This facility gives SINTEF Process Technology Centre a distinctive arena for evaluating and creating technologies that are beneficial to both the industry and the environment, more precisely the transformation of CO2 to new products, commonly referred to as Carbon Capture and Utilisation – CCU.

It is well to be noted that the new demonstration facility originated from PYROCO2 – the EU-funded European Green Deal project and the requirement to validate its technology at a larger scale. The PYROCO2 project seeks to turn CO2 and green hydrogen into the industrial chemical acetone and then into a whole range of useful products.

One example of the increasing need for research-based pilot activities at Tiller is PYROCO2. For over 40 years, SINTEF at Tiller has proven to be instrumental in piloting and ramping up industrial processes. Here industry is privy to a distinctive infrastructure and multidisciplinary knowledge for the creation and verification, under safe HSE guidelines, of solutions before their commercialisation.

The new pilot plant will make SINTEF even better prepared to satisfy the demand for validation and testing of novel green and circular solutions.

According to Duncan Akporiaye, the vice president of research, “When developing and testing technologies, strong research support is crucial. The location at Tiller, close to research environments at SINTEF and NTNU, provides clear advantages. It allows technologies to mature before industrial deployment.”

Innovative approaches for carbon capture & utilisation

SINTEF has served closely with the industry for many years to create solutions for carbon capture, utilisation and storage – CCUS and they come with outstanding knowledge and infrastructure to showcase technologies throughout the entire CCUS value chain.

“There is no doubt that carbon capture and storage is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, to move toward a more circular and sustainable industry, we must increasingly adopt solutions that utilize captured CO₂ as a resource,” adds Akporiaye.

New ways to collect, use and store carbon from carbon-intensive sectors can both cut emissions and utilise some of the carbon that is released.

“Through biotechnological processes, captured carbon can be converted into new products, and many industries are already leveraging biotechnology to move away from processes based on fossil carbon,” he says.

There is a growing interest when it comes to alternative sustainable feedstocks like biomass as well as CO2. But these raw materials need to be transformed via green value chains, novel technologies, and cutting-edge processes. SINTEF has long been involved in these bioprocesses, and there already exists a foothold for sophisticated industrial biotechnology in Norway.

The new pilot facility will offer additional opportunities for demonstrating gas fermentation for the creation of new chemical and plastic as well as fuel products – which is indeed a possible breakthrough as far as high-emission industries are concerned.

Confirms Chief Scientist Alexander Wentzel, “By converting CO2 into valuable products, industry can meet increasingly strict climate requirements while maintaining competitiveness and contributing to a sustainable circular bioeconomy.”

Almost 300 tonnes of acetone every year

Currently, PYROCO2 is the sole technological platform of its kind to utilise gas fermentation to generate acetone from CO2. The new Tiller plant will be able to produce around 300 tonnes of acetone a year from 700 tonnes of industrial CO2 as well as renewable hydrogen. It will also provide essential research data for additional scaling of the technology, for instance, at Herøya Industrial Park along with other industrial clusters in Europe. The aim is to allow cuts of almost 17 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2050.

This scale of operating CO2-based gas processes of fermentation also necessitates a large electrolyser. Power to Hydrogen – P2H2, a U.S. company, shall supply an electrolysis system for the new plant. It will use only renewable power to separate water into hydrogen as well as oxygen. The bacteria in the bioreactors will transform the hydrogen and captured CO2 to acetone. The system is expected to be delivered in the Q4 of 2026.

Concludes Duncan Akporiaye, “The electrolysis system is designed to operate on renewable electricity, making it completely emission-free. It is also built for rapid adaptation to variable renewable power, fluctuating hydrogen demand, and long operational life – making it well suited for projects like PYROCO2.”

The post Transformation of CO2 To New Products at SINTEF in Tiller first appeared on Hydrogen Informs.

The battery cannot just power electrical appliances but also realise efficient hydrogen storage at room temperature and pressure via a unique hydrogen-electricity co-storage mechanism.

The research, which was led by Prof. CHEN Ping at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics – DICP of the Chinese Academy of Sciences – CAS, was released in Joule in May, 2026.

One of the most significant obstacles that hinder the widespread implementation of hydrogen energy technologies is hydrogen storage. The traditional approaches require extreme conditions such as high-pressure compression of almost 700 atmospheres or cryogenic liquefaction at −253 °C which lead to high energy usage and safety concerns as well as increased complexity of the system. Therefore, the development of a secure, effective, and practical hydrogen storage technology that can function under the most ambient conditions is necessary for an eventual hydrogen economy.

Hydride ions – H- are the electron-rich form of hydrogen and happen to be highly reactive as well as energy dense, consequently announcing charge carriers for future all-solid-state batteries. Yet, their intrinsic unstable nature under ambient conditions has long blocked their practical implementation for electrochemical energy storage.

In the present study, a series of novel hydride ion electrolyte materials were synthesised in order to accomplish stabilisation of hydride ion conduction, which has been a priority of CHEN’s group since 2018. The team disclosed the first low-temperature ultrafast hydride ion conductor and the first all-solid-state hydride ion prototype battery in the years 2023 and 2025, respectively. Creating on these developments, the researchers have suggested the idea of a gas-solid hydride ion battery.

In this work, the team built the initial g-HIB using magnesium metal and hydrogen gas as both positive and negative electrode active materials, respectively. When it comes to discharge, hydrogen is degraded to hydride ions at the positive electrode, and magnesium is oxidised to magnesium hydride in the negative electrode. The reverse process happens at the time of charging, which enables parallel storage of hydrogen and electricity.

This first g-HIB battery in world combines hydrogen storage capacity with a theoretical capacity that outstrips the best-known battery systems. The findings from the experiments indicated that the battery had a maximum initial discharge capacity of 1,526 mAh g-1 throughout hydrogen charging. Almost 6.0 wt% of hydrogen, which is based on MgH2 in the electrode was discharged at room temperature under 0.3 V. The capacity retention was higher than 70% after 60 cycles, and the battery was stable over a broad range of temperatures of −20 °C to 90 °C.

In addition, a pair of stacks of ten single cells produced an output voltage of over 2.4 V and powered an LED light, which gave birth to the gas–solid hydride ion prototype battery.

The team also showed noteworthy energy efficiency benefits in comparison with traditional thermal hydrogen storage methods. In common Mg/MgH 2 thermal storage systems, hydrogenation calls for significant heat to be eliminated, while dehydrogenation calls for temperatures of about 300 °C. The g-HIB, however, transforms the heat released at the time of hydrogenation straight away into electrical energy while employing electrical energy to power hydrogen release. The overall energy efficiency is 93.9%, which is approximately one third greater compared to that of standard thermal hydrogen storage systems.

The researchers said the study has found a new way to navigate one of the most enduring obstacles in hydrogen energy storage. The technology could as well pave the way for next-generation hydrogen storage systems, cutting out the requirement for extreme pressure or even cryogenic conditions.

For instance, the g-HIB could as well go on to serve as an effective hydrogen storage unit in hydrogen-powered drones, functioning at ambient conditions and greatly increasing flight longevity.

As per Chen, “Our future work will focus on developing higher-performance hydrideion conductors and electrode materials to further improve battery performance and accelerate the practical deployment of hydrideion battery technologies for hydrogen energy applications.”

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The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry – KCCI Sandbox Support Center said on May 26, 2026 that the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s Industrial Convergence Regulatory Sandbox Review Committee went ahead and granted demonstration exemptions to overall 12 cases, which included three projects that it supported.

These include Hydrogen Production System with Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell – SOEC and a Gaseous Hydrogen Infrastructure Underground Demonstration.

Unlike traditional electrolysis that breaks down water via electricity, the SOEC-based hydrogen production system, for which a consortium led by POSCO Holdings had applied, makes use of a solid – ceramic membrane in order to split hot steam into hydrogen and oxygen.

The system makes use of less power than the present electrolysis methods and is anticipated to contribute to a successful reduction of production expenses when utilising high-temperature heat from steel mills or industrial complexes.

The review committee gave the nod to the demonstration exemption considering the benefits such as obtaining core SOEC technology, establishing the foundation for commercialization, and revitalizing the domestic electrolysis industry of Korea. But the consortium also has to meet additional requirements such as setting demonstration safety norms, developing safety management strategies, and setting up a committee to oversee safety.

For the demonstration, the POSCO Holdings consortium is going to develop a single 100-kilowatt SOEC system at the Jeonnam Technopark Electrolysis Performance Evaluation Center which is located in Yeonggwang County at the South Jeolla Province.

On May 26, 2026 itself, an approval was also given to the demonstration project for underground facilities of gaseous hydrogen by Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology – KICT consortium. The project includes the underground installation of hydrogen storage vessels, fuel cells and various other gaseous hydrogen infrastructure and verification of the procedure of storing, distributing, and producing electricity from hydrogen. Gaseous hydrogen stored in conventional underground storage vessels shall be provided to hydrogen fuel cell power generation plants so as to produce electricity to power the facility.

KICT went on to say that it has developed technology for hydrogen power generation in a standard setting with safety equipment, and the sandbox is a space to test safety. This should help to decrease the burden of safeguarding above-ground sites, while safeguarding equipment from outside forces and minimizing the consequences of accidents.

The review committee felt that underground siting of high-pressure gas facilities could enhance the public acceptance and it is anticipated to energies the hydrogen economy. Yet, this project is also subject to extra security conditions. The KICT consortium will develop and commercialize a single underground gaseous hydrogen infrastructure facility at the Korea Clean Hydrogen Promotion Institute in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

Lee Jong-myung, the head of KCCI’s Industrial Growth Division remarked that “Through technology that lowers hydrogen production costs, we have laid a stepping stone toward clean hydrogen production, hydrogen-based steelmaking, and decarbonization of industrial processes.”

The regulatory sandbox system, which was introduced in January 2019, has issued a total of 934 approvals for industrial convergence sandbox exemption. KCCI operated the Sandbox Support Center since May 2020, and has supported 416 of those projects to obtain certification.

The post Korea Approves Sandbox for Hydrogen Production System first appeared on Hydrogen Informs.

Koike stated, “I hope that knowledge sharing in forums like these will further drive innovation and accelerate the hydrogen implementation in various regions. “With the goals of halving emissions by 2030 and achieving zero emissions by 2050, Tokyo is advancing a wide range of initiatives.”

Apparently, green hydrogen is produced when renewable energy, which is typically wind or solar, is used to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen in a procedure called electrolysis.

And it has no carbon emissions, as it uses no fossil fuels, unlike the grey hydrogen made from natural gas, which is responsible for the majority of hydrogen generated today.

A significant challenge for environmentally conscious cities

Green hydrogen is currently costly to produce at scale and following the best practices on green hydrogen requires massive funding for infrastructure like pipelines as well as storage and shipping terminals.

And that is exactly the obstacle that Koike has cited as the rationale for international cooperation and the sharing of knowledge and capital.

“With these gained insights, Tokyo will further enhance efforts toward real-world development of hydrogen,” she added.

She also talked about the difficulties the energy transition poses for major cities and their role in speeding up the green transformation.

Koike discussed with the mayors of Rotterdam as well as Amsterdam the integration of green hydrogen within city infrastructure, the backing of sector start-ups, the strength of cities and integrated port management and hydrogen applications.

“[We] confirmed the importance of major cities collaborating to address common challenges,” Koike said.

It is well to be noted that green hydrogen remains a nascent and costly technology, and its scale-up will need quite prominent state support in addition to private investment.

Governments are the main drivers, notably in Japan, South Korea, the EU, and Australia as well as the Gulf states, investing funds into national hydrogen strategies and subsidies along with infrastructure by means of pipelines, storage facilities, and transportation terminals.

Notably, start-ups and SMEs play an important supporting role, notably for enhancing electrolyser performance and fuel cell design along with niche applications such as urban transport as well as localized energy storage.

Making ties with Kazakhstan robust

Koike held talks with Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Kazakh President, in Astana on future bilateral cooperation between both Kazakhstan and Japan. President Tokayev referred to the forthcoming 10th anniversary of the Enhanced Strategic Partnership between both countries.

“Here in Kazakhstan, we know you as a time-tested friend, partner and dedicated statesperson who made a lot for Kazakh-Japanese relations. For more than 25 years, your initiatives devoted to Kazakhstan’s history and culture have played a unique role in bringing our peoples closer,” Tokayev stated.

Tokyo and Astana entered into an MoU on digital development and urban resilience in December 2025, which was the foundation for multiple discussions during the visit, Koike said in an interview with Euronews.

“President Tokayev and I have a long-standing relationship in promoting exchanges and cooperation between our countries and cities,” she stated, noting that energy security, given the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, was among the problems discussed.

Tokyo’s green transformation start-ups and SMEs and the prospects for their global growth and potential company partnerships were discussed, she told Euronews.

She also visited AlemAI, which happens to be Kazakhstan’s leading Artificial Intelligence center, in the EXPO ecosystem in Astana.

It is a gigantic 20,000-square-meter technology and education hub, built to bring together startups, scientific research, and smart governance so as to speed up the digital transformation of the country.

Koike discovered about sturgeon farming along with caviar production endeavours at the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan and found a connection with projects being implemented on Kozushima Island in Tokyo.

She concluded that “our discussions strengthened the foundation for future potential collaboration.”

The post Best Practices on Green Hydrogen Urged by Tokyo Governor first appeared on Hydrogen Informs.

H2 Core Systems is building its entire digital method of product development around Siemens’ Designcenter™ X Solid Edge® software, which allows the company to create and visualise products in 3D before moving to a physical manufacturing process. The digital workflow has reduced the manufacturing process by 50%, increased design and customization cycles by 20% and captured a total growth rate of 70%. Designcenter X Solid Edge and the cloud-based collaboration features of the Teamcenter® Share app by Siemens help the team develop marketing resources and technical documentation and communicate complicated design concepts transparently to stakeholders and clients.

H2 Core Systems also leverages the automation hardware and software of Siemens, such as S7 1200 compact programmable logic controllers – PLCs and TIA Portal, in order to design and deploy the automation needed by its intricate products.

It is well to be noted that H2 Core Systems was founded in 2019 and is based in Heide, Germany, and creates, manufactures, and upholds modularly configurable production, storage and energy systems which integrate electrolysis along with storage, compression, fuel cells and all of it around a hydrogen-based ecosystem.

The products are adaptable and expandable, as well as easily scalable. In addition to on-grid use, they can be utilised in conjunction with photovoltaic or wind power systems in a decentralized, self-sufficient as well as sustainable green energy supply that can be utilised globally. According to the chief executive officer of H2 Core Systems, Ulf Jörgensen, “In our role as an accelerator of the energy transition, we need to respond to individual requirements promptly and with modular, scalable energy systems. This acceleration is based on fully digitalized, dynamic and efficient collaboration between sales, engineering, production and documentation. Hydrogen energy systems with Siemens Xcelerator enables this collaboration and significantly reduces our time-to-market.”

Opines EVP PLM Products, Siemens Digital Industries Software, Joe Bohman, “Siemens Xcelerator, including Designcenter and Teamcenter, is built to help companies like H2 Core Systems design and collaborate more efficiently; by allowing them to visualize the complete product in 3D and collaborate seamlessly with stakeholders from anywhere, on any device, they can make informed design changes before production starts, saving time and money. This speeds the development of new solutions, allows greater innovation and enables customization based on customer needs. Siemens’ technologies help them reduce complex steps and deliver sustainable energy systems quickly to communities that need them.”

H2 Core Systems has recently designed and built a completely autonomous energy system for an educational institution in Niger. The outcome is an autonomous, emission-free energy source in which solar power is used to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The green hydrogen generated is kept and is then able to be converted back into electricity if required, providing a self-sufficient, emissions-free power supply with no diesel, no shaky grids, and no long fossil fuel supply chains.

As per the head of mechanical engineering, H2 Core Systems, Thorsten Claussen, “By combining modular hydrogen energy systems with Siemens’ advanced software and automation hardware, we can continue to deliver sustainable energy solutions worldwide, quickly adapting to customer needs and scaling our impact. We use Designcenter X Solid Edge to fully digitize our dynamic product and production planning. Thanks to the innovative solutions for distributed teams and high variability, we can significantly accelerate our development processes and production preparations and thus considerably reduce the time-to-market of our hydrogen-based energy systems.”

The post Hydrogen Energy Systems with Siemens Xcelerator Platform first appeared on Hydrogen Informs.

This announcement comes after a Strategic Roadmap Review issued in March 2026 which concentrated on establishing the path for industrial-scale development and commercialization of SOEC technology in light of the difficult market prospects for clean hydrogen in key markets.

In the future, the company will take a look at commercialising the SOEC and derived technologies via important partnerships, targeted development initiatives, and by proving system and value chain performance and reliability by means of demonstration projects.

Topsoe will also showcase commercial-scale manufacturing capacities from its manufacturing facility based at Herning, Denmark, after which the plant will be hibernated up until demand is sufficiently high.

All near-term SOEC manufacturing operations are going to be performed in Denmark. Consequently, the company will not pursue the previously announced plans to build another SOEC factory in the US.

The new strategic direction is towards a more focused power-to-X business. Topsoe plans to initiate an organisational restructuring, which is expected to affect about 440 positions globally with a continued focus on cost base reduction in today’s general unpredictability of the global market. This is expected to primarily affect the Power-to-X business, as well as other worldwide functions, especially in Denmark. This includes planned redundancies, offshoring, and vacant positions that are not to be filled.

Topsoe will now enter into an information and consultation procedure with appropriate employee representatives in Denmark and notify employees before the end of May 2026 in accordance with Danish legal requirements.

The restructuring is expected to result in cost savings of DKK 450-550 million on a yearly basis when fully executed. A one-off restructuring cost, including the impairment of Power-to-X assets, is expected in the price range of DKK 3,500 – 3,900 million. The impairment and restructuring costs are anticipated to be booked as distinct items, mostly in the financial statements for the first half of 2026.

Topsoe has kept its full-year revenue guidance unchanged at DKK 7,600-8,400 million. The EBIT before special items margin guidance is changed to 4.0-9.0% from 0.0 to 5.0%.

According to the CEO of Topsoe, Elena Scaltritti, “The slower than expected development in targeted clean hydrogen markets, combined with global market uncertainty and general hesitation in the markets we serve, means that we must respond actively to stay profitable and competitive. Unfortunately, we expect that this will impact many dedicated and talented colleagues who have made significant contributions to our company. It is a tough but necessary decision to strengthen our position in the new market reality. Our commitment to being a technology leader in the energy transition remains. We will continue to prove the SOEC technology, progress its performance and align our investments with market development. We believe that e-fuels will be essential for a resilient, sustainable future, and our technology can be a strong enabler for that already capable of delivering 30 percent more hydrogen for the same amount of scarce, valuable renewable energy input.”

The post Topsoe Alters Development and Commercialization of SOEC first appeared on Hydrogen Informs.

The Kalla Test Center is a pilot-scale hydrogen production facility from Fortum for testing of hydrogen technologies in real operational conditions. Until 2028 the site will be a platform for operational know-how, technology validation, along with future project development.

Kalla is one of the first hydrogen sites in the Nordics for evaluating two different electrolyser technologies simultaneously. The facility has two different electrolyser systems in operation, one from Stargate Hydrogen.

The project involves an investment of €20 million in construction as well as operational stages. Site preparation for the ~2 MW hydrogen production facility started in autumn 2024, with construction starting in summer 2025. The first hydrogen was made in commissioning in December 2025, and the site is anticipated to be completely operational in the summer of 2026.

The inauguration is a significant achievement for Stargate Hydrogen. Successful installation of the electrolyser technology of the company at Kalla is a clear demonstration of its preparedness for industrial uses and strategic energy initiatives throughout Europe.

According to the CEO of Stargate Hydrogen, Marko Virkebau, “The inauguration of the Kalla Test Center proves that Stargate Hydrogen has reached the maturity level required to be trusted by large industries. “Delivering this project together with Fortum shows that our technology and our team are ready to support the growing hydrogen economy in the Nordics and beyond.”

Fortum’s Kalla Test Center is the first move towards gaining real-world expertise in hydrogen production as well as industrial decarbonisation.

Remarks the Vice President, P2X & Project Execution at Fortum, Satu Sipola, “At Kalla, we are building the practical experience needed to develop hydrogen solutions. This step-by-step approach is essential to ensure both technical readiness and commercial viability, and Stargate Hydrogen tech demonstrated a high level of reliability and professionalism from start to finish.”

The post Fortum Starts Kalla Test Center with Stargate Hydrogen Tech first appeared on Hydrogen Informs.

The agreement combines complementary skills in vessel ownership, fuel cell propulsion, and ship design as well as marine technology to push hydrogen as a viable marine fuel for harbor operations.

According to ABS Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Patrick Ryan, “ABS is uniquely positioned to support this promising pilot. Our Singapore office is one of our largest, reflecting years of investment to deliver advanced technology and engineering services and survey operations in the Pacific. This concentration of capability in Singapore makes ABS a true innovation teammate for a project of this ambition. We look forward to working with Marinteknik, SeaTech, VINSSEN and the MPA to help prove out hydrogen fuel cell technology as a viable pathway for harbor craft and the broader maritime industry.”

Senior Director, Innovation, Technology and Talent Development/Chief Transformation Officer, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Ng Yi Han opined that “The Port of Singapore is home to about 1,600 harbor craft. Decarbonising the fleet requires solutions that can meet different vessel types and operating profiles. MPA is working with ABS and industry partners to develop and pilot new technologies under this project. These efforts will build capabilities and support the adoption of practical, lower-emission solutions across the sector.”

Phase one will see the consortium conduct desktop studies on the feasibility of establishing a hydrogen-powered harbor craft in Singapore, including vessel concept design, design evaluation along with optimisation, techno-economic analysis, risk assessment and mitigation, and commercial viability for wider adoption. Depending on the results from phase one, phase two could involve building the ship and conducting sea trials.

As per the general manager of Marinteknik, Alex Wong, “Having delivered two fully electric harbor crafts, Marinteknik is thrilled to embark on this milestone project: the first hydrogen-powered vessel for the Singapore maritime sector. We are conducting in-depth studies with local harbor craft operators, analysing their specific operating profiles and requirements so that we can tailor our vessel’s design to meet the practical, real-world demands of the industry.”

Vice President Technology, SeaTech, Prabjot Singh Chopra, remarked that “Through this collaboration, we look forward to working closely with our partners to optimise vessel design, integrate hydrogen fuel cell systems safely and in full compliance, and enhance operational efficiency. This project marks a significant milestone in sustainable maritime solutions, and we are proud to contribute to Singapore’s decarbonization efforts and the broader global energy transition.”

“At VINSSEN, we deliver hydrogen fuel cell systems paired with battery solutions through our integrated power management system – i-PMS, enabling optimized performance, efficiency and operational reliability. We believe hydrogen fuel cell harbor craft pilot study will serve as a meaningful reference for the wider adoption of hydrogen-powered vessels across the region and beyond,” said the CEO of VINSSEN, Chilhan Lee.

It is worth noting that the Singapore office of ABS is home to the global ABS Electrification Center, which supports and explores batteries as well as hybrid energy sources, and the ABS Singapore Innovation and Research Center. It is also one of the global operations centres of ABS that is focused on expanding remote survey capabilities and one of the five global ABS sustainability centres, which offers full sustainability solutions to the marine and offshore clients.

The post Hydrogen Fuel Cell Harbor Craft Pilot Launched in Singapore first appeared on Hydrogen Informs.

Strategic Research Talks in Hamburg

Rather than signing papers on the spot, the two sides spent their time rolling up their sleeves together, looking at ongoing projects and planning joint grant proposals. They brainstormed new alloy nanoparticles for faster oxygen reduction, refined ideas for high-performance membrane electrode assemblies, and also defined durability tests that simulate real-world cycles.

They even surveyed demo sites across the Rhine and back in Yamanashi prefecture, working through permits and transport logistics along with regulatory hurdles. Hamburg showcased its big guns, such as transmission electron microscopy – TEM and synchrotron-based X-ray spectroscopy, while the Yamanashi team exhibited its proficiency in the fields of atomic layer deposition along with scalable catalyst synthesis.

Fuel Cell Nanomaterials and Hydrogen for Next-Generation

Nanostructured materials are key to enhancing fuel cell technology. By dialling in particle size, composition and support frameworks, researchers can nearly halve precious-metal loadings and ramp up catalytic activity. Yamanashi’s team has been developing carbon-supported platinum alloys via controlled porosity in order to enhance mass transport and stable behaviour under dynamic loads. Meanwhile, Hamburg’s group has developed in situ electrochemical cells that enable one to watch catalyst degradation unfold, giving clues to how to extend the lifetime of a cell. Bringing together these skills goes on to build a more seamless highway from lab demos to commercial PEMFC stacks for transport and stationary applications alike.

Policy and economic factors

It’s not all about lab-bench wins, but policy push and public cash matter enormously. The Basic Hydrogen Strategy from Japan was initiated in 2014. It happens to have aggressive targets when it comes to cost-competitive green hydrogen and use of hydrogen fuel cells in vehicles, homes and factories. In Europe, Energiewende from Germany and the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking – H2ME have been pouring money into refuelling stations and demo fleets. This new research partnership takes advantage of those programs in order to support high-risk, high-reward R&D within nanomaterials for cleaner industry.

Continuing a Partnership Tradition

Universities in Japan and Germany have been working together for decades on catalyst screening and membrane studies, making this meet-up more of a sequel than a start-up. Yamanashi is a pioneer in fuel cells, which was founded in 1949, and Hamburg’s chemistry department is a hotbed of materials science breakthroughs, which includes work on hydrogen infrastructure along with sustainable fuel cell systems. Now they are looking at student exchanges, joint doctoral programs, and shared pilot-scale testbeds so as to keep that collaborative engine running.

Potential effects and next steps

This partnership could significantly shorten the time to market for advanced PEMFCs if it takes off. One should look out for co-authored papers and harmonised testing protocols along with pilot demonstrators highlighting novel catalyst designs. Both sides will form steering committees so as to set research objectives, determine intellectual property regulations and also look out for funding from NEDO of Japan and the European Research Council – ERC.

Problems? Lab methods will need to be scaled, materials shipped across international borders, and different funding timelines balanced, all of which will keep project managers on top of their game.

Mobilisation of Funding and Networks

Making this partnership work is about matching grant calls, aligning budgets and also building institutional mojo. The teams are getting ready for Horizon Europe green hydrogen calls and are writing mirror proposals for NEDO. The winning of those multi-million-euro awards could well go on to cover every stage, right from catalyst recipes to stack prototypes.

They will also tap networks such as the Joint Programming Initiative on Climate – JPI Climate – and the German-Japanese Center for Industrial Cooperation in order to fill the gaps in policy and the private sector. The goal is to attract EU structural funds and also corporate backers in autos and energy.

Industry & Student Engagement

This is not just professors exchanging white papers, but the graduate students get in on the fun, too. Doctoral candidates will rotate through labs in Hamburg so as to get hands-on experience with operando spectroscopy while spending time in Yamanashi, learning how to fabricate catalysts at scale. Meanwhile, industry partners, right from fuel cell stack integrators to electrolyser manufacturers, will be part of advisory boards in order to ensure research remains rooted in real-world needs.

Yamanashi and Hamburg could also benefit from early-stage tech spin-offs or licensing deals which go on to create jobs.

System-Level Integration from Lab to Demo

The real test is to plug those new catalysts into a full PEMFC system. The plans are to combine electrolyser work on the high-surface-area anodes with fuel cell stacks for integrated tests. Degradation rates will be studied in pilot-scale modules according to dynamic load cycles, temperature swings as well as start-stop protocols. These trials should identify good practices when it comes to membrane electrode assembly fabrication and early warning signs of malfunction.

This kind of a budding partnership, for those watching the drive toward zero-emission tech and sustainable energy, is a case study in how academic alliances can go ahead and de-risk breakthrough innovations. Pay attention to the jumps in catalyst performance, standardised testing playbooks, and the first gleaming demo units as standard proposals firm up and the pilot programs emerge. This partnership could as well just go on to pave the way for hydrogen production as well as hydrogen fuel cells’ future in a decarbonised world.

The post Germany, Japan Eye Fuel Cell Nanomaterials and Hydrogen Ties first appeared on Hydrogen Informs.

The Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement – KAIA under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport – MOLIT has chosen the company to work on the national R&D project – Development of Liquid Hydrogen Storage Tanks and Loading/Unloading System Technologies.

Hyundai E&C will build big tanks for storing liquid hydrogen as part of this project. The goal of the project is to make sure that key lifecycle infrastructure technologies for storing, moving, and handling liquid hydrogen at receiving terminals are safe and ready to be used when the hydrogen economy grows in the future.

The project is especially important because it is the first step toward improving the first flat-bottom liquid hydrogen storage tank technology in Korea. It will also help create the technology needed for future large-scale storage systems that have capacities of 4,000 m³ and 50,000 m³.

The government is putting in about KRW 29 billion into the project, which will last from April 2026 to December 2029.

Hyundai E&C will work with 14 partners from business, academia, and research, such as the Korea Gas Corporation – KOGAS, the Korea Gas Technology Corporation, and the Korea Gas Safety Corporation, to design, build, demonstrate, and run the liquid hydrogen storage tanks.

To make liquid hydrogen, hydrogen gas must be cooled to -253°C, which turns it into a liquid. The storage tanks for liquid hydrogen also need advanced thermal insulation design along with construction skills so as to keep the hydrogen at cryogenic temperatures. In Korea, for the first time, a flat-bottom cylindrical type structure will be used for LNG storage to increase storage space, and that too in a stable way.

The project will improve the performance of storage tanks while also focusing on reducing boil-off gas and securing safety technologies by way of construction and demonstration operation of a 200 m³ class storage tank.

This will be done by –

– Creating and standardizing a physical property database for metallic materials,

– Developing structural and high-performance thermal insulation design technologies,

– Acquiring structural, flow, and heat transfer analysis technologies, and

– Setting design standards, the project is going to enhance the storage tank’s performance while at the same time decreasing the boil-off gas and also secure safety tech via construction as well as demonstration functioning of a 200 m³ class storage tank.

MOLIT wants to use the results of this national research and development project to help with future scale-up designs and the building of liquid hydrogen terminals as well as the sale of storage facilities.

A Hyundai E&C official said that the hydrogen markets in the US and around the world have been growing quickly in recent years, but liquid hydrogen technology, which is one of the key technologies needed to speed up the shift to a hydrogen economy, is still in its early stages.

The official added that if the flat-bottom storage tank is successfully developed by means of this national R&D project, it is expected to help not only make the liquid hydrogen sector more self-sufficient in terms of technology, which has long relied on technology from other countries, but also make hydrogen infrastructure and plant projects more competitive.

Hyundai E&C, which built Korea’s first commercial hydrogen production plant based on water electrolysis in Buan, is also getting more involved in the overall hydrogen value chain. The company is working on a number of hydrogen infrastructure projects, which include showing off Korea’s first 100 kW class high-temperature water electrolysis system module and making the master plan for the Uljin Hydrogen City development project, as well as showing how to make clean hydrogen linked to nuclear power plants at the 10 MW class.

The company is also doing everything it can to become the leader in the hydrogen sector as a future clean energy source. It is doing this by strengthening its collaborative framework in connection with the HTWO business of Hyundai Motor Group.

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