April marks one of the highlights of the year for those of us working on decarbonization - Earth Day! 🌎 We hope you were able to mark the day by doing something good for our planet. Earth Day also marks one year since LCRI released our Research Vision. Since then, our team has remained hard at work collaborating with organizations around the globe to advance low-carbon resources.
In this newsletter you will find numerous examples of areas where LCRI is actively engaged, including rail transportation, electrolysis, commercial and industrial building equipment, and hydrogen hubs. There are also a number of upcoming events and recent publications. Please check them out and let us know what you think!
A project led by GTI in partnership with EPRI, the University of California, Irvine, and The Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) was recently awarded over $1.7 million from the California Energy Commission to evaluate the impact of use of hydrogen and hydrogen-natural gas blends on existing appliances as a potential decarbonization strategy for large commercial buildings and the industrial sector. The project seeks to identify and address key research questions and technology gaps for combustion equipment in large commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors, through techno-economic analysis, laboratory testing, simulation of combustion equipment/materials, air quality modeling, and stakeholder engagement.
LCRI is providing cost-share to support techno-economic analysis efforts that will serve as a basis for selection of C&I equipment categories and estimate lifecycle costs of avoided greenhouse gas emissions via equipment retrofits, activities that are highly aligned with ongoing research within LCRI’s End Use Technical Subcommittee. The project will establish key tiers of hydrogen blending tolerance, including maximum acceptance limits for selected equipment categories with and without retrofit.
Sierra Northern Railway Project Validating Hydrogen Locomotive Technology
Switcher locomotives involved in the transport of goods in and around ports often require near-continuous operation and high-power levels, making them challenging to decarbonize. A project selected for funding by the California Energy Commission—and supported by LCRI cost-share—is underway to design, build, and demonstrate a zero-emissions fuel cell engine for a switcher locomotive in the Port of West Sacramento, a designated disadvantaged community.
The project, led by GTI, Sierra Northern Railway, and LCRI sponsor Southern California Gas Company, aims to validate the hydrogen switcher technology, establish a platform for widespread commercialization in the near future, and demonstrate how hydrogen fuel cell switching locomotives can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and reduce noise and odor from rail operations in surrounding communities. The solution can replace old diesel engines in locomotives and is estimated to displace up to 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year, mitigating concerns associated with diesel fuel combustion and handling. Conceptual design for the system is complete and the locomotive platform is currently under refurbishment. Testing and demonstration activities are slated to kick off in 2023.
LCRI Publishes Insight Report on Electrolyzer Technologies
This study, published on March 31st, provides an overview of electrolysis and other water splitting technologies for hydrogen generation, describing their features, the relative advantages and disadvantages of each system, and the specific research gaps for each technology are outlined. In addition to technologies, this report also looks into current manufacturers, large scale hydrogen electrolysis project announcements, and government policy and regulations. Risks and uncertainties such as future electricity prices and competition from other low-carbon hydrogen production methods, along with key performance considerations for water electrolyzers, are discussed in this report.
Moving and Storing Hydrogen at Scale Webinar Recording Now Available
LCRI co-lead EPRI, in partnership with Hydrogen Forward, hosted a webinar April 19 on storage and transport of hydrogen as part of its Hydrogen Hubs series.
In a panel moderated by GTI’s Kristine Wiley, Vice President of the Hydrogen Technology Center and LCRI executive sponsor, speakers from the hydrogen distribution and storage sector, including representatives from Chart Industries, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), Mitsubishi, and SoCalGas. The group discussed the various hydrogen storage and distribution solutions that can be leveraged by planned and existing projects, especially those related to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Regional Hydrogen Hub Program, and how existing and new storage and distribution infrastructure can help enable the scale-up of hydrogen across the country. Access the recording here.
The third event in the Hydrogen Hubs Webinar Series will take place on May 10, 2022 at 1:00 PM ET and will focus on decarbonization of industry, transport, and power generation. Register here.
LCRI Report on Low-Carbon Fuel Pathways for Gas Turbines Published
LCRI’s recently published report, “Low-Carbon Fuel Pathways for Gas Turbine Applications”, focuses on low-carbon fuel conversion pathways for existing gas turbines within the scope of stationary, marine, and aviation applications. The report introduces promising options and pathways for the adaptation of the existing gas turbine fleets from fossil fuels to low-carbon fuels and defines the combustion and emissions-related issues and the R&D needed for these transitions to occur.
25 GW Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Megaproject in Oman Gains Traction
A consortium consisting of Omani national energy company OQ, hydrogen project developer InterContinental Energy, and Kuwait’s state-backed energy investor and developer EnerTech are planning a large-scale clean energy project that would produce 1.8 million metric tons per year of hydrogen and 10 million metric tons per year of ammonia. The project would include 25 GW of new wind and solar capacity to power electrolyzers, as well infrastructure storage and export of ammonia to international markets. The Australian engineering company Worley was recently selected to by provide concept feasibility study services for the project. A final investment decision is targeted for 2026, with construction starting in 2028.
U.S.-based venture capital firm Lowercarbon Capital announced on April 14th it had raised a $350 million fund dedicated to investing in carbon removal startups looking to scale up their technologies. Separately, a $925 million fund was launched for offset purchases from carbon removal startups, backed by Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, and McKinsey & Company. And on April 4th, the direct air capture technology developer Climeworks reported it had raised $650 million of financing in an equity funding round.
German Cement Plant to Capture CO2 for Sustainable
Aviation Fuel Production
The Mexican building materials company CEMEX has partnered with ENERTRAG and Sasol ecoFT for production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). CO2 will be captured from CEMEX’s Rüdersdorf cement plant and combined with electrolytic hydrogen produced from wind and solar energy supplied by ENERTRAG using Sasol ecoFT’s e-kerosene production technology. Initially, the project will produce 15,000 tons of SAF per year from 100 tons of captured CO2 and 12 tons of hydrogen per day, with eventual plans to scale up production utilizing pipeline delivered hydrogen from ENERTRAG’s planned 210 MW electrolysis project.
28 Manufacturers Commit to Transition to Low-Carbon Hydrogen in UK Industrial Decarbonization Cluster
Companies including PepsiCo, Jaguar Land Rover, Kelloggs, and others have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to procure low-carbon hydrogen for their manufacturing facilities in Northwest England and North Wales as part of the HyNet cluster. Several demonstrations of natural gas-to-hydrogen fuel switching at industrial facilities within HyNet are planned, and have already been carried out at Unilever and Pilkington Glass. The planned regional low-carbon hydrogen and carbon capture and storage project recently was selected by the UK government as a Track 1 cluster, prioritizing it for deployment in the mid-2020s and additional government funding via the CCS Infrastructure Fund.
Europe’s largest single-stack electrolyzer has begun operation at the Austrian food retailer MPREIS’s Therese Mölk Bakery. As part of the European Union-funded Demo4Grid project, the electrolyzer will provide grid balancing services, and hydrogen will be used to heating ovens on site and for the company’s fuel cell truck fleet. The 3.2 MW pressurized alkaline electrolyzer manufactured by Sunfire is powered by renewable electricity sources.
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