Paul Rodden • Season: 2024 • Episode: 359
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Welcome to The Hydrogen Podcast!
Episode 359, Keppel buys big into liquid hydrogen to power their Singapore data centers, Germany looks to invest huge in their hydrogen backbone infrastructure, and Toyota develops a new hydrogen canister with applications far beyond transportation. I’ll go over all of this and give my thoughts on today’s hydrogen podcast.
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Transcript:
Keppel buys big into liquid hydrogen to power their Singapore data centers, Germany looks to invest huge in their hydrogen backbone infrastructure, and Toyota develops a new hydrogen canister with applications far beyond transportation. I’ll go over all of this and give my thoughts 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.
In an article in data center dynamics, Zachary Skidmore writes Keppel signs liquid hydrogen offtake agreement with Woodside. Keppel data centers has signed a conditional off take term sheet to supply and purchase liquid hydrogen from Woodside. The supply agreement aims to power Keppel’s data center portfolio in Singapore. Keppel plans to integrate the potential liquid hydrogen supply into a broader long term portfolio of low carbon Power Solutions that it is developing to meet the energy needs of its assets. This initiative is part of Keppel strategy to expand its utility scale renewable energy offerings. The agreement follows the signing of a non binding heads of agreement between the two parties in April of 2023
The term sheet tables commercial principles that may pave the way for an eventual binding offtake agreement for liquid hydrogen supply from as early as 2030.
Wong Wai Meng, CEO of data centers at Keppel said: “As a leader in data centers, Keppel is pleased to deepen our collaboration with Woodside through the signing of an offtake Term Sheet, which has the ability to provide a reliable and stable source of lower carbon energy to power our assets in Singapore.”
The term sheet remains conditional upon the negotiation and execution of a fully termed sales and purchase agreement and obtaining all necessary approvals.
Woodside will likely supply the liquid hydrogen from its proposed production facilities, including H2Perth.
H2Perth is a commercial-scale hydrogen and ammonia production facility in Perth, Western Australia. A final investment decision on the project is currently pending. If it achieves FID, the project is expected to be constructed in phases, with phase one supplying up to 2,700 tons per day of ammonia produced through gas reforming (with carbon capture and storage) and electrolysis.
H2Perth proposes to use a target of 80 percent renewable electricity from start-up for Phase 1, stepping up to 100 percent renewable electricity for the entire facility by 2040.
The hydrogen would power a proposed floating data center campus known as Datapark+, which received regulatory approval last year.
Keppel currently has seven operational data centers within the Singaporean market. In March, it completed external construction work on its eighth project in the country.
Okay, so this article from data center dynamics discusses the Keppel data center’s recent agreement with Woodside Energy to purchase liquid hydrogen. Now this marks a significant step towards integrating hydrogen into the energy supply for data centers, which we have talked about quite a bit recently. This deal, which is part of kepl sustainability initiatives, aims to enhance their ability to reduce carbon emissions while providing reliable low emission backup power. Now Keppel data centers are a key player in Singapore’s data center sector, and they’ve looked to Woodside to provide that liquid hydrogen. Now this liquid hydrogen is going to be used to power fuel cells, which is offering a cleaner alternative to traditional diesel backup generators. And something that I’ve talked quite a bit about recently is that hydrogen is now increasingly seen as a viable solution for backup power in data centers where the need for uninterrupted, reliable energy is critical, and liquid hydrogen can provide a scalable and environmentally friendly option for energy storage and supply, particularly in regions where grid resilience is a concern, and this agreement further signals this growing trend of hydrogen adoption in the data center industry, as companies are exploring cleaner renewable energy sources to meet their regulatory and sustainability goals.
Next in an article in DPA International, German regulators approve construction of nationwide hydrogen network. German regulators have given approval for the construction of a nationwide network of hydrogen pipelines, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck announced on Tuesday.
Planners expect hydrogen to be an increasingly important energy source as Germany transitions away from fossil fuels and toward an economy built on renewable energy.
“Today, the hydrogen core network has been decided. It is not yet finished – but it will now be built,” Habeck, a Green party member, said at a press conference.
Habeck noted that the regulatory approval came two and a half years since the network was proposed, a timeline he praised as “record-breaking.”
Some sections are to be completed before the target year of 2032. Total project costs are forecast at €19.8 billion ($21 billion), which will be borne largely by the private sector, although state subsidies will cap network charges.
According to the Association of Transmission System Operators, the network should be able to transport up to 278 terawatt hours of energy in the form of hydrogen every year.
That is the equivalent to a third of Germany’s current natural gas consumption, said Ralph Bahke, deputy chairman of the association.
However, with a total distance of 9,040 kilometres, the network will be significantly smaller than initially assumed. Germany’s Federal Network Agency removed more than 600 kilometres from the original plan.
Federal Network Agency President Klaus Müller justified the cuts with the reduction of “redundancies” and connection lines that were not needed in the core network.
Okay, so Germany has approved a very significant investment plan as they develop a 19 billion euro hydrogen network, which will aim to bolster the country’s role in the clean energy transition and trying again to become that leader in green hydrogen use, and further build out that hydrogen backbone for Germany, similar to what we talked about for the UK on Monday. And while this project is being driven by both public and private funding, with major companies in the energy and infrastructure backing this initiative, the government is also creating a regulatory framework to support the development of hydrogen as a mainstream energy source, enabling private funding to more easily invest in this project. Now this plan is ambitious, but it really does underscore Germany’s leadership in the global shift toward renewable energy and hydrogen, and sets the stage, really for a significant advancements in hydrogen technology and the infrastructure as a whole in Europe.
And next, in an article in Forbes, Michael Taylor writes innovative capsules bring Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell dreams one step closer to reality. Michael writes Japanese automaking giant Toyota has come up with a novel sidestep around the refueling stations that have proven to be a problem its hydrogen fuel-cell EV dreams around the world.
It’s trying to sidestep them completely.
Toyota this week showed its latest hydrogen capsule update during the Mobility Show Bizweek in Japan, with an evolution of its hydrogen capsule technology weighing 11 pounds (5kg) each, filled to the brim with hydrogen gas.
At 16 inches long and 7 inches in diameter (400mm x 180mm), the capsules, developed with its subsidiary Woven Planet Holdings, can be used in everything from fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) to cooking, with Rinnai also exhibiting a compatible emergency kitchen.
Widespread adoption of the technology would allow Toyota to commercialize its FCEV fleet by letting its customers simply recharge their vehicles at depots that are cleaner, more convenient and simpler to use. They could even be stored at existing gas stations, like barbecue gas bottles. It would also provide instant, convenient energy in emergency situations, generating electricity as a fuel cell or allowing people to burn the hydrogen gas in cookers.
The portable cartridges are much lighter than the first generation, shown in 2022, and Toyota and Woven Planet plan Proof of Concept trials in Japan this year.
Toyota, along with its development partner BMW, Hyundai Motor Group and Honda, has been the driving force behind FCEVs and stubbornly maintains its position that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are not the way forward for the auto industry.
It insists that hydrogen is the better long-term solution, because its use emits no carbon dioxide (CO2), and it can be delivered with very low supply-chain emissions if it is generated using green energy, like biomass, geothermal, wind or solar energy.
The cartridges, which Toyota plans to deliver to consumers using a similar business model to barbecue gas bottles or battery swaps for electric scooters, will offer hydrogen to people close to where they live, rather than in isolated prototype hydrogen refueling stations buried in industrial backwaters.
Okay, so Toyota reinventing hydrogen capsules, and this represents a significant advancement in the efficiency and practicality of hydrogen fuel cells, which is moving Toyota closer to realizing that vision for a hydrogen powered future. And really the big thing to focus in on is that these new capsules are specific.
Engineered to enhance the safety and efficiency of hydrogen storage by improving how hydrogen is stored and transported. Toyota is now hoping to address concerns that have historically hindered the technology’s acceptance. But just as important as this new capsule is for Toyota, there is a much broader application potential, including far reaching implications, not just for vehicles, but other various sectors, including logistics and energy storage. And I love the idea of gassing up your vehicle like going to the grocery store and getting new propane tanks. I think that’s absolutely brilliant. But will this concept actually take off? I think for that, only time will tell. But for right now, I think it is a very elegant solution to a problem no one has really been able to address so far.
All right, that’s it for me, everyone. If you have a second, I would really appreciate it. If you could leave a good review on whatever platform it is that you listen to Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google, YouTube, whatever it is, that would 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. So until next time, keep your eyes up and honor one another. 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.
