Italian researchers say hydrogen storage offers more supply-side flexibility than battery storage, while a German consortium has developed a global hydrogen potential atlas for sustainable production and trade.
Italian researchers have found that hydrogen storage offers more supply-side flexibility than batteries. Their studypublished in Applied energyshows that the optimal ratio between PV and electrolyzer varies from 1.8 in southern Italy to 2.1 in the north. They also found that grid dependence increases by 60% when we take into account the aging of PV systems, electrolyzers and batteries, increasing the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) by 7%. The study, conducted by the Università degli Studi di Firenze, used hourly data and the Multi Energy System Simulator (MESS) for optimal sizing, with the aim of minimizing LCOH while meeting green hydrogen incentives. They concluded that stricter temporary requirements for certification increase green hydrogen by 22%, while LCOH increases only slightly.
Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and its partners have developed a global hydrogen potential atlas to identify sustainable locations for the green hydrogen economy. The atlas highlights Germany’s potential partner countries for cooperation, detailing trade volumes, production and transport costs for 2030 and 2050. The research team said it analyzed the cost of importing hydrogen from Brazil, Morocco, Canada, Ukraine and the UAE, showing that import costs could range from €3.50 ($3.68)/kg to €6.50/kg in 2030 and €2/kg to €4.50/kg by 2050. The research also found that liquid hydrogen could become the most cost-effective option for long-term hydrogen imports by ship, although this technology is not yet available. Of the Power-to-X products, ammonia appears to be the most promising for short- to medium-term use, followed by methanol and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis products.
EWE said it has completed its HyCAVmobil research project at its gas storage site in Rüdersdorf, near Berlin. The project, in collaboration with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), demonstrated the safe storage of hydrogen in an underground cavern. EWE plans to apply the knowledge gained from operating the 500 cubic meter test cavern to larger caverns with a volume a thousand times larger. CEO Stefan Dohler said The company is pursuing large-scale hydrogen storage in salt caverns, noting that EWE already controls 15% of German cave storage facilities suitable for hydrogen.
The European Commissionlaunched the second auction of the European Hydrogen Bank in the first week of its new mandate with a budget of €1.2 billion from EU funds, plus more than €700 million from three Member States, to boost the production of renewable hydrogen across the European Economic Area (EEA). The auction is financed by the Innovation Fund, using revenues from the EU emissions trading system. The committee said it also introduced an “Auctions-as-a-Service” mechanism, allowing Member States to finance projects that were not selected for support from the Innovation Fund due to budgetary constraints.
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