The European Commission has selected the Northern Netherlands to become the leading European hydrogen region and supports establishment of a complete local (green) hydrogen ecosystem covering production, storage, distribution, refueling and final use of hydrogen (Cordis, H2Valley, 2019). In line with the European recognition, the Dutch government has set the goal to establish a hydrogen ecosystem by 2025 that would further expand to Western Europe by 2030. Yet before the European Union nominated the Northern Netherlands as European Hydrogen Valley, the key stakeholders in the Northern Netherlands – industry, SMEs, knowledge institutions and government – committed to the long-term cooperation in development of the green hydrogen market. Subsequently, the three regional governments of the Northern Netherlands, - Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe, - prepared the common Hydrogen Investment Agenda (2019), which was further elaborated in the common Hydrogen Investment Plan (2020). The latter includes investments amounting to over 9 billion euro, which is believed will secure some 66.000 existing jobs and help create between 25 thousands (in 2030) and 41 thousands (in 2050) new jobs.However, implementation of these ambitious plans to establish a hydrogen ecosystem of this scale will require not only investments into development of a new infrastructure or technological adaptation of present energy systems, e.g., pipelines, but also facilitation of economic transformation and securing the social support and acceptance. What are the prospects for the social support for the developing European Hydrogen Valley in the Northern Netherlands and its acceptance by inhabitants? The paper discusses the social support and acceptance aspects for a hydrogen ecosystem in the context of regional experiences of energy transition, including the concerns of energy justice, safety, and public trust that were raised in the recent past.
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This paper proposes a Hybrid Microgrid (HμG) model including distributed generation (DG) and a hydrogen-based storage system, controlled through a tailored control strategy. The HμG is composed of three DG units, two of them supplied by solar and wind sources, and the latter one based on the exploitation of theProton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology. Furthermore, the system includes an alkaline electrolyser, which is used as a responsive load to balance the excess of Variable Renewable Energy Sources (VRES) production, and to produce the hydrogen that will be stored into the hydrogen tank and that will be used to supply the fuel cell in case of lack of generation. The main objectives of this work are to present a validated dynamic model for every component of the HμG and to provide a strategy to reduce as much as possible the power absorption from the grid by exploiting the VRES production. The alkaline electrolyser and PEM fuel cell models are validated through real measurements. The State of Charge (SoC) of the hydrogen tank is adjusted through an adaptive scheme. Furthermore, the designed supervisor power control allows reducing the power exchange and improving the system stability. Finally, a case, considering a summer load profile measured in an electrical substation of Politecnico di Torino, is presented. The results demonstrates the advantages of a hydrogen-based micro-grid, where the hydrogen is used as medium to store the energy produced by photovoltaic and wind systems, with the aim to improve the self-sufficiency of the system
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In the course of the “energie transitie” hydrogen is likely to become a very important energy carrier. The production of hydrogen (and oxygen) by water electrolysis using electricity from sun or wind is the only sustainable option. Water electrolysis is a well-developed technique, however the production costs of hydrogen by electrolysis are still more expensive than the conventional (not sustainable) production by steam reforming. One challenge towards the large scale application of water electrolysis is the fabrication of stable and cheap (noble metal free) electrodes. In this project we propose to develop fabrication methods for working electrodes and membrane electrode stack (MEAs) that can be used to implement new (noble metal free) electrocatalysts in water electrolysers.
The growing energy demand and environmental impact of traditional sources highlight the need for sustainable solutions. Hydrogen produced through water electrolysis, is a flexible and clean energy carrier capable of addressing large-electricity storage needs of the renewable but intermittent energy sources. Among various technologies, Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis (PEMWE) stands out for its efficiency and rapid response, making it ideal for grid stabilization. In its core, PEMWEs are composed of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), which consist of a proton-conducting membrane sandwiched between two catalyst-coated electrodes, forming a single PEMWE cell unit. Despite the high efficiency and low emissions, a principal drawback of PEMWE is the capital cost due to high loading of precious metal catalysts and protective coatings. Traditional MEA catalyst coating methods are complex, inefficient, and costly to scale. To circumvent these challenges, VSParticle developed a technology for nanoparticle film production using spark ablation, which generates nanoparticles through high-voltage discharges between electrodes followed by an impaction printing module. However, the absence of liquids poses challenges, such as integrating polymeric solutions (e.g., Nafion®) for uniform, thicker catalyst coatings. Electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) stands out as a promising technique thanks to its strong electric fields used to generate micro- and nanometric droplets with a narrow size distribution. Co-axial EHDA, a variation of this technique, utilizes two concentric needles to spray different fluids simultaneously.The ESPRESSO-NANO project combines co-axial EHDA with spark ablation to improve catalyst uniformity and performance at the nanometer scale by integrating electrosprayed ionomer nanoparticles with dry metal nanoparticles, ensuring better distribution of the catalyst within the nanoporous layer. This novel approach streamlines numerous steps in traditional synthesis and electrocatalyst film production which will address material waste and energy consumption, while simultaneously improve the electrochemical efficiency of PEMWEs, offering a sustainable solution to the global energy crisis.
Production of hydrogen from renewable power sources requires dynamic operation of electrolysers. A dedicated research activity is proposed to explore and study the impact of variable operation on electrolyser performance and the electricity grid. In addition optimal control strategies will be developed with the goal to improve overall operational efficiency. It is expected that by applying advanced control strategies 2 to 3% operational efficiency gain can be achieved. The research proposed in this project is aimed to explore, validate and demonstrate this potential efficiency gain on the PEM unit.
