Hydrogen Energy Sectors Research Articles

Hydrogen plays a central role in ensuring the fulfillment of the climate and energy goals established in the Paris Agreement. To implement sustainable and resilient hydrogen economies, it is essential to analyze the entire hydrogen value chain, following a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. To determine the current methodologies, approaches, and research tendencies adopted when performing LCA of hydrogen energy systems, a systematic literature analysis is carried out in the present study. The choices regarding the “goal and scope definition”, “life cycle inventory analysis”, and “life cycle impact assessment” in 70 scientific papers were assessed. Based on the collected information, it was concluded that there are no similar LCA studies, since specificities introduced in the system boundaries, functional unit, production, storage, transportation, end-use technologies, geographical specifications, and LCA methodological approaches, among others, introduce differences among studies. This lack of harmonization triggers the need to define harmonization protocols that allow for a fair comparison between studies; otherwise, the decision-making process in the hydrogen energy sector may be influenced by methodological choices. Although initial efforts have been made, their adoption remains limited, and greater promotion is needed to encourage wider implementation.

Over the past decades, global energy supply has been dominated by the top three fossil energy (petroleum, coal, and natural gas). However, fossil energy is non-renewable and the energy supply would be at huge risk if fossil energy has been exhausted. Hydrogen energy is a secondary energy that comes from a variety of sources, is carbon-free and clean, adaptable and efficient, and has a wide range of potential applications among the energy structures that are now known. It is a perfect medium for establishing connections between traditional fossil fuel and renewable energy sources, allowing for the efficient and clean use of the former while fostering the large-scale growth of the latter. In order to address climate change, provide energy security, and accomplish sustainable development, it makes strategic sense to accelerate the growth of the hydrogen energy sector. In this paper, the advantages of hydrogen energy for the economy and society as well as the many processes used to produce hydrogen are discussed. Crucially, a range of techniques for producing hydrogen from natural gas are thoroughly examined because this is one of the primary sources of hydrogen.

The Northeast Asia region (NEA) consists of states with a high degree of socio-economic development, for which the issues of achieving carbon neutrality are among the strategic priorities, and governments address them with the help of a wide range of measures. To achieve the overall goals of decarbonization, it is necessary to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in all sectors of the economy, including heavy industry and transport. Hydrogen is now considered one of the key options for reducing CO2 emissions in these sectors. The gradual decrease in the cost of renewable energy sources (RES) and electrolyzers contributes to increasing the economic attractiveness of hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water using renewable electricity – this method is a priority for NEA countries that do not have sufficient reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas. The fundamental difference between the hydrogen energy sector and traditional fossil fuels is that hydrogen is an energy conversion industry, not a raw material extraction one. It is also important that the growing share of intermittent renewable energy generation in the energy balance of NEA countries creates a demand for large-scale energy storage, which may also be provided by hydrogen. Sustainable and effective institutions play a crucial role in stimulating the process of partial transition to hydrogen energy, as they contribute both to the development of appropriate policies and to the consistent implementation of decisions across the economy. A review of the status and prospects for the implementation of such institutions in NEA countries allows for a substantive understanding of the basic institutional characteristics of the countries under consideration, as well as their distinctive features. NEA countries (China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, in the context of this article) are among the world leaders in the development of low-carbon hydrogen energy. Therefore, the study of the institutional framework related to this area is of justified scientific interest.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today and energy systems need to meet the commitments made at the 2015 Paris Agreement. Many countries have implemented decarbonisation strategies for significantly reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) and CO2 emissions. It is now widely accepted that hydrogen will be required as part of the decarbonised energy systems, and there is significant momentum building in the renewable and low-carbon hydrogen energy sector around the world.In the case of “green hydrogen” (GH2) or “renewable hydrogen” (RH2), it is a hydrogen produced through the electrolysis of water in an electrolyser, powered by renewable electricity, the so-called “green electron”, e.g., wind, solar, hydro, thermal, etc (<0.1% of the global hydrogen production vs. 99% from fossil fuels). Some market reports indicate that between 400-550million tonnes of hydrogen will be produced by electrolysis, requiring 3,000-4,000GW of electrolysers (ca. 3,000-4,000 times increase in electrolyser capacity by 2050). Although the LCOH (levelized cost of hydrogen) of GH2 is falling largely due to falling renewable power costs, GH2 is still 2-3 times more expensive than “blue hydrogen” (produced from reformed fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage, CCS) and further cost reductions are needed [1].Currently, there are three main types of low temperature water electrolyser (LT-WE), namely: (i) proton exchange membrane water electrolyser (PEMWE), (ii) alkaline water electrolyser (AWE) and (iii) anion exchange membrane water electrolyser (AEMWE). Like other LT-WE technologies, PEMWE technologies strongly depend upon the materials used i.e., catalysts, electrolytes, separators, electrodes, porous transport layers/gas diffusion layers, coatings, working temperatures, pressures etc. Further R&D in materials and systems (e.g., BoP - balance of plant) is required to drastically improve performance and durability as well as reducing costs [2].This presentation will highlight the state-of-the-art, benefits, bottlenecks (e.g., critical raw materials, membranes, degradation, costs, etc), strategies for cost reduction (materials, stack, and system levels), potential routes for overcoming the major issues, and future key performance indicators (KPIs) and targets for PEM water electrolyser technologies.

The rapid growth of Australia’s hydrogen economy highlights the pressing need for innovative regulatory strategies that address the distinct characteristics of hydrogen supply chains. This study focuses on the supply-side dynamics of the hydrogen energy sector, emphasizing the importance of tailored frameworks to ensure the safe, efficient, and reliable movement of hydrogen across the supply chain. Key areas of analysis include the regulatory challenges associated with various transportation and storage methods, particularly during long-distance transport and extended storage periods. The research identifies notable gaps and inconsistencies within the current regulatory systems across Australian states, which inhibit the development of a unified hydrogen economy. To address these challenges, the concept of Proactive Regulation for Hydrogen Supply (PRHS) is introduced. PRHS emphasizes anticipatory governance that adapts alongside technological advancements to effectively manage hydrogen transportation and storage. The study advocates for harmonizing fragmented state frameworks into a cohesive national regulatory system to support the sustainable and scalable expansion of hydrogen logistics. Furthermore, the paper examines the potential of blockchain technology to enhance safety, accountability, and traceability across the hydrogen supply chain, offering practical solutions to current regulatory and operational barriers.

Nowadays, depletingpetrochemical resources and global fossil fuelpollution are urgent issues. Hydrogen (H2) has emergedas a promising alternative energy source to combat climate change,the energy crisis, and environmental concerns. However, in the hydrogenenergy sector, the storage and transportation of H2 remainchallenging. The industrial H2 production path involvesthe use of steam reforming of methanol, which could effectively avoidthe danger of directly using H2. Methanol steam reforming(SRM) offers a safe and practical route for H2 production,leveraging methanol-favorable properties. In this work, a CuFeO2–ZnFe2O4 nanocomposite with enhancedsurface area was synthesized via the glycine–nitrate process(GNP) and employed as a catalyst for SRM. Structural and morphologicalanalyses were conducted using X-ray diffraction studies, field emissionscanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Ramanspectroscopy, and BET. The as-combusted nanocomposite exhibited aspecific surface area increase from 1.90 to 6.32 m2/g.The best performance achieved was an H2 production rateof 6984 ± 35 mL STP min–1 g-cat–1 (or) 312 ± 2 mmol STP min–1g-cat–1 with a flow rate of 30 sccm at 500 °C, without activation treatment.Based on the establishment, highlight the potential of CuFeO2–ZnFe2O4 nanocomposite as a cost-effectivecatalyst for on-demand hydrogen generation in fuel cell applicationsin the future.

Background Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe are flagship programs of the European Union aimed at supporting research and innovation, fostering collaboration among companies, academic institutions, and research organizations. Comprehensive data on projects, objectives, participants, funding details, and results of Horizon projects is available through the open access portal CORDIS (Community Research and Development Information Service). This paper introduces a novel methodology for utilizing CORDIS data to reveal collaborations, leadership roles, and their evolution over time. The case study focuses on the “hydrogen energy” sector, and specifically on the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley project. Methods The methodology is based on network analysis. Data is downloaded from the CORDIS portal, enriched, segmented by year and transformed into weighted networks representing collaborations between organizations. Centrality measures are used to assess the influence of individual organizations, while community detection algorithms is used to identify stable collaborations. Temporal analysis tracks the evolution of these roles and communities over time. To ensure robust and reliable results, the methodology addresses challenges such as input-ordering bias and result variability, while the exploration of the solution space enhances the accuracy of identified collaboration patterns. Results A case study focusing on Horizon projects in the hydrogen energy sector demonstrates the application of this methodology, revealing the emergence of key leaders and stable communities, and highlighting significant collaboration within the sector. Conclusions The proposed methodology effectively identifies influential organizations and tracks the stability of research collaborations. The insights gained are valuable for policy-makers and organizations seeking to foster innovation through sustained partnerships. This approach can be extended to other sectors, offering a framework for understanding the impact of EU research funding on collaboration and leadership dynamics.

Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have shown promise in specialized fields, yet their effectiveness is often constrained by limited domain expertise. We present a renewable and hydrogen energy-focused LLM developed by fine-tuning LLaMA 3.1 8B on a curated renewable energy corpus (RE-LLaMA). Through continued pretraining on domain-specific data, we enhanced the model’s capabilities in renewable energy contexts. Extensive evaluation using zero-shot and few-shot prompting demonstrated that our fine-tuned model significantly outperformed the base model across renewable and hydrogen energy tasks. This work establishes the viability of specialized, smaller-scale LLMs and provides a framework for developing domain-specific models that can support advanced research and decision-making in the renewable energy sector. Our approach represents a significant step forward in applying LLMs to the renewable and hydrogen energy sector, offering potential applications in advanced research and decision-making processes.

Abstract The relevance of the research topic is due to geopolitical challenges and military conflicts, which have necessitated a revision of national energy policy, setting the task of replacing traditional energy resources with more environmentally friendly ones, while simultaneously reducing direct dependence on external suppliers. The study examines the main global energy systems: the EU, the USA, and China. The changes in the legal framework supporting energy development and energy policies of these countries have been assessed. It was noted that China’s policy for obtaining hydrogen energy is the most efficient and cost-effective, and at the same time, it is aimed at a comprehensive long-term development period until 2035. The study revealed that technological solutions for industrial hydrogen production are most effective in the EU, which allows for a 20% increase in overall production efficiency. The EU has established institutional approaches in the form of creating a hydrogen bank to effectively innovative de velopments in the hydrogen energy sector through a market-based auction mechanism. The research also demonstrated that in the EU, innovative projects in the field of hydrogen energy production could reduce production costs to 0.5 euros per kilogram. The research indicated the beginning of competitive rivalry between the USA, China, and the EU in capturing leading positions in the production of environmentally friendly hydrogen energy. It was noted that the analyzed countries pay significantly less attention to the development of logistics and storage systems for hydrogen energy.

Low-temperature (LT) polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells (FCs) and electrolysis cells (ECs) contain valuable materials such as platinum-group metals (PGMs) and perfluorosulphonic acid (PFSA) polymer. The Danish companies IRD Fuel Cells A/S and CriMaRec ApS together with the University of Southern Denmark are developing and scaling up efficient and environmentally friendly processes to recycle PGMs, mainly platinum (Pt) and iridium (Ir), with the aim of establishing production alternatives to the costly, energy-intensive, and pollutive conventional processes. The approach is based on patented electrochemical methods involving potential cycling [1,2]. The efforts also comprise recycling or reuse of PFSA polymer as an alternative to incineration. The established outcomes are excellently performing LT-PEMFC&EC membrane–electrode assemblies (MEAs) containing PFSA material recovered from spent MEAs and PGMs recycled from MEAs [3,4] as well as from existing scrap resources such as spent catalysts from exhaust systems of automobiles [5].In this presentation we shall provide the main results proving our PGM-recycling concepts for Pt and Ir catalysts. Pt and Ir compounds (such as (NH4)2[PtCl6], Pt(NO3)2, and IrCl3) obtained from the processing of spent MEAs and spent autocatalysts were found to have the same qualities as those of commercial equivalents, and new electrocatalyst products (Pt/C and IrO x nanoparticles) made from these recycling compounds show properties and performances that are similar to or better than those produced from fresh precursors. Our development of the PGM-recovery processes into pilot-scale production is also presented. Two reactors with volumes of 18 dm3 and 50 dm3, respectively, have been designed, constructed, and optimized for extraction of PGMs from autocatalyst material and MEAs, respectively. In preliminary runs validating the recovery processes in these prototype reactors, 7.3 g of PGM (mainly Pt and palladium (Pd)) were recovered from a 4.5-kg batch of autocatalyst material with an estimated efficiency of 91 %, while 15.4 g of PGM (Pt and ruthenium (Ru)) were recovered from a 0.7-kg batch of LT-PEMFC MEAs with an efficiency of around 93 %. The reactor processes involve low energy consumption, low emissions, and a cycle time less than 2 h – in very great contrast to the conventional recovery processes – and the associated costs are in the order of 10 % of the PGM market price. Furthermore, we present our optimization of the recovery and regeneration of PFSA from the membranes of spent MEAs and the successful reapplication of this material as ionomer in new LT-PEMFC&EC MEAs. The feasibility of the PFSA recycling has been demonstrated as the performances of these new MEAs are similar to or better than those of MEAs prepared using fresh commercial ionomer. On top of these results, we present strong performances of LT-PEMFC&EC MEAs with recycled Pt/C cathode and IrO x anode electrocatalysts, respectively.The perspectives of this work are that a highly competitive large-scale production of LT-PEMFC&EC MEAs containing recycled PGM and PFSA will allow the MEA manufacturer to offer its customers the cost-reducing possibility of returning the spent MEAs for recycling. It can also ensure adequate reuse and/or recycling of production process waste, thus reducing the amount of scrap material. Moreover, it will facilitate the flow of secondary (recycled) PGMs from declining industrial sectors into the hydrogen-energy sector, securing for the latter the supply of these critical raw materials and decreasing the dependence on primary (mined) PGM. The green transition from fossil-fuel-based energy to renewable energy is thus accelerated, with the cost of the PEMFC&EC technology being considerably reduced and its deployment accordingly promoted. Acknowledgement The work is supported by the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP) of the Danish Energy Agency through the project 64019-0551 3R – Recycle, Reuse, Reduce.

Archipelago-like oxygen-vacancies-enriched amorphous-crystalline heterointerface for enhanced water splitting

Synergistic effects of feni bimetal-doped biochar on oxygen evolution reaction kinetics: A one-step, low-temperature pyrolysis approach

Economic analysis of hydrogen production from electrolyzed water technology by provinces in China

RELEVANCE. Steam methane reforming is the dominant method of hydrogen production. Its significant share in global CO2 emissions highlights the importance of optimizing technological parameters to reduce environmental impact. The developed multi-component model of steam methane reforming in COMSOL Multiphysics is relevant not only due to its applicability for optimizing existing production facilities but also for its potential in developing new methods for utilizing associated petroleum gas. In the context of import substitution in the hydrogen energy sector, this model is also of interest, allowing for the calculation of technological parameters of industrial installations.THE PURPOSE. The aim of the work is to develop and verify a multi-component model of steam methane reforming.METHODS. The research methodology includes the use of experimental data from the literature and industrial indicators for integration into a multi-component model in COMSOL Multiphysics. This enables the modelling of complex chemical interactions under conditions characteristic of the industrial steam methane reforming process.RESULTS. The developed multi-component model allows calculating key parameters of the steam methane reforming process, including the concentration of components (methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide) and temperature along the reactor. The model successfully describes the chemical interactions between components and takes into account the influence of operating conditions, such as temperature, pressure, and steam/gas ratio, on process efficiency. The model verification was carried out by comparing the modelling results with experimental data and indicators of real industrial processes. Their correspondence confirms the high degree of reliability and suitability of the model for practical application in engineering calculations and optimization of steam methane reforming processes.CONCLUSION. The conclusions made based on the modelling can be used for further improvement of methane conversion technologies, contributing to their efficiency and environmental friendliness. There is also potential for using the model to calculate the stages of installations for the utilization of products from the processing of associated petroleum gas.

Fe, Cu-decorated carbon material produced from ionic liquids as resourceful electrocatalyst for water splitting

Mounting ecological and socio-economic challenges demand a paradigm shift to sustainability. Artificial intelligence (AI) becomes a powerful means to pursue this objective; it establishes a “Symbiotic Synergy” with nature’s complex networks. This study attempts to investigate the SDGs using AI as a transformative tool, the sustainability of AI and its socio-economic impact. The research applies a multimethod approach, using surveys, case studies and categorizations to determine how AI is helping achieve the SGDs in harmony with nature. Key applications of AI in important domains are covered including agriculture and sanitation, renewable energy sector, hydrogen energy sector and the impact that AI is having leading to the future sustainable cities. Case studies and real-world examples demonstrate the effectiveness of AI technologies in forecasting energy demand, improving power dispatchment, and boosting performance within renewable resources. This study is a guide to the harnessing of AI potential for meeting SDGs, which leads us into an era where humans will attain great heights with cooperation between technology and nature.

This paper delves into the critical role of tax credits, specifically Sections 45Q and 45V, in the financing and economic feasibility of low-carbon-intensity hydrogen projects, with a focus on natural-gas-based hydrogen production plants integrated with carbon capture and storage (CCS). This study covers the current clean energy landscape, underscoring the importance of low-carbon hydrogen as a key component in the transition to a sustainable energy future, and then explicates the mechanics of the 45Q and 45V tax credits, illustrating their direct impact on enhancing the economic attractiveness of such projects through a detailed net present value (NPV) model analysis. Our analysis reveals that the application of 45Q and 45V tax credits significantly reduces the levelized cost of hydrogen production, with scenarios indicating a reduction in cost ranging from USD 0.41/kg to USD 0.81/kg of hydrogen. Specifically, the 45Q tax credit demonstrates a slightly more advantageous impact on reducing costs compared to the 45V tax credit, underpinning the critical role of these fiscal measures in enhancing project returns and feasibility. Furthermore, this paper addresses the inherent limitations of utilizing tax credits, primarily the challenge posed by the mismatch between the scale of tax credits and the tax liability of the project developers. The concept and role of tax equity investments are discussed in response to this challenge. These findings contribute to the broader dialogue on the financing of sustainable energy projects, providing valuable insights for policymakers, investors, and developers in the hydrogen energy sector. By quantifying the economic benefits of tax credits and elucidating the role of tax equity investments, our research supports informed decision-making and strategic planning in the pursuit of a sustainable energy future.

Characteristics and influence of macroenvironment in the Brazilian hydrogen energy sector

Hydrogen energy vector in the sphere of intellectual property in Russian Federation

Techno-economic analysis of hydrogen pipeline network in China based on levelized cost of transportation