HYDROGEN MARKET

Hydrogen market | Basics What is Hydrogen? The dihydrogen H2 molecule, made up of two hydrogen atoms, is commonly called “hydrogen” and was discovered in 1766 by the British physicist Cavendish. Under normal conditions of temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless and odorless gas but also the lightest element of the periodic table. It is soluble in water up to 1.6 mg/L at 21 °C. Fluid group: 1 Boiling point: -252,879 °C Melting point: -259,2 °C Density (at STP): 0,08988 g/L It is the simplest member of the family of chemical elements and the most abundant one in the universe (main element...

Hydrogen market | Basics Here, we won’t talk about Hydrogen as an energy by itself but rather as an energy vector, which is a fundamental aspect to have in mind when thinking about the usage of this gas. If we take the example of the mobility, the gaseous hydrogen alone won’t make the trucks, buses or cars move, as the energy needed and used will still be electricity. Instead, hydrogen’s special abilities will be used to store this same energy - which is impossible with electricity alone - to be able to use it at a later stage, in Fuel Cells Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) for instance. Therefore,...

Hydrogen market | Basics The production of hydrogen: opportunities and weaknesses of a new industrial ecosystem Hydrogen is produced by the separation of chemical elements of which the H atom is a component and by the mobilization of an energy source. The different ways of producing hydrogen are classified by colors and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) gives the following list: Natural state Electrolysis with electricity coming from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) Thermal splitting of methane pyrolysis (CO2 produced is solid and not gaseous) Hydrogen produced from different processes...

Hydrogen market | Basics While the two precedents are quite easy to understand, electrolysis process is more complicated and we need to focus on how it works. While there are more and more types of electrolysis being developped, two models are commonly differentiated: alkaline electrolyser and proton exchange membrane (PEM). The creation process of hydrogen (or, more precisely, a mix of hydrogen and oxygen) is slightly different from one type to another but it is commonly accepted that: - The electrolyzer is composed of a membrane or a diaphragm in the center, surrounded by two electrodes (1x...

Hydrogen market | Basics Hydrogen currently has multiple challenges that may hinder the fulfilment of its potential High cost and low infrastructure levels Beyond the difficult comparaison that we can try to make between the production costs of fossil fuels and low -carbon hydrogen through time, other equipments related to low-carbon hydrogen are currently still more expensive than the ones used for fossil fuels. Storage tanks and fuel cells (although more efficient than combustion engines) are for instance more expensive. But most of the cost increase will come with the mandatory development...

Hydrogen market | Basics Opportunities and potential for OMEGA AIR OMEGA AIR’s opportunities in the H2 market lie in the facts that it holds very strong arguments to sustain its development of purification units for hydrogen. First of all and although some efforts still need to be done around customer’s education and training, it is becoming clear for most of the actors of the hydrogen industry that purification is much needed in the production process. This conclusion came as much from pre-studies than from experience, as many installations without purification systems have now H2O content problems...

Hydrogen market | Basics While the first column is in drying mode, the second column is being regenerated by circulating hydrogen in a closed loop. An electric blower then circulates the gas in a closed loop while electric heater heats up the H2 up to temperature allowing to desorb the water from the adsorbent. A hot and humid H2 leaves the column and enters a water cooled heat exchanger, where intensive condensation occurs as a result of cooling. The condensed water is separated from circulating stream of H2 in a demister and discharged from the system via liquid level controlled condensate...

Hydrogen market | Basics tachment 4: Status quo purification vs. New H2-DRY XD purification system OVERALL ELECTROLYSER EFFICIENCY STATUS QUO PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY (approx. 2% Hydrogen losses) H2-DRY XD PURIFICATION SYSTEM (Zero Hydrogen losses) 2 % HIGHER OVERALL EFFICIENCY DUE TO PURIFICATION WITHOUT LOSSES In OMEGA AIR, we decided to develop a taylor-made purification solution dedicated only to Hydrogen and launched the first 100 % ZeroLoss Hydrogen Purification system with the idea of a complete “all-in-one” solution for purification of hydrogen within electrolyser hydrogen production applications....

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