The coming catastrophe
Author: KAOUTARI
Orkney produces more renewable energy than it can consume (128% in 2020); a real luxury these days. The next step for these islands in the north of Europe? Hydrogen. Among the dreams that rock the nights of the inhabitants of these wind-whipped islands, there is one that is becoming a reality: that of making cars run and ferries sailing and fueling boilers thanks to hydrogen. This 990 km² chain of islands is home to 22,000 inhabitants and… 700 wind turbines and 400 solar installations. But today, Orkney wants to move up a gear and has installed experimental tidal turbines. There…
Canadian companies specializing in hydrogen fuel cells have not yet managed to attract mainstream attention. But, little by little, things are changing. In April 2021, the company Loop Energy, based in Vancouver, western Canada, announced that a German freight transport company would order twenty hydrogen fuel cells from it for its fleet of electric trucks. The announcement went almost unnoticed. It is true that the order placed by Rheintal-Transporte over the next two years hardly suggests a green revolution in energy. George Rubin, sales manager at Loop Energy, said: “The number of fuel cells is not massive. We’re talking about…
Around twenty hydrogen stations for the general public are now open in France. But the major players in the French hydrogen sector estimate that between 1,000 and 1,700 stations should open by 2030. For comparison, the study “Global Market for Hydrogen Fueling Station”, published by the Trends firm, counted nearly 600 hydrogen service stations across the world at the end of 2020. Hydrogen seems set to play a determining role in low-carbon mobility in France. Mobilities that most need high power and long autonomy (so-called “heavy” mobility) are classified as priorities by the national strategy for the development of carbon-free…
Hydrogen storage has always been a challenge. Technical means to store it at low temperature or high pressure are essential. A look back at the little-known history of hydrogen storage technologies. It is during the Second World War that this story begins. At that time, the US military stored helium in metal tubes. This gas is used in particular for observation balloons. The most abundant source of helium is in northern Texas, in the city of Amarillo. Gas transport is carried out by steel tubes. Five to six centimeters thick, with a pressure of less than 100 bars, these tubes…
Sakowin, specialized in the manufacture of sustainable hydrogen production reactors without CO emissions2accelerates its growth and announces having raised funds of more than one million euros from four industrial partners: Ponticelli Frères, ADF Group, AES DANA and Saint-Gobain. The company offers a breakthrough innovation by implementing microwave plasma technology in a new field: the decomposition of methane into gaseous hydrogen and solid carbon. The South Beach solution developed by Sakowin is modular, compact and stackable for the production of hydrogen on site, on demand. It requires five times less electrical energy than an electrolyzer, produces hydrogen at a competitive cost…
HyDeal España is the first industrial achievement of the HyDeal Ambition platform, recently distinguished by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) as the world’s largest large-scale green hydrogen project. HyDeal España will ensure the development, financing and construction of green hydrogen production and transport infrastructure. It will supply competitively priced green hydrogen to an industrial complex in the Asturias region from facilities in northern Spain. HyDeal España was officially formed as an industrial joint venture in November 2021. This includes ArcelorMittal, Enagas, Grupo Fertiberia and DH2 Energy. Production will begin in 2025 and the total installed capacity will reach 9.5…
A spin-off of the company FlexFuel Energy Development, specializing in future technologies, Gen-Hy aims to contribute to the development of a 100% French hydrogen technology sector. It has developed a new generation of electrolysers integrating its innovative and patented ZERO GAP AEM (Anion Exchange Membrane) membrane technology, the result of a 5-year collaboration with French laboratories and the support of the DGA (Directorate General of Armaments). THE stacks (generators hydrogen) AEM ZERO GAP of Gen-Hy combine THE advantages of alkaline and PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) technologies, achieving energy efficiency of plus of 85%, sans utilisation of metals rares. Il does…
On March 8, the European Commission proposed an action plan to guarantee the energy independence of the European Union from Russian fossil fuels, before 2030. This strategy could benefit renewable energies, and in particular to hydrogen. The conflict in Ukraine suddenly puts the question of energy independence back at the center of debate. Growing diplomatic and military tensions, combined with a new batch of economic sanctions against Moscow, are pushing Europe to open its eyes to its heavy dependence on Russian fossil fuels, particularly natural gas. To get out of this, and find the path to energy sovereignty, the Commission…
This is a trend that experts had noted, but without anticipating its speed. Green hydrogen has thus become cheaper than gray hydrogen in different places on the planet. This is due to the war in Ukraine which suddenly caused natural gas prices to rise. This is what a BloombergNEF study reveals, published on March 4. BloombergNEF, a branch of the famous Bloomberg group, analyzes the impacts of the energy transition in the energy production, industry, transport, construction and agriculture sectors. Green hydrogen is mainly produced by electrolysis of water using renewable electricity. Gray hydrogen, for its part, is produced from…