- Email: [email protected]
AFC selects Advanced Plastics for fuel cell flow plate manufacture
NEWS hydrogen through electrolysis, and utilisation for both mobile and stationary applications. The project aims to demonstrate an end-to-end process for the hydrogen chain, from producing hydrogen through electrolysis to the compression and storage of hydrogen, and electricity generation via fuel cells. It will also include an education centre, and Victoria’s first commercialscale onsite hydrogen refueling station to serve fuel cell electric vehicles. The project will produce at least 60 kg/day of hydrogen, utilising onsite solar PV and battery storage to contribute to the energy requirements of the whole site. Toyota Australia has also purchased a 0.25 MW rapid-response PEM electrolyser from UK-based ITM Power for the site in Altona, a suburb of Melbourne. This is the first of four system sales for Australia that ITM announced recently [FCB, February 2019, p13]. Toyota Australia is partnering with Hobsons Bay City Council in Melbourne for the first realworld trial of FCEVs in Australia, deploying three Toyota Mirai passenger cars [December 2018, p2]. And Toyota Material Handling Australia has put Toyota hydrogen fuel cell powered forklifts – the first to be deployed outside Japan – into action during trials at the Altona site. A report last year prepared for ARENA by ACIL Allen Consulting showed that Australia is in a strong position to take advantage of a future hydrogen export market, as hydrogen looks to play a larger role in the global transition to a low-carbon economy [September 2018, p14]. Hydrogen could be used as a way for Australia to export renewable energy to other countries, particularly in Asia. Japan has already set a 10-year strategy to become a largescale importer of renewably produced hydrogen [July 2014, p9, and see the item below]. Australian Renewable Energy Agency: www.arena.gov.au Toyota Australia: www.toyota.com.au ITM Power: www.itm-power.com
Consortium completes trial to establish Japan hydrogen supply chain
J
XTG Nippon Oil & Energy, Chiyoda Corporation, the University of Tokyo in Japan and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia have successfully completed the first test production of a low-cost, easy to handle organic hydride in Australia, which was then used to transport hydrogen to Japan. The JXTG researchers used QUT’s advanced solar cell facility, a concentrated photovoltaic
April 2019
(CPV) array as well as a standard Si-PV (silicon photovoltaic cell) array currently operating at Redlands, south of Brisbane. These highefficiency tracking PV arrays are part of a pilot plant that is being built to extract hydrogen from treated non-drinking water, such as seawater. In this first proof-of-concept project, approximately 0.2 kg of ‘green’ hydrogen was created by adding water and acid to toluene in an electrochemical process using solar energy. The toluene was converted into methylcyclohexane (MCH) using JXTG’s process, powered by QUT’s solar arrays. MCH looks and feels like oil, so it can be transported using conventional road tankers, pipelines, and supertankers. Once shipped to Japan, the MCH was converted back to toluene using Chiyoda’s dehydrogenation technology, and the hydrogen extracted for use in a fuel cell or vehicle. The toluene is then available for reuse in the transportation cycle. This verification was conducted in a collaborative research initiative at the University of Tokyo, which aims to build a hydrogen supply chain. JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy (Eneos brand): www.noe.jxtg-group.co.jp/english Queensland University of Technology, Institute for Future Environments: www.qut.edu.au/institute-for-future-environments
Sunfire testing hightemp electrolyser tech in Austria, Germany
G
erman solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) and fuel cell (SOFC) developer Sunfire is supplying a reversible high-temperature electrolysis system for the Hotflex research project in Austria, in cooperation with electric utility Verbund. In addition to producing ‘green’ hydrogen, the project will test the fuel cell mode to generate power for the Mellach site. Sunfire is also participating in the second phase of a project that will build and operate the world’s largest High-Temperature Electrolyser (HTE) at the Salzgitter Flachstahl steelworks in Germany. Verbund is building a pilot plant that can be operated as an electrolyser and as a fuel cell, at the 838 MW Mellach gas-fired power plant, the most powerful Austrian power plant. The two gas turbines are currently run on natural gas, but as part of the recently launched Hotflex project with Sunfire and Graz University of Technology, the natural gas will be partially substituted with green hydrogen. Excess wind and solar power from the grid will be used to produce 40 Nm³/h of hydrogen using high-temperature electrolysis.
A special feature of the Hotflex pilot plant is that it will operate in reverse mode as a fuel cell, to produce electricity and heat from natural gas. Verbund’s Thermal Power competence centre will test this fuel cell operating mode for selfpower or emergency power supply to its power plant. The three-year project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency. Sunfire is also working with the Salzgitter Group and partners to build and operate the world’s largest High-Temperature Electrolyser for energy-efficient hydrogen production. The GrInHy2.0 (Green Industrial Hydrogen via steam electrolysis) project has recently been launched at the Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH steelworks in northern Germany, building on GrInHy’s successful first stage [FCB, August 2016, p10 and July 2017, p12]. The E5.5 million (US$6.2 million) project also involves Sunfire investor Paul Wurth SA [February 2019, p14], Tenova SpA, the CEA French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, and Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung GmbH. GrInHy2.0 – supported by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH2 JU) – marks the first implementation of a 720 kW high-temperature electrolyser in an industrial environment. By the end of 2022 it is expected to have produced a total of 100 tonnes of highpurity (99.98%) hydrogen, replacing hydrogen produced from natural gas in annealing processes in the integrated steelworks. Hydrogen as a reduction agent is also a central element in Salzgitter’s SALCOS (Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking) concept, in which hydrogen (ideally produced using renewable energy) will replace the carbon previously required to reduce iron ore to metallic iron [December 2018, p12]. Sunfire GmbH: www.sunfire.de Verbund AG: www.verbund.com GrInHy project: www.green-industrial-hydrogen.com Salzgitter AG: www.salzgitter-ag.com/en Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: www.fch.europa.eu
COMMERCIALISATION
AFC selects Advanced Plastics for fuel cell flow plate manufacture
U
K-based AFC Energy has selected Advanced Plastics Ltd as its ‘preferred tenderer’ for the mass manufacturing of flow plates for use within AFC’s proprietary alkaline fuel cell system.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
11
NEWS Advanced Plastics, which provides a diverse range of technical injection moulded products for blue-chip clients across a range of market sectors, is an ideal partner to support AFC Energy’s commercialisation efforts. The Hull-based company’s strong technical proposal demonstrated innovation in the mass manufacturing process at a price point which was most competitive among its global peers. Finalisation of the flow plate design, which regulates the flow of gases and liquids within the fuel cell, follows months of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling and validation testing at AFC Energy’s base in Surrey. The next step is to integrate the AFC design work into a mass manufacturable product, and work with a partner to bring their own expertise and capability to the final flow plate deliverable. ‘We have applied our design, materials and manufacturing knowledge to progress from a solid concept to producing physical samples of a production feasible design,’ says Chris Pearson, Joint Managing Director and Shareholder of Advanced Plastics Ltd. ‘We are now delighted to be in the running for the next phase of the project, which will see us utilise 2K injection moulding and linear vibration welding to produce this important element of the fuel cell system, taking us into an exciting new market sector.’ (In 2K injection moulding, two different polymers are processed into an end product in a single process, which can enable several functions to be integrated into the product.) AFC Energy has developed and demonstrated a large-scale alkaline fuel cell system [see the feature in FCB, December 2015]. The company’s Power-Up project demonstrated the world’s largest alkaline fuel cell system at Air Products’ industrial gas plant in Stade, Germany [August 2015, p5], and it is currently preparing to install a hydrogen power generation unit for Southern Oil Refining in Queensland, Australia [December 2018, p6]. AFC also recently demonstrated its CH2ARGE™ system for recharging battery electric vehicles using hydrogen fuel cell technology [February 2019, p12]. AFC Energy: www.afcenergy.com Advanced Plastics Ltd: www.advanced-plastics.co.uk
BASF Ultramid plastic sets new standards for fuel cell components
B
ASF has collaborated with JomaPolytec GmbH and Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH to manufacture a 12
Fuel Cells Bulletin
number of automotive fuel cell system components using its Ultramid® engineering plastic. This innovative polyamide solution is being used as standard in the new Mercedes GLC F-CELL plug-in hybrid fuel cell electric vehicle [see the News Focus in FCB, October 2017]. The high quality and safety requirements in the automotive industry place huge demands on materials, and BASF – the biggest chemical supplier to this industry – offers a range of versatile and sophisticated polyamides (Ultramid), polybutylene terephthalates (Ultradur®), polyphthalamides (PPAs), and the plastics polyoxymethylene (Ultraform®) and polyethersulfone (Ultrason®). For the Mercedes GLC F-Cell, Ultramid gives good thermal and chemical resistance, dynamic stiffness, impact strength, and long-term performance. BASF initiated the development project in conjunction with Joma-Polytec and MercedesBenz Fuel Cell, the Daimler subsidiary formerly known as NuCellSys [February 2019, p12]. It aimed to find an optimal solution satisfying the extensive range of requirements including thermal stability, media resistance, and durability. In view of the unique material structure, and on the basis of intensive material analyses of the chemical and mechanical resistance, the partners ultimately decided on the tailor-made Ultramid grades A3WG10 CR and A3EG7 EQ. Following successful testing of all components, the two glass fibre-reinforced Ultramid grades are now being used as standard to manufacture the anode and cathode end plates for the fuel cells. Ultramid A3EG7 EQ meets the exceptional purity requirements associated with sensitive applications in the electronics industry. In the case of the media distribution plate and water separator unit, which is exposed to a wide variety of media through the cooling water, air and hydrogen channels, this Ultramid grade offers excellent resistance, while at the meeting all material purity requirements. ‘Earlier tests with other materials revealed mechanical problems, so Daimler had very specific requirements for the material,’ explains Stefan Milimonka, Key Account Manager in BASF’s Performance Materials division. ‘Our expertise with plastic automotive components and the extensive choice of existing products meant that we were able to work out possible solutions with our partners and identify the right material.’ BASF, Performance Materials: www.plastics.basf.com Joma-Polytec GmbH: www.joma-polytec.de/en Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH: www.mercedes-benz-fuelcell.com/home
Blue World closes successful round of initial seed funding
D
anish startup Blue World Technologies recently closed its very successful initial investment round. The company’s reformed methanol fuel cell systems act as a range-extender in an electric vehicle, ensuring a range of more than 1000 km (620 miles), with refueling in just three minutes. Blue World was founded last October to develop and manufacture methanol fuel cell components and systems – based on high-temperature PEM fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) technology combined with integrated methanol reforming – for use in zero-emissions automotive and mobility applications worldwide [FCB, November 2018, p11]. It subsequently unveiled plans for what it says will be the world’s largest methanol fuel cell manufacturing facility, at the Port of Aalborg in northern Denmark [December 2018, p12]. Blue World is also planning local production facilities in China, and close cooperation with several Chinese component suppliers. The company has now expanded from its three founding partners to a team of 23, which is expected to grow to 100 employees within a year. Production facilities of 4000 m2 (43 000 sq ft) will be built by the end of 2019, with commercial production expected to be up and running within two years. These plans are made possible by the successful seed funding round; the mediumterm goal is a stock exchange listing within five years. Blue World Technologies received investments in the seed-round from several small investors, alongside the Chinese car manufacturer Aiways. The latter is a young, fast-growing company that already has cars on the roads in China, and is well on the way to scale up production. It expects to launch cars in the European market within a year. Last year its German-Chinese joint venture Gumpert Aiways Automobile GmbH unveiled the world’s first methanol fuel cell powered supercar, the RG Nathalie, featuring a reformed methanol fuel cell system supplied by Danish-based SerEnergy [May 2018, p2]; Blue World was formed by three senior executives who left SerEnergy to do so. Blue World Technologies: www.blue.world Aiways: www.ai-ways.eu
April 2019
Consortium completes trial to establish Japan hydrogen supply chain
J
XTG Nippon Oil & Energy, Chiyoda Corporation, the University of Tokyo in Japan and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia have successfully completed the first test production of a low-cost, easy to handle organic hydride in Australia, which was then used to transport hydrogen to Japan. The JXTG researchers used QUT’s advanced solar cell facility, a concentrated photovoltaic
April 2019
(CPV) array as well as a standard Si-PV (silicon photovoltaic cell) array currently operating at Redlands, south of Brisbane. These highefficiency tracking PV arrays are part of a pilot plant that is being built to extract hydrogen from treated non-drinking water, such as seawater. In this first proof-of-concept project, approximately 0.2 kg of ‘green’ hydrogen was created by adding water and acid to toluene in an electrochemical process using solar energy. The toluene was converted into methylcyclohexane (MCH) using JXTG’s process, powered by QUT’s solar arrays. MCH looks and feels like oil, so it can be transported using conventional road tankers, pipelines, and supertankers. Once shipped to Japan, the MCH was converted back to toluene using Chiyoda’s dehydrogenation technology, and the hydrogen extracted for use in a fuel cell or vehicle. The toluene is then available for reuse in the transportation cycle. This verification was conducted in a collaborative research initiative at the University of Tokyo, which aims to build a hydrogen supply chain. JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy (Eneos brand): www.noe.jxtg-group.co.jp/english Queensland University of Technology, Institute for Future Environments: www.qut.edu.au/institute-for-future-environments
Sunfire testing hightemp electrolyser tech in Austria, Germany
G
erman solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) and fuel cell (SOFC) developer Sunfire is supplying a reversible high-temperature electrolysis system for the Hotflex research project in Austria, in cooperation with electric utility Verbund. In addition to producing ‘green’ hydrogen, the project will test the fuel cell mode to generate power for the Mellach site. Sunfire is also participating in the second phase of a project that will build and operate the world’s largest High-Temperature Electrolyser (HTE) at the Salzgitter Flachstahl steelworks in Germany. Verbund is building a pilot plant that can be operated as an electrolyser and as a fuel cell, at the 838 MW Mellach gas-fired power plant, the most powerful Austrian power plant. The two gas turbines are currently run on natural gas, but as part of the recently launched Hotflex project with Sunfire and Graz University of Technology, the natural gas will be partially substituted with green hydrogen. Excess wind and solar power from the grid will be used to produce 40 Nm³/h of hydrogen using high-temperature electrolysis.
A special feature of the Hotflex pilot plant is that it will operate in reverse mode as a fuel cell, to produce electricity and heat from natural gas. Verbund’s Thermal Power competence centre will test this fuel cell operating mode for selfpower or emergency power supply to its power plant. The three-year project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency. Sunfire is also working with the Salzgitter Group and partners to build and operate the world’s largest High-Temperature Electrolyser for energy-efficient hydrogen production. The GrInHy2.0 (Green Industrial Hydrogen via steam electrolysis) project has recently been launched at the Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH steelworks in northern Germany, building on GrInHy’s successful first stage [FCB, August 2016, p10 and July 2017, p12]. The E5.5 million (US$6.2 million) project also involves Sunfire investor Paul Wurth SA [February 2019, p14], Tenova SpA, the CEA French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, and Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung GmbH. GrInHy2.0 – supported by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH2 JU) – marks the first implementation of a 720 kW high-temperature electrolyser in an industrial environment. By the end of 2022 it is expected to have produced a total of 100 tonnes of highpurity (99.98%) hydrogen, replacing hydrogen produced from natural gas in annealing processes in the integrated steelworks. Hydrogen as a reduction agent is also a central element in Salzgitter’s SALCOS (Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking) concept, in which hydrogen (ideally produced using renewable energy) will replace the carbon previously required to reduce iron ore to metallic iron [December 2018, p12]. Sunfire GmbH: www.sunfire.de Verbund AG: www.verbund.com GrInHy project: www.green-industrial-hydrogen.com Salzgitter AG: www.salzgitter-ag.com/en Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: www.fch.europa.eu
COMMERCIALISATION
AFC selects Advanced Plastics for fuel cell flow plate manufacture
U
K-based AFC Energy has selected Advanced Plastics Ltd as its ‘preferred tenderer’ for the mass manufacturing of flow plates for use within AFC’s proprietary alkaline fuel cell system.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
11
NEWS Advanced Plastics, which provides a diverse range of technical injection moulded products for blue-chip clients across a range of market sectors, is an ideal partner to support AFC Energy’s commercialisation efforts. The Hull-based company’s strong technical proposal demonstrated innovation in the mass manufacturing process at a price point which was most competitive among its global peers. Finalisation of the flow plate design, which regulates the flow of gases and liquids within the fuel cell, follows months of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling and validation testing at AFC Energy’s base in Surrey. The next step is to integrate the AFC design work into a mass manufacturable product, and work with a partner to bring their own expertise and capability to the final flow plate deliverable. ‘We have applied our design, materials and manufacturing knowledge to progress from a solid concept to producing physical samples of a production feasible design,’ says Chris Pearson, Joint Managing Director and Shareholder of Advanced Plastics Ltd. ‘We are now delighted to be in the running for the next phase of the project, which will see us utilise 2K injection moulding and linear vibration welding to produce this important element of the fuel cell system, taking us into an exciting new market sector.’ (In 2K injection moulding, two different polymers are processed into an end product in a single process, which can enable several functions to be integrated into the product.) AFC Energy has developed and demonstrated a large-scale alkaline fuel cell system [see the feature in FCB, December 2015]. The company’s Power-Up project demonstrated the world’s largest alkaline fuel cell system at Air Products’ industrial gas plant in Stade, Germany [August 2015, p5], and it is currently preparing to install a hydrogen power generation unit for Southern Oil Refining in Queensland, Australia [December 2018, p6]. AFC also recently demonstrated its CH2ARGE™ system for recharging battery electric vehicles using hydrogen fuel cell technology [February 2019, p12]. AFC Energy: www.afcenergy.com Advanced Plastics Ltd: www.advanced-plastics.co.uk
BASF Ultramid plastic sets new standards for fuel cell components
B
ASF has collaborated with JomaPolytec GmbH and Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH to manufacture a 12
Fuel Cells Bulletin
number of automotive fuel cell system components using its Ultramid® engineering plastic. This innovative polyamide solution is being used as standard in the new Mercedes GLC F-CELL plug-in hybrid fuel cell electric vehicle [see the News Focus in FCB, October 2017]. The high quality and safety requirements in the automotive industry place huge demands on materials, and BASF – the biggest chemical supplier to this industry – offers a range of versatile and sophisticated polyamides (Ultramid), polybutylene terephthalates (Ultradur®), polyphthalamides (PPAs), and the plastics polyoxymethylene (Ultraform®) and polyethersulfone (Ultrason®). For the Mercedes GLC F-Cell, Ultramid gives good thermal and chemical resistance, dynamic stiffness, impact strength, and long-term performance. BASF initiated the development project in conjunction with Joma-Polytec and MercedesBenz Fuel Cell, the Daimler subsidiary formerly known as NuCellSys [February 2019, p12]. It aimed to find an optimal solution satisfying the extensive range of requirements including thermal stability, media resistance, and durability. In view of the unique material structure, and on the basis of intensive material analyses of the chemical and mechanical resistance, the partners ultimately decided on the tailor-made Ultramid grades A3WG10 CR and A3EG7 EQ. Following successful testing of all components, the two glass fibre-reinforced Ultramid grades are now being used as standard to manufacture the anode and cathode end plates for the fuel cells. Ultramid A3EG7 EQ meets the exceptional purity requirements associated with sensitive applications in the electronics industry. In the case of the media distribution plate and water separator unit, which is exposed to a wide variety of media through the cooling water, air and hydrogen channels, this Ultramid grade offers excellent resistance, while at the meeting all material purity requirements. ‘Earlier tests with other materials revealed mechanical problems, so Daimler had very specific requirements for the material,’ explains Stefan Milimonka, Key Account Manager in BASF’s Performance Materials division. ‘Our expertise with plastic automotive components and the extensive choice of existing products meant that we were able to work out possible solutions with our partners and identify the right material.’ BASF, Performance Materials: www.plastics.basf.com Joma-Polytec GmbH: www.joma-polytec.de/en Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH: www.mercedes-benz-fuelcell.com/home
Blue World closes successful round of initial seed funding
D
anish startup Blue World Technologies recently closed its very successful initial investment round. The company’s reformed methanol fuel cell systems act as a range-extender in an electric vehicle, ensuring a range of more than 1000 km (620 miles), with refueling in just three minutes. Blue World was founded last October to develop and manufacture methanol fuel cell components and systems – based on high-temperature PEM fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) technology combined with integrated methanol reforming – for use in zero-emissions automotive and mobility applications worldwide [FCB, November 2018, p11]. It subsequently unveiled plans for what it says will be the world’s largest methanol fuel cell manufacturing facility, at the Port of Aalborg in northern Denmark [December 2018, p12]. Blue World is also planning local production facilities in China, and close cooperation with several Chinese component suppliers. The company has now expanded from its three founding partners to a team of 23, which is expected to grow to 100 employees within a year. Production facilities of 4000 m2 (43 000 sq ft) will be built by the end of 2019, with commercial production expected to be up and running within two years. These plans are made possible by the successful seed funding round; the mediumterm goal is a stock exchange listing within five years. Blue World Technologies received investments in the seed-round from several small investors, alongside the Chinese car manufacturer Aiways. The latter is a young, fast-growing company that already has cars on the roads in China, and is well on the way to scale up production. It expects to launch cars in the European market within a year. Last year its German-Chinese joint venture Gumpert Aiways Automobile GmbH unveiled the world’s first methanol fuel cell powered supercar, the RG Nathalie, featuring a reformed methanol fuel cell system supplied by Danish-based SerEnergy [May 2018, p2]; Blue World was formed by three senior executives who left SerEnergy to do so. Blue World Technologies: www.blue.world Aiways: www.ai-ways.eu
April 2019