The funding round was led by GM Ventures and Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, with participation from SWEN CP and Siemens Energy Ventures. The investors will also act as strategic partners for GeoPura moving forward.

GeoPura offers an alternative to traditional diesel generators with its hydrogen power unit (HPU) technology used for temporary, supplementary, off-grid and backup power.

The firm generates hydrogen and transports the fuel to customers for use in its HPUs – customers simply rent the units and pay for the fuel used.

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The latest investment will enable mass manufacturing of HPUs and will increase the production of green hydrogen to fuel the units in the North East and throughout the UK.

The company also aims to bring a number of new products to market, addressing smaller and larger power requirements.

GeoPura chief executive Andrew Cunningham said the investment “allows us to build on our installed base of HPUs and hydrogen production infrastructure to stimulate the green hydrogen economy, and then expand the use of clean fuels into other hard-to-decarbonise areas of our energy system”.

“We have secured the right mix of investors, forming strategic partnerships that not only provide the funds to enable us to scale rapidly, but also the skills and resources to accelerate the transition to zero emission fuels.”

Why Europe’s head start on hydrogen is at risk

James Ferrier, Director of Principal Investments at Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, said: “Whilst most of the focus in the UK is rightly on ‘greening’ our energy grid, industries which are reliant on fossil-fuel powered generators – such as construction, film production and events – should not be forgotten.

“Establishing tailored methods of off-grid green energy generation such as GeoPura’s Hydrogen Power Unit technology will be crucial for the decarbonisation of these industries, and we are excited to support GeoPura as they begin to scale.”

Kendra Rauschenberger, General Partner at Siemens Energy Ventures, said she has “worked alongside GeoPura from the early days” and added that “it has been incredible to see the development of this business as more customers turn to utilizing green hydrogen for their sustainable energy needs and commitments”.

GeoPura plans to deploy a fleet of over 3,600 HPUs by 2033 and is currently providing power to Balfour Beatty, HS2, National Grid and the BBC.

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The Pioneer Centre, a new initiative of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Aalborg University, has launched the CAPeX Academy with the aim to educate around 50 PhD students and 50 postdocs for the power-to-x industry over the centre’s lifetime.

The partners believe that as the power-to-x industry is starting to boom, there is a need for a much larger number of experts in this field than currently and that they will especially need multiple interdisciplinary competences.

Tejs Vegge, professor at DTU and a co-lead of CAPeX, says these are the experts who will carry the research forward as well as the industrial development of the new technologies for power-to-x.

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“If you look at the new materials and green technologies that we’re beginning to be able to develop now, they will need to be increased more than a thousandfold to have a global impact. This means that there must be researchers who can, for example, develop more efficient catalysts as well as people working in the industry who can produce them faster and cheaper than today.”

Frede Blaabjerg, professor at Aalborg University and the second co-lead of CAPeX, adds that it isn’t enough to ‘simply’ design the world’s best catalyst and it’s also necessary to ensure sustainable and scalable production to meet global challenges.

“This requires new ways of thinking, and these are the type of experts we want to help train.”

While The CAPeX centre is based in Denmark, close collaboration is being initiated with international universities, including Stanford in the US, the University of Toronto in Canada and Utrecht University in the Netherlands, which will enable researchers and Academy participants also to obtain access to equipment and expertise in those locations.

Exchanges also are planned both of Danish students externally and vice versa.

Pioneer Centre for power-to-x

The CAPeX was launched by the two universities in December to bring together their expertise and competencies and those of other local universities to develop new materials and technologies for power-to-x.

Currently, the most efficient materials used today to produce hydrogen using electrolysis are based on rare minerals and earths. One of the main challenges for CAPeX is to develop new sustainable catalysts for electrolysis that can be scaled and deployed globally.

The Centre also will focus on sustainable solutions for e.g. heavy transport and aviation.

A key basis of this research will be digital twins which will enable the design, test and analysis of new materials, cells and systems before they are manufactured, making it possible to predict how materials and systems change their properties and behaviour from the atomic level right up to optimising an energy island.

The Centre was established with a has a total grant of DKK300 million (US$43 million) from the Ministry of Higher Education and Science and five Danish foundations.

Other participants in CAPeX are the University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University and the University of Southern Denmark.

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The project, one of the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, will be led by Enapter, the German state-owned organisation GIZ, and Chiang Mai University’s Energy Research and Development Institute of Nakornping (ERDI).

The green hydrogen knowledge hub in Chiang Mai will consist of a training centre developing and offering hands-on courses and a green hydrogen demonstration site.

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The aim of the training centre is to develop the next generation of energy professionals who will grow local hydrogen infrastructure and position Chiang Mai and Thailand as pioneers in modular hydrogen system technology.

The project is being implemented via the International Hydrogen Ramp-up Program (H2Uppp), an initiative carried out by the GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

Simon Rolland, energy portfolio programme director, GIZ, said in a statement: “This project will not only provide a training ground for future project developers, but also serve as a model that showcases the viability of green hydrogen systems. With the combined efforts of CMU, Enapter, and GIZ, we are bringing together a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will make Chiang Mai a hub for innovation throughout Southeast Asia.”

The project follows the Phi Suea House in Chiang Mai, a multi-house residential development that in 2015 became the world’s first self-sustaining development powered by a clean energy system based on hydrogen energy storage.

Phi Suea House was developed by Enapter CEO Sebastian-Justus Schmidt to showcase combined solar and green hydrogen tech feasibility – and has evolved into a hub of hydrogen activity and a technology prototyping sandbox. It will be part of the partnership to set up the knowledge centre.

Sebastian-Justus Schmidt commented, “Every new technology first goes through a learning phase. The doubts that arise at the beginning can be reliably dispelled with education and knowledge transfer. This project will act like a green hydrogen lighthouse for the region and make Thailand, and especially Chiang Mai, known as a knowledge centre in hydrogen, even beyond the country’s borders.”

Thailand has set ambitious decarbonisation goals and sees cooperation between the Thai and German public and private sectors as critical to developing a viable hydrogen economy and achieving these targets.

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A new fusion energy advanced prototype with power plant-relevant magnet technology will be built in the UK by Tokamak Energy.

Tokamak’s compact spherical device, called ST80-HTS, will include a complete set of high temperature superconducting magnets to confine and control hydrogen fuel, which becomes plasma many times hotter than the sun. 

The new purpose-built facility will be located at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) Culham Campus, near Oxford in England.  

It comes just days after startup First Light Fusion also signed a deal to build a demonstration device at the Culham campus, and also in the wake of the UK government announcing the formation of a new body to deliver the country’s fusion programme.

In October last year Tokamak Energy and the UKAEA signed a framework agreement to enable closer collaboration to develop spherical tokamaks as a route to commercial fusion energy.  

Designs for the facility are underway in partnership with construction consultants McBains, with building scheduled for completion in 2026. 

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Tokamak Energy chief executive Chris Kelsall said the go-ahead for the prototype was “a major step forward on our mission to demonstrate grid-ready fusion energy by the early 2030s”.

He said the ST80-HTS device “aims to validate key engineering solutions needed to make commercial fusion a reality and will showcase our world-class magnet technology at scale”.

He added that “public and private partnerships of this nature will be a crucial catalyst for fusion to deliver global energy security and mitigate climate change”. 

The ST80-HTS will target the significantly longer pulse durations needed for sustained high power output in commercially competitive fusion power plants.

Tokamak Energy’s current ST40 fusion device in nearby Milton Park in Oxfordshire has recently been upgraded to enable experiments relating to future features that will be incorporated in both ST80-HTS and ST-E1.

Last year it achieved a 100 million degrees Celsius fusion plasma – the highest temperature ever recorded in a compact spherical tokamak. 

Exclusive interview: What are the nuclear technologies of the future? Watch now.

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Measures to phase out fossil gas and support the development of a EU hydrogen backbone have been approved by the EU’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE).

The legislative proposals backed, a regulation and a directive, are aimed to facilitate the uptake of renewable and low carbon gases, including biomethane and hydrogen, into the EU gas market.

The legislation would also create a certification system for low carbon gases and ensure that consumers can switch suppliers more easily to choose these gases over fossil fuels in their contracts.

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In its amendments to the directive, the Committee found that the hydrogen corridors identified in the REPowerEU plan should be supported by adequate infrastructure and investments.

The aim is to ensure that enough cross-border capacity is available to establish an integrated European ‘hydrogen backbone’ enabling the product to move freely across borders.

Regarding the phase out of fossil gas, the Committee wants it phase out by EU countries as soon as possible, taking into account the availability of alternatives.

Member states may decide on an earlier end-date for the duration of long-term contracts for unabated gas before the end of the year 2049.

In the interim on the replacement of Russian gas supply the Committee agreed that by the end of 2030 member states should ensure collectively at least 35 billion m3 of sustainable biomethane.

This would be produced and injected into the natural gas system annually, with the aim of replacing 20% of Russian natural gas imports.

Reform to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG) to also cover hydrogen network operators also was proposed.

Jens Geier, rapporteur on the directive, said the vote is the next step towards a climate-neutral Europe.

“We call for gas, hydrogen and electricity infrastructure to be planned jointly to better coordinate energy systems in the future.”

Jerzy Buzek, rapporteur on the regulation, said the age of hydrogen is coming.

“To make it happen in the EU, we need a stable and well-balanced regulatory framework, financial support as well as investments in new infrastructure. With this legislation, we are preparing it.”

Hydrogen Europe has welcomed the ITRE Committee’s conclusions, saying it is a big step towards the establishment of hydrogen as a traded commodity and as a crucial energy carrier in the campaign for net zero.

“It is now up to the Council to develop its general approach in line with the ambition of MEPs and industry and to shore up all remaining issues in this important legislative package.”

Nevertheless, some outstanding issues remain, the organisation says.

Policymakers should be cautious when imposing excessive conditions on hydrogen pipelines without considering the different usages of hydrogen transported and their specificities.

Hydrogen Europe also calls on policymakers to ensure appropriate exemptions for existing hydrogen networks; ensure independence on the governance of hydrogen infrastructure planning and network codes and provide flexibility for member states in applying third party access for storage and terminals.

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Abu-Dhabi headquartered clean energy firm Masdar and Austrian utility VERBUND are to explore the production of green hydrogen for Austria and Southern Germany.

The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to produce and export hydrogen, with Verbund chief executive Michael Strugl stating that green hydrogen “is the game-changer for a sustainable energy system, taking us a step closer to carbon neutrality”.

Verbund generates 97% of its electricity from renewables, mainly hydropower, plus some wind and solar.

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Strugl believes green hydrogen will become a crucial building block to decarbonize industry and transport in Europe and Verbund has already launched several flagship projects to expand its value chain into green hydrogen.

Last year, Masdar announced the establishment of its new green hydrogen business, with a goal of producing 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen per annum by 2030.

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Masdar chief executive Mohamed Jameel Ramahi said that the “future is upon us” in respect of green hydrogen.
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Funding of £6 million ($7.3m) has been awarded to 20 research projects to accelerate the decarbonisation of industry in the UK.

The 20 projects are spread across 14 UK research institutions and are all intended to support the UK’s green growth and net zero ambitions by 2050.

The money has come from the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC), which is part of the UKRI Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge.

IDRIC launched a call for industrial decarbonisation research projects, offering stakeholders the opportunity to respond to emerging innovation and research needs and complementing its existing programme of projects.

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The 20 projects cover technologies including carbon capture and hydrogen, plus issues such as skills development and equality, diversity and inclusion.

The successful bids demonstrated how they would employ active dialogue and collaboration with key industrial stakeholders to ensure that outcomes and impact remain closely tied to industry needs. A full list of successful bids is listed below.

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Bryony Livesey, director of the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge at UKRI, said the projects “will build evidence on a range of areas from economics and emissions to skilled jobs and wider net zero policy, supporting UK’s green growth and net zero ambitions”. 

IDRIC director Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer said: “We were delighted by the quality and volume of applications received. IDRIC’s programme has demonstrated that we have the tools to transform industry and make it an engine of green growth.”

To 20 successful bids are listed here.

Video: Tangible opportunities to decarbonize industry. Watch here.

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The 12.5MW demonstration project will investigate and compare hydrogen production with different electrolysis technologies and is expected to produce more than 1,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.

With the help of YEST, Enapter will install its unique AEM Multicore electrolyser, which can supply around 450kg of green hydrogen per day. By using several units in parallel, production can be expanded on an industrial scale.

Sebastian-Justus Schmidt, CEO of Enapter: “Korea is one of the world’s leading countries in the field of green hydrogen. We are all the more pleased to expand our partnership with YEST and intensify our cooperation. This joint project is a building block on the global path to carbon neutrality.”

Jang Dong-bok, CEO of YEST: “We want to further improve the competitiveness of green hydrogen and leverage synergies. The Korean government’s initiatives provide us with a very good foundation for this.”

The South Korean Ministry of Industry and Trade (Motie) has provided financial support for the pilot to the value of ₩62 billion ($43.3 million).

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South Korea’s hydrogen hopes

The country plans to source a third of its energy from hydrogen by 2050, making the gas the largest single source of energy nationally.

The South Korean government launched plans to rapidly develop the nation’s hydrogen capabilities. Its Hydrogen Economy Roadmap of Korea aims to grow domestic annual consumption from 130,000 tons in 2018 to almost 5.3 million tons by 2040.

During FY2021, spending on hydrogen projects by the South Korean government totalled almost $702 million, with a further $2.3 billion committed to establishing a public-private hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicle market.

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H2H Saltend is a 600MW low-carbon hydrogen production plant with carbon capture and is sited at the Saltend Chemicals Park, to the east of Hull in northeast Humber region of England.

The plant is scheduled to be operational by 2027 and will allow for the storage of 890,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The project will reduce the park’s emissions by up to one third, according to Equinor, by replacing natural gas in several industrial facilities with low-carbon hydrogen.

Gas and hydrogen blends also will be used at Equinor and SSE Thermal’s on-site Saltend Power Station.

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The plant design will use Linde Engineering’s hydrogen and air separation technologies, which will be combined with UK-based Johnson Matthey’s LCH technology. The plant will be operated and maintained by BOC.

Asbjørn Haugsgjerd, Equinor’s project director for the H2H Saltend project, said: “H2H Saltend is a vital first step in creating a low carbon hydrogen economy and achieving net zero in the Humber, safeguarding local industries and creating greater opportunities, whilst helping the UK to tackle climate change.

“With Linde Engineering, BOC and Johnson Matthey on board we are even better positioned to deliver this vision.”

H2H Saltend is part of the wider Zero Carbon Humber scheme, which will provide regional infrastructure to transport hydrogen to industrial customers seeking to reduce their emissions, whilst also capturing carbon dioxide for sub-sea storage as part of the East Coast Cluster.

According to Equinor, these projects aim to make the carbon-intensive Humber net-zero by 2040.

The contracts were awarded to Linde Engineering and BOC based on their participation in a design competition to provide proposals for FEED with options for engineering, procurement and construction and operation and maintenance for the first five years.

Linde has installed over 200 hydrogen fuelling stations and 80 hydrogen electrolysis plants worldwide and BOC has experience in ensuring reliable operation of hydrogen plants in the Humber region.

Reducing Humber’s emissions

The Humber is the most carbon-intensive industrial cluster in the UK and according to Zero Carbon Humber, generates £18 billion ($22.3 billion) of the UK’s economy each year, driven largely by industrial processes.

The Humber and wider Yorkshire region are looking to hydrogen as a low carbon fuel to decarbonise transport and heating, as well as for short term energy storage.

Projects in the area are therefore aimed at developing the necessary infratsurture to create a functional hydrogen economy to drive scale and competitive hydrogen production.

The post Linde wins FEED contract for Equinor’s Saltend hydrogen plant appeared first on Power Engineering International.

After completing the building permit process, Axpo and Rhiienergie began work on the hydrogen production facility at the Reichenau hydropower plant on 23 January 2023. The hydrogen plant is scheduled to go into operation in the fall of 2023.

The hydrogen installation will be connected to the Reichenau hydropower plant, in which Axpo holds a majority share. The Reichenau plant, on the Rhine River, was completed in 1962.

Axpo and Rhiienergie are jointly investing over CHF8 million ($8.7 million) in the facility.

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Using Swiss hydropower, the facility will produce about 350 tonnes of green hydrogen annually. This corresponds to about 1.5 million litres of diesel fuel that the Canton of Grisons and the neighboring Rhine valley will be able to save. The green hydrogen will be delivered directly to filling stations from the production facility. Alternatively, the hydrogen can also make a contribution to the decarbonisation of industrial operations.

Green hydrogen, which is produced with power from renewable energy sources, is considered a pillar of the energy transition. Axpo has defined the expansion of this area as a strategic growth field. The hydrogen plant at the Reichenau power plant is one of many facilities that Axpo is planning at run-of-river hydropower plants in Switzerland.

The use of hydrogen as a fuel is not widespread in Switzerland. A filling station network is being developed and the first hydrogen-fueled trucks are already on the road. The filling station network, as well as the Swiss hydrogen fleet, will grow strongly in the upcoming years, Axpo said.

Switzerland is striving to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. To reach this goal, the country must strongly reduce its CO2 emissions. As a climate-friendly fuel, green hydrogen plays a key role in this decarbonisation strategy – particularly in the area of freight transport.

Axpo says it is Switzerland’s largest producer of renewable energy. The company owns or co-owns about 60 hydroelectric power plants.

Switzerland has about 1,500 hydroelectric power stations in total.

Rhiienergie is an energy supply company that provides electricity products and a support program for energy efficiency.

Originally published by hydroreview.com

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