- Email: [email protected]
Korean joint venture HyNet aims to set up 100 stations by 2022
NEWS being added to the German nationwide network, which aims to reach 100 operational facilities by the end of 2019. Four of the latest stations are in the already well supplied state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) – in Wesseling, Bonn, Leverkusen, and Essen – and one is in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. Wesseling – about midway between Cologne and Bonn – is the location of the Shell Rheinland refinery, where the REFHYNE consortium is constructing a new electrolysis plant. This PEM electrolyser system, supplied by ITM Power and claimed to be the largest of its kind in the world, will produce hydrogen using renewably generated electricity [FCB, February 2018, p10]. Building on this, hydrogen stations will be installed at the Shell filling station on Ahrstrasse in Wesseling and at the Shell station on Hermann-Wandersleb-Ring in Bonn, with both expected to begin operation at the end of 2019. The stations will be funded through the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) under the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology II (NIP2), which is coordinated by NOW GmbH [see also page 13]. The newly opened station in Leverkusen, at the Shell filling station on Karl-Krekeler-Strasse, close to the A3 motorway slip road, has been built by H2 Mobility and its shareholders Shell and Air Liquide. The Essen-Katernberg station, at Katernberger Strasse 99, is located near the Essen-Nord motorway junction, 1 km from the A42 motorway slip road. This facility was built using Linde technology and can hold 230 kg of hydrogen, enough to refuel about 50 fuel cell electric vehicles per day. These two stations have been funded by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH2 JU), as part of the Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME) project [see the News Feature in October 2015, and June 2016, p1]. Further NRW stations in Aachen, Dortmund, Duisburg, and Mönchengladbach are also nearing completion. Meanwhile, H2 Mobility will begin construction of its station in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony in the summer. The facility will feature refueling technology from Air Liquide, which will be integrated into the Shell filling station at Hamburger Strasse 211. This is close to the A2 motorway, and is thus a link on the Berlin–Ruhr and Berlin– Kassel corridors. BMVI is providing around E950 000 (US$1.1 million) through NIP2 to fund its construction, with additional support from local automobile developer IAV GmbH, WiTech, Forschungsflughafen Braunschweig GmbH, Veolia, Braunschweig Technical University, the Lower Saxony Automotive Research Centre, the Braunschweig site of 8
Fuel Cells Bulletin
the DLR German Aerospace Center, and the municipal economic development agency Braunschweig Zukunft GmbH.
Linde, Hydrogen Energy: http://tinyurl.com/linde-hydrogen-energy-h2
HTEC designs and builds hydrogen fuel supply solutions to support the deployment of FCEVs, in partnership with government, industrial gas companies, key equipment suppliers, automotive companies and energy companies, including Shell, Hyundai [see page 2], Toyota, and Air Liquide. Its two growth platforms – hydrogen infrastructure and hydrogen technology solutions – allow it to quickly scale up to service the rapidly expanding domestic and global markets.
National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology: http://tinyurl.com/nip-h2fc-tech
HTEC, Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corporation: www.htec.ca
NOW GmbH: www.now-gmbh.de
7-Eleven Canada: www.7-Eleven.ca
H2 Mobility Deutschland GmbH: https://h2.live/en Shell Global, Hydrogen: http://tinyurl.com/shell-h2 Air Liquide, Hydrogen Energy: http://tinyurl.com/hydrogen-energy-airliquide
Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: www.fch.europa.eu Hydrogen Mobility Europe: www.h2me.eu
HTEC and 7-Eleven Canada to open retail hydrogen stations in BC
V
ancouver-based Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corporation (HTEC) is collaborating with international convenience-store chain 7-Eleven Inc to build two retail hydrogen refueling stations in British Columbia. The station locations – one in North Vancouver (possibly adjoining the 7-Eleven at Westview Shopping Centre), and another proposed for Vancouver Island (possibly in Saanich, in the Greater Victoria area) – will be part of the six-station network HTEC is building to support the rollout of the first 1000 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in BC. The stations will operate at 7-Eleven sites where Esso-branded fuel is sold. Last summer HTEC opened the first retail hydrogen refueling station in Canada, near Vancouver International Airport, in partnership with Shell [FCB, July 2018, p8]. In the autumn it began construction of the second station, also with Shell, in Burnaby in Metro Vancouver [December 2018, p10]. It has also signed a Letter of Intent with Harnois Groupe pétrolier (HGP) to partner on developing a retail hydrogen refueling station network in Quebec province and elsewhere in Canada [November 2018, p9]. ‘The stations we build with 7-Eleven will expand HTEC’s hydrogen refueling network considerably,’ says Colin Armstrong, CEO of HTEC. ‘Whether it’s travelling across the Straight of Georgia and refueling up on Vancouver Island, or hitting the North Vancouver station en route to Whistler, HTEC’s collaboration with 7-Eleven has expanded the possibilities for FCEV drivers to travel beyond Metro Vancouver and explore other parts of the province.’
Korean joint venture HyNet aims to set up 100 stations by 2022
H
ydrogen Energy Network (HyNet) has been established as a joint venture between 13 leading industrial companies in South Korea, which aims to expand the nation’s hydrogen refueling infrastructure by installing 100 stations by 2022 and operating them until 2029. The Special Purpose Company (SPC) was first announced a year ago, when the Korean government entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with major automakers, public institutions and companies involved in the global hydrogen energy sector [FCB, May 2018, p8]. The major shareholders in the HyNet joint venture are Hyundai Motor Company, Korea Gas Corporation and Air Liquide Korea, alongside smaller key players such as Nel Korea Co Ltd. HyNet plans to build and operate hydrogen stations in Korea together with strategic investors, and with financial support from the Ministry of Environment. The main focus of HyNet is to expand the hydrogen refueling infrastructure in Korea through the installation of 100 hydrogen stations by 2022, and to operate them until 2029. Nel intends to sell its H2Station® hydrogen refueling stations to the HyNet joint venture as well as directly to other customers. Nel will further evaluate its investment in HyNet, depending on the number of possible hydrogen station sales. ‘We believe that HyNet will significantly accelerate the deployment of both fuel cell electric vehicles and hydrogen fueling infrastructure in South Korea, and we are ready to provide both our well proven and compact H2Station solutions as well as our knowhow to HyNet,’ says Martin Pfandl, General Manager of Nel Korea. In 2017 Norwegian-based Nel ASA partnered with Korean hydrogen supplier Deokyang Co
April 2019
NEWS Ltd to establish a joint venture, Nel-Deokyang Ltd, to market and sell the H2Station in Korea [July 2017, p8]; last summer it took full control of the JV, renaming it Nel Korea Co Ltd [July 2018, p11]. The company recently won a E2.8 million (US$3.2 million) contract to supply two H2Stations for Gangwon Technopark [March 2019, p7], and has now received a purchase order for the two stations from the Public Procurement Service. The installations in Gangneung and Samcheok are scheduled for later this year. Nel acquired the H2Station technology when it bought Danish company H2 Logic in 2015 [June 2015, p8, and see the H2 Logic feature in May 2013]. Nel ASA: www.nelhydrogen.com
OneH2 for dedicated hydrogen production hub, California trucks
N
orth Carolina-based OneH2 has completed construction of the first stage of a dedicated hydrogen fuel plant, designed to provide deliveries of ready-to-use bulk hydrogen to the industrial forklift truck and heavy vehicle markets. The stage one project for the hydrogen fuel plant in Long View, North Carolina, will provide hydrogen for about 1000 industrial forklift trucks throughout the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Georgia. OneH2 expects that with completion of stages two and three, the facility will also service the burgeoning hydrogen powered semi-tractor market, particularly for trucks conducting linehaul runs between Charlotte, Atlanta, and Nashville. The company’s total capital investment in the Long View hydrogen hub, believed to be the first on the US East Coast, will approach $16 million. OneH2’s business is based on a fuel production hub-and-spoke model, where central ‘production hubs’ produce low-cost, ready-to-use hydrogen which is then transported by trailer to refueling locations at industrial centres such as factories, port precincts, and warehouses. Regional distributors, such as OneH2 Southeast, then play a direct role in fuel marketing and distribution. OneH2 anticipates that the Long View facility will serve as a template for future hubs planned across North America, the UK, and Australia in the coming years, with Pontiac, Michigan the next facility in the pipeline. Meanwhile, OneH2 has received a $250 000 economic development grant from the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Town of Long View, to support the renovation
April 2019
of its headquarters. The grant will also help facility renovations necessary to put the recently acquired Nuvera PowerTap® hydrogen generator range into long-run production [FCB, January 2019, p14]. In other news, OneH2 has been selected to supply hydrogen for a fleet of fuel cell electric trucks to be operated at the Ports of Los Angeles and San Diego. The Fast Track Fuel Cell Truck Project is managed by the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), working with technology partners including TransPower, Frontier Energy, the Center for Sustainable Energy, and Loop Energy [August 2018, p4]. OneH2’s role is to provide both mobile and fixed hydrogen infrastructure to allow truck refueling, as well as the hydrogen required to power the fleet. The fleet of hydrogen powered on-road heavy trucks has been funded through a California Air Resources Board grant with $6.8 million of matched funds from CARB and the technology partners. OneH2: www.oneh2.com
Saarland sensor system safeguards fuel quality at hydrogen stations
R
esearchers at Saarland University in Germany are collaborating with partners to develop a sensor system that can provide continuous in situ monitoring of hydrogen quality at hydrogen refueling stations, to ensure that hydrogen supplied to fuel cell electric vehicles is free of any contaminants that could damage the fuel cell. The new sensor system features an infrared measuring cell installed inside the hydrogen station, which will have to operate reliably despite the very high pressures and short refueling times. The high pressures to which the sensors are exposed are in fact utilised to further improve the sensitivity of the process. Impurities such as sulfur-containing compounds, ammonia, or hydrocarbons can all contaminate the hydrogen during the production process, during transportation to the hydrogen station, or during the refueling process. Even low levels of impurities can damage the fuel cell membranes, reducing the power output and ultimately causing irreversible damage. The research team, led by Professor Dr Andreas Schütze, head of the Lab for Measurement Technology, have been working with research partners – including the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Hydac Electronic GmbH, and the ZeMA Center for Mechatronics and Automation
Technology – to develop technology that ensures that the fuel cells are only fed with high-purity hydrogen. The team showcased the system at the recent Hannover Messe trade fair. The project is being supported with a E2.5 million (US$2.8 million) grant from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). ‘The challenge is twofold: measuring at the required level of precision, and coping with the conditions under which the sensor system needs to operate,’ says Schütze. The refueling process uses hydrogen pressures of 700–900 bar, and takes less than three minutes. The research team is currently conducting experiments and assigning specific infrared absorption signals to the various contaminants, as well as determining which wavelengths of the infrared spectrum are most suitable for the measurements, and calibrating the system. These important preparatory stages need to be completed before this autumn, when the sensor system will be installed in a hydrogen refueling station for operational trials. Saarland University, Lab for Measurement Technology: www.lmt.uni-saarland.de/index.php/en ZeMA Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology: www.zema.de [in German]
ENERGY STORAGE & P2G
UNSW Sydney plans home hydrogen storage for renewable energy
R
esearchers at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia have received a A$3.5 million (US$2.5 million) investment from Providence Asset Group to develop a first-of-its-kind hydrogen storage system with partner H2Store that should mean cheaper, safer renewable energy storage for home use. Professor Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou and his team in UNSW’s School of Chemical Engineering have developed a unique system that provides cheap storage and transportation of hydrogen, which they expect will provide a new alternative for energy storage within two years. The new funding will help them deliver phase one of a four-stage project that includes the creation of prototypes of their hydrogen energy storage solution for residential and commercial use, demonstration units, and testing and optimisation that will enable full commercialisation of the product. Aguey-Zinsou, who heads the Materials Energy Research Laboratory in nanoscale
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Fuel Cells Bulletin
the DLR German Aerospace Center, and the municipal economic development agency Braunschweig Zukunft GmbH.
Linde, Hydrogen Energy: http://tinyurl.com/linde-hydrogen-energy-h2
HTEC designs and builds hydrogen fuel supply solutions to support the deployment of FCEVs, in partnership with government, industrial gas companies, key equipment suppliers, automotive companies and energy companies, including Shell, Hyundai [see page 2], Toyota, and Air Liquide. Its two growth platforms – hydrogen infrastructure and hydrogen technology solutions – allow it to quickly scale up to service the rapidly expanding domestic and global markets.
National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology: http://tinyurl.com/nip-h2fc-tech
HTEC, Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corporation: www.htec.ca
NOW GmbH: www.now-gmbh.de
7-Eleven Canada: www.7-Eleven.ca
H2 Mobility Deutschland GmbH: https://h2.live/en Shell Global, Hydrogen: http://tinyurl.com/shell-h2 Air Liquide, Hydrogen Energy: http://tinyurl.com/hydrogen-energy-airliquide
Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: www.fch.europa.eu Hydrogen Mobility Europe: www.h2me.eu
HTEC and 7-Eleven Canada to open retail hydrogen stations in BC
V
ancouver-based Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corporation (HTEC) is collaborating with international convenience-store chain 7-Eleven Inc to build two retail hydrogen refueling stations in British Columbia. The station locations – one in North Vancouver (possibly adjoining the 7-Eleven at Westview Shopping Centre), and another proposed for Vancouver Island (possibly in Saanich, in the Greater Victoria area) – will be part of the six-station network HTEC is building to support the rollout of the first 1000 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in BC. The stations will operate at 7-Eleven sites where Esso-branded fuel is sold. Last summer HTEC opened the first retail hydrogen refueling station in Canada, near Vancouver International Airport, in partnership with Shell [FCB, July 2018, p8]. In the autumn it began construction of the second station, also with Shell, in Burnaby in Metro Vancouver [December 2018, p10]. It has also signed a Letter of Intent with Harnois Groupe pétrolier (HGP) to partner on developing a retail hydrogen refueling station network in Quebec province and elsewhere in Canada [November 2018, p9]. ‘The stations we build with 7-Eleven will expand HTEC’s hydrogen refueling network considerably,’ says Colin Armstrong, CEO of HTEC. ‘Whether it’s travelling across the Straight of Georgia and refueling up on Vancouver Island, or hitting the North Vancouver station en route to Whistler, HTEC’s collaboration with 7-Eleven has expanded the possibilities for FCEV drivers to travel beyond Metro Vancouver and explore other parts of the province.’
Korean joint venture HyNet aims to set up 100 stations by 2022
H
ydrogen Energy Network (HyNet) has been established as a joint venture between 13 leading industrial companies in South Korea, which aims to expand the nation’s hydrogen refueling infrastructure by installing 100 stations by 2022 and operating them until 2029. The Special Purpose Company (SPC) was first announced a year ago, when the Korean government entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with major automakers, public institutions and companies involved in the global hydrogen energy sector [FCB, May 2018, p8]. The major shareholders in the HyNet joint venture are Hyundai Motor Company, Korea Gas Corporation and Air Liquide Korea, alongside smaller key players such as Nel Korea Co Ltd. HyNet plans to build and operate hydrogen stations in Korea together with strategic investors, and with financial support from the Ministry of Environment. The main focus of HyNet is to expand the hydrogen refueling infrastructure in Korea through the installation of 100 hydrogen stations by 2022, and to operate them until 2029. Nel intends to sell its H2Station® hydrogen refueling stations to the HyNet joint venture as well as directly to other customers. Nel will further evaluate its investment in HyNet, depending on the number of possible hydrogen station sales. ‘We believe that HyNet will significantly accelerate the deployment of both fuel cell electric vehicles and hydrogen fueling infrastructure in South Korea, and we are ready to provide both our well proven and compact H2Station solutions as well as our knowhow to HyNet,’ says Martin Pfandl, General Manager of Nel Korea. In 2017 Norwegian-based Nel ASA partnered with Korean hydrogen supplier Deokyang Co
April 2019
NEWS Ltd to establish a joint venture, Nel-Deokyang Ltd, to market and sell the H2Station in Korea [July 2017, p8]; last summer it took full control of the JV, renaming it Nel Korea Co Ltd [July 2018, p11]. The company recently won a E2.8 million (US$3.2 million) contract to supply two H2Stations for Gangwon Technopark [March 2019, p7], and has now received a purchase order for the two stations from the Public Procurement Service. The installations in Gangneung and Samcheok are scheduled for later this year. Nel acquired the H2Station technology when it bought Danish company H2 Logic in 2015 [June 2015, p8, and see the H2 Logic feature in May 2013]. Nel ASA: www.nelhydrogen.com
OneH2 for dedicated hydrogen production hub, California trucks
N
orth Carolina-based OneH2 has completed construction of the first stage of a dedicated hydrogen fuel plant, designed to provide deliveries of ready-to-use bulk hydrogen to the industrial forklift truck and heavy vehicle markets. The stage one project for the hydrogen fuel plant in Long View, North Carolina, will provide hydrogen for about 1000 industrial forklift trucks throughout the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Georgia. OneH2 expects that with completion of stages two and three, the facility will also service the burgeoning hydrogen powered semi-tractor market, particularly for trucks conducting linehaul runs between Charlotte, Atlanta, and Nashville. The company’s total capital investment in the Long View hydrogen hub, believed to be the first on the US East Coast, will approach $16 million. OneH2’s business is based on a fuel production hub-and-spoke model, where central ‘production hubs’ produce low-cost, ready-to-use hydrogen which is then transported by trailer to refueling locations at industrial centres such as factories, port precincts, and warehouses. Regional distributors, such as OneH2 Southeast, then play a direct role in fuel marketing and distribution. OneH2 anticipates that the Long View facility will serve as a template for future hubs planned across North America, the UK, and Australia in the coming years, with Pontiac, Michigan the next facility in the pipeline. Meanwhile, OneH2 has received a $250 000 economic development grant from the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Town of Long View, to support the renovation
April 2019
of its headquarters. The grant will also help facility renovations necessary to put the recently acquired Nuvera PowerTap® hydrogen generator range into long-run production [FCB, January 2019, p14]. In other news, OneH2 has been selected to supply hydrogen for a fleet of fuel cell electric trucks to be operated at the Ports of Los Angeles and San Diego. The Fast Track Fuel Cell Truck Project is managed by the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), working with technology partners including TransPower, Frontier Energy, the Center for Sustainable Energy, and Loop Energy [August 2018, p4]. OneH2’s role is to provide both mobile and fixed hydrogen infrastructure to allow truck refueling, as well as the hydrogen required to power the fleet. The fleet of hydrogen powered on-road heavy trucks has been funded through a California Air Resources Board grant with $6.8 million of matched funds from CARB and the technology partners. OneH2: www.oneh2.com
Saarland sensor system safeguards fuel quality at hydrogen stations
R
esearchers at Saarland University in Germany are collaborating with partners to develop a sensor system that can provide continuous in situ monitoring of hydrogen quality at hydrogen refueling stations, to ensure that hydrogen supplied to fuel cell electric vehicles is free of any contaminants that could damage the fuel cell. The new sensor system features an infrared measuring cell installed inside the hydrogen station, which will have to operate reliably despite the very high pressures and short refueling times. The high pressures to which the sensors are exposed are in fact utilised to further improve the sensitivity of the process. Impurities such as sulfur-containing compounds, ammonia, or hydrocarbons can all contaminate the hydrogen during the production process, during transportation to the hydrogen station, or during the refueling process. Even low levels of impurities can damage the fuel cell membranes, reducing the power output and ultimately causing irreversible damage. The research team, led by Professor Dr Andreas Schütze, head of the Lab for Measurement Technology, have been working with research partners – including the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Hydac Electronic GmbH, and the ZeMA Center for Mechatronics and Automation
Technology – to develop technology that ensures that the fuel cells are only fed with high-purity hydrogen. The team showcased the system at the recent Hannover Messe trade fair. The project is being supported with a E2.5 million (US$2.8 million) grant from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). ‘The challenge is twofold: measuring at the required level of precision, and coping with the conditions under which the sensor system needs to operate,’ says Schütze. The refueling process uses hydrogen pressures of 700–900 bar, and takes less than three minutes. The research team is currently conducting experiments and assigning specific infrared absorption signals to the various contaminants, as well as determining which wavelengths of the infrared spectrum are most suitable for the measurements, and calibrating the system. These important preparatory stages need to be completed before this autumn, when the sensor system will be installed in a hydrogen refueling station for operational trials. Saarland University, Lab for Measurement Technology: www.lmt.uni-saarland.de/index.php/en ZeMA Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology: www.zema.de [in German]
ENERGY STORAGE & P2G
UNSW Sydney plans home hydrogen storage for renewable energy
R
esearchers at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia have received a A$3.5 million (US$2.5 million) investment from Providence Asset Group to develop a first-of-its-kind hydrogen storage system with partner H2Store that should mean cheaper, safer renewable energy storage for home use. Professor Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou and his team in UNSW’s School of Chemical Engineering have developed a unique system that provides cheap storage and transportation of hydrogen, which they expect will provide a new alternative for energy storage within two years. The new funding will help them deliver phase one of a four-stage project that includes the creation of prototypes of their hydrogen energy storage solution for residential and commercial use, demonstration units, and testing and optimisation that will enable full commercialisation of the product. Aguey-Zinsou, who heads the Materials Energy Research Laboratory in nanoscale
Fuel Cells Bulletin
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