Power-to-gas is the most advanced technology, which converts electricity generated by wind turbines and solar panels into hydrogen gas, and has already surpassed the 2020 cost reduction target set by the European Union. ITM Power, the leading electrolyser company in the UK, says its power-to-gas product is now half the price it was just a few years ago. The firm’s work in Germany – where it has two groundbreaking projects – shows that not only is the process possible, it’s pretty much commercially viable.
Energydesk 2nd Sept 2017 read more »
Shell said it intended to install the world’s largest Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser at a refinery in Germany, supplied by the UK’s ITM Power. This may be the first time a petrochemical site will make hydrogen from electrolysis rather than from ‘steam reforming’, a CO2 intensive process. Media outlets focused on ITM’s simultaneous press release about a French hydrogen bus route. This was a mistaken emphasis; the global importance of the 10 MW Shell contract cannot be over-estimated. Hydrogen will be the vector that takes energy from surplus wind and solar worldwide and allows it to be transmuted into storable gases and liquid fuels for use when renewable electricity is scarce. My argument (https://www.carboncommentary.com/blog/2017/7/5/hydrogen-made-by-the-electrolysis-of-water-is-now-cost-competitive-and-gives-us-another-building-block-for-the-low-carbon-economy ) is that decreasing wholesale electricity prices – particularly at times of high wind and sun – mean that electrolysis is now the cheapest way of producing H2 in some places. Cheap electrolysis therefore creates a market-driven route towards full decarbonisation, giving petrochemical companies the route to a complete new business based around renewable hydrogen.
Carbon Commentary 3rd Sept 2017 read more »
Green Hedge, a UK renewable energy developer that has diversified into battery energy storage systems, has had an application for a 40MW project approved by local authorities in Derbyshire.
Solar Portal 4th Sept 2017 read more »
