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FMETEKN-FME - teknologi

Norwegian centre for hydrogen value chain research

Alternative title: Forskningssenter for bærekraftige hydrogenverdikjeder

Awarded: NOK 120.0 mill.

To achieve national and global carbon emission targets, particularly from the transport and industry sectors, there is an urgent need for alternatives to fossil fuels. Electrification and battery technology is not sufficient for this purpose, due to charging times, space required, and limits in power generation. Hydrogen can fill this technology gap, but energy requirements, societal preparedness, and commercial viability are all current obstructions. Hydrogen-based energy carriers do not create emissions of greenhouse gases when they are used to generate electricity, but if emissions are to be avoided then emissions must also be avoided in the production process itself. This involves maximising use of renewable power in the production process, combined with the capture and storage of produced greenhouse gases where this is needed to achieve zero emissions. Mature production methods that do not produce emissions are today very power-demanding and are therefore vulnerable with regards to varying energy prices. Today traditional production methods are used, which produce emissions. Going forward, these will be combined with carbon capture and storage to reduce emissions. In the longer term, we need to find commercially competitive emission-free solutions for production, while facilitating the implementation of hydrogen and hydrogen-based energy carriers in society. The HyValue research centre assembles a broad cross-disciplinary consortium of national and international research partners with cutting-edge expertise in hydrogen related technical, economic, legal and societal fields of research. The centre research spans from studies of new, energy-efficient methods for production of hydrogen and ammonia, to how the hydrogen sector can be matured as a technical system in society. To achieve the latter, HyValue will also provide new knowledge to assess and improve risk assessments for hydrogen transport systems and value chains. Equally important is research on economic and regulatory barriers. Establishment of FME HyValue has been ongoing from the award in March 2022 until the signing of the consortium agreement in February 2023. National research partners are center leader NORCE, the University of Bergen, Høgskulen på Vestlandet, Norwegian Business School, SNF, University of Stavanger, Fritjof Nansen Institute, and Institute of Transport Economics. International research partners are the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Forschungszentrum Jülich, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and TNO. The center has 49 partners from business and the public sector who support and ensure the relevance of the research. The main focus for 2023 has been the recruitment of employees and for the experimentally related activities the purchase and installation of equipment. HyValue has now employed 4 PhDs and 3 postdocs in the areas of production, storage/distribution and regulations/value chain. Within production research, modeling and simulations have been carried out to prepare for later material and process development. Samarium diiodide (SmI2) is a promising catalyst material for green and energy-efficient production of ammonia. Results from research, led by Vidar Remi Jensen at UiB, indicate good agreement between developed models and experimental results, indicating that existing models are suitable for use in the development of new and more efficient catalytic materials and methods. Transport systems for hydrogen have been analyzed with respect to development needs. Results indicate that needs depend on the supply chain in question, with transport volumes and distances as the most important defining parameters. The analysis has revealed important gaps in knowledge that will form the basis for further research. HyValue has also contributed to the development of regulations in the EU related to the development of hydrogen and emission-free energy carriers within the transport sector. Based on the recent energy crisis in Europe, Ignacio Anchustegui at Law at UiB has made an analysis of how an international regulatory framework can support the development of an international hydrogen market, with a particular focus on production, needs and transport. In a published article, Roweno Heijman at NHH describes how game theory can be used to study the challenge of investment needs for successful implementation of hydrogen in society. Furthermore, Gunnar Eskeland at NHH describes how petroleum-producing countries can cooperate on reducing emissions, with carbon capture and storage, potentially combined with hydrogen production, as one case. Skjærseth and Eikeland at FNI have performed an analysis of the role of 'push' and 'pull' regulations in the EU related to the development of the European Green Deal. In addition, they illustrated how some regulations can be an obstacle to low-carbon solutions. The findings have been published.

The proposed FME-centre HyValue aims to facilitate the safe and sustainable development of value chains for hydrogen and hydrogen-based energy carriers in industry and society. It will be run in close collaboration between research- and user partners. International cooperation and researcher training will be included in the centre. A deep transition to hydrogen-based energy carriers can only be achieved through a holistic approach including technical solutions, economic incentives, regulatory framework, societal and environmental impact and risk. HyValue takes a broad technical-economic-societal-environmental perspective, addressing hydrogen and ammonia value chains, business models, overarching policy and system integration issues. The centre will: - explore methods for hydrogen and ammonia production, targeting novel technologies for significant increase in energy efficiency and corresponding cost reduction - exploit and develop solutions for transport, storage and filling/ bunkering of hydrogen-based fuels - analyse maritime value chains and study regulations and economic incentives to avoid barriers and promote business models for hydrogen and ammonia - develop a novel framework for assessing the strength of knowledge in risk assessments for hydrogen and ammonia systems - frame the technology development and business models in a societal embeddedness context and document the total emission of greenhouse gases for hydrogen and ammonia value chains The holistic approach adopted by the HyValue consortium will secure that the research supports the overall ambition to accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy, bringing about new technical solutions as well as empowering Norwegian industry with methods and tools that can enable the development of profitable products and services. HyValue will increase the national and international competitiveness on hydrogen-based solutions for implementation in society, with maritime application as the main driver.

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FMETEKN-FME - teknologi