertheless cost-effective, the so-called metal sandwich construction (metallische Sandwichbauweise) was developed (see Fig. 2). The materials are composed of metal cover layers and plastic foam as the core. The front and rear sections of the SLRV are composed of sandwich panels and serve as crumple zones [BRU2017]. A large part of the vehicle’s machinery is also housed there.

The passenger compartment consists of a floor tray braced by a ring structure. This absorbs the forces that act on the car while it’s driving and protects the occupants in the event of a crash. With the floor tray, assemblies that are individually found in the passenger compartment of a conventional car body, such as front wall, rear wall, rocker panels and floor, are combined into a single construction element, which significantly reduces the complexity as well as the number of joints.

Similar advantages are offered by the use of the upward-opening canopy in conjunction with a roll bar. With these, the doors, posts, A and C pillars, and roof have been replaced by a single piece. So far, structures made of sandwich materials have not yet been used in the series production of vehicles. The DLR has shown its potential and in the next step is working to optimize the relevant manufacturing technologies.

Crash behavior in the event of a frontal impact

The crash behavior of the SLRV body during a frontal impact was analyzed and documented in accordance with US NCAP guidelines. Such a crash corresponds to an impact of the vehicle against a rigid wall at 56 km per hour (35 mph). The crash box and front end of the SLRV are evenly deformed in the process and absorb the crash energy. The passenger compartment is not deformed, to not reduce the survival space for the occupants.

Important for the crash behavior is also the chassis design of the SLRV. The chassis is designed in such a way that the wheels detach in the event of a crash and are guided past the car body [KRI2019]. This way, the passenger compartment is not hit by the wheel and can be more simply designed.

British gigafactory

by Hydrogeit | Dec 15, 2022 | Germany

With the help of the British government, a large-scale factory to produce components for the hydrogen and fuel cell market is to be built in England. Johnson Matthey (JM) intends to erect this gigafactory, a cost of 80 million pounds, at its location in Royston.

Earlier this year, the British technology company had set the goal of becoming “market leader in power components for fuel cells and electrolyzers” and achieving an over 200 million pounds turnover with H₂ technologies by the end of 2024. As part of this, numerous highly qualified manufacturing jobs are to be created by the first half of 2024.

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The British government has pledged support out of the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) so that components for 3 GW in PEM fuel cell stacks for hydrogen vehicles can be produced annually. The United Kingdom is forecast to require 14 GW in fuel cell stacks and 400,000 high pressure carbon fiber tanks annually by 2035.

Liam Condon, Chief Executive of Johnson Matthey, stated, “Decarbonising freight transportation is critical to help societies and industries meet their ambitious net zero emission targets. Fuel cells will be a crucial part of the energy transition.” The British economic minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, said, “We are working hard to ensure the UK reaps the benefits of the green industrial revolution, and today’s announcement reaffirms UK’s reputation as one of the best locations in the world for high quality auto manufacturing.”

Rolling bearings for cryogenic hydrogen

by Hydrogeit | Dec 15, 2022 | Germany

Hydrogen cooled well below zero poses particular challenges to the components used, especially the moving ones. The ball bearings of submersible pumps for pumping cryogenic media are examples of such heavily burdened parts. That is why NSK, a company originated in Tokyo, has developed self-lubricating deep groove ball bearings that work without the need to apply a separate lubricant.

Friction-reducing agents other than the pumped media are not used, which is normally tribologically unfavorable. Pumps designed for cryogenic applications have a double-row bearing arrangement of the pump shaft, where the inner and outer rings are made of special corrosion-resistant steel. The stainless steel NSK bearings have a wear-resistant cage made of self-lubricating fluoroplastic so that cryogenic gases such as GH₂ (gaseous hydrogen) or LNG (liquefied natural gas) can be pumped at down to -200 °C.

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The European rolling bearing manufacturer NSK Europe Ltd. now offers a whole range of deep groove ball bearings specially designed for these unusual operating conditions – with shaft diameters from 30 to 100 mm. They tolerate very low temperatures as well as rotational speeds of up to 3,600 min^-1 and are suitable for hydrogen refueling stations as well as for larger pumping stations.

H-Tec Systems introduces scalable Hydrogen Cube System

by Hydrogeit | Dec 15, 2022 | Germany

At Hannover Messe 2022, the company H-Tec Systems, from Augsburg, introduced the Hydrogen Cube System (HCS) to a wide audience. The HCS generates green hydrogen via PEM electrolysis. The modular system is suitable for use in large multi-MW electrolysis plants within the energy-intensive manufacturing and chemical industries or to store surplus wind power.

The Cubes are available as a closed container solution for outdoor installation as well as an open one for indoor installation. They are equipped with 18 S450 PEM stacks as well as integrated process water treatment and power supply. The system can optionally be expanded with a fresh water or hydrogen purification unit or a heat recovery unit, the manufacturer states.

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Several 2-MW Cubes can be combined to form a multi-megawatt system. A plant to reach 50 MW in the long term can also be planned and designed in this way. The Cubes achieve, according to H-Tec Systems, a system efficiency of 74 percent. They have an integrated process water treatment and power supply system. An HCS with five units, so with 10 MW electrolysis capacity, can thus produce 4,500 kg of H₂ per day. That makes 40 to 50 truck or bus tanks full. Through the modular construction, several units can be joined together as described and the entire plant can be centrally controlled and monitored.

The HCS is suited, according to H-Tec Systems, for various applications in industrial production such as for chemical plants, for fleet refueling of trucks or buses, or in steel production. Additionally, operators of renewable power plants have the option of using it as a power buffer. A specific example: According to the company’s own calculations, a 10-MW HCS could reduce the CO₂ emissions in the steel production industry by 117 tonnes per day and 42,000 tonnes annually.

Because of increasing demand, the Augsburg-based company intends to further expand its production capacity. Together with large-scale plant manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions, with its direct access to the large-series production knowhow of Volkswagen, an automated factory for the production of the electrolysis stacks is to be completed by the end of 2023, H-Tec Systems states. Through this, a production capacity of 1,000 MW is to be achieved, depending on demand, by 2025 – and continuously expanded in the following years, according to the current plans.

Author: Niels Hendrik Petersen