Hydrogen Gas Energy in the Mediterranean

Hydrogen is an opportunity for the Mediterranean, experts:

https://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/energy/2021/05/18/hydrogen-is-an-opportunity-for-the-mediterranean-experts_0b054957-9f60-47bd-a165-d8b9dc524853.html

IL CAIRO - Among the opportunities to be seized, there are not only renewable energy sources (wind and solar), but also several technologies for the storage, transport and use of green electricity. Among these, the Hydrogen could be an option for the energy storage.

This was reported by an article just published on the website of the TEN - Trans Med Engineering Network company entitled "Mediterranean Hydrogen Infrastructure".

"Hydrogen is not a game changer" premise the two authors, Michelangelo Celozzi, president of the company, and Giuseppe Tomassetti, great expert in the sector. But this technology also offers "opportunities" for the Mediterranean countries, the article reads.

"Research and technological development in Europe are moving along these guidelines, from which the Mediterranean countries should draw the opportunity to borrow the development of new energy technologies, setting them in the "value chain ", as reported to ANSAmed Tomassetti.

All the Mediterranean Countries, the Northern and the Southern ones, should not miss the occasion offered by the "assisted" recovery of the economy in the post-pandemic phase: financing coordinated investments for relaunching the economic development in the Mediterranean region and supporting the technological innovation in the energy sector, to develop a more sustainable Mediterranean energy infrastructure, "in view of a common future for the Mediterranean, based on the integration of the energy, economic and productive systems, as, in these times of crisis, cohesion funds can help the Mediterranean countries to achieve the Northern Europe economic recovery, already beginning", the two experts exhort.

The Scramble for Mediterranean Hydrogen: Energy or Geopolitics?:

The global clean energy transition would result in a new geopolitical map. As new cleaner energy sources are deployed, old players such as oil producing countries could see their geopolitical influence shrink, while new players will emerge.

In this sense, the Mediterranean may become one of the main hotspots for the hydrogen economy due to the complementary nature between the EU’s green and technological ambitions and the great natural resource potential across the Middle East and North Africa.

The EU expresses one of the strongest political commitments to lead in hydrogen. as it considers it a key element in its pursuit of climate neutrality by 2050 and, at the same time, a sector to enhance its technological leadership in, carried by its painful experience in solar PV manufacturing, which was developed in Europe at high costs only to be eventually moved to China. In July 2020, the EU launched its Hydrogen Strategy, which envisages hydrogen covering 13-14% of Europe’s energy mix by 2050. To create a hydrogen economy, the EU Strategy is ready to roll out **significant investments. At the European level, the EU prioritizes investments in green hydrogen (up to €180-470 billion by 2050) rather than for blue hydrogen (€3-18 billion), which is relegated to an intermediate target alone. At the national level, governments announced over $30 billions in hydrogen investments by 2030, only in the second half of 2020. Among European countries, Germany is the most committed to take the lead in hydrogen technology, announcing a €7 billion investment plan in domestic production of green hydrogen.

Morocco does not hold significant hydrocarbon reserves, but it is commonly seen as the leading hydrogen player in North Africa. It set an ambitious renewable target of 52% of installed electricity capacity – corresponding to around 11 GW – by 2030. The aim is to use its great solar and wind potential in order to develop hydrogen.

New report explores hydrogen’s drivers and barriers in the Mediterranean:

The Elcano Royal Institute has released a new report that highlights hydrogen’s geo-economic and geopolitical drivers and barriers in the Mediterranean.

The policy paper aims to offer a preliminary assessment of the geo-economic and geological drivers and barriers for the development of a hydrogen market that integrates both European and Mediterranean neighbours’ renewable resources.

If you’d like to find out more, you can read the full report here.

It includes a review of the literature related to hydrogen in the Mediterranean, from European H2 strategies and industry and think tank reports to academic research, as well as stakeholder consultations.

A Highlight – The common elements in European hydrogen strategies constitute significant drivers of H2 market development, but partial inconsistency in some of their external approaches (ie, self-sufficiency vs cross-border trade) might constitute geo-economic and geopolitical barriers to market development and integration.

A green hydrogen economy: How to make it happen in Europe:

Hydrogen can be seasonally stored and transported cost-effectively over long distances by ship or pipeline. Renewable hydrogen in combination with renewable electricity has the potential to entirely replace hydrocarbons in the long run.

The year 2020 saw the emergence of hydrogen strategies in many countries and regions around the world: Japan, South Korea, Australia, Chile, Morocco, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Spain, among others.

In Europe, most importantly, on 8 July 2020 the European Commission released the Hydrogen Strategy for a Climate-neutral Europe, as part of its European Green Deal.

Hydrogen Vs. Natural Gas For Electric Power Generation:

The role of hydrogen in eliminating CO2 emissions, particularly from the electrical grid, has attracted increasing interest, with potentially significant implications for investors in the natural gas, utility, and industrial equipment spaces.

Hydrogen has been proposed to provide grid scale energy storage, replacing natural gas to power a net-zero carbon electric grid.

The investment thesis we will look at today is simple: green hydrogen generated from renewable energy can provide grid scale energy storage similar to that provided today by natural gas - the ability to store very large amounts of energy for days to months. This will overcome the intermittency limitation of wind and solar power and allow replacement of natural gas for power generation, yielding a net-zero carbon electrical grid.

When people speak of the future hydrogen economy, or zero-carbon economy, green hydrogen is usually implied.

The Hydrogen Revolution And Natural Gas: In Tandem For A Greener Future:

Now hydrogen is a serious player, according to experts at Guidehouse, the global consulting firm that helps utilities and governments plan for the future and to go green. Its role is seen either as an additive or, in Europe, as a fuel.

Daan Peters, a director at Guidehouse in Europe, told me in an interview on public television’s “White House Chronicle” that hydrogen has captured the imagination of European governments and utilities. It is, he said speaking from Amsterdam, part of the European Green Deal – Europe’s attempt to go green all the way in a circular economy.

A consortium of European countries – the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, among others — is planning a giant, [10-gigawatt wind farm in the North Sea]( Shell unveils world's largest offshore wind plan to power green hydrogen https://www.rechargenews.com/wind/shell-unveils-worlds-largest-offshore-wind-plan-to-power-green-hydrogen/2-1-763610) which will be devoted to the electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen derived from cracking water is called green hydrogen; that attained by reforming natural gas or from coal is called blue hydrogen.

Green Hysland in Mallorca, the first green hydrogen project in a Mediterranean country due to get European funding – The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) of the European Commission has selected the project Green Hysland in the Balearic Islands to start negotiations for an EU grant agreement valued at 10 million euros what would constitute the second largest grant by this European Commission body to a green hydrogen project and the largest grant ever offered to a Mediterranean country.

Why carbon-free Europe will still need North African energy – The German initiative is not the only big renewable energy investment linking Morocco and the EU. Morocco is the only North African country with a power cable linking it to the European grid, but by 2025 Egypt, Libya and Tunisia are expected to be plugged in as well.

Hydrogen Compared with Other Fuels

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New 237MW green hydrogen plant set for the Spanish Bay of Algeciras

Fisterra Energy, Enagás and White Summit Capital have today (June 21) revealed a project that will include the creation of a 237MW green hydrogen production plant in the Bay of Algeciras.

This facility will supply green hydrogen to local industry which consists of large consumers of hydrogen and natural gas.

In line with the hydrogen roadmap set by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, this project will not only contribute to decarbonising industrial operations and power generation but will promote future uses of green hydrogen.

Read more at link.

The Hydrogen Stream: What the EU’s Fit for 55 means for hydrogen

Europe is the continent contributing the most to global hydrogen developments, but decisions being made in South America and the Middle East, combined with climate commitments announced by China and the United States, bode well for the steep increase in hydrogen investments. Investments are reportedly reaching $1 billion every week.

The Hydrogen Council and McKinsey & Company underlined that the Chinese government has made $20 billion of public funding available to hydrogen projects. “Europe remains the center of hydrogen development, accounting for more than 50% of announced projects and estimated investments of $130 billion.

Portuguese power utility Energías de Portugal (EDP), whose main shareholder is the state-owned China Three Gorges Corporation, presented last week to the Andalusian regional government its plans to convert the Puente Nuevo and Los Barrios power plants, currently in the process of closure, with industrial projects worth €1 billion. The Los Barrios coal plant is a potential site for the development of hydrogen projects that would allow the supply of green energy for the entire industrial environment of CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR and its possible export by sea. Collaboration with the administration could launch a hydrogen pole in the Campo de Gibraltar to supply nearby industries. In a separate development, EDP announced it is cooperating with French-American technology provider TechnipFMC and other research partners, including the University of South-Eastern Norway, to develop a conceptual engineering and economic feasibility study for a new offshore system for green hydrogen production from offshore wind power, called the Behyond project. “The study will include innovative integration of equipment for the production and conditioning of green hydrogen and infrastructure that allows for its transportation to the coast. The goal is to create a unique concept that can be standardized and implemented worldwide, allowing for large-scale hydrogen production,” reads the note released on Monday. According to TechnipFMC, the consortium will strengthen cooperation between Portugal and Norway.

The Los Barrios Power Plant coal-fired power station is based on the Rankine Cycle. It is located in the municipality of Los Barrios in southern Spain, next to the Gibraltar-San Roque Refinery.

About the closing of the Plant – In June 2020, plant owner Viesgo requested the closure of the 570MW plant. The company said it could not determine an estimated closure date for the plant as the process was subject to several administrative procedures and authorisations. According to Argus, "the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Spanish coal-fired power demand may have contributed to the change in strategy." Argus noted that "Data from Spanish power grid operator REE show that coal-fired generation in the southwest province of Cadiz — where Los Barrios is the sole coal generator — reached minus 4.78GWh in the first five months of this year, which means the unit consumed more electricity than it produced during the period." According to a report in Spanish daily El Economista, the decision to close the Los Barrios plant will allow the zone to apply for European Transition funds, although Viesgo did not confirm this.

Portugal: Power utility EDP invests €550 mln in clean energy in Spain

EDP Spain presented on Tuesday at the Los Barrios Town Hall, in Andalusia, the project to transform its thermal power plant plans to invest over €550 million.

The company wants to transform the Los Barrios thermal power plant (coal) into a unit “focused on green hydrogen, renewables and storage”, EDP Spain said in a press release.

This conversion will allow the supply of renewable energy throughout the industrial area of Campo de Gibraltar (province of Cadiz) and in the future export energy by sea.

China’s Green Trojan Dragon Flying High Over Spain

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Toyota Engineers: Hydrogen cars.

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Failure is not an option: Increasing the chances of achieving net zero

While they serve as valuable starting points, decarbonization pathways are vulnerable to critical system-level changes not being reached in time.

The fragility of current net-zero pathways

With the remaining carbon budget to limit global warming to below 1.5°C rapidly running out, the consequences of significant delays or detours on the road to net zero would be drastic. And the consensus pathways, while technically feasible and largely cost-optimal, may be more brittle than many realize. They are contingent on critical requirements being in place and the successful and timely achievement of many ambitious system-level changes. Some plans may be so cost-optimized that they leave little room for deviation from the plan.

In fact, some assumptions and preconditions may not be achieved, such as the assumed hydrogen technology cost and readiness evolutions

How to achieve your decarbonization plan | McKinsey

Charting the global energy landscape to 2050: Sustainable fuels

Our Global Energy Perspective 2022 outlines the most significant trends, challenges, and opportunities around the longer-term energy transition—and five potential energy scenarios. The report provides an outlook to 2050 for each energy type and carrier, including hydrogen, sustainable fuels, natural gas, oil, and coal, as well as a view on the role of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). In this article, we take a closer look at the role that sustainable fuels will play in decarbonizing energy systems.

In aviation, sustainable aviation fuels as a blend-in with kerosene in conventional engines may be the only viable option to limit GHG emissions. Aircraft design limitations constrain the decarbonization potential of alternative propulsion technologies like battery electric and hydrogen.

Sustainable fuels and their role in decarbonizing energy | McKinsey

How hydrogen combustion engines can contribute to zero emissions

Hydrogen combustion engines can leverage existing technologies and provide a zero-emissions option for specific use cases while supporting the growth of hydrogen infrastructure.

Regulators are tightening emissions rules for on-highway trucks in many of the world’s largest markets (Exhibit 1). From 2030 onward, regulators in Europe will require manufacturers to cut CO2 emissions for new on-highway trucks by 30 percent compared with 2019 levels.

In the United States, the emissions-reduction target by 2027 is 46 percent lower than 2010 levels. Fifteen US states, led by California, have additional mandates in place that by 2030 will require 30 percent of trucks sold to be zero-emission.2 Similarly, Chinese regulators are requiring OEMs to reduce emissions for heavy-duty trucks by 24 percent from 2021 compared with 2012. Additional longer-term targets are likely, given that China recently joined the growing group of countries with net-zero emissions targets by or before 2060.

Four zero-emissions powertrain technologies are in play for heavy-duty on- and off-highway vehicles

There are four true zero-emissions technologies to power vehicles: battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), hydrogen internal combustion engines (H2-ICEs), and biofuel or synfuel internal combustion engines (if a sustainable source of carbon is used). Hybrid and gas engines represent bridging technologies to reduce emissions in the medium term but cannot achieve zero emissions on their own.
CO2 emissions. While we refer to all four technologies as zero emissions, the CO2 emissions generated in the process of producing the electricity, hydrogen, or synfuel can vary significantly. Although BEVs are carbon neutral if charged solely with renewable power, their use currently leads to high carbon emissions when charged with grid electricity in most regions (given the high carbon intensity of the global grid mix). Carbon emissions from hydrogen production also vary widely but can be more easily controlled. For instance, “green” hydrogen can be produced from 100 percent solar and wind power in renewables-rich regions and delivered to any refueling station. The carbon intensity for biofuel and synfuel depends on the sourcing of biomass and carbon, respectively.

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Wonder how many hydrocarbons will enter the atmosphere from a nuclear world war?

Is that countable?

Probably not, but it may be a little more than what people are currently creating.

a wee bit

Cepsa's Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley in the transition of the World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum announced today, at its annual meeting in Davos, the incorporation of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, led by Cepsa and with projects in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) and San Roque, to the initiative 'Transition of industrial clusters towards net zero emissions'. This global initiative aims to connect 100 industrial clusters around the world to reduce 1.6 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, conserve and create 18 million jobs and contribute 2.5 trillion dollars to global GDP.

The Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley aims to decarbonise industry and transport through renewable, affordable and abundant energy in Andalusia - essential to produce green hydrogen at competitive prices - and a powerful electricity grid. The region also has excellent options for the use and transport of clean energy by road, rail, air and sea. By joining the World Economic Forum's cluster initiative, Cepsa's project and its partners will be able to draw on the knowledge and best practices of other members. The creation of initiatives such as this one facilitates public-private and inter-company collaborations so that industries in the same place join efforts in decarbonisation by sharing risks, infrastructures and natural resources.

Cepsa CEO Maarten Wetselaar, who attended the annual meeting in Davos, said: "Green hydrogen is the best low-emission alternative for sectors that are difficult to decarbonise, such as heavy industry and transport. More and more customers are willing to commit to green hydrogen consumption and southern Spain offers one of the best prices in Europe to produce it. Cepsa's two projects in our Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, Europe's largest green hydrogen centre, will help create a facility to meet this demand, decarbonise the area's industry and begin to provide Spain with the scale it needs to become a net exporter of clean energy".

The World Economic Forum launched the 2021 transition of industrial clusters to net zero emissions. The initiative, supported by Accenture and EPRI, focuses on reducing emissions from heavy industrial assets in regional industrial zones, which account for 15-20% of global CO2 emissions.

Nine new industrial clusters in Europe, the United States and Asia were announced at the 2023 annual meeting, bringing the current total to 17.

Cepsa has also joined the 'Renewable Hydrogen Accelerator Initiative' promoted by the World Economic Forum. Another example of a collaborative effort whose objective is to disseminate renewable hydrogen in sectors that are difficult to decarbonise, and which brings together executives in the common purpose of eliminating barriers and finding solutions to the challenges of hydrogen.

Cepsa announced in December 2022 an investment plan of more than 3 billion euros for the creation of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, the largest green hydrogen centre in Europe, located in southern Spain. The plan calls for the company to build two plants at its energy parks in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) and San Roque (Cádiz), each with a capacity of 1 GW, which will produce up to 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year. The development of the project will guarantee the future of industrial employment in Andalusia, generating 10,000 jobs, 1,000 of them direct.

The company has also signed an agreement with the port of Rotterdam to create the first green hydrogen corridor linking southern and northern Europe.

Cepsa reinforces the San Roque Energy Park with an investment of 12.5 million euros

The aim of this action has been to improve efficiency, technology and safety at these facilities.

Cepsa's San Roque Energy Park has recovered its normal activity after the end of its programmed shutdown, which has meant a month of intense work for Cepsa's professionals and auxiliary companies.

During the shutdown, in which no accidents with casualties were recorded, as a result of Cepsa's commitment to safety, maintenance work, regulatory inspections and installation of new equipment were carried out in some units to improve safety, reduce atmospheric emissions, efficiency and the level of innovation and technology of the plants. This improvement work has involved an investment of 12.5 million euros. In the development of all these works, together with Cepsa's own personnel, more than 1,400 professionals from 50 auxiliary companies, mainly from Campo de Gibraltar, have participated.

Rosendo Rivero, director of the San Roque Energy Park, thanked all the people involved in this shutdown for their effort and dedication, and especially for their commitment to safety. Prior to entering the site, and as is obligatory at Cepsa, everyone who has collaborated in the work have received a course on safety and prevention, in addition to the training provided by their respective companies.

Exhaustive planning

Cepsa usually carries out scheduled shutdowns of its units, where intensive maintenance work and inspections are carried out, which normally cannot be done while the units are running. This work allows the company to have modern, safe, efficient facilities with an integrated technical capacity.

The shutdown requires detailed planning during the previous months, with constant meetings between departments and auxiliary companies. This coordination, together with the rigorous control of daily tasks, is essential to ensure the safety of people and plants, modern, safe, efficient facilities and integrated technical capacity.

The shutdowns are part of Cepsa's commitment to the safety of people and facilities and to sustainability and environmental protection, in line with the 2030 Positive Motion strategy, through which Cepsa will invest up to 8,000 million to drive the energy transition and become the leaders in sustainable mobility, green hydrogen and advanced biofuels in Spain and Portugal by 2030, putting customers at the centre of our activity and helping them in their decarbonisation.

Cepsa and EDP to work together to produce green hydrogen in the Campo de Gibraltar

Cepsa and EDP have signed an agreement to work together on large-scale green hydrogen production in Algeciras Bay. Through this alliance, EDP, a leader in renewable energy through its subsidiary EDP Renewables and the fourth largest renewable energy producer in the world, joins as a partner in the project to develop up to 1 GW in the Campo de Gibraltar, within the framework of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, the largest green hydrogen project in Europe promoted by Cepsa.

For EDP's CEO, Miguel Stilwell d'Andrade, "this agreement with Cepsa is an important milestone for the conversion of EDP's thermal power plant in Los Barrios and to promote industrial decarbonisation through green hydrogen, being a further step to strengthen energy independence in Europe".

According to Cepsa's CEO, Maarten Wetselaar, "to accelerate the energy transition it is necessary to seek allies and synergies that allow us to move forward in this process in an agile and competitive manner. With this ambition in mind, today we are signing this agreement with EDP, one of the leading global companies in the production of renewable energies, which will provide us with the electricity we need to produce green hydrogen competitively".

This alliance is part of the ambition of both companies to drive the decarbonisation of industry and heavy land, air and maritime transport. The agreement also includes the supply of renewable electricity and the possible collaboration to produce sustainable marine fuels.

Both EDP and Cepsa, companies with a significant presence in the Bay of Algeciras and a strong commitment to the local community, have the decarbonisation of the economy as a priority and seek through this agreement to maximise the complementarities and synergies of their knowledge of the sector, their technical capabilities and the proximity of their facilities.

This new alliance is part of Cepsa's 2030 strategy, Positive Motion, through which the company is becoming a benchmark in the energy transition, leading sustainable mobility in Spain and Portugal and the production of renewable hydrogen and advanced biofuels to promote the decarbonisation of its customers, as well as its own activity.

EDP, in its mission to lead the energy transition, has a unique and realistic programme of projects in Spain to transform its thermal power plants into sites linked to renewable energies, green hydrogen, energy storage and the flexibility of the electricity system. This agreement will facilitate the conversion of EDP's Los Barrios thermal power plant into a green hydrogen plant.

This partnership contributes to several of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda: SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy), SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth), SDG 12 (Responsible production and consumption) and SDG 13 (Climate action).