Shell and Verdagy to collaborate on renewable hydrogen projects
31 March 2024
Verdagy, a renewable hydrogen electrolysis company with more than a decade of technology and product development experience, announced that Shell provided technical endorsement of Verdagy’s eDynamic electrolyzers. This major step qualifies Verdagy as a supplier in its upcoming green hydrogen projects.
Verdagy worked with the Shell team to complete a rigorous HAZOP (safety) review along with a detailed Design and Technology Development Review of Verdagy’s electrolyzers, as necessary and important steps to commercial adoption within Shell.
Shell conducted Technical Feasibility and Technology Development Reviews for Verdagy’s 20 MW eDynamic Electrolysis system, which included in-depth diligence of electrolyzer operation, performance, stability and safety. Verdagy uses the 20 MW electrolyzer as a building block for infrastructure-scale, (100 MW and larger) renewable hydrogen installations.
Verdagy says that its electrolyzers provide the lowest levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) by combining high current densities, the widest operating range in the industry and fast response, to enable seamless coupling with renewable power sources.
Verdagy is committed to achieving the US Department of Energy’s goal of $2/kg of levelized cost for renewable hydrogen by 2026; the company was recently awarded a $39.6-million grant (pending negotiations) by the Department of Energy to accelerate the high-volume manufacturing of Advanced Alkaline Water Electrolysis eDynamic electrolyzers.
Video on the Verdagy implementation here:
https://player.vimeo.com/video/861301048
Highlights:
Alkaline
Easily ramped up and down for changing renewables imput.
Modular cells in units, replaceable
20MW stackable.
Posted by: Davemart | 31 March 2024 at 02:54 AM
And here is why hydrogen, renewable or not, is not going to pull the aviation industry's chestnuts out of the fire with their plans to go right ahead to 'Carry on polluting' - only more and bigger:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMb5Frr-520
So to summarise it is not even demonstrated at the moment exactly how fuel cells in aviation will be able to cope with the tilting about of aircraft in flight, and the vast majority of CO2 emissions are from large long distance aircraft, where there is no chance of them coming into service in volume before 2050, even if they work for the easier turbines, with certification for starters taking years even for conventional designs.
To be clear, for the next size up from the very small, short distance aircraft where batteries are practical, hydrogen in aircraft seem to me to be a very hopeful technology.
Nothing in it though can remotely help or impact the industry's psychotic ambition to carry on and vastly expand the long distance flight fleet.
Posted by: Davemart | 31 March 2024 at 06:51 AM
And here is an example of where hydrogen is essential for decarbonisation, steelmaking.
This is now proven, although at current prices for renewable hydrogen comes at a premium, so those who are happy to fry won't be interested.
Buy why not just produce steel by molten oxide electrolysis? Essentially, here is why it is currently a bright idea, not a ready to go technical alternative:
https://thundersaidenergy.com/downloads/boston-metal-molten-oxide-electrolysis-of-steel/
' The key challenge for MOE of iron ore is temperature. From our patent review, we could not identify any clear candidate solvents, which would materially lower the melting point needed for electrolysis of iron oxide. Boston Metal also alludes to its cells running at 1,600C, which is near the melting point of iron/iron ore.
What materials could serve as current collectors for these cells? Most conductive metals, and even most super-alloys, have melted by 1,500C. There are refractory ceramics that tolerate temperatures around 2,500C, but they are not conductive. There are refractory metals that tolerate these high temperatures, but they have higher redox potentials than iron, meaning they would oxidize and cease to be conductive? Likewise, graphite has a very high melting point, but is prone to oxidizing into CO2 at such high temperatures.'
Now maybe those issues will be solved, but maybe they won't, and in any case the tech is far from being an off the shelf ready to go option.
My own view would be that in addition to the use of hydrogen in steel making, the way forward is to reduce steel's use, where composites show great potential to substitute for iron and steel, not only in rebar for construction, but especially in the 12% of steel production used in the automobile and transport industry, where especially with electrification a premium is worthwhile for lighter materials, and where basalt fiber and flax in particular show potential for substantial weight reduction, far outperforming the not too sucessful attempts to use glass fiber.
Posted by: Davemart | 31 March 2024 at 07:18 AM