The stars are aligning behind hydrogen

Here is a promising forward-looking article by Mark Newman at Sandvik regarding the future of power to gas using Hydrogen and energy storage. The take away is that a hydrogen-based economy is much more likely today than 15 years ago. The reason is the recent expansion of electricity generation via wind turbines and photovoltaic cells. According to the article, batteries have improved a great deal over the years but are unsuitable for most grid-scale applications over a long period of an electricity outage. So far, pumped hydro plants have represented the standard for grid-scale energy storage, but it is only available in some locations due to its dependence on suitable geography.

This is where hydrogen comes in, writes Mark Newman: "Like electricity, hydrogen is an energy carrier as opposed to fuel, since it needs to be manufactured. The fuel, in this case, is the wind or the sun which is used to make electricity that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis. The part that I think is key is the fact that hydrogen doesn't always need to be used in conjunction with fuel cells in order to make electricity again when a demand peak occurs, but can instead be added into the natural gas grid and mixed with methane and be used in the same way as the methane would be used. There are numerous projects being undertaken around the world to investigate the feasibility and limits to doing this, for example, in Leeds, UK, and in Sydney, Australia, to mention just two."

"It very much looks as if the stars are aligning behind hydrogen. Some market assessments conservatively put growth rates in high single figures, but some large and credible companies are openly saying these estimates are much too low. Some have said the truth is more likely to be close to 10-fold growth by 2050."



Source: Full article LINK

First hydrogen-powered Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system launched in France

Electrive reports (LINK) that the first hydrogen-powered Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system has gone live in Pau, in the south of France. It is called Fébus and launched with the roll-out of a fleet of eight 18m Van Hool Exqui-City FC buses, serving a special six km route. The fuel cell technology for the buses, which also feature batteries, comes from Ballard Power Systems. The 18-metre-long articulated buses offer space for 125 passengers and can cover more than 300 kilometres per hydrogen filling.

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More information: LINK

Earlier this year Flixbus Germany said that it has begun talks with bus manufacturers about the introduction of hydrogen models to their fleat (LINK).

“After being the first to successfully launch three fully electric buses, we now want to develop the first long-distance buses powered by fuel cells, along with Freudenberg technology, to mark another milestone in the history of mobility,” said André Schwämmlein, founder and CEO of FlixMobility.

Background Bus rapid transit (WIKI-LINK): Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to improve capacity and reliability relative to a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes roadways that are dedicated to buses, and gives priority to buses at intersections where buses may interact with other traffic; alongside design features to reduce delays caused by passengers boarding or leaving buses, or purchasing fares. BRT aims to combine the capacity and speed of a metro with the flexibility, lower cost and simplicity of a bus system.

The first BRT system was the Rede Integrada de Transporte ('Integrated Transportation Network') in Curitiba, Brazil, which entered service in 1974.

As of March 2018, a total of 166 cities in six continents have implemented BRT systems, accounting for 4,906 km (3,048 mi) of BRT lanes and about 32.2 million passengers every day, of which about 19.6 million passengers ride daily in Latin America, which has the most cities with BRT systems, with 54, led by Brazil with 21 cities. The Latin American countries with the most daily ridership are Brazil (10.7M), Colombia (3.06M), and Mexico (2.5M). In the other regions, China (4.3M) and Iran (2.1M) also stand out. Currently, TransJakarta is considered as the largest BRT network in the world with approximately 251.2 kilometres (156.1 mi) of corridors connecting the Indonesian capital city.

Robert Bosch GmbH aqcuires shares in PowerCell Sweden AB

[Press Release, PowerCell AB LINK] PowerCell Sweden AB has been informed that the German company Robert Bosch GmbH has acquired all Midroc New Technology’s shares in PowerCell Sweden AB. In total 5,848,531 shares, representing 11.3 percent of the votes and capital in PowerCell, has been acquired. 

Midroc New Technology is a venture capital company within Midroc Europe, an international company group headquartered in Stockholm. Midroc New Technology has been an owner in PowerCell since 2008 but has gradually decreased its ownership in the company over the last couple of years.