Korea’s First Passenger Car Engine Capable of Running Entirely on Hydrogen September 7, 2023
Introduction:
(Eurekalert) Amid the fierce competition throughout the globe to develop hydrogen mobility technologies to achieve carbon neutrality, a new technology for a 2-liter class hydrogen-fueled engine (a passenger car hydrogen engine) capable of running entirely on hydrogen has been developed for the first time in the country (of Korea).
The joint research team led by Principal Researcher Young Choi of the Department of Mobility Power Research of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (President Sang-jin Park, hereinafter referred to as KIMM), an institute under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Science and ICT, and Researcher Hong-gil Baek of the Zero-Carbon Engine Research Lab of Hyundai-Kia Motor Company (Chairman Eui-sun Chung, hereinafter referred to as HMC) developed the “direct injection hydrogen engine” that runs entirely on hydrogen fuels, and demonstrated its world-class excellence through performance evaluation.
A research team led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has achieved a groundbreaking advancement in nanomaterials by successfully developing a highly efficient electrocatalyst which can enhance the generation of hydrogen significantly through electrochemical water splitting.
This breakthrough has great application potential for the clean energy industry.
Professor Zhang Hua, Herman Hu Chair Professor of Nanomaterials at CityU, and his team have developed an electrocatalyst by using the transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanosheets with unconventional crystal phases as supports. The electrocatalyst exhibits superior activity and excellent stability in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic media.
Does Colorado Need Hydrogen for a Carbon-free Future? by Amanda Pampuro
September 15, 2023
Introduction:
HUDSON, Colo. (Courthouse News) — Bordered by river rockscapes and decorative wagon wheels, any house in the Box Elder Creek Ranch neighborhood could fill the pages of Home and Garden magazine.
Located in the town of Hudson thirty miles northeast of Denver, the community sits amid a rural landscape of cornfields, horse corrals and scripture-quoting billboards. Inside the development, playscapes tower over white farm fences. Residents fly flags pledging support for the nation, the U.S. Navy and their dogs.
It’s an unlikely scene for an energy revolution — and yet that’s just what’s playing out at Box Elder Creek Ranch.
In an April announcement, Xcel Energy, a national gas and electric company, chose this place as the first Colorado community to receive hydrogen blended into its natural gas lines. If successful, it will provide a blueprint for serving the fuel cocktail to more of Xcel’s 1.5 million gas customers statewide.
Over the next five years, the utility company hopes to demonstrate the safety of using hydrogen blends to cheaply lower carbon emissions without the need for completely new infrastructure. The developments come as officials eye hydrogen as a potentially cleaner power source for an increasingly warming planet — and as environmentalists raise the alarm about what they call a false solution to the climate crisis.
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden are investigating a car fuel comprised of a liquid that is converted to hydrogen by a solid catalyst. The used liquid is then emptied from the tank and charged with hydrogen, after which it can be used again in a circular system that is free from greenhouse gas emissions.
Lund researchers have demonstrated that the method works, and while it is still basic research, it has the potential to become an efficient energy-storage system in the future.
"Our catalyst is one of the most efficient around, at least if you look at publicly available research," says Ola Wendt, professor at the Department of Chemistry at Lund University, and one of the authors.
The findings are published in the journal Catalysis Science & Technology.
Finding alternative ways of producing, storing and transforming energy in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels is necessary to reduce the impact on the climate. One way involves much-talked-about hydrogen gas, which many see as a future solution for energy storage. Nature stores energy in chemical bonds, and hydrogen contains the highest energy density in relation to its weight.
Biden Administration Puts $7 Billion Toward Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs by Nolan Stout
October 13, 2023
Introduction:
(Courthouse News) — The Biden administration on Friday announced seven regional clean hydrogen hubs will receive a total of $7 billion to create more than 105,000 permanent jobs.
President Joe Biden announced the recipients of the funding under the bipartisan infrastructure law at an event in Philadelphia.
“Today’s announcement is transformational,” he said. “For the first time in a long time we’re actually investing in America. … We’re investing in our future.”
The money will augment $40 billion in private investment in clean hydrogen, the White House said. The hubs are not single facilities, but are a variety of linked assets working together to develop domestic hydrogen.
Collectively, the facilities are expected to produce more than 3 million metric tons of clean hydrogen per year. Officials said the energy source will reduce emissions in “hard-to-decarbonize sectors” like chemical, steel and cement manufacturing. Biden said wind and solar power don’t generate enough power to support industrial work.
In the continued effort to move humanity away from fossil fuels and towards more environmentally friendly energy sources, researchers in Japan have developed a new material capable storing hydrogen energy in a more efficient and cheaper manner.
The new hydrogen energy carrier can even store said energy for up to three months at room temperature. Moreover, since the material is nickel based, its cost is relatively cheap. The results were reported in Chemistry—A European Journal.
As humanity combats the ongoing climate crisis, one avenue researchers focus on is the transition into alternative sources of energy such as hydrogen. For several decades now Kyushu University has been investigating ways to more efficiently use and store hydrogen energy in the effort to realize a carbon neutral society.
Preventing Hydrogen Vehicle Aging During Sudden Stops November 15, 2023
Introduction:
(Eurekalert) When purchasing a smartphone, one of your primary considerations is typically finding a durable case and a screen protector to safeguard the device from external harm. Similarly, a group of researchers from POSTECH has recently garnered attention in the academic world by introducing a tungsten coating that functions as a shield, much like these protective cases and films, for eco-friendly hydrogen fuel cell electrodes.
Professor Yong-Tae Kim from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Graduate Institute of Ferrous & Eco Materials Technology and along with Sang-Hoon You, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), have applied a layer of tungsten oxide (WO3) to the membrane-electrode assembly(MEA), a crucial component of hydrogen fuel cells. This innovation aims to enhance the performance and efficiency of the electrode. Their research has received recognition and was featured on the front cover of the international journal Science Advances.
In the context of hydrogen vehicles, when they are initiated or brought to a sudden halt (start-up/shut-down, SU/SD), external air is drawn into the vehicle. The oxygen present in this air triggers an unintended electrochemical reaction within the fuel cell, expediting the deterioration of the catalyst. Given the nature of driving conditions, frequent SU/SD occurrences are inevitable, resulting in significant catalyst degradation.
The team harnessed the concept of metal-insulator transition (MIT) to tackle this challenge. MIT is a phenomenon wherein an insulator becomes capable of conducting electricity when subjected to external factors like changes in the concentration or temperature of an ambient gas. WO3 possesses the unique property of selectively conducting electricity as protons are intercalated/deintercalated by exploiting the MIT phenomenon. To address the issue, the team applied a coating of WO3 to the catalyst layer at the anode of the MEA. Under normal operational circumstances, this coating maintains electrical conductivity. However, it selectively obstructs current flow exclusively during start-up/shut-down (SU/SD) conditions, preventing electrochemical reactions that lead to catalyst corrosion.
University of Houston Researchers Suggest Hydrogen Fuel Can be a Competitive Alternative to Gasoline and Diesel Today November 15, 2023
Introduction:
(Eurekalert) As the world strives to cut greenhouse gas emissions and find sustainable transportation solutions, University of Houston energy researchers suggest that hydrogen fuel can potentially be a cost-competitive and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional liquid fuels, and that supplying hydrogen for transportation in the greater Houston area can be profitable today.
A white paper titled "Competitive Pricing of Hydrogen as an Economic Alternative to Gasoline and Diesel for the Houston Transportation Sector" examines the promise for the potential of hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. More than 230 million metric tons of carbon dioxide gas are released each year by the transportation sector in Texas.
Traditional liquid transportation fuels like gasoline and diesel are preferred because of their higher energy density. Unlike vehicles using gasoline, which releases harmful carbon dioxide, and diesel – which contributes to harmful ground-level ozone, fuel cell electric vehicles refuel with hydrogen in five minutes and produce zero emissions.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation, Houston had approximately 5.5 million registered vehicles in the fiscal year 2022. Imagine if all these vehicles were using hydrogen for fuel.
Houston, home to many hydrogen plants for industrial use, offers several advantages, according to the researchers.
Durable, Inexpensive Electrocatalyst Generates Clean Hydrogen and Oxygen From Water November 27 2023
Introduction:
(Eurekalert) Hydrogen is a highly combustible gas that can help the world achieve its clean energy goals if manufactured in an environmentally responsible way. The primary hurdle to creating hydrogen gas from water is the large amount of energy required for the electrolysis of water, or splitting water molecules into hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen (O2). A new electrocatalyst made of nickel (Ni), iron (Fe) and silicon (Si) that decreases the amount of energy required to synthesize H2 from water has been manufactured in a simple and cost-effective way, increasing the practicality of H2 as a clean and renewable energy of the future.
Most H2 produced today is derived from fossil fuels, which contributes to global warming. Manufacturing H2 from water through the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) requires the use of a catalyst, or agent that lowers the amount of energy required for a chemical reaction. Until recently, these catalysts were made up of rare earth metals, like platinum, reducing the cost-efficiency and practicality of clean hydrogen production. A group of material scientists from Dalian University of Technology in Dalian, China manufactured an electrocatalyst, or a catalyst that uses electricity, using inexpensive materials and methods to effectively decrease the energy required to generate clean H2 from water. Importantly, the ferric-nickel silicide (FeNiSi) alloy, or mixture, also reduces the energy required to generate O2 from water, making the catalyst bifunctional.
The researchers published their study in Nano Research Energy on November 3, 2023.
“What really limits the development and practical application of water electrolysis technology is electrocatalytic materials. At present, common catalysts, such as precious metals…, are mostly single-function catalysts, which limits the practical application of water electrolysis for hydrogen production. Therefore, the research and development of efficient, stable, cheap and environmentally friendly bifunctional electrocatalytic materials is a primary goal in the field of electrocatalysis,” said Yifu Zhang, senior author of the study and researcher in the School of Chemistry at Dalian University of Technology.
