by eaugsten | Nov 18, 2024 | Energy storage, Europe, Germany, Market, News
Metal hydride storage as a complete system
GKN Hydrogen has developed a complete containerized storage system which allows hydrogen to be stored in discs of metal hydride powder. The solution employs solid-state technology to store hydrogen safely for long periods. The pioneering company based in Pfalzen, northern Italy, became part of the British engineering corporation Langley in August 2024.
Admittedly, the many practical benefits of using metal hydrides for hydrogen storage are in no way a new revelation. Metal hydrides are compact and require neither high pressures nor low temperatures. Even in the event of a fire they are relatively safe since most of the hydrogen is firmly bonded in the metal. It’s why developers attempted to use them in hydrogen cars in the 1970s. And yet this technology is still not found in any automobile. One of the reasons for this, as tests showed, is the immense metal weight that had to be carried in relation to the amount of hydrogen stored. Not only that, the issue of on-board heat management proved tricky to handle.
On the other hand, what is relatively new is the use of metal hydride storage systems in stationary applications. Storage solutions for microgrids, neighborhood schemes and industrial units usually stay put. Such systems can also be used for hydrogen mobility, albeit essentially to store hydrogen at the refueling station.
If needs must, the hydrogen can also be moved around in shipping containers. These are best transported by boat or train, though road trains are also possible across the vast expanses of the prairies. “In the USA we are currently developing a mobile refueler. This will enable hydrogen to be transported to remote areas, thereby providing a truck-based refueling option in these locations,” says Dirk Bolz, head of marketing at GKN Hydrogen.
Dirk Bolz, head of marketing at GKN Hydrogen
In these applications, there will be little concern about using titanium-iron alloy as the material and the combined weight of the storage container for 250 kilograms of hydrogen and the associated equipment adding up to over 30 metric tons. It thus allows GKN Hydrogen to sidestep a key problem with this technology.
The company has also found solutions for other challenges: “Our specialist knowledge and intellectual property lie principally in two areas. One of those is production processes – in other words how you press a bonded material from metal powder,” says Bolz. In the early days the powder was formed into small pellets; today they are more like round, flat discs. “The other area is the charging and discharging of the storage system – in other words the thermal cycling of the storage system.”
The actual storage unit is designed as a pipe-in-pipe system (see fig. 1). In the inner pipe, the hydrogen flows around the discs made from compressed metal powder. A heat transfer medium flows through the outer pipe carrying away the heat which arises when hydrogen bonds to the metal. Adding heat reverses the process and the storage system is discharged.
Ten years of hydrogen storage research
GKN’s history can be traced back to the dawn of industrialization. The company started when an ironworks was founded in Dowlais, South Wales, in the 18th century. Since then, it has been involved in a wide range of industrial technologies, including the manufacture of steel, screws and drive shafts for cars. GKN Powder Metallurgy, headquartered in the German city of Bonn, is the specialist in powder metals within the international corporation. Its developers have been working on the application of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage for a good decade. The metal powder is made in the company’s factories spread across the world.
Up until 2023, the production of complete containerized systems was based at the GKN Sinter Metals factory in Bruneck in South Tyrol, Italy. This is where the first pilot applications originated. “Initially it was an off-grid solution for a vacation home and demonstrators at our sites. They were quickly followed by the first fully integrated power-to-power systems that incorporated everything from the electrolyzer and storage system down to the fuel cell,” explains Bolz. A year ago, GKN Hydrogen moved to Pfalzen, a 3,000-strong community located on the outskirts of Bruneck, where the systems are now produced and refined.
Levelized cost of storage rules
As an industrial enterprise, GKN knows full well that price is a key deciding factor for customers. According to Bolz, the current volume of production means the capital costs for a metal hydride storage system, depending on use, are around one and a half times that of a comparable pressurized tank. “Yet, depending on the application, the TCO – total cost of ownership – of our storage systems is on a par with or even below pressurized tanks. That’s due to the much lower maintenance costs.” He therefore recommends paying attention to the levelized cost of storage or LCOS for a specific project.
As the main components of the storage system are unmoving, the cost of maintenance is lower in comparison with high-pressure systems with a compressor unit and the storage system has a longer life expectancy. The efficiency is also greater. This is because once the hydrogen is bound in the metal, it stays there – in contrast with gas or even liquid storage tanks in which some of the molecules are discharged over time. Furthermore, the metal hydride storage system operates at low pressure, which can save considerably on energy costs, depending on the pressure level for production and application.
Batteries compared and contrasted
In addition to straight hydrogen storage systems, GKN Hydrogen also offers turnkey power-to-power solutions which come with the electrolyzer and fuel cell already installed. These are similar to commercial battery systems in terms of size and energy density. The HY2MEDI storage system includes a fuel cell and electrolyzer which are prefitted in a 20-foot (6-m) container. It holds 120 kg of hydrogen. This can then supply around 2 megawatt-hours of electricity using the in-built fuel cell. By comparison, the battery storage system of a well-known manufacturer in the same format has a capacity of 1.9 MWh.
However, metal hydrides and batteries each have their strengths in very different areas of application. Where a high number of short storage cycles are the order of the day, a battery solution comes out clearly on top. The battery manufacturer puts cycle efficiency at “up to 98 percent.” Looking purely at electrical efficiency, metal hydride systems are only 32 percent efficient. If a customer also requires heating, a significant proportion of losses can be used for heating purposes, which brings the overall efficiency to 70 percent. “Our systems are used in buildings or backup solutions for critical infrastructure for longer storage periods, from around two days to several weeks or months.”
GKN Hydrogen’s complete storage system is available as a containerized solution
“In industry, storage volumes and cycling dynamics tend to be the crucial factors,” stresses Bolz. If energy is not released for a long time, a battery’s losses will increase – but not in the case of metal hydride. The metal hydride storage system can also excel when it comes to cycle stability. According to GKN, after 3,500 cycles, the capacity remains at 99 percent of the starting value. Even beyond that, the storage systems have so far proved stable. “To date, we have put our storage solutions through about 6,000 cycles and we haven’t observed any mechanical wear or chemical degradation,” says Bolz.
Advantages for safety
The use of both hydrogen and batteries requires special safety precautions, particularly in relation to explosion and fire prevention. A great deal of experience has been acquired with regard to batteries which reduces anxiety about their use, including applications in residential properties. New battery materials will also greatly increase fire safety in the near future.
Hydrogen in pressurized tanks is, on the other hand, relatively new outside industrial uses. There is little experience of its application in homes or residential areas, in particular, and skepticism abounds. This is where metal hydride storage systems could come in.
“Only around 4 percent of the hydrogen stored in our system is present as gas. The rest is chemically bonded, in other words fixed,” explains Bolz. This minimizes the fire load and risk of explosion. What has been absent so far, compared with batteries, are well-honed practices within public authority approvals procedures. Authorities currently ask for the same evidence as required for high-pressure tanks, says Bolz. But he assumes this will soon change. “At the moment we are working to prove that our storage systems are the safest on the market by carrying out simulations and test installations.”
In fact it is the safety aspect which has recently opened the door to the Japanese market for GKN. In Japan, high-pressure tanks of 10 bar or higher are subject to strict safety regulations. That’s why Mitsubishi Corporation Technos, a Japanese trading company specializing in industrial machines, signed a memorandum of understanding with GKN Hydrogen just a few months ago.
Takeover by Langley Holdings
At the beginning of August, GKN Hydrogen had some big news: The company had joined British group Langley Holdings. This latest move followed several previous shifts at GKN. In 2018, the aerospace and holding company Melrose Industries bought GKN Group. At that time, GKN Hydrogen was still a business unit, becoming a stand-alone company within the group in 2021. In 2023, Melrose separated off several GKN companies into the Dowlais Group, among them GKN Hydrogen.
The new owner Langley is a family-run British corporation which started out in the 1970s as a supplier to the coal industry and has since grown into one of the UK’s biggest private companies. With 90 subsidiaries and a workforce of 5,000 staff, Langley estimates its turnover in 2024 will be about USD 1.5 billion. Around half of these earnings are expected to come from the Power Solutions Division, which will henceforth include GKN Hydrogen. Other companies in this division are Bergen Engines, a Norwegian manufacturer of medium-speed engines, the Italian Marelli Motori, which makes electric motors and generators, and the German Piller Group, which provides uninterruptible power supply systems.
Guido Degen, CEO of GKN Hydrogen, describes the takeover as an opportunity for the company to accelerate development. They are said to be excited about “potential synergies” with other companies in the division. Even before the takeover, GKN Hydrogen saw itself as ready to fly. “To date, we have built and installed 27 systems globally,” said Bolz in early summer. This equates to a storage capacity of 60 MWh around the world. “This is no longer lab status, it’s technology readiness level 9. The manufacturing processes are standardized. Scaled-up series production and the subsequent cost benefits are possible any time – we are, in a sense, prepared for the growth that has been forecast for the sector.”
Eva Augsten
by Hydrogeit | Nov 11, 2024 | Germany, Market, News, Stock market
Interview with Carmen and Gerd Junker, Grünes Geld GmbH
The current economic uncertainty is also leaving its mark on the hydrogen sector. The long-awaited ramp-up in the production of electrolyzers and fuel cell trucks, and the production of green hydrogen, is still a long time coming. The reaction on the stock exchanges is correspondingly subdued. After the look at the H2 economy by analyst Max Deml in the previous H2-international issue, today we’re asking Carmen and Gerd Junker, founders of Grünes Geld GmbH, for their perspective on the H2 market.
Sven Geitmann H2-international: Dear Mrs. Junker, You and your husband and business partner have been managing your own hydrogen fund for four years now. You are a trained business administrator and business psychologist, and you already managed your own savings bank branch at the age of 22. How did you get into the topic of hydrogen?
Carmen Junker: In 2001, I founded my independent financial advisory company, which I converted six years later into Grünes Geld GmbH. Since 2007, we’ve dedicated ourselves with great passion to the area of ethical-ecological financial investments, where we particularly specialize in the cleantech sector. We recognized early on the central importance of hydrogen as an indispensable element for energy storage.
In discussions with our clients, it became increasingly clear that an essential solution for storing renewable energies over longer periods of time is needed – especially in times when there is neither enough sun nor wind available. While battery technologies continued to evolve, it became clear to us as early as the end of 2018 that hydrogen was the only viable solution for industry and long-term energy storage. However, there was a lack of corresponding investment opportunities at the market, which is why we used our extensive expertise in asset management to develop our own risk-spread and legally secure investment product. The road to realization was a little longer than expected, but finally on December 15, 2020, we were able to launch GG Wasserstoff, the first hydrogen equity fund in Germany and Austria.
Sven Geitmann H2-international: Dear Mr. Junker, You have as a qualified engineer in electrical engineering and industrial engineering a technical background and have years of management experience in a medium-sized stock corporation. What motivated you to shift the thematic focus of your company, founded in 2007, more towards hydrogen?
Gerd Junker: The question of storage technologies has always existed in the area of renewable energies; after all, in addition to the base-load energies such as geothermal energy, bioenergy and hydropower, wind power and photovoltaics are also intermittent. For many years, the discussion has primarily revolved around battery storage; from the late 2010s, then also increasingly often around hydrogen. The gravimetric energy density is about 100 times higher, and that is exactly what is needed in many applications. Our clients asked about investments in this area, but there was practically nothing with a reasonable risk concept. Since we already had many years of experience in asset management, the launch of GG Wasserstoff as the first and still only German hydrogen fund was a logical consequence.
Mrs. Junker, can you please briefly explain to our readers what exactly you do?
Carmen Junker: GG Wasserstoff is a fully regulated investment fund that raises capital from investors. The fund (ISIN: A2QDR5) can be easily purchased via a securities account at savings banks, investment banks or online brokers. The company Grünes Geld Vermögensmanagement GmbH, which advises the fund with its expertise in the hydrogen sector, supports the official fund manager Hansainvest in selecting the 30 to 40 most promising shares of hydrogen companies worldwide. It is crucial for the security of investors that the experienced capital management company Hansainvest from Hamburg takes over the professional and legally compliant management of the fund. Our task at Grünes Geld Vermögensmanagement GmbH is to identify and recommend the soundest investment opportunities along the entire hydrogen value chain.
Sven Geitmann H2-international: So you combine the shares of various listed companies that are active in the hydrogen sector into one fund – the GG Wasserstoff fund. You differentiate between pure players and blended players in this. Please explain this distinction.
Carmen Junker: Pure players are companies that are practically exclusively dedicated to the topic of hydrogen. That can be electrolyzer manufacturers or fuel cell producers or everything you need in the field of hydrogen usage or its derivatives. These are usually smaller, younger companies with higher price fluctuations and high long-term growth potential. In soccer, these would be the forwards.
Blended players, on the other hand, deal in addition to the topic of hydrogen with other business areas. A typical example would be the company Linde, which is the world market leader in industrial hydrogen gas but also supplies many other gases and builds other industrial systems. These companies are usually larger and have a calmer share price performance, or, to stay with the soccer metaphor, these are the midfield and defense.
Sven Geitmann H2-international: How can potential investors participate in your fund?
Carmen Junker: : The fund GG Wasserstoff can easily be purchased through your advisor by asking them to include the fund in your securities account. If you use an online broker, you can buy the fund there directly, often at favorable conditions via exchanges such as Hamburg, Stuttgart, Gettex or Tradegate. For inexperienced investors, we offer detailed information on the purchase process as well as our contact details at the website www.wasserstofffonds.de. If you do not yet have a portfolio, the fund can also be obtained through Grünes Geld GmbH as intermediary. The fund can generally be purchased from an amount of EUR 500 or via a monthly savings plan, for example starting from EUR 100. A monthly savings plan makes use of the cost-average effect and makes it possible to buy cost-effective in the long term – therefore we particularly recommend this option.
Sven Geitmann H2-international: Mr. Junker, your fund has had a performance of ‑48 percent since 2021. Can you explain how this development came about?
Gerd Junker: Whoever follows the column on hydrogen shares in the H2-international magazine has seen that hydrogen stocks peaked precisely in 2021 – an absolute exaggeration from today’s perspective. An incredible amount of money flowed into the small sector of hydrogen shares at the time, which led to exaggerated prices. Since then, pure players have mostly fallen by 90 to 95 percent, so significant price declines occurred, but the security concept with blended players worked well.
Reasons for the lower prices are, in addition to the considerable exaggeration in 2021, also the significantly delayed ramp-up of the hydrogen industry, which is only now slowly getting off the ground – partly because government funding commitments such as IPCEI were only made this year after a three-year delay or the American Inflation Reduction Act will probably only be concretely formulated after the elections. We join the head of Germany’s largest pure player, ThyssenKrupp Nucera, in stressing that the hydrogen ramp-up is delayed but is still expected to proceed as planned.
The third major stumbling block was the unprecedentedly rapid rise in interest rates around the year 2022. High interest rates simply make capital-intensive investments, such as those required to build up the hydrogen industry, very expensive. However, the European Central Bank already cut interest rates once in the summer, and this will certainly be followed by further interest rate cuts.
Sven Geitmann H2-international: How have you perceived the past few years, in which there was repeated talk about the imminent market entry of hydrogen and fuel cell technology, but that didn’t materialize?
Gerd Junker: One is the vision for the future and the good prospects – including the big promises of politics. For us as fund managers, however, the regularly reported business figures are the more important source, as they are more reliable. That is the unvarnished truth. Here, we would have expected a faster and more regular increase; pure players in particular are currently growing too slowly. In the fund, we are therefore overweighted with blended players.
Sven Geitmann H2-international: In one of your last webinars, you spoke about SAFs (sustainable aviation fuels), or green kerosene. How quickly do you see the development in this segment?
Gerd Junker: Let me introduce here for example the H2Global auction in July for sustainable kerosene. Unfortunately, the auction failed here, whereas the tender for green ammonia was very successful. Although a similarly large volume was put out to tender, there were no bidders at all. Money or will were not the problem at this point. That no bids were received was due to the strict regulatory framework imposed by the European Union. Bureaucracy and micromanagement are the biggest obstacles to the expansion of the hydrogen economy and SAFs. Unfortunately, we are not seeing any real acceleration in the European Union and are focusing on investments in other economic areas for this segment.
H2-international: Since January 2024, the fund has lost 15 percent, 5 percent in August alone. What was the trigger for these losses in August?
Carmen Junker: Now, at the time of this interview, August is only half over, so the August performance has not yet been determined. However, the sharp setback in August has little to do with hydrogen values, but rather with the general stock market turbulence, which was caused by the unwinding of the carry trade with money borrowed cheaply in Japan, which was then invested in equities in the strong dollar area. In such situations, all shares that are smaller, such as in the hydrogen sector, fall particularly sharply. The annual performance to date is due to the reasons already mentioned. If interest rates continue to fall and the hydrogen projects are finally implemented, this should quickly lead to rising share prices.
Sven Geitmann H2-international: What are you currently hearing from the business world? Is there still a certain amount of uncertainty and reluctance to invest, or is the situation already easing?
Gerd Junker: There is certainly a reluctance to invest, but the mood is more relaxed than you might think. We recently heard a manager at the Handelsblatt hydrogen summit say: Larger industrial projects typically take five to ten years to implement and are usually subject to delays of some kind. It is no different for hydrogen projects. We’ve simply reached reality.
Sven Geitmann H2-international: You write on your homepage that historical performance does not allow “any conclusions to be drawn about future performance.” What developments do you expect for the coming months?
Carmen Junker: For the coming months, you can hardly give any serious information on the stock exchange. In the very long term, equity markets worldwide will have between a six and nine percent yield. If hydrogen stocks start to catch up, you can add a bit more on top with this return plus.
Sven Geitmann H2-international: Please pick out three stocks that you think are particularly interesting at the moment.
Gerd Junker: By “currently considered particularly interesting,” we mean companies that we consider to have good prospects over the next few years – their shares may then also develop positively. But this is absolutely not an investment recommendation. Everyone who is on the stock market must make up their own mind.
Among the pure players, SFC Energy from Brunnthal near Munich would be interesting. They offer power supply solutions based on fuel cells. The profit zone was already reached there in 2022, the management is experienced and trustworthy, and the valuation is currently relatively low.
The English Ceres Power develops solid oxide fuel cells and electrolysis solutions, which it licenses to major players around the world. Without their own production, they can scale the model quicker. After many years of business development, the business figures are now also improving, and the valuation on the stock markets is attractive anyway.
Among the blended players, we like a Gaztransport & Technigaz SA from France. Their division Elogen builds PEM electrolyzers. These could be delivered in ready-made trailer solutions that can then be easily transported and operated anywhere in the world. Gaztransport & Technigaz SA also develops solutions for hydrogen transport by ships. The business figures are excellent and the valuation on the stock markets is favorable in our view.
Sven Geitmann H2-international: Last question: What distinguishes your fund from other financial products and indices?
Carmen Junker: First of all, it should be emphasized that GG Wasserstoff is the only German investment fund that focuses exclusively on the hydrogen segment. In comparison, other forms of investment, such as certificates, are less suitable for many investors due to the counterparty risk. Passive products are also not an optimal solution in a dynamic growth sector in which the financial markets are still pricing inefficiently. Our particular strength lies in the unique combination of our fund management: On the one hand, an experienced banker and stock market expert, on the other hand, an engineer. This expertise is invaluable for a technology fund.
by Birgit Scheppat | Nov 7, 2024 | Electric transportation, hydrogen development, Market, News
Dynamic-energetic optimization of light FC commercial vehicles
The challenge in designing a fuel cell electric drive lies in the vehicle- and vehicle application-specific dimensioning of the drivetrain components. The essential parameters to be considered for an optimization are the fuel cell output, the dynamics of the fuel cell, the mass of hydrogen in the tank, the capacity and maximum charging power of the HV battery, the output of the drive machine in motor and generator mode and also the dynamic behavior of the converters.
Virtual and real test procedures should be used to verify and validate model-based developed fuel cell drives. For this. a development platform for the dynamic-energetic optimization of these drives was realized at the university for applied sciences Hochschule Kempten (HKE).
In order to also be able to investigate upscaling effects, at a scaling of 1:10, a model- and a hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) performance or system test stand was put into operation, whose mutual digital twin was realized as a model-in-the-loop simulation (MiL simulation).
As an example, an optimized prototype FC drivetrain was implemented in a test vehicle, to be able to compare the results obtained in the road test with those of the simulations and test bench measurements. The use of iterative and recursive procedures ensured the reproducibility of the results and demonstrated the functionality of the methods developed.
The innovation now lies in the fact that small and medium-sized companies can significantly reduce development costs and considerably shorten development times by applying these methods.
Diagram of the development platform realized by the method coupling
The MiL simulations optimally describe the behavior of the drives on the HiL test bench. The HiL test bench measurements optimally predict the behavior of the drives in the test vehicle. Through an iterative and recursive approach, it was possible to achieve the fact that the simulations already provide very good information about the use of the fuel cell drive in the vehicle.
The CleanEngine test bench (HSRM)
The specially developed test bench of the university Hochschule RheinMain (HSRM) enables the detailed investigation of fuel cell systems (FC systems) with a stack output of 3 to 10 kW. This development includes the control of the test bench and the FC system as well as precise monitoring of all relevant parameters of the fuel cell stack and its peripheral components required for operation.
The aim of the project CleanEngine is to achieve performance or energy requirements of real driving situations (WLTP, etc.), as taken from “real trips” of suitable vehicles, to “downscale” them on a test stand and develop a “driving program.” This driving program should allow optimized operation in terms of dynamics and avoidance of critical states of the fuel cell in accordance with the requested road performance. By closely monitoring the system parameters, it is possible to control the FC system in such a way as to minimize the energy consumption of the vehicle’s operation – for example the auxiliary units, which today use up to 15 percent energy and always leave the fuel cell system in its comfort zone. For this purpose, three PEM FC stacks of power classes 3, 6 and 9 kW were procured as part of the project. When designing the FC systems, emphasis was placed on a vehicle-oriented design, in close consultation with the team of HS Kempten regarding its experimental setup.
In addition to the variability of the operating temperature and pressure, the test setup is characterized by passively adjustable humidification and active recirculation of the hydrogen. Initial experience has confirmed that these are important levers for flexible adaptation to different operating conditions and for increasing the efficiency and service life of the systems.
Fig. 2: Test bench of Hochschule RheinMain
A comprehensive sensor system records all mass and energy flows within the FC system. This includes simultaneous single-cell voltage measurement and determination of the power requirements of all system components. Additionally, temperatures, pressures and humidity values are continuously monitored, which enables a precise analysis of the operating states.
The test bench offers the possibility of determining the polarization characteristics of the FC stack as well as carrying out electrochemical impedance spectroscopy on individual cells or optionally on the entire stack. These processes are crucial for understanding the electrochemical properties and performance capability of the fuel cells. In addition to these analytical methods, driving cycle tests and endurance tests can be carried out on the test bench in order to investigate the aging and failure mechanisms of the fuel cells.
The open test system and the flexible control of the FC system allow a wide range of system components to be tested. These include compressors, refrigerants, humidification concepts, valves and a variety of sensors. They can also be used to further develop fuel cell technology. They provide new insights into the performance and efficiency of the FC systems investigated and enable the identification of optimization potential in terms of operating temperature, operating pressure, humidification and recirculation.
They also support the development of improved control and monitoring systems for fuel cell systems, particularly with regard to humidity and temperature curves. The results provide a basis for the further development of analytical methods such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in order to better understand the electrochemical properties and performance capabilities of fuel cells. In addition, they show the influence of different operating conditions on aging and failure mechanisms of fuel cells in order to improve the longevity and reliability of FC systems.
Schematic structure of the test stand of Hochschule RheinMain
Configuration of the HiL system test stand (HKE)
While all components are represented by physical models in an MiL simulation, all essential components of the drive can be integrated and characterized as hardware on an HiL test bench. Non-available components, such as the vehicle itself or the environment, etc., are in turn represented by physical models in the form of a residual bus simulation.
The following essential components are currently integrated into the test stand:
- Toyota fuel cell system, 80 kW, dynamics ± 30 kW/s
- Synchronous drive machine, 85 kW
- HV traction battery 36 kWh, lower capacities can be simulated on the software side
- Asynchronous load motor Pmax = 250 kW for applying the load cycles
- External storage battery (222 kWh) for storing electrical energy and for grid independence
Features of the HiL system test stand
- Complete drive trains and all individual components can be examined and characterized
- The test stand is currently designed for drives with a max. drive power of 250 kW
- Possible test cycles are WLTC, NEDC, in particular also freely configurable scenarios
- The realization was carried out entirely in-house, from the idea to the start-up of operation
Figure 4 schematically shows the structure of the HiL system test bench. In the lower left block is shown the real integrated vehicle hardware, consisting of fuel cell system, prime mover, cooling system, traction battery, electrical converters and the power distribution unit (PDU). As the central control device, the MicroAutoBox 3 from DSpace is employed. For the complex regulation of energy flows between the fuel cell, drive unit and traction battery, an “intelligent energy flow regulator” was developed as software for the control unit.
Measurements on the system test bench very quickly showed that the electrical energy storage device (namely traction battery or HV battery) is the limiting factor for vehicle applications. It is not only the capacity of the electrical storage system that is decisive, but rather the maximum charging capacity of the battery during recuperation and simultaneous fuel cell lag that limits the storage of the recovered energy, so additional mechanical braking is often required. This results in the need to accelerate the development of battery systems for hydrogen-electric drives.
Topology of the HiL system test stand
Comparison of the results from MiL simulations with HiL test bench measurements
Figure 5 shows the comparison of the simulation results (in the left column) with the test stand measurements (in the right column). Basis of the comparison is the WLTC Class 3 cycle. The first row shows the speed profile in blue and the SoC of the battery in red. The motor torques are compared in the second row, and the motor speeds in the third row.
The fourth row shows the performance curves for the fuel cell system, the motor and the battery. The charging power limit of the battery and the maximum charging power set by the intelligent energy flow regulator are also shown.
Overall, it can be stated that the results of the MiL simulation correspond very well with the results of the HiL test bench measurements.
Comparison of the results from simulation and test stand measurements based on WLTC class 3
H2 research facility of Hochschule Kempten
The H2 research facility (test stand and infrastructure) of Hochschule Kempten was installed on the campus of the wastewater association Abwasserverband Kempten (AVKE, see Fig. 1). There, the hydrogen center Wasserstoffzentrum Kempten will appear.
The cooperation of Hochschule Kempten with the AVKE is a result of the project HyAllgäu, which was funded as a feasibility study as part of the program HyLand under the subprogram HyExperts. The subject of the project was the question of the extent to which the Allgäu’s future hydrogen requirements can be covered by H2 production in the Allgäu region (see H2-international, May 2021).
Next steps and summary
The driver testing by the company ABT e-Line GmbH is currently happening, and then the vehicle measurement data will be compared with the measurement data from the system test bench. That the simulation results agree very well with the results of the test stand measurements has already been mentioned. We are currently working on the dynamic-energetic optimization of the hydrogen-electric drive mentioned. The key question here is: How or by what means can the efficiency of the fuel cell in conjunction with the HV traction battery be raised in order to, for example, minimize the H2 consumption?
In addition, it was shown that, to meet the requirements of hydrogen-electric drives, further development of electrical storage systems towards hybrid systems consisting of high-performance and high-energy batteries and supercapacitors is urgently recommended.
In the project CleanEngine, we have learned to understand the relevant parameters of energy management and to draw conclusions from them, that is, to analyze the energy flows between the FC system, traction battery and drive motor and to optimize them based on the vehicle type and application using a specially developed intelligent energy flow controller. This is currently in testing. Prerequisite is the optimized dimensioning of the components H2 tank (H2 quantity), battery capacity, power of the FC system and the drive unit.
In conclusion, in the project CleanEngine, procedures, methods and tools were developed whose practical application make it possible to answer comprehensive technical and scientific questions in the context of hydrogen-electric drives for stationary and mobile applications.
The results from the support project (Förderprojekt) CleanEngine show the importance of a holistic view of fuel cell systems including the BoP (balance of plant) components. The unique structure of the project enables the zoom from the level of the finished FC hybrid vehicle to a prototype hybrid drivetrain system to the individual components that are needed to operate an FC stack, and thus the representation of the interactions of these system levels and components.
The project CleanEngine is funded by the German ministry for digital infrastructure and transport (BMDV). Administrative responsibility lies with the Nationale Organisation Wasserstoff GmbH (NOW), and the responsibility as project organizer Projektträger Jülich (PTJ). Project partner in addition to Hochschule Kempten (HKE – Yue Ni, André Giesbrecht, Moritz Gegenbauer, Christoph Zettler) and Hochschule RheinMain (HSRM – Max Kleber, Georg Derscheid, Matthias Werner) is the industrial company ABT eLine GmbH. The project duration, after an extension by twelve months, spans from December 1, 2020 to November 30, 2024.
Authors:
Prof. Dr. Birgit Scheppat
Hochschule RheinMain
Birgit.Scheppat@hs-rm.de
Prof. Dr. Werner E. Mehr
Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften Kempten
werner.mehr@hs-kempten.de
by Monika Roessiger | Nov 4, 2024 | Electric transportation, Germany, News
Still produces in new factory in Hamburg
The intralogistics industry, too, must reduce its CO2 emissions while continuing to operate profitably. As far as drive systems are concerned, hydrogen technology alongside purely battery-electric vehicles is increasingly coming into focus. Thanks to its high performance, it scores particularly well in multi-shift operation.
The Hamburg-based company Still is the first supplier of industrial trucks in Europe to have its own production facility for fuel cell systems. These are optionally integrated into the storage technology devices at the customer’s request. Up to 5,000 units per year will initially roll off the production line in the Hanseatic city, where the production capacities are designed for further growth.
The intralogistics specialist, which offers forklift trucks, warehouse technology and networked systems, for example, has been producing 24-volt fuel cell systems at its main factory in Hamburg since November 2023. “This is a closed unit, which makes it possible to switch from battery to fuel cell at a later date,” stated Jan Lemke, production manager, at the mechatronics center during a factory tour at the headquarters in Hamburg. The factory founded in 1920 by Hans Still today employs around 9,000 people in 22 countries and is part of the listed Kion Group. The fuel cell system was also developed there.
For companies with large fleets – so more than 50 vehicles and over 1,500 operating hours per year – hydrogen, according to the company’s information, is suitable as an alternative to battery-powered vehicles. And in areas such as the food and pharmaceutical industries, where hygiene is particularly important, this applies all the more due to the clean FC technology.
Eight to nine hours at full power
Because of their performance capability, fuel cells are particularly required when processes such as lifting or acceleration are involved, states Lemke. With 0.8 kilograms of hydrogen in the steel tank, the FC systems, which feed into a lithium-ion battery as required, enable a continuous shift of eight to nine hours without any drop in performance. The subsequent “refueling” with the gas compressed to 350 bar takes only 30 to 120 seconds, assures Lemke. To do this, the vehicle is connected to a dispenser that acts as a fuel pump. Because it requires very little space, such a dispenser can either be positioned flexibly in the warehouse or integrated along the route, depending on requirements.
Such FC systems are used for example by customers with large fleets of intralogistics devices such as baggage tugs at airports or train stations. Regardless of the size of the fleet, FC systems are particularly suitable for those customers who already or in the future will have a hydrogen production facility or pipeline in their vicinity or produce the green gas themselves via electrolysis using renewable energy sources – for example, for industrial operations or heavy goods transport.
Complete package for trial operation
To enable customers with small fleets to get started with hydrogen technology, Still offers a package of FC vehicles, mobile refueling system, permits and installation to rent for about one month. This allows these customers to test the fuel cell vehicles themselves in real-life operation. “For selected vehicles, Still offers the ‘Fuel Cell Ready’ option, so that customers can switch to FC technology as required,” says Lemke. The system development was funded with over 1.9 million euros as part of the federal innovation program NIP (Nationales Innovationsprogramm Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellentechnologie).
Stress test in the factory
The production in Hamburg includes the manufacture of individual components such as printed circuit boards in the mechatronics center. Of this Still is especially proud. There are “only a few competitors on the market for power electronics,” says Lemke. Another unique feature is the quality testing in a specially designed test cabin: “No system leaves the factory without being tested. We stress the system at one and a half times the pressure to see if hydrogen escapes anywhere.”
To do this, the fuel cell is refueled with hydrogen and the tightness of all lines and components is tested under high pressure using special measuring devices. The safety standard also includes the immediate and complete extraction of any escaping hydrogen in the event of an untight line. The glass test cabin, which is computer-controlled and fully automatic, was also developed there – together with a partner company.
Jan Lemke (left) during the stress test in front of the test cabin in the Still production hall in Hamburg
“Ready for use at any time,” thinks Lemke why FC technology is superior to the purely battery-electric drive. Still has been offering battery drives for its industrial trucks for some time now. But “battery changes, the extra space required for batteries and charging windows are now a thing of the past,” according to Lemke. The FC service life is around 10,000 operating hours.
H2 increasingly important in intralogistics
While purely battery-electric drives are completely sufficient for some logistics users, it may be more favorable for others to use FC vehicles. For example, if an industrial customer draws more than 100,000 kWh per year, explains Gesa Kaatz, energy specialist at Still. Then, in addition to energy consumption, load peaks also have a significant impact on electricity costs. In addition to the energy price, customers are charged a demand-based service fee. And depending on the regional grid fee, this could be up to €200/kW per year.
“If, for example, three lithium ion vehicles are each charged unregulated with 33 kW, this generates an additional load of nearly 100 kW. In the worst-case scenario, our customers could incur additional costs of up to EUR 20,000 per year,” states Kaatz. To avoid expensive load peaking, charging devices from Still are regulated via a load management system. “If, however, the flexibility in the charging time windows is severely restricted due to long use times, our fuel cell system is better suited for our customers. Because hydrogen-powered industrial trucks do not incur this additional electricity load,” he says.
In addition to economic advantages, the employment of hydrogen also has benefits for society: It conserves valuable raw materials such as rare earths because, in combination with the fuel cell, it only requires a small buffer battery. To be precise, it is a hybrid system consisting of fuel cells and a 3‑kWh lithium-ion battery as energy storage. And because hydrogen is neither toxic nor corrosive and also burns without leaving any residue, releasing only water vapor, its use not only serves to protect the environment and the climate but is also considered harmless in the workplace when used correctly.
Recycling of lithium
A circular economy is one of the corporate goals of Still. Therefore, many components of the fuel cell system can be used in a circular way. There recycling of batteries, too, is important. In cooperation with the Canadian company Li-Cycle, Still recycles the lithium from its batteries at its site in Magdeburg and is able to reuse the raw materials. By 2030, around 15,000 large forklift batteries are to be recycled at Kion, which would correspond to about 5,000 tonnes of lithium.
“In the Kion Group, there are also plans to develop fuel cells in higher volt classes,” states Florian Heydenreich, Excecutive Vice President Sales & Service at Still EMEA. They are likewise to be manufactured at the Hamburg Still factory, which has around 2,500 employees. The company is also planning to expand its production capacities in the coming years. “The existing production line is already designed for it,” continues Heydenreich. “We are constantly expanding our H2 expertise here in Hamburg; together with our partners such as the engineering firm Hydrogentle as well as Wolftank and JAG, who support us professionally with refueling solutions,” he states.
The currently still high prices for green hydrogen remain a challenge in the competition for the time being, but the company is optimistic that the situation will improve in the foreseeable future. “We have massive overcapacities of electricity from renewable energies,” says Florian Heydenreich. “Once these can be used to produce hydrogen on a large scale, the price of green hydrogen will also fall,” he asserts.
by eaugsten | Nov 4, 2024 | Development, Germany, hydrogen development, News
Practical test in container terminal
At a container terminal in Hamburg, a test field for heavy-duty vehicles with hydrogen drives is being built. The first tractor unit is now in use.
Rain splashes on the tables, the invited guests crowd under parasols, against which the wind patters. In the container terminal Tollerort in the port Hamburger Hafen, there should be something to see today. A yellow tractor pulls up and comes to a halt on a bright blue strip in front of a gas pump. An employee is already standing by, hooks the dispenser into the tank opening and presses the start button. The process is quite unspectacular. Only a display at the pump shows how the pressure in the tank is slowly rising.
The retrofit challenge
The fact that so many people have come to the terminal is not only due to the hydrogen refueling station. Rather, it is for the overall project that so many people, among them Hamburg’s economy senator Melanie Leonhard, Christian Maaß from the BMWK (German economy ministry) and Antje Roß from NOW (German agency for hydrogen and fuel cell technology), have made the journey to Tollerort. The fuel pump and tractor unit are the first elements of a so-termed H2 test field, on which the cluster Clean Port & Logistics is working. Test field and cluster were both funded as part of NIP (national innovation program for hydrogen and fuel cell technology), with a total of three million euros.
The company Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA) wants to use this project to find out how the terminal can be made climate-friendly. “A lot of things here at the terminal already work electrically. We want to use hydrogen in the heavy-duty sector where batteries are not sufficient,” says Karin Debacher, Head of Hydrogen Projects at HHLA, which operates the Tollerort terminal. This is not only about large loads and services, but also about “limits of an operational nature,” as HHLA CEO Angela Titzrath formulated it.
With an area of 600,000 square meters (6,458,000 sq. ft.), the Tollerort container terminal seems huge, yet it is HHLA’s smallest container terminal. It is located in the Steinwerder city district on a kind of river island, most of which it occupies. The municipal sewage treatment plant and a few smaller companies also fit on it – There is no room for expansion. It was built in the late 1970s, but little has been automated.
vlnr Karin Debacher, Leiterin Wasserstoffprojekte der HHLA; Dr. Lucien Robroek, President Technology Solutions Division bei Hyster-Yale Materials Handling; Dr. Melanie Leonhard, Senatorin für Wirtschaft und Innovation; Angela Titzrath, Vorstandsvorsitzende der HHLA; Christian Maaß, Leiter Wärme, Wasserstoff & Effizienz im BMWK; Antje Roß, Managerin Hafennetzwerke und -anwendungen bei der NOW GmbH
In a celebratory mood despite the rain (from left to right) Karin Debacher, head of hydrogen projects at HHLA, Dr. Lucien Robroek, President Technology Solutions Division at Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Dr. Melanie Leonhard, senator for economics and innovation, Angela Titzrath, chair of HHLA, Christian Maaß, head of heat, hydrogen & efficiency at the BMWK, Antje Roß, manager of port networks and applications at NOW GmbH
In the realm of giants
To manage the masses of containers arriving and being loaded, a total of 59 so-termed van carriers whizz through the terminal. They are reminiscent of the AT-AT walkers from Star Wars but travel on wheels. Their legs are so long that they can drive over containers to place another container on top or lift it down. They move up to 60 tonnes. “Some of the van carriers in Tollerort have diesel-electric drives, but pure battery operation is out of the question,” says HHLA spokeswoman Karolin Hamann. There are also so-termed reach stackers, which consist mainly of a long, strong arm. They can stack up to six containers on top of one another.
The port’s fleet of heavy goods vehicles is so exotic that you can book a port safari called the “Tour der Giganten” (tour of the giants). What the giants have in common is that they have to be efficient at all times. That’s 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. There is no time to recharge batteries. Simply purchasing more vehicles and replacing them after charging is also not an alternative. Not only would they be expensive, there is also no space for them. While HHLA’s newest terminal in Altenwerder, further south, is already running fully electric and fully automated, the port company is still looking for a solution for the existing Tollerort terminal. Hydrogen is to bring a breakthrough.
Few vehicles available
And although hydrogen is so urgently needed for high-performance vehicles in port logistics, it is nowhere near as frequently used here as in road transport. To change that, HHLA and around 40 other companies from all over the world joined forces as the cluster Clean Port & Logistics in October 2022. To the cluster belongs also Hyster-Yale. Among other things, the company manufactures tractor units and empty container stackers – vehicles that seem almost commonplace compared to the port giants. But it still doesn’t seem to be that simple:
Hyster-Yale actually wanted to make the first tractor unit available for testing as early as 2022, an empty container stacker should follow in 2023. Now the tractor unit is finally here – and was warmly applauded in Hamburg. It is powered by a fuel cell from Nuvera. Lucien Robroek, President Technology Solutions Division of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, traveled to the opening in person. “We’re still ironing out the technology. But we will do it,” said Robroek at the celebration. The announced empty stacker is due to follow at the end of 2024 or beginning of 2025. It is similar in design to a forklift truck, but has a kind of freight elevator for containers at the front instead of a fork, which makes it a real high stacker – up to six containers on top of each other are possible.
More speed when refueling
But what is so special about refueling with hydrogen at the terminal? Alone in Germany there are nearly 100 hydrogen refueling stations. The difference to these public locations: Every minute in the port costs a lot of money. That’s why every detail must be known and every move must be right. For the first commissioning tests, cluster partners have made their vehicles available. The municipal bus company VWG Oldenburg sent one of its hydrogen buses for a test refueling; the shipping company CMB.Tech from Antwerp a truck. Now they know: In principle, the refueling station design works.
It looks like this: The hydrogen is delivered by Lhyfe in a storage tank integrated into a 20-foot container. At 380 bar, there is room for 450 kg of hydrogen. Locally, some of the hydrogen is further compressed to 550 bar and stored in a medium-pressure storage tank. The vehicles arrive at the fueling station when their pressure has dropped to around 30 bar. They are then first refueled from the trailer. And if this pressure is no longer sufficient, the fueling station automatically switches to the medium-pressure reservoir. As in the new-fangled gastronomy for water, the refueling station has two taps: one for cooled and one for uncooled hydrogen. This way, HHLA wants to find out whether refueling can be significantly accelerated with the pre-cooled hydrogen. Also details should be clarified by the tests: How long does it take to refuel in the summer heat, how long in the freezing rain? Is it best to refuel at shift changes or simply when it is necessary? Does the driver do the refueling – or is it quicker with a gas station attendant?
What comes next
Little by little, HHLA also wants to test operate its heavy-duty giants with hydrogen. In addition to Hyster-Yale, the manufacturers Konecranes, Kalmar and Gaussin also belong to the cluster Clean Port & Logistics. A schedule for the delivery of the first vehicles does not yet exist, however.
In the future, HHLA also wants to make its H2 refueling station available to other companies that want to refuel vehicles at 350 bar. However, it is not entirely uncomplicated. They’d have to register via an app and complete a safety briefing. The HHLA security service also accompanies those wishing to refuel to the gas pump and back. Since there are already four conveniently located public hydrogen refueling stations in various directions in Hamburg, the customer base of the refueling station in the container terminal should be manageable.
For the overall project, however, this is a secondary construction site. Above all, the cluster members – including research institutions, vehicle manufacturers, hydrogen specialists and other port companies – are waiting for results that will help them advance their own developments. The focus of the partners lies in Germany; for example, the ports of Kiel and Lübeck have been integrated in the project. However, the Port of Los Angeles and Neltume Ports – an operator of 17 ports in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and the USA – are also on board. The findings from Hamburg could set a precedent worldwide.
by eaugsten | Nov 4, 2024 | Building energy, Europe, Germany, Hydrogen economy, News
Legal opinion is critical of hydrogen networks for household customers
Hydrogen pipeline networks are not suitable for meeting the requirements of municipal heat planning in the allotted time. There are still too many uncertainties when it comes to converting the natural gas grid. This is the conclusion reached by a Hamburg law firm.
Hydrogen will not be there for heating in the near future – so says at least a tenet of the German national hydrogen strategy. The initially scarce gas should first be used where other decarbonization technologies are not an option. But given the increasing pressure on homeowners and municipalities to comply with climate protection regulations, heating with hydrogen seems an attractive solution. Ultimately, depending on the number of inhabitants, by mid-2026 or mid-2028 municipalities must present in detailed heating plans how they want to approach the clean heating transition.
“We are of the opinion that hydrogen may, must and can be taken into account in municipal heat planning,” says Charlie Grüneberg, press spokesman of Zukunft Gas. The former natural gas association now calls itself “the voice of the gas and hydrogen industry.”
The experiences from Baden-Württemberg, however, which was the first German state to rely on municipal heat planning, reveal a different picture. Raphael Gruseck, project leader of the regional advisory center for municipal heat planning in the region Stuttgart West, says, “Hydrogen for decentralized heat supply does not have a role in the heating plans that have already been completed for our district.” The issue is usually resolved as soon as one looks specifically at the availability and costs of hydrogen, according to Gruseck. And that is highly recommended: If the municipality backs the wrong horse and the hoped-for hydrogen is not available or is only available with a delay, the seemingly simple solution can become expensive. Citizens will then face high CO2 prices for natural gas heating and the state will have to pay fines to the EU.
Timetables for network conversion are not yet in sight
In this debate, a legal opinion from the Hamburg law firm Rechtsanwälte Günther is now providing a clear signal that speaks against hydrogen in municipal heat planning. Commissioners of the report were Umweltinstitut München, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, the WWF, GermanZero and Klima-Bündnis. The assessors thus examined the German heating planning law (Wärmeplanungsgesetz, WPG) and building energy law (Gebäudeenergiegesetz, GEG) for what scope for action municipalities have when evaluating hydrogen in the course of municipal heat planning. A sticking point is that the municipalities are not only allowed to make directional decisions themselves, but also have to. In other words: Elected governments cannot simply delegate their responsibilities to an engineering firm.
However, they must build on technical fundamentals. One problem is that the “gas network conversion is still largely unclear and not conclusively regulated” and therefore there are no concrete timetables for possible changes, according to the report. Such a timetable, however, in accordance with the WPG, must at least concretely stand in order to be able to designate a hydrogen network area. This is also necessary because there must be a “comprehensive economic viability assessment” for heat planning, including national economic and allocated costs. The municipality cannot simply “blindly” rely on hydrogen.
Narrow time window
However, the network operators have not yet been able to create the timetables. For this, in turn, the national grid networks agency (Bundesnetzagentur, BNetzA) must first lay down the rules, which is unlikely to be the case before the end of 2024. But heat planning must be in place in larger cities by the middle of 2026, and in the other municipalities by mid-2028. That can’t be done believes the climate alliance Klima-Bündnis – and therefore generally does not see hydrogen networks as an option for municipal heat planning.
The distribution network operator Gasnetz Hamburg sees it a little more optimistically. It recently launched a pilot project named H2-SWITCH100 (see H2-international, Feb. 2024), to collect data on the feasibility and economic efficiency of possible network conversions for individual sections. “With it, Gasnetz Hamburg has created the basis that provides the economic forecast for conversions described in the report as unrealistic,” says spokesman Bernd Eilitz. Whether concrete timetables can be provided for heat planning up to 2026 is, without the framework setting of the BNetzA, however, not predictable.
Industry and power plants first
Whether such a timetable can really demonstrate the timely availability of hydrogen is another question. Hamburg, for example, will be connected to the H2 core network at an early stage, and is planning its own large-scale electrolyzer and an ammonia import terminal. This will also be necessary to supply the basic material industries and power plants. The report by the firm Günther emphasizes that hydrogen pipelines are explicitly possible for such projects, even without designating a hydrogen network area. By using hydrogen in power plants and industrial operations, it can also indirectly promote the clean heating transition. After all, waste heat is generated there, which can be utilized via heating networks.Which network to decide on?Heating networks, with a high demand density, are usually the first choice for the heating transition. In Denmark, they are also widespread in small, rural communities. Of the decentralized solutions, electric heat pumps are the most popular in the energy transition plans. However, the electrification of heating and transportation at the same time will also push the electricity grids to their limits in some places. The municipalities then have to find concrete solutions. For Wiebke Hansen from the Umweltinstitut München, this is precisely a reason to contemplate hydrogen critically at an early stage. “Municipalities can thus concentrate better on expanding electricity grids and district heating,” she says.
