A startup from Erlangen, Germany is advancing the development of a liquid organic hydrogen carrier. With various corporations like Bilfinger und Schaeffler, the technology company is trying to make the innovative solution for green hydrogen more economical worldwide. At the end of 2023, the largest storage and release plant thus far is to appear in Chempark Dormagen, near Cologne. It should be able to produce and store 1,800 tonnes of hydrogen annually. Demand is widely abundant.
All eyes will be on Rotterdam in March 2022 when the city will host its first-ever global hydrogen summit and exhibition. The Dutch region, which is home to Europe’s largest port, has its sights set on becoming a hydrogen hub, at least that is the intention set out in the country’s energy strategy. The Dutch government sees the international trade in hydrogen gas as a great opportunity – assuming that a pan-European pipeline project doesn’t get in the way.
Rotterdam is not only the largest port in Europe, it is playing a key role in the German hydrogen strategy. Stijn van Els has been working since January 2020 as director of commercial delivery at the port, which belongs 70 percent to the municipality of Rotterdam and 30 percent to the Netherlands. After studying at a German Hochschule, van Els studied physics in Delft and then started as an engineer at Shell. He’s been working around the world for 30 -years and in Hamburg as head of Shell Germany. H2-international spoke with him about the role of the port for the European hydrogen economy.
The development of a real prototype is time-consuming and expensive. Mathematical models make it possible to better understand the physical and chemical processes in a fuel cell or an electrolyser. A simulation helps to create new approaches and designs in Lobar.
Electrolytic green hydrogen from offshore wind
Heligoland could, in future, become the new focal point for offshore hydrogen from the North Sea. The remote German island occupies a strategic central position in the German Bight and has excellent port infrastructure, making it ideally placed for a proposed hydrogen hub and liquid carrier supply chain. Under the multipart AquaVentus scheme, initiatives will be rolled out that incorporate the entire hydrogen value chain, including transportation to the mainland.
Equal pegging for bioLPG and renewables in newbuilds
Liquefied petroleum gas derived from biomaterials has been legally recognized as a green compliance option in the German heating sector for over two years. Also known as biopropane, bioLPG could play a vital future role particularly in rural areas. What’s more, there are also many pilot projects with synthetic LPG that can be manufactured using green hydrogen. This article provides an overview.