Nation’s First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Ferry to Launch in California

SWITCH Maritime is set to launch the Sea Change, a hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric ferry in the San Francisco Bay. The zero-emission vessel is designed to accommodate around 75 passengers.

August 27, 2021 •
Skip Descant
GOVTECH

The “Sea Change” is a hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric ferry which will soon undergo testing and deployment in the California Bay Area.
Submitted Photo: SWITCH Maritime

The nation’s first hydrogen fuel cell electric ferry is set to launch in the California Bay Area. SWITCH Maritime will launch the Sea Change in the San Francisco Bay for its initial testing and data collection phase before launching the new vessel into full ferry service.

The 75-passenger ferry is nearing manufacturing completion at a ship facility in Washington state, and will launch in the San Francisco region in the fall. From there, the ferry will undergo a three-month data collection and testing phase where the boat will operate in a number of different service profiles to test the fuel cell system in different modes and applications. The project was awarded a $3 million grant by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

“The objective of that is to make public this data, and for the state to understand a techno-economic analysis on the fuel cell system, and the viability of that to apply to other hovercraft and the like,” said Elias Van Sickle, director of commercial development and operations at SWITCH Maritime.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are powered by an electric motor. The technology involves mixing hydrogen — the most common element in the universe — with oxygen to create electricity. The electrification of the transportation sector has evolved primarily in the direction of storing energy in batteries, as is the case with numerous models of electric cars on the market. However, hydrogen fuel cell technology has been identified as a better fit for large vehicles, like maritime vessels, transit buses or even airplanes.

“You’ll see more of hydrogen playing a role in those heavy-duty applications. Because they’re really hard to decarbonize, these big energy requirements,” said Van Sickle.

“This vessel is electric. It has an electric motor, and the only question is where do those electrons come from?” Van Sickle pointed out. “They can come from a battery. They can come from a fuel cell, or they can come from a combination of both.”


A shorter route, with lower energy requirements and suitable charging opportunities, tends to serve battery-electric power fairly well, he added. Longer routes requiring faster speeds and extensive operational duration tend to be better served by hydrogen fuel cells.

“This boat is relatively small, still. But when you scale up to much bigger ships, you really run into some limitations in how much energy you can fit onboard a boat to make it go the distance that it needs to,” said Van Sickle.

The goal is to also demonstrate that the technology “is modular and scalable, and can power some of the larger types of vessels as well,” he added.

The ferry will be fueled from a delivery truck. The company has plans to establish its own infrastructure and supply chains to support more vessels as the company grows the fleet.

Organizations like the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) in the Bay Area — an operator of the San Francisco Bay Ferry service — are already exploring projects to develop waterside hydrogen refueling, said Thomas Hall, public information and marketing manager at WETA.

“We are currently studying shoreside infrastructure needs for zero-emission ferries and working with the California Air Resources Board to accelerate a move from diesel to zero-emission technology on our vessels,” said Hall.

“WETA is excited to learn more about this application of hydrogen fuel cells in a maritime setting as we work toward moving our fleet toward zero emissions,” he added.

There are about 1,000 passenger ferries in operation in the U.S., most powered by diesel engines. SWITCH would like to see hydrogen fuel cell technology continue to develop for these applications, as an alternative for when older ferries are retired.

“They’re all aging assets,” Van Sickle said of the older ferries. “And we have this window of opportunity where, rather than replacing those aging assets with more diesel-powered ferries for the next 30 years of pollution, we really want to accelerate that energy transition, and really make those go over to zero-carbon options.”


Skip Descant
Skip Descant writes about smart cities, the Internet of Things, transportation and other areas. He spent more than 12 years reporting for daily newspapers in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and California. He lives in downtown Sacramento.
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Are hydrogen-powered aircraft about to take off?

Project Fresson aims to deliver the world’s first truly green passenger aircraft using hydrogen fuel cell technology. Image courtesy of CAeS.

Posted on 16 Aug 2021 by Jonny Williamson

COVID-19 wiped out 15 years of passenger air traffic growth almost overnight. As the world steadily returns to the skies, the sustainability of air travel is coming under greater scrutiny. With the search for alternative propulsion technologies heating up, could ‘green hydrogen’ represent the next oil revolution? Paul Perera certainly thinks so, and having led the hydrogen ambitions for both Rolls-Royce and GKN, he knows a thing or two about the subject. Jonny Williamson sat down with him to learn more.

You believe aircraft powered by hydrogen, either from direct combustion or via a fuel cell, represent significant growth opportunities for UK manufacturers. Why?

Paul Perera, Global Sustainable Technology Leader

Paul Perera: Many of the changes hydrogen brings to an aircraft relate to areas the UK leads in. For example, the wings will likely be different in design but will still form an integral part of the aerostructure.

This is good news as wings represent about 90% of aerostructure work for UK-based operations such as GKN and Spirit AeroSystems.

Within the fuselage, the fuel tank is the most complex, important structure and due to the extreme low temperature of liquid hydrogen, cryogenic tanks are the most likely option. These tanks are effectively large metallic pressure vessels and incredibly high value.

The UK is already working to establish a supply chain in order to deliver comparable vessels to the nuclear industry, a capability that has clear cross-sector transferability.

Hydrogen fuel tanks weigh more than traditional tanks and the fuselage is likely to be longer. This means that landing gear will need to be configured for heavier landing weights. Several prominent landing gear manufacturers have operations in the UK, including Safran and Messier-Dowty.

The fuselage is going to change the most, from a pure manufacturing perspective. This represents a big opportunity as UK industry isn’t that deeply involved in fuselage production currently.

Of equal, if not greater, interest is the opportunity to move into lucrative new markets by leveraging existing domestic capability. For example, we know that hydrogen is a viable means for taxiing aircraft around an airport.

Converting diesel or auxiliary power units to hydrogen fuel cells could see UK-based manufacturers taking a slice of business from the likes of Honeywell or Lycoming in the US.



The Gigastack project, led by ITM Power, Ørsted, Phillips 66 Limited and Element Energy, will use renewable hydrogen to support the UK’s net zero by 2050 target Image courtesy of ITM POWER.

Small manufacturers account for the majority of the aerospace supply chain. What should they be doing to exploit these opportunities?

There are three key elements here. ONE – become familiar with the changes hydrogen brings to an aircraft, identify your key strengths and understand what you are doing today that has relevance to the future.

TWO – focus on the opportunities not the threats. If I was a pump or valve manufacturer, I’d be looking closely at how cryogenic pumps and valves are produced. If I was making electric motors, I’d be delighted to see the potential for more applications.

If I was involved in gas turbines, the temperature of combustion may rise but most components will remain the same. We may see a decline in long range and wide body aircraft, but that may be offset by a rise in short-haul or regional jets.

You should also be exploring transferability into sectors beyond aerospace. Hydrogen has applications in marine, automotive, rail, public transport and heating, and there’s work currently underway to make those applications a reality.

THREE – What will be vital is producing these parts cost-effectively and at scale. Embracing Industry 4.0 technologies, particularly advanced automation, will be key if the UK is to compete with the likes of China on the world stage.



Three concept aircraft are enabling Airbus to explore a variety of configurations and hydrogen technologies that could shape the development of future zero-emission aircraft. Image courtesy of Airbus.

Where is this push for hydrogen aircraft coming from, wasn’t it tried before and failed?

It was, and it failed because the infrastructure didn’t exist and there wasn’t enough investment to create it. Plans were subsequently shelved and attention turned elsewhere. Increasing environmental awareness and growing concerns over climate change has focused the world’s attention on more sustainable means of travel, among other transformations.

The pandemic has certainly brought an acceleration of investment in infrastructure. In July 2020, the European Commission presented its EU Hydrogen Strategy with the aim of installing 6 GW of renewable hydrogen electrolysers and producing up to 1 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2024. It then intends to scale this to 40 GW of renewable hydrogen electrolysers and 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030.

The Commission has also initiated its Clean Aviation programme, which hints at two different demonstrations of hydrogen-powered aircraft.

On a national level, the French government is providing €1.5bn in support of Airbus’ plan to develop commerciallyviable zero emissions aircraft, which includes research to develop the use of hydrogen for fuel.

The likes of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are investing tens of millions of dollars into producing cheap green hydrogen through their foundations. There is also a boom happening around sustainability-driven venture capital money, more generally.

Momentum around hydrogen looks to be accelerating year on year. The need is clear, technology solutions have reached a high enough level of maturity and investment capital is available.

Surely hydrogen alone isn’t a panacea for air travel to continue as it has done?

Hydrogen probably isn’t suitable for long-haul aircraft because every nautical mile travelled means additional fuel weight. Though hydrogen provides more energy than kerosene, it doesn’t have as high a volumetric density. Storing sufficient hydrogen fuel for long-haul travel currently remains a challenge.

Ultimately, though, the change may be driven by individuals rather than manufacturers. Should we revert to travelling in shorter hops rather than one long, single journey? The question then becomes, are we happy to accommodate a few additional hours of flight time and airport transfers? Are we willing to sacrifice convenience for climate change?



Airbus is working to deliver the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2035, with hydrogen propulsion helping
deliver on this ambition. Image courtesy of Airbus.

The UK aerospace industry is one of the best in the world. Is enough being done to maintain this position should a shift to hydrogen occur?

We’re certainly late to the table in terms of infrastructure investment. That being said, there are multiple activities underway nationwide.

Examples include the Hydrogen to Humber Saltend [H2H Saltend] project, which is building one of the world’s first atscale facilities to produce hydrogen from natural gas.

Project Fresson, led by Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, is working to develop hydrogen fuel cell-powered aircraft with wing-mounted fuel tanks. The first flight is planned for 2022 and entry into service by 2024, Loganair intends to use them for flights in and around the Orkney Islands.

Indeed, Kirkwall Airport on the Orkney Islands is running a green hydrogen project to decarbonise its heat and power.

Brexit actually provides the UK with the ability to own this space over and above the US certainly, and Europe to some degree. Being out of European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) control offers the UK the opportunity to define a standard for hydrogen. In doing so, we would remove one of the biggest impediments to progress.


So far, we’ve discussed hydrogen as a fuel source. What are your thoughts on sourcing it in the first place?

Hydrogen is abundantly available because producing it is just a case of using electricity to split water (H20) into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2), a process called electrolysis.

I say ‘just’, electrolysis is the most energy intensive part of the process. Renewable energy sources, however, are doing much to bring energy cost down; as well as being better for the environment compared to traditional forms of electricity production.

The UAE is using readily accessible and cheap solar power to produce green hydrogen on tap. Given the UK’s growth and expertise in offshore and onshore wind power, that thinking could certainly be replicated here.

The UK has the potential to generate the cheapest green hydrogen in Europe. This potential is attracting significant investment, from ITM Power’s new gigafactory in Sheffield and Ørsted’s development of the world’s largest offshore wind farm in Yorkshire, to the National Centre for Propulsion and Power at the University of Cambridge’s Whittle Laboratory, which is due to open in 2023.



In May 2021, the first turbine at what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm was installed at Hornsea Two, 50 miles off the Yorkshire coast. Image courtyes of ØRSTED.

If the UK truly wants to ‘build back better’ and greener, however, we must think beyond aircraft. There’s an opportunity here for hydrogen to potentially fuel every form of airport transport.

Could Heathrow become a net zero hydrogen-powered hub for buses, trains, aircraft, even for combined heating and power? In doing so, you build an economy around the airfield which would create jobs and pull in further investment and development.

What’s stopping us from doing exactly that?

Clarity. We should have had a hydrogen strategy off the back of the government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution back in January. Publication of that strategy was delayed to March, then to June and it’s now expected towards the end of July.

If there was a policy that said the UK was heading towards this fuel in this timeline, like we’re doing with diesel vehicles, then the money would follow. But today, with competing options on the table, investing money is akin to playing roulette.

A lack of relevant skills is also challenging. Graduates with experience in hydrogen, cryogenics and fuel cells are in short supply and are increasingly lured overseas to better funded research posts or better paid jobs.

We must work harder to retain these individuals. VentilatorChallengeUK was so successful because we quickly recognised what was happening, we identified the solution, we assembled the right team and then activated them in a way that had never been done before. We need to apply the exact same ethos to sustainable aviation.


The recently-opened Sheffield Gigafactory is home to a high capacity, semi-automated electrolyser manufacturing facility and a Hydrogen Academy to train apprentices and local engineers. Image courtyes of ITM POWER.

Having been heavily involved in VentilatorChallengeUK and its success, what lessons do you think can be applied here?

Start now or risk losing out to others. Recognise that this is going to happen much faster than you believe it will. VentilatorChallengeUK needed to produce 30,000 units, which seemed an impossible number to reach. Yet, we delivered almost half that, 13,500, in just 12 weeks.

Collaboration is vital. Don’t put boundaries around your organisation and think that you’re in isolation. There are always those doing something that would be possibly complimentary or help accelerate your opportunity to find a solution. Get out there and find those partner companies, universities, start-ups, whoever it might be.
Among other projects, Paul is currently involved in.

World-first hydrogen helicopter to certify plug-and-play H2 powerplant
By Loz Blain
August 25, 2021

Piasecki's PA-890 slowed-rotor compound helicopter is targeted for certification and commercial production by 2025 – a fuel cell-powered version aims to be the world's first manned hydrogen helicopter

Hydrogen fuel cell innovator HyPoint has teamed up with Piasecki Aircraft on a headline project to build the world's first manned hydrogen helicopter – but in the process, they plan to develop and certify a H2 system that can be integrated into any eVTOL aircraft, radically boosting its range capability.


The two companies have raised an initial US$6.5 million toward what could genuinely be a revolutionary powertrain for electric aircraft; a fully FAA-certified hydrogen system would instantly allow electric aircraft to carry several times more energy on board, vastly boosting flight endurance while also enabling fast refueling instead of slow charging.

HyPoint claims its "turbo air-cooled" fuel cell system" will be able to achieve up to 2,000 watts per kilogram (2.2 lb) of specific power, which is more than triple the power-to-weight ratio of traditional (liquid-cooled) hydrogen fuel cells systems. It will also boast up to 1,500 watt-hours per kilogram of energy density, enabling longer-distance journeys." For comparison, today's commercially available lithium battery packs rarely break the 300-Wh/kg mark.

HyPoint says its lightweight fuel cell system has already been validated in bench-testing of lab prototypes, and that it's capable of generating enough continuous power to handle the energy-hungry demands of vertical takeoff and landing without the need for a heavy buffer battery.


The initial agreement is a plan for five 650-kW hydrogen fuel cell systems, which will be integrated into Piasecki's PA-890 electric compound helicopter. This is a pretty wild design in its own right; an electric slowed-rotor five-seater with wide wings for efficient cruise and a tail rotor that tilts backward in forward flight to become a pusher prop. Oh, and the wings tilt 90 degrees upward to get out of the main rotor's way on takeoff and landing.

The PA-890 has large, tilting wings for efficient forward flight with a slowed top rotor, and a tail rotor that tilts backward to become a pusher prop in forward flight
Piasecki Aircraft

The PA-890 has been designed to meet existing FAA Part 27 standards for commercial certification, and Piasecki is already in discussions with the FAA to outline certification criteria. The hydrogen powertrain will add an extra wrinkle; the FAA has granted experimental certification to several fuel cell aircraft, but to the best of our knowledge nobody's fully type-certified a hydrogen aircraft for commercial use yet.


But whoever gets it done will be able to go around eVTOL companies offering a relatively simple, pre-approved, risk-sharing pathway to a massive boost in range and endurance – one that may look very attractive to many air taxi operators.

If urban air mobility takes off the way the eVTOL industry hopes, these things will be flying in and out of vertiports like taxis at a taxi rank. Now imagine the size of your taxi rank is limited to the top floor of a multi-story urban car park – maybe you've got enough room for four to eight landing pads. Now imagine the cabs need to plug in and charge for half an hour every time they land.

It's a nightmare; battery-powered eVTOLs may not have the endurance to hover, twiddle their thumbs and wait until a space clears out. And every minute these things sit on the ground is money lost in peak hour. A long-range, fast-fueling hydrogen system could be a game-changer in this scenario.

Piasecki has partnered with HyPoint to develop, certify and productize a 650-kW hydrogen fuel system for electric aircraft
Piasecki Aircraft

“We are laser-focused on the development and qualification of a 650-kW system for our PA-890 eVTOL Compound Helicopter, which would be the world’s first manned hydrogen-powered helicopter," says John Piasecki, President and CEO of Piasecki Aircraft. "Success will pave the way for collaboration with other eVTOL OEMs with different platform sizes to ensure broad application of this technology."

“Initial lab testing funded by Piasecki last winter demonstrated the technical viability of HyPoint’s hydrogen fuel cell system," he continues. "While we are benchmarking HyPoint’s technology against alternatives and continue to rigorously test and validate findings, we are very optimistic. Our objective is to develop full-scale systems within two years to support on-aircraft certification testing in 2024 and fulfill existing customer orders for up to 325 units starting in 2025.”

Radically New Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology to Transform Aviation, Backed by USAF
Home > News > Aviation
29 Aug 2021, 06:02 UTC ·
by Otilia Drăgan 

As exciting as green air mobility sounds, it’s largely dependent on the development of battery and hydrogen fuel cell technology. Without the continuous improvement of these technologies, innovative types of aircraft, such as vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (VTOLs), won’t be able to operate on a large scale.
 6 photos


According to research cited by HyPoint, a company that’s developing hydrogen fuel cell systems for aeronautics, the global hydrogen aircraft market is estimated to grow rapidly within the next decades, getting from $27 billion in 2030 to $174 billion by 2040. On the other hand, studies also show that the eVTOL market is growing just as fast, so it makes sense to predict that developing hydrogen fuel cells for eVTOLs is becoming increasingly important.

HyPoint has just taken an important step in this direction, by partnering with Piasecki Aircraft Corporation, a rotorcraft and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) platforms manufacturer, for the development of a certified hydrogen fuel cell system for eVTOLs. The $6.5 million agreement is focused on Piasecki’s PA-890 compound helicopter, which is set to become the world’s first hydrogen-powered manned helicopter.

HyPoint claims that its hydrogen system is revolutionary in terms of performance, providing four times more energy density than lithium-ion batteries on the market, and twice as much power as the current hydrogen systems that are available, while also cutting in half direct operating costs for turbine-powered rotorcraft.

This innovative fuel cell system was proven to deliver up to 2,000 watts per kilogram of specific power (three times more than liquid-cooled hydrogen), and an energy density of up to 1,500 watt-hours per kilogram, for a major increase in range.

Under this recent agreement with Piasecki, HyPoint will develop five 650kW hydrogen fuel cell systems for the PA-890 eVTOL. HyPoint will continue to own its hydrogen fuel cell technology, with Piasecki gaining exclusive license to it. However, the bigger goal is to eventually make this technology available to the entire eVTOL market, as a customizable solution.

The innovative approach of these two players in the aviation industry has already been recognized, which shows that they could be indeed headed towards a breakthrough. HyPoint won NASA’s iTech Initiative for its aviation applications, while Piasecki is working with the U.S. Air Force, through the AFWERX STTR/SBIR program that’s helping small companies commercialize groundbreaking technologies.

The two companies plan to develop the full-scale system within the next two years, and begin order deliveries by 2025.

H2 TRANSPORTATION LOGISTICS

Great Wall Motor delivers 100 hydrogen trucks in China


© FTXT Energy Technology

By Molly Burgesson Aug 23, 2021
 AVL List GmbH - Official Sponsors of H2 View's Mobility Content

A fleet of 100 hydrogen-powered trucks have been delivered for the Xiong’an New Area construction project in Hebei Province, China.

FTXT Energy Technology, a subsidiary of Great Wall Motor (GWM), along with partners Dayun, Dongfeng and Foton, today (August 23) handed over the fleet to help promote a green hydrogen transportation network nationwide.

Each of the trucks are fitted with 111kW hydrogen fuel cell engines, hydrogen stacks and hydrogen storage – all of which was boasted when the vehicles were unveiled the Great Wall Technology Centre.

Once operational the trucks will be refuelled at ten already developed service stations that are fitted with hydrogen stations.

It’s not just how green the vehicles are that is a bonus, however, the vehicles are thought to be approximately 28% cheaper than its diesel alternatives due to them featuring locally sourced components.

As H2 View heard earlier this year during an exclusive interview, GWM will roll out its first hydrogen-powered SUV this year, and deploy its hydrogen-powered cars during the Winter Olympics in China next year.


On this, Zhang Tianyu, Head of FTXT Energy, said “The technological breakthroughs we have achieved till now, in many ways have helped us to significantly reduce the costs of the final product, as well as ensure high performance, durability, and overall efficiency.”

Great Wall Motor wants to be among the top three hydrogen powertrain suppliers by 2025


© Great Wall Motor

Great Wall Motor (GWM) wants to become a major hydrogen fuel cell vehicle manufacturer globally. The Chinese automaker is planning to launch the world’s first hydrogen-powered sport utility vehicle and produce 100 hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks in 2021 – and it’s exactly these medium and large passenger vehicles where GWM sees the most potential for hydrogen fuel cell technology.

“It will be quite difficult for them [battery electric vehicles] to effectively tackle medium and heavy-duty commercial applications in the medium and long-term, and this is where hydrogen has its strong potential as a clean energy carrier,” Will Zhang, Chairman of FTXT Energy, GWM’s hydrogen subsidiary, told H2 View.

GWM, the first Chinese Hydrogen Council member, has already invested ¥2bn ($309m) in hydrogen product and business development, and intends to invest another ¥3bn ($463.6m) over the next three years. By 2025, GWM is aiming to be among the top three hydrogen powertrain suppliers in the world.

“Our intent to invest substantial amount of resources in the development of the hydrogen business vests on our belief that hydrogen energy will indeed occupy a significant share in certain application niches,” Zhang continued.

Continue reading here.

Hyzon Motors has begun shipping hydrogen fuel cell trucks to customers

Aria Alamalhodaei@breadfrom / August 11, 221

Image Credits: Hyzon Motors(opens in a new window)

Hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck company Hyzon Motors said Wednesday it is ramping up operations in the wake of its merger with blank-check firm Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corp., including shipping its first trucks to European customers.

The company, which reported second-quarter earnings Wednesday, said it is also preparing to start its first customer trials in the United States.

Like other transportation companies that have gone public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition fund, Hyzon doesn’t yet have any revenue to speak of. Instead, Hyzon is banking on the huge injection of capital from the transaction — more than $500 million — and growing customer orders to take it to positive cash flow.

As of now, the company reported a net loss for the quarter of $9.4 million, including $3.5 million in R&D expenses. It had a negative adjusted EBITDA of $9.1 million. The company has $517 million in cash on hand, enough to reach free cash flow by 2024 without having to sell additional equity, Hyzon CFO Mark Gordon said during a second-quarter earnings call.

In addition to manufacturing hydrogen fuel cell powertrains, Hyzon is also investing in hydrogen fuel production hubs, a key piece of infrastructure for technology uptake. In April, the company signed an MOU for a joint venture with renewable fuels company Raven SR for up to 100 hydrogen production hubs. Gordon confirmed the first two will be in the Bay Area.

He also said that the company is on track to deliver 85 fuel cell vehicles by the end of this year, with the company’s first revenue coming next quarter. Orders and memoranda of understanding under contract has grown to $83 million from $55 million as of April, but many of the MOUs are non-binding. An agreement with Austrian grocer MRPEIS for 70 trucks next year is one such example. Similarly, Hyzon faces a slightly uphill battle in terms of technological adoption, as many of their customers have never seen or used a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle.

“Many customers are getting their hands on the first fuel cell vehicles they’ve ever seen in the next six to 12 months,” CEO Craig Knight said during the call. That is a genuine kind of technology validation process and the customers need to feel comfortable the vehicles function well in their use case.”

While many of Hyzon’s sales are for a small number of trucks, Knight said he sees the purchasing timeline from initial sale to fleet conversion growing shorter — at least in Europe, where there is significantly more hydrogen availability. “Whereas, earlier I would have said, it’s a 12-to-18 month process to go from getting your first fuel cell truck and trying it out and then maybe getting a few more and figuring out what fleet conversion would look like over time, and then kicking off that fleet conversion process — I actually think that’s compressing,” Knight said.

The company is focused mostly on back-to-base operations rather than long-haul freight haulage, as the latter requires a more extensively built-out hydrogen refueling network. The U.S. customer trial with logistics company Total Transport Services Inc. is a high-utilization (trucks can run up to 18-20 hours per day) use case, but the truck will only ever need to access the single refueling station in Wilmington, California. “It’s a good application for hydrogen, and we’re not introducing the complication of having to find hydrogen stations across the country,” Knight said.

NFI receives its first order for ADL's H2.0 second-generation hydrogen bus with an order for 20 double deck buses from Liverpool City Region

Author of the article:

Publishing date:

Aug 27, 2021  •  

Article content

LARBERT, Scotland, Aug. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — (TSX: NFI, OTC: NFYEF) NFI Group Inc. (“NFI” or the “Company”), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in mobility solutions, today announced that NFI subsidiary Alexander Dennis Limited (“ADL”) has been selected by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority as supplier for 20 zero-emission hydrogen double deck buses following a competitive tendering process. This is the first order for ADL’s H2.0 second-generation hydrogen double deck bus, or ADL Enviro400FCEV.

The 20 ADL Enviro400FCEV buses are being directly purchased through the Liverpool City Region’s Transforming Cities Fund and will be owned by the people of the City Region. The buses will initially serve the City Region’s busiest route, the 10A between St Helens and Liverpool city centre.

The Enviro400FCEV has been developed on the next-generation H2.0 platform and will be powered by a Ballard fuel cell power module through the efficient Voith Electrical Drive System. With hydrogen tanks and key components intelligently packaged by the engineers that developed the market’s widest range of clean buses, the integral vehicle perfectly balances weight and maximises saloon space.

The hydrogen bus project is a key part of Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram’s ‘Vision for Bus’, which commits to using the powers available through devolution to build a better, more reliable and affordable bus network for the City Region. Broader plans also include the building of hydrogen refuelling facilities, which will be the first of their kind in the North West, due to begin later in the year.

With the Metro Mayor having set a target for the Liverpool City Region to become net zero carbon by 2040 at the latest – at least a decade before national targets – the hydrogen buses will be an important addition to the region’s existing fleet, which is already more than 70% low emissions.

“82% of all journeys on public transport in our region are taken by bus and this new fleet will give people a clean, green and comfortable way to get about. Reforming our bus network is a massive part of my plan for an integrated London-style transport network that makes traveling around our region quick, cheap and reliable,” said Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region. “We want to be doing our bit to tackle climate change and improve air quality across the region too. These buses will be a really important part of making that happen. Alongside the hydrogen refuelling facilities we’re building and some of the other exciting green projects we’re investing in, our region is leading the Green Industrial Revolution.”

“It is an honour to support the Liverpool City Region’s ‘Vision for Bus’ program and its evolution to net zero carbon,” said Paul Soubry, President & Chief Executive Officer, NFI. “NFI and ADL have a history of innovation, and the next generation H2.0 is a showcase of our continued focus on developing the world’s best buses that incorporate clean, connected technology to drive sustainable transportation.”

“With its investment in this new fleet of hydrogen buses, the Combined Authority has chosen the latest in clean technology for the Liverpool City Region. We are delighted they have put their confidence in ADL to deliver their green agenda,” said Paul Davies, ADL President & Managing Director. “Our next generation H2.0 platform builds on 25 years of experience in hydrogen fuel cell technology. Designed and built in Britain, these buses will help to secure skilled jobs and apprenticeships across the bus manufacturing industry which is hugely important as we continue the decarbonisation journey.”

NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 80 cities in five countries. Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean, and sustainable mobility solutions through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, technology, infrastructure, and workforce development. It also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (“VIC”), the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening late 2017, the VIC has hosted over 300 interactive events, welcoming 3,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training. For more information, visit newflyer.com/VIC.

About NFI

Leveraging 450 years of combined experience, NFI is leading the electrification of mass mobility around the world. With zero-emission buses and coaches, infrastructure, and technology, NFI meets today’s urban demands for scalable smart mobility solutions. Together, NFI is enabling more livable cities through connected, clean, and sustainable transportation.

With 8,000 team members in nine countries, NFI is a leading global bus manufacturer of mass mobility solutions under the brands New Flyer^® (heavy-duty transit buses), MCI^® (motor coaches), Alexander Dennis Limited (single and double-deck buses), Plaxton (motor coaches), ARBOC^® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses), and NFI Parts™. NFI currently offers the widest range of sustainable drive systems available, including zero-emission electric (trolley, battery, and fuel cell), natural gas, electric hybrid, and clean diesel. In total, NFI supports its installed base of over 105,000 buses and coaches around the world. NFI common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI. News and information is available at www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com, www.arbocsv.com, www.alexander-dennis.com, and www.nfi.parts.

About Alexander Dennis

Alexander Dennis Limited (“ADL”) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of double deck buses and is also the UK’s largest bus and coach manufacturer. ADL offers single and double deck vehicles under the brands of Alexander Dennis and Plaxton, and has over 31,000 vehicles in service in the UK, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada and the United States. Further information is available at www.alexander-dennis.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

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Using aluminum and water to make clean hydrogen fuel — when and where it’s needed

MIT team produces practical guidelines for generating hydrogen using scrap aluminum.

Nancy W. Stauffer | MIT Energy Initiative
Publication Date:August 12, 2021
PRESS INQUIRIES

Caption:Laureen Meroueh PhD ’20 (pictured) and professors Douglas P. Hart and Thomas W. Eagar have shown how to use scrap aluminum plus water to generate the flow of hydrogen needed for a particular practical application.
Credits:Photo: Reza Mirshekari


As the world works to move away from fossil fuels, many researchers are investigating whether clean hydrogen fuel can play an expanded role in sectors from transportation and industry to buildings and power generation. It could be used in fuel cell vehicles, heat-producing boilers, electricity-generating gas turbines, systems for storing renewable energy, and more.

But while using hydrogen doesn’t generate carbon emissions, making it typically does. Today, almost all hydrogen is produced using fossil fuel-based processes that together generate more than 2 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, hydrogen is often produced in one location and consumed in another, which means its use also presents logistical challenges.

A promising reaction

Another option for producing hydrogen comes from a perhaps surprising source: reacting aluminum with water. Aluminum metal will readily react with water at room temperature to form aluminum hydroxide and hydrogen. That reaction doesn’t typically take place because a layer of aluminum oxide naturally coats the raw metal, preventing it from coming directly into contact with water.

Using the aluminum-water reaction to generate hydrogen doesn’t produce any greenhouse gas emissions, and it promises to solve the transportation problem for any location with available water. Simply move the aluminum and then react it with water on-site. “Fundamentally, the aluminum becomes a mechanism for storing hydrogen — and a very effective one,” says Douglas P. Hart, professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “Using aluminum as our source, we can ‘store’ hydrogen at a density that’s 10 times greater than if we just store it as a compressed gas.”

Two problems have kept aluminum from being employed as a safe, economical source for hydrogen generation. The first problem is ensuring that the aluminum surface is clean and available to react with water. To that end, a practical system must include a means of first modifying the oxide layer and then keeping it from re-forming as the reaction proceeds.

The second problem is that pure aluminum is energy-intensive to mine and produce, so any practical approach needs to use scrap aluminum from various sources. But scrap aluminum is not an easy starting material. It typically occurs in an alloyed form, meaning that it contains other elements that are added to change the properties or characteristics of the aluminum for different uses. For example, adding magnesium increases strength and corrosion-resistance, adding silicon lowers the melting point, and adding a little of both makes an alloy that’s moderately strong and corrosion-resistant.

Despite considerable research on aluminum as a source of hydrogen, two key questions remain: What’s the best way to prevent the adherence of an oxide layer on the aluminum surface, and how do alloying elements in a piece of scrap aluminum affect the total amount of hydrogen generated and the rate at which it is generated?

“If we’re going to use scrap aluminum for hydrogen generation in a practical application, we need to be able to better predict what hydrogen generation characteristics we’re going to observe from the aluminum-water reaction,” says Laureen Meroueh PhD ’20, who earned her doctorate in mechanical engineering.

Since the fundamental steps in the reaction aren’t well understood, it’s been hard to predict the rate and volume at which hydrogen forms from scrap aluminum, which can contain varying types and concentrations of alloying elements. So Hart, Meroueh, and Thomas W. Eagar, a professor of materials engineering and engineering management in the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering, decided to examine — in a systematic fashion — the impacts of those alloying elements on the aluminum-water reaction and on a promising technique for preventing the formation of the interfering oxide layer.

To prepare, they had experts at Novelis Inc. fabricate samples of pure aluminum and of specific aluminum alloys made of commercially pure aluminum combined with either 0.6 percent silicon (by weight), 1 percent magnesium, or both — compositions that are typical of scrap aluminum from a variety of sources. Using those samples, the MIT researchers performed a series of tests to explore different aspects of the aluminum-water reaction.

Pre-treating the aluminum

The first step was to demonstrate an effective means of penetrating the oxide layer that forms on aluminum in the air. Solid aluminum is made up of tiny grains that are packed together with occasional boundaries where they don’t line up perfectly. To maximize hydrogen production, researchers would need to prevent the formation of the oxide layer on all those interior grain surfaces.

Research groups have already tried various ways of keeping the aluminum grains “activated” for reaction with water. Some have crushed scrap samples into particles so tiny that the oxide layer doesn’t adhere. But aluminum powders are dangerous, as they can react with humidity and explode. Another approach calls for grinding up scrap samples and adding liquid metals to prevent oxide deposition. But grinding is a costly and energy-intensive process.

To Hart, Meroueh, and Eagar, the most promising approach — first introduced by Jonathan Slocum ScD ’18 while he was working in Hart’s research group — involved pre-treating the solid aluminum by painting liquid metals on top and allowing them to permeate through the grain boundaries.

To determine the effectiveness of that approach, the researchers needed to confirm that the liquid metals would reach the internal grain surfaces, with and without alloying elements present. And they had to establish how long it would take for the liquid metal to coat all of the grains in pure aluminum and its alloys.

They started by combining two metals — gallium and indium — in specific proportions to create a “eutectic” mixture; that is, a mixture that would remain in liquid form at room temperature. They coated their samples with the eutectic and allowed it to penetrate for time periods ranging from 48 to 96 hours. They then exposed the samples to water and monitored the hydrogen yield (the amount formed) and flow rate for 250 minutes. After 48 hours, they also took high-magnification scanning electron microscope (SEM) images so they could observe the boundaries between adjacent aluminum grains.

Based on the hydrogen yield measurements and the SEM images, the MIT team concluded that the gallium-indium eutectic does naturally permeate and reach the interior grain surfaces. However, the rate and extent of penetration vary with the alloy. The permeation rate was the same in silicon-doped aluminum samples as in pure aluminum samples but slower in magnesium-doped samples.

Perhaps most interesting were the results from samples doped with both silicon and magnesium — an aluminum alloy often found in recycling streams. Silicon and magnesium chemically bond to form magnesium silicide, which occurs as solid deposits on the internal grain surfaces. Meroueh hypothesized that when both silicon and magnesium are present in scrap aluminum, those deposits can act as barriers that impede the flow of the gallium-indium eutectic.

The experiments and images confirmed her hypothesis: The solid deposits did act as barriers, and images of samples pre-treated for 48 hours showed that permeation wasn’t complete. Clearly, a lengthy pre-treatment period would be critical for maximizing the hydrogen yield from scraps of aluminum containing both silicon and magnesium.

Meroueh cites several benefits to the process they used. “You don’t have to apply any energy for the gallium-indium eutectic to work its magic on aluminum and get rid of that oxide layer,” she says. “Once you’ve activated your aluminum, you can drop it in water, and it’ll generate hydrogen — no energy input required.” Even better, the eutectic doesn’t chemically react with the aluminum. “It just physically moves around in between the grains,” she says. “At the end of the process, I could recover all of the gallium and indium I put in and use it again” — a valuable feature as gallium and (especially) indium are costly and in relatively short supply.

Impacts of alloying elements on hydrogen generation

The researchers next investigated how the presence of alloying elements affects hydrogen generation. They tested samples that had been treated with the eutectic for 96 hours; by then, the hydrogen yield and flow rates had leveled off in all the samples.

The presence of 0.6 percent silicon increased the hydrogen yield for a given weight of aluminum by 20 percent compared to pure aluminum — even though the silicon-containing sample had less aluminum than the pure aluminum sample. In contrast, the presence of 1 percent magnesium produced far less hydrogen, while adding both silicon and magnesium pushed the yield up, but not to the level of pure aluminum.

The presence of silicon also greatly accelerated the reaction rate, producing a far higher peak in the flow rate but cutting short the duration of hydrogen output. The presence of magnesium produced a lower flow rate but allowed the hydrogen output to remain fairly steady over time. And once again, aluminum with both alloying elements produced a flow rate between that of magnesium-doped and pure aluminum.

Those results provide practical guidance on how to adjust the hydrogen output to match the operating needs of a hydrogen-consuming device. If the starting material is commercially pure aluminum, adding small amounts of carefully selected alloying elements can tailor the hydrogen yield and flow rate. If the starting material is scrap aluminum, careful choice of the source can be key. For high, brief bursts of hydrogen, pieces of silicon-containing aluminum from an auto junkyard could work well. For lower but longer flows, magnesium-containing scraps from the frame of a demolished building might be better. For results somewhere in between, aluminum containing both silicon and magnesium should work well; such material is abundantly available from scrapped cars and motorcycles, yachts, bicycle frames, and even smartphone cases.

It should also be possible to combine scraps of different aluminum alloys to tune the outcome, notes Meroueh. “If I have a sample of activated aluminum that contains just silicon and another sample that contains just magnesium, I can put them both into a container of water and let them react,” she says. “So I get the fast ramp-up in hydrogen production from the silicon and then the magnesium takes over and has that steady output.”

Another opportunity for tuning: Reducing grain size

Another practical way to affect hydrogen production could be to reduce the size of the aluminum grains — a change that should increase the total surface area available for reactions to occur.

To investigate that approach, the researchers requested specially customized samples from their supplier. Using standard industrial procedures, the Novelis experts first fed each sample through two rollers, squeezing it from the top and bottom so that the internal grains were flattened. They then heated each sample until the long, flat grains had reorganized and shrunk to a targeted size.

In a series of carefully designed experiments, the MIT team found that reducing the grain size increased the efficiency and decreased the duration of the reaction to varying degrees in the different samples. Again, the presence of particular alloying elements had a major effect on the outcome.

Needed: A revised theory that explains observations

Throughout their experiments, the researchers encountered some unexpected results. For example, standard corrosion theory predicts that pure aluminum will generate more hydrogen than silicon-doped aluminum will — the opposite of what they observed in their experiments.

To shed light on the underlying chemical reactions, Hart, Meroueh, and Eagar investigated hydrogen “flux,” that is, the volume of hydrogen generated over time on each square centimeter of aluminum surface, including the interior grains. They examined three grain sizes for each of their four compositions and collected thousands of data points measuring hydrogen flux.

Their results show that reducing grain size has significant effects. It increases the peak hydrogen flux from silicon-doped aluminum as much as 100 times and from the other three compositions by 10 times. With both pure aluminum and silicon-containing aluminum, reducing grain size also decreases the delay before the peak flux and increases the rate of decline afterward. With magnesium-containing aluminum, reducing the grain size brings about an increase in peak hydrogen flux and results in a slightly faster decline in the rate of hydrogen output. With both silicon and magnesium present, the hydrogen flux over time resembles that of magnesium-containing aluminum when the grain size is not manipulated. When the grain size is reduced, the hydrogen output characteristics begin to resemble behavior observed in silicon-containing aluminum. That outcome was unexpected because when silicon and magnesium are both present, they react to form magnesium silicide, resulting in a new type of aluminum alloy with its own properties.

The researchers stress the benefits of developing a better fundamental understanding of the underlying chemical reactions involved. In addition to guiding the design of practical systems, it might help them find a replacement for the expensive indium in their pre-treatment mixture. Other work has shown that gallium will naturally permeate through the grain boundaries of aluminum. “At this point, we know that the indium in our eutectic is important, but we don’t really understand what it does, so we don’t know how to replace it,” says Hart.

But already Hart, Meroueh, and Eagar have demonstrated two practical ways of tuning the hydrogen reaction rate: by adding certain elements to the aluminum and by manipulating the size of the interior aluminum grains. In combination, those approaches can deliver significant results. “If you go from magnesium-containing aluminum with the largest grain size to silicon-containing aluminum with the smallest grain size, you get a hydrogen reaction rate that differs by two orders of magnitude,” says Meroueh. “That’s huge if you’re trying to design a real system that would use this reaction.”

This research was supported through the MIT Energy Initiative by ExxonMobil-MIT Energy Fellowships awarded to Laureen Meroueh PhD ’20 from 2018 to 2020.

This article appears in the Spring 2021 issue of Energy Futures, the magazine of the MIT Energy Initiative.

A clean US hydrogen economy is within reach, but needs a game plan, energy researchers say

Date:August 11, 2021
Source:
Cell Press

Summary:
Addressing climate change requires not only a clean electrical grid, but also a clean fuel to reduce emissions from industrial heat, long-haul heavy transportation, and long-duration energy storage. Hydrogen and its derivatives could be that fuel, argues a recent commentary , but a clean U.S. H2 economy will require a comprehensive strategy and a 10-year plan. The commentary suggests that careful consideration of future H2 infrastructure, including production, transport, storage, use, and economic viability, will be critical to the success of efforts aimed at making clean H2 viable on a societal scale.

"We applaud the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, for launching the ambitious Hydrogen Earthshot program with a technology-agnostic stretch goal of greenhouse gas-free H2 production at $1/kg before the end of this decade," write Arun Majumdar, a Jay Precourt Professor and Co-Director of the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University and lead author of the commentary, and colleagues. "Similar R&D programs with techno-economic stretch goals are needed for H2 storage, use, and transport as well. The Hydrogen Earthshot is necessary to create a hydrogen economy, but it is not sufficient."

About 70 million metric tons of H2 are produced around the world each year, with the U.S. contributing about one-seventh of the global output. Much of this H2 is used to produce fertilizer and petrochemicals, and nearly all of it is considered "gray H2," which costs only about $1 per kilogram to produce but comes with roughly 10 kilograms of CO2 baggage per kilogram H2.

"An H2 economy already exists, but it involves lots of greenhouse gas emissions," says Majumdar. "Almost all of it is based on H2 from methane. A clean H2 economy does not exist today."

Researchers have plenty of colorful visions as to what a clean H2 economy might look like. "Blue H2," for example, involves capturing CO2 and reducing emissions, resulting in H2 with less greenhouse gas output. However, it currently costs about 50% more than gray H2, not including the cost of developing the pipelines and sequestration systems needed to transport and store unwanted CO2.

"To make blue H2 a viable option, research and development is needed to reduce CO2 capture costs and further improve capture completeness," write Majumdar and colleagues.

Another form of clean H2 -- dubbed "green H2" -- has also captured scientists' attention. Green H2 involves the use of electricity and electrolyzers to split water, without any greenhouse gas byproducts. However, it costs $4 to $6 per kilogram, a price that Majumdar and colleagues suggest could be reduced to under $2 per kilogram with a reduction in carbon-free electricity and electrolyzer costs.

"Turquoise H2," which is achieved through methane pyrolysis, when methane is cracked to generate greenhouse gas-free H2, is also creating a buzz in the research world. The solid carbon co-product generated in this process could be sold to help offset costs, although Majumdar and colleagues point out that the quantity of solid carbon produced at the necessary scale would exceed current demand, resulting in a need for R&D efforts to develop new markets for its use.

Whether blue, green, or turquoise, greenhouse gas-free (and, in actuality, colorless) H2 or its derivatives could be used in transportation, the chemical reduction of captured CO2, long-duration energy storage in a highly renewable energy-dependent grid, and chemical reductants for steel and metallurgy, and as high-temperature industrial heat for glass and cement production. But for these applications to become a reality, H2 production will have to hit certain cost benchmarks -- $1 per kilogram for the production of ammonia and petrochemicals or for use as a transportation fuel or fuel cells.

The researchers also emphasize that the U.S. will need to consider how H2 pipelines will be developed and deployed in order to transport it, as well as how to store H2 cost-effectively at a large scale. "Developing and siting new pipeline infrastructure is generally expensive and involves challenges of social acceptance," write Majumdar and colleagues. "Hence, it is important to explore alternative approaches for a hydrogen economy that does not require a new H2 pipeline infrastructure. Instead, it is worth using existing infrastructure to transport the feedstock for H2 -- electric grid for transporting electricity for water splitting; natural gas pipelines to transport methane for pyrolysis."

"While there has been some systematic study of geological storage, the United States Geological Survey should be charged with undertaking a national survey to identify the many locations where underground storage of hydrogen is possible while also considering the infrastructure costs needed to use these caverns," the researchers add.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Cell Press. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:
Arun Majumdar, John M. Deutch, Ravi S. Prasher, Thomas P. Griffin. A framework for a hydrogen economy. Joule, 2021; DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2021.07.007


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Cell Press. "A clean US hydrogen economy is within reach, but needs a game plan, energy researchers say." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 August 2021. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210811113145.htm>.

Novel technique seamlessly converts ammonia to 'green' hydrogen

Date:

August 11, 2021

Source:

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST)

Summary:

A recent study has announced a breakthrough in technology that efficiently converts liquid ammonia into hydrogen.

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A research team, led by Professor Guntae Kim in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST has announced a breakthrough in technology that efficiently converts liquid ammonia into hydrogen. Their findings have also attracted significant attention from academic research communities owing to its new analysis protocol, capable of finding optimal process environments.

In this study, the research team succeeded in producing green hydrogen (H2) in large quantities with a purity of nearly 100 percent by decomposing liquid ammonia (NH3) into electricity. Besides, according to the research team, such method consumed three times less power than hydrogen made using electrolysis of water.

Ammonia has emerged as an attractive potential hydrogen carrier due to its extremely high energy density, and ease of storage and handling. Moreover, the electrolysis of ammonia to produce nitrogen and hydrogen only requires an external voltage of 0.06 V theoretically, which is much lower than the energy needed for water electrolysis (1.23 V), noted the research team.

In this study, the research team propose a well-established procedure using in operando gas chromatography that enables us to reliably compare and evaluate the new catalyst for ammonia oxidation. According to the research team, with the protocol, they could distinguish in detail the competitive oxidation reaction between the ammonia oxidation and oxygen evolutionreactions with real-time monitoring.

With the use of flower-like electrodeposited Pt catalyst, researchers have efficiently produced hydrogen with less power consumption of 734 LH2 kW h?1, which is significantly lower than that of the water-splitting process (242 LH2 kW h?1). "The use of this rigorous protocol should help to evaluate the practical performances for ammonia oxidation, thus enabling the field to focus on viable pathways towards the practical electrochemical oxidation of ammonia to hydrogen," noted the research team.

This study has been co-authored by Minzae Lee, Myung-gi Seo, Hyung-Ki Min, and Youngheon Choi from Lotte Chemical R&D Center, respectively. Their work has also been featured on the inside back cover of Journal of Material Chemistry A, which was made available online in March 2021 ahead of final publication in May 2021. This research has been carried out with the support of Lotte Chemical, Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF).

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Story Source:

Materials provided by Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST). Original written by JooHyeon Heo. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Yejin Yang, Jeongwon Kim, Hyoi Jo, Arim Seong, Minzae Lee, Hyung-Ki Min, Myung-gi Seo, Youngheon Choi, Guntae Kim. A rigorous electrochemical ammonia electrolysis protocol with in operando quantitative analysis. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2021; 9 (19): 11571 DOI: 10.1039/D1TA00363A

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Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST). "Novel technique seamlessly converts ammonia to 'green' hydrogen." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 August 2021. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210811162912.htm>.

Green hydrogen: Why do certain catalysts improve in operation?

Crystalline cobalt arsenide is a catalyst that generates oxygen during electrolytic water splitting in the production of hydrogen.

Date:

August 9, 2021

Source:

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie

Summary:

As a rule, most catalyst materials deteriorate during repeated catalytic cycles – they age. But there are also compounds that increase their performance over the course of catalysis. One example is the mineral erythrite, a mineral compound comprising cobalt and arsenic oxides. Erythrite lends itself to accelerating oxygen generation at the anode during electrolytic splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen.

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As a rule, most catalyst materials deteriorate during repeated catalytic cycles -- they age. But there are also compounds that increase their performance over the course of catalysis. One example is the mineral erythrite, a mineral compound comprising cobalt and arsenic oxides with a molecular formula of (Co3(AsO4)2?8H2O). The mineral stands out because of its purple colour. Erythrite lends itself to accelerating oxygen generation at the anode during electrolytic splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Samples from Costa Rica

The young investigator group headed by Dr. Marcel Risch at the HZB together with groups from Costa Rica has now analysed these catalysing mineral materials in detail at BESSY II and made an interesting discovery.

Using samples produced by colleagues in Costa Rica consisting of tiny erythrite crystals in powder form, Javier Villalobos, a doctoral student in Risch's group at the HZB, coated the electrodes with this powder. He then examined them before, during, and after hundreds of electrolysis cycles in four different pH-neutral electrolytes, including ordinary soda water (carbonated water).

Loss of original structure

Over time, the surface of each catalytically active layer exhibited clear changes in all the electrolytes. The original crystalline structure was lost, as shown by images from the scanning electron microscope, and more cobalt ions changed their oxidation number due to the applied voltage, which was determined electrochemically. Increased oxygen yield was also demonstrated over time in soda water (carbonated water), though only in that electrolyte. The catalyst clearly improved.

Observations at BESSY II

With analyses at BESSY II, the researchers are now able to explain why this was the case: using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, they scanned the atomic and chemical environment around the cobalt ions. The more active samples lost their original erythrite crystal structure and were transformed into a less ordered structure that can be described as platelets just two atoms thick. The larger these platelets became, the more active the sample was. The data over the course of the catalysis cycles showed that the oxidation number of the cobalt in these platelets increased the most in soda water, from 2.0 to 2.8. Since oxides with an oxidation number of 3 are known to be very good catalysts, this explains the improvement relative to the catalysts that formed in the other electrolytes.

Oxygen yield doubled

In soda water, the oxygen yield per cobalt ion decreased by a factor of 28 over 800 cycles, but at the same time 56 times as many cobalt atoms changed their oxidation number electrochemically. Macroscopically, the electrical current generation and thus the oxygen yield of the electrode doubled.

From needles to Swiss cheese

In a nutshell, Risch explains: "Over time, the material becomes like Swiss cheese with many holes and a larger surface area where many more reactions can take place. Even if the individual catalytically active centres become somewhat weaker over time, the larger surface area means that many more potential catalytically active centres come into contact with the electrolyte and increase the yield."

Risch suggests that such mechanisms can also be found in many other classes of materials consisting of non-toxic compounds, which can be developed into suitable catalysts.

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Materials provided by Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Javier Villalobos, Diego González‐Flores, Roberto Urcuyo, Mavis L. Montero, Götz Schuck, Paul Beyer, Marcel Risch. Requirements for Beneficial Electrochemical Restructuring: A Model Study on a Cobalt Oxide in Selected Electrolytes. Advanced Energy Materials, 2021; 2101737 DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202101737

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Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie. "Green hydrogen: Why do certain catalysts improve in operation? Crystalline cobalt arsenide is a catalyst that generates oxygen during electrolytic water splitting in the production of hydrogen.." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 August 2021. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210809144025.htm>.