November 07, 2022 • Paul Rodden • Season: 2022 • Episode: 161
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Welcome to The Hydrogen Podcast!
In episode 161, Flowserve and Chart Industries joined forces on liquid hydrogen filling stations. Volkswagen announces a 180 on their hydrogen stance, and Absolut Vodka decides to take a trip down the Hydrogen Highway. All this on today’s hydrogen podcast.
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Paul Rodden
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Transcript:
Flowserve and Chart Industries joined forces on liquid hydrogen filling stations. Volkswagen announces a 180 on their hydrogen stance, and Absolut Vodka decides to take a trip down the Hydrogen Highway. All this on today’s hydrogen podcast.
So the big questions in the energy industry today are, how is hydrogen the primary driving force behind the evolution of energy? Where is capital being deployed for hydrogen projects globally? And where are the best investment opportunities for early adopters who recognize the importance of hydrogen? I will address the critical issues and give you the information you need to deploy capital. Those are the questions that will unlock the potential of hydrogen and this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Paul Rodden, and welcome to the hydrogen podcast.
On a press release on October 31, Flowserve and Chart Industries announced partnership to further enable hydrogen economy Flowserve Corp, a leading provider of flow control products and services for the global infrastructure markets and chart industries. A leading manufacturer of highly engineered equipment servicing applications in the clean energy and industrial gas markets announced on October 31, that the companies have entered into an agreement to support the growth of hydrogen as an alternative cleaner fuel source. As part of this agreement, Flowserve will acquire in process r&d related to charge liquid hydrogen fueling pump and will be Chart Industries sole manufacturer and supplier of the pump. Once commercial production has begun chart will use these pumps and its liquid hydrogen fuel station equipment for fuel cell vehicles. This equipment will be incorporated into systems that will be used to fuel hydrogen powered fuel cell electric trucks, cars and buses as well as future hydrogen vehicles.
Currently, more than 100 liquid hydrogen fueling systems are planned to be put into operation over the next five years and locations including California, Australia and South Korea. And a quote from Scott Rowe Flowserve, President and CEO, we understand that hydrogen represents a significant opportunity and helping the world reduce carbon emissions. And one of the first steps in creating a sustainable hydrogen value chain is to innovate and commercialize hydrogen technologies. He continues by saying we are thrilled to partner with chart to advance our offerings and hydrogen market in alignment with our diversification, decarbonisation and digitization strategy, as well as support the development and commercialization of hydrogen as an energy source to build a better brighter world for everyone.
And in a quote from Jillian Evanko, chart industry CEO chart is proud to be recognized as a leader in the clean energy transition by providing technology equipment and services related to the nexus of clean, clean power, clean water, clean food and clean industrials. By partnering with global flow control leaders like Flowserve, we can accelerate the adoption of hydrogen infrastructure utilizing both teams core expertise. Okay, so this press release really seemed to come in under the radar, but it’s a very critical point of the hydrogen infrastructure that needs development. But what this also does is highlight a critical question about end use for hydrogen. This press release talks specifically about liquid hydrogen fueling systems, whereas most fuel cell systems right now are coming off of a compressed system. And there are still other technologies in development such as cryo compressed systems, and the future potential of utilizing solid hydrogen storage in fuel cell applications. Now, granted, these last two have quite a bit more development before they become mainstream. But there is still this question right now of which is going to be better, liquid or compressed. And from where I’m sitting, the easiest quickest solution is compressed. That is until the other technologies, including liquid storage becomes more scalable and in turn more economic. Next, in an article from hydrogen central.com, the new hydrogen car that travels 2000 kilometers on a single tank. Volkswagen is working on a new fuel cell that is much cheaper than the current ones and promises hydrogen cars that can travel 2000 kilometers on a single tank. Volkswagen has just applied for the registration of a patent for a new hydrogen fuel cell that, in addition to being cheaper than the current ones, will be able, according to its creators to give a car a range of up to 2000 kilometers without refueling. This news represents a turn in the position that Volkswagen usually shows regarding hydrogen like Elon Musk does every time he has the opportunity.
The German manufacturers CEO Herbert Diess denied the potential of hydrogen as a power source for electric cars in a tweet published In May of this year, the patent application for this new fuel cell carried out together with the German company Kraftwerk Tubes shows that Volkswagen does not want to lose the hydrogen train and works outside the public eye in the development of this technology. So how does it work? The batteries of electric cars are accumulators of electricity that’s released according to the needs of the vehicle. Hydrogen fuel cells, by contrast, are capable of generating their own electricity. For this they need a high pressure tank that stores the hydrogen in gas form. If it were in liquid form, it would need to be stored at very low temperatures and a fuel cell that converts hydrogen into electricity. So fuel cells also have an anode and a cathode like batteries. Hydrogen enters in through the anode and passes through an electrolyte membrane, which is responsible for dividing hydrogen into a proton and an electron. an electrolyte then causes them to take different paths to the cathode.
The electrons go through an external circuit creating a flow of electricity, which makes the cars engines work while the protons pass through the electrolyte to the cathode. There they unite with oxygen which enters directly into the cathode, and with electron producing water and heat. However, Volkswagen and Kraftwerk CEOs fuel cell puts a spin on materials traditionally used for the membranes. In a quote from Sascha Kühn, Kraftwerk CEO. The big advantage of our solution is that it can be produced much cheaper than polymer fuel cells and does not require any type of platinum. This technology Kuhn says resembles solid state batteries. Now according to the executive both have almost the same electrolytes and a similar material structure. The difference is that while solid state batteries use a compact material to store energy and fuel cells, that role is assumed by hydrogen in gas form, lower energy cost more autonomy, and addition, the new ceramic membrane says Kuhn does not need to be moistened, so it does not freeze in winter, dry out in summer or attract mold.
The manager also points to another advantage that will save costs and the manufacturing of the vehicles. The fuel cell generates heat that can be both used to replace the car’s heating and air conditioning, which would also mean greater energy savings. Although this patent has been requested together with Volkswagen, Kraftwerk assures that it does not work exclusively for a brand. Again, according to the CEO, regardless of the manufacturer. Our goal is for our technology to be launched in a series vehicle by 2026. We are talking about series of about 10,000 vehicles spread over several car manufacturers. Again, according to Kuhn lithium is definitely not a way forward solid state battery, it would be an option, but it’s not there yet. And according to the executive with his system, we can travel up to 2000 kilometers on a single tank of fuel. Okay, so a bold claim by Kraftwerk tubes, and a very surprising turn about for Volkswagen. Now, recently, I covered that Porsche was also looking into fuel cell technology. And now with this statement, it sounds like Volkswagen is biting very hard on the hydrogen landscape. It also sounds like this company Kraftwerk tubes is really the brains behind this new fuel cell technology.
And if they’re looking for 10,000 cars to be rolled out in four years, that’s a lot of development in a short amount of time. But I also love that they’re not brand specific, and I can’t wait to see how this project moves forward. And lastly, in an article from foodbev.com, Gwen Jones writes, absolut introduces hydrogen fired glass furnace, Pernod Ricard owned Absolut Vodka says it is the first global spirits brand to move to a partly hydrogen fired glass furnace for its large scale production. The hydrogen initiative is absolut’s latest step and its plan to become co2 neutral by 2030. Or a requirement for meeting this goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of its glass packaging. Ardagh’s Limmared glassworks (a subsidiary of Ardagh Group), which has been a partner of absolute for 40 years will supply the partly hydrogen fired furnace. The company currently uses natural gas and electricity to power its furnaces. From the second half of 2023. Ardagh Group) will launch a pilot and its Limmared plant to replace 20% of its natural gas with green hydrogen to manufacture all absolutes bottles across its portfolio. Stéphanie Durroux chief executive of Absolut said, given we’ve been investing in our own production for decades, decreasing our emissions and increasing energy efficiency.
We’re now in a position where we also can focus on the parts of our value chain that are outside of our own scope. Oh, she added the glass manufacturing industry is in a transformative journey, and the world can’t wait for the perfect solution. A bold and innovative approach is needed to accelerate radical change that will help solve the significant sustainability challenges that all glass makers and buyers of glass face. The company has also made other changes in line with its co2 neutrality commitments, such as the lightweighting of glass increased use of electricity in the current furnace, and an increase in recycled flint glass. Bo Nilsson, Managing Director of Ardagh Glass Limmared added, our industry needs to be less reliant on hydrocarbons and transition at pace to using more green energy. By investing in this new technology. We are embarking on a journey to reduce the carbon footprint of our glass packaging. He continues by saying there are challenges with such innovation. But we are committed to being an early mover in future proofing our glass manufacturing operations worldwide. Okay, so a massive beverage company is now adopting hydrogen. And it’s bottle manufacturing. That’s a big step forward. And one of the first industries I’ve seen really commit to using hydrogen for their gas furnaces.
So with this starting in the second half of next year, I’m curious to see who is going to be providing that furnace. There are several manufacturers out right now that can provide that. But I’m curious as to which one is going to be providing that equipment. But with this news coming out, I’m very excited to see what other industries are going to begin making these similar announcements. And where geographically, those announcements in those facilities are going to be coming from.
All right. That’s it for me, everyone. If you have a second, I would really appreciate it. If you can leave a good review on whatever platform it is that you listen to Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google, YouTube, whatever it is, there’ll be a tremendous help to the show. And as always, if you ever have any feedback, you’re welcome to email me directly at info@thehydrogenpodcast.com. And as always, take care. Stay safe. I’ll talk to you later.
Hey, this is Paul. I hope you liked this podcast. If you did and want to hear more. I’d appreciate it if you would either subscribe to this channel on YouTube, or connect with your favorite platform through my website at www.thehydrogenpodcast.com. Thanks for listening. I very much appreciate it. Have a great day.
