Hydrogen is considered the ideal raw material for a sustainable energy market transformation. However, some questions still await answers. Where will we get our hydrogen? Will we use the gray, blue, turquoise or green variant in the distant and not-so-distant future? Green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy sources and often generated via water electrolysis.
Fuel cell buses have many advantages over their diesel counterparts, making them an attractive option for mass transit companies. A few examples are the complete absence of local emissions, the greater flexibility in choosing a primary energy carrier and, depending on the source of the hydrogen and the use of renewables, considerable potential for reducing carbon dioxide levels.
Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen with the help of electrical energy is commonly known as water electrolysis. This process matches the oxyhydrogen experiments one may remember from the classroom, albeit in reverse. If the anode and cathode in an electrolyzer cell are separated by a semipermeable membrane or a diaphragm, the gases produced by the process can be directed out of the cell individually.
Renewably sourced hydrogen has recently gained considerable importance in several economic sectors at once. The automotive and fuel industry sees it primarily as a way to power fuel cell vehicles, whereas its main use in the natural gas industry is for grid feed-in. The diversity of applications means that different industries will employ different technological and economic strategies for utilizing hydrogen. To compare strategies and examine the combined utilization potential, the National Organization Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW) and the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW) decided to join forces
German Mossau Energy, which closed down its business at the end of 2015, had not had any luck in finding either a successor to the company or an investor for its Blue Hamster idea. Helmut Janßen said to Ostfriesische Nachrichten: “Mossau Energy is no more. That has nothing to do with insolvency.” Eighty-one-year-old Günter Mossau, who founded the company, just didn’t have any luck in finding a successor, leading to the liquidation of the company at the end of December 2015.
Micro-organisms provide more flexibility than common catalysts, and the methane produced by them is relatively pure. Additionally, the investment costs for Power-to-Gas systems can be lowered by using transformers and power as well as gas network connections of already existing biogas and wastewater treatment plants. This field of study, however, still requires more research to be done, even for
Numerous European countries are working hard – to a greater or lesser extent – in the field of hydrogen and fuel cell technology. Since 2006, one region has been particularly active: South Tyrol. In September 2009, in Bolzano, Italy, the ground-breaking ceremony was held for the construction of the first production and distribution system for green hydrogen in the country. The site adjacent to the Bolzano South freeway exit is now home to the biggest center for hydrogen in Europe, which is operated by the Institute for Innovative Technologies (IIT) and the Brenner A22 freeway. H2-international interviewed IIT President Walter Huber about the previous, current and future activities in South Tyrol.