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03 Comment
04 The journey to a hydrogen future
The pathway to 2030 is set to be one of decisive action
for the hydrogen economy, Manish Patel, Air Products, UK,
explains.
08 The reality of building a green hydrogen
plant
Brenor Brophy, Plug Power, USA, looks back at valuable
lessons learnt from commissioning and building a green
hydrogen plant and reviews how they can be applied to
future projects.
14 Turning waste into hydrogen: a new path
towards emissions reduction
Uwe Wagner, Endress+Hauser, Switzerland, introduces a
new method of hydrogen production using thermal waste
treatment and outlines the metrological challenges that
must be overcome in the process.
19 Feel the force
Brian Peters, Interface, explores how force measurement
sensors can make production, storage and monitoring
solutions for hydrogen more efficient.
23 Solving the paradox
Carbon capture requires significant energy input,
generating more carbon and creating a new problem.
Janka O’Brien, Emerson, UAE, explains how advanced
automation technology will play a major role in helping to
solve this.
28 Pushing the boundaries
Dr Peter Geiser, Dr Viacheslav Avetisov and Ove Bjorøy,
NEO Monitors, Norway, examine how tunable diode
laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) can aid industrial
decarbonisation by pushing the limits of hydrogen
measurement.
This month's front cover
A revolution in converting waste to sustainable energy
With the help of reliable process measurement devices and support from Endress+Hauser, the new
Wildfire Energy pilot plant is successfully showcasing the viability of hydrogen and syngas production from
biomass and residual waste. Find out more, starting on p. 14.
Join the conversation
follow
@Hydrogen_Review
Winter 2023 Volume 2 Number 7 ISSN 2977-1927
34 The transformative role of tunable diode
laser spectroscopy
Frederic Thielland, David Janssens and Sebastian Fischer,
Siemens, Germany, outline the benefits of using tunable
diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS) in green hydrogen
production plants.
38 Focusing on oxygen in hydrogen analysis
A. Kigel and A. Shats, Modcon Systems, UK, reveal how
advances in in-situ analysis are resulting in precise oxygen
monitoring in hydrogen production.
44 Safety without compromise
Andrzej Janowski, MSA Safety, examines workplace safety
risks and challenges posed when producing, handling,
transporting and storing hydrogen.
48 Clearing the fog
Dinesh Pattabiraman and Manish Verma, TMEIC Corp.
Americas, USA, address the impact that power supply can
have on the cost and efficiency of electrolytic hydrogen
production.
53 Charged up
Nora Han, ABB System Drives, Switzerland, outlines the
importance of efficient power supply in green hydrogen
production.
57 Hydrogen’s marine fuel potential
Adoption of hydrogen as a marine fuel is still in its early
stages but the opportunity to support shipping’s net-zero
journey is clear. Panos Koutsourakis, ABS, explores how
hydrogen can fulfil its potential role.
60 News
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owner. All views expressed in this journal are those of
the respective contributors and are not necessarily the
like join opinions of the publisher, neither do the publishers
endorse any of the claims made in the articles or the
@HydrogenReview Global Hydrogen Review advertisements.
Decarbonization Solutions for
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www.globalhydrogenreview.com
H
ydrogen was under the spotlight during the recent COP28 conference,
held in Dubai, UAE. For the first time, countries agreed on the need to
“transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems”, and there was a call
for an acceleration of zero- and low-emission technologies, including
low-carbon hydrogen production. A suite of flagship initiatives were launched with
the intention of commercialising hydrogen and to unlock the socio-economic
benefits of cross-border value chains for hydrogen and its derivatives.
One of these initiatives was the intergovernmental ‘Declaration of Intent
on Mutual Recognition of Certification Schemes for Hydrogen and Hydrogen
Derivatives’, which was launched by more than 30 countries. Endorsers of the
declaration seek to work toward mutual recognition of hydrogen certification
schemes to help facilitate a global market. The declaration covers over 80% of the
future market in hydrogen and its derivatives.
Other initiatives launched during the conference included ISO methodology
providing a global benchmark for greenhouse gas emissions assessment of hydrogen
pathways on a life-cycle analysis basis, and a Public-Private Action Statement on
cross-border trade corridors in hydrogen and derivatives in partnership with the
International Hydrogen Trade Forum (IHTF) and the Hydrogen Council.
The initiatives were launched at the COP28 Presidency’s High-Level
Roundtable on Hydrogen, which was attended by over two dozen ministerial
officials of the prospective hydrogen importing and exporting countries.
A delegation of top executives from 15 industrial leaders in hydrogen (members
of the Hydrogen Council) were also present at the roundtable. Executives from
Air Liquide, Air Products, Baker Hughes, Chart Industries, InterContinental Energy,
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Linde, Topsoe and others outlined their significant
investments in the sector, and called for incentives and clear regulation to help
advance the industry.
Dr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA),
noted that the initiatives launched during COP28 can be a “vital catalyst for
accelerating clean energy transitions.” Meanwhile, Gerd Müller, Director General of
the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), praised the work
carried out during the conference to advance clean hydrogen as the fuel of the
future, arguing that “a just, low carbon hydrogen transition needs all of us to work
together, share our knowledge and resources.”
In this issue of Global Hydrogen Review, we share the expertise of a number
of industry leaders who are helping to advance the hydrogen revolution. As you
read through this issue, you will discover lessons learnt from the commissioning and
building of a green hydrogen plant, a new method of hydrogen production using
thermal waste treatment, the important role of advanced automation, and the
impact that power supply can have on hydrogen production, plus much more.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who joined us for
the third edition of our Global Hydrogen Conference back in November. The event
was a great success, with around 1300 professionals from 95 countries registering
to attend. I hope that you found the series of expert presentations insightful and
informative. Stay tuned for more information about the fourth edition of the
conference, coming next year.
4
 The pathway to 2030 is set to
be one of decisive action for the
hydrogen economy, Manish Patel,
Air Products, UK, explains.

T
he need to transition away from fossil fuels has
been pressing for some time, but the global
energy crisis is a driver that will accelerate the
role of hydrogen in energy security, as well as
decarbonisation.
The most efficient low-carbon hydrogen production
pathway varies according to the availability of renewable
energy sources and the capability of the existing infrastructure
around the world. In regions where there is limited availability
of renewable energy, such as North West Europe, providing
reliable green hydrogen at scale can be achieved by the use of
imported renewables, as well as local electrolysis operated on
renewable power when available.
There can be no doubt that hydrogen will play a crucial
role in decarbonising energy supply to industry. It is already
widely used as a process gas, from metal processing to
chemical production and glass manufacturing. Attention
must now turn to how hydrogen’s potential as a low-carbon
energy source can be unlocked and how its ability to
decarbonise many more hard to abate sectors can be
utilised.
So far, progress has been made, but it also needs to be
financially viable. Financial support for hydrogen must be
technology agnostic. End users, i.e. industry, should decide
on the most efficient production pathways to ensure the
most appropriate infrastructure is built for their needs.
This will avoid leaving the UK’s industry with inefficient
infrastructure once subsidies stop. In short, narrow
production pathways risk leaving UK industry with a higher
cost base for hydrogen than countries who are technology
agnostic. This would, in turn, weaken the UK’s position on an
international market.
By combining domestically produced and imported
renewable energy to produce green hydrogen, there is an
opportunity to propel the international hydrogen economy
forward and build a globally-viable market more quickly. To
deliver, there are three core areas that require immediate
attention: supply, infrastructure, and market support.

5
 Energy security and the global
market
Consider the UK market as an example. Meeting the UK’s
net zero ambitions will mean relying on a secure and diverse
energy mix, for which all technologies will need to play a
role. Green hydrogen produced with renewable ammonia
can support the UK to decarbonise, while local electrolyser
capacity can be established in parallel. However, it is worth
noting that local production of renewable energy will always
bring challenges as the UK does not have an abundance of
wind and solar. Hydrogen plays an important role, not just as
a strategic clean energy reserve, but as a product to generate
economic growth for the country.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said
the UK needs to be noted as a ‘world leader’ in investigating
the use of hydrogen for a range of functions.¹ Recognising
the opportunity, the UK government has set accelerated
ambitions to grow the hydrogen market, including by using
imports. In its ‘Hydrogen Strategy Update’ in July 2023, it set
out a commitment to define a hydrogen standard and create
a certification scheme by 2025, to ensure that high quality
hydrogen, whether imported or locally produced, meets the
same high standards. The results of this consultation will
undoubtedly unlock opportunities for the hydrogen economy
to grow.
Figure 1. A CGI of Air Products’ proposed green hydrogen production facility in
Immingham, UK (for illustrative purposes only).
Figure 2. Heavy goods vehicles are particularly suited to be fuelled by hydrogen.
6 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
How the production pathway works
Air Products’ three proposed hydrogen energy import
terminals in Europe in Immingham, UK; Hamburg, Germany;
and Rotterdam, the Netherlands, are examples of how
renewable energy could be received and used to produce
green hydrogen in large, reliable quantities, providing a
secure baseload to specific geographies.
The detail behind these proposed import terminals is
interesting. In the UK, Air Products and Associated British
Ports (ABP) are proposing to bring a new green hydrogen
facility to the Port of Immingham, based on imported
renewable energy. The scheme would supplement another
Air Products initiative to develop the UK’s largest blue
hydrogen cluster in the same area, making Immingham
a major new location in the UK for low-carbon energy
production, businesses, and jobs.
The green hydrogen terminals would receive the
renewable energy, in the form of ammonia, by ship. The
ammonia would be kept refrigerated at -32°C so that it is a
liquid, making it easier to transport. From the very large gas
carrier (VLGC), it would be pumped into a very large tank
and from there, as needed, into the hydrogen production
facility. The ammonia molecules would be split into nitrogen
and hydrogen. The hydrogen gas produced would then be
purified and transferred via pipe to the hydrogen liquefier
unit. In this unit, the hydrogen would be
refrigerated into a liquid to make it easier
to store and transport by road tanker to
hydrogen refuelling stations around the
country, or directly to industry.
The ambition is that these terminals will
store the renewable energy which will be
used as feedstock to produce hydrogen:
domestic renewable hydrogen. This
approach will complement and encourage
production based on domestic renewable
energy. However, hydrogen production
based on imported renewable energy
has the advantage of providing a reliable
source of green hydrogen independent
of domestic weather patterns and, if
approved, these facilities would go some
way to alleviating supply issues in the
hydrogen market.
This is truly a step-change: if these
projects are approved, they will be creating
a new, global renewable energy supply
chain, moving renewable energy from
where it is produced to where it is needed.
‘Hydrogen hubs’ are also developing
across the globe, responding to the
accelerating demand for clean and secure
energy to meet climate objectives and
the need to diversify energy sources.
Air Products’ terminals can play a vital role
in these hubs – specifically the company’s
plans to build the country’s first large-scale,
renewable energy import terminal in the
Port of Hamburg with Mabanaft. The
terminal’s location offers strategic access
to renewable ammonia from facilities such
as NEOM and could provide hydrogen to
Germany by 2026.
Elsewhere in Europe, Air Products and
Gunvor Petroleum Rotterdam have also
signed a joint development agreement
for an import terminal in Rotterdam.
The import terminal could provide green
hydrogen to the Netherlands from 2026
onwards.

What needs to happen

now?
The UK government has been at the
forefront of developing a decarbonisation
roadmap but other countries are now
catching up. There is a risk that the UK
could be left behind as companies choose
to invest in countries with favourable
policies. Distinguishing between conceptual
Figure 3. Hydrogen fuelling demonstrated at Air Products’ refuelling station at
projects (with target pricing) and actual
Heathrow, UK.
projects (post financial investment
decision [FID]) is also important. Failure to do so is leading to
off-takers delaying signing up to real projects.
Globally, Air Products is investing more than US$15 billion
in actual projects that will be onstream by 2027, such as the
NEOM project in Saudi Arabia. The company also aims to drive
the decision forward for a green energy import terminal and
associated domestic hydrogen production in Immingham. This
facility would create 1400 direct jobs and deliver £4.6 billion in
financial benefits for a key levelling up area.
The role of hydrogen for transport should also not be
forgotten. Air Products operates several hydrogen refuelling
stations in the UK. Existing (and future) stations need green
hydrogen to support transport decarbonisation, which could
be brought from Immingham.
In the future, local production with domestically produced
renewables at scale can be viable. However, this is decades
away and the decarbonisation of hard to abate industries
needs to be kickstarted by offering reliable green hydrogen
now. The technology exists today, however there are a
number of significant barriers that need addressing. Heavy
industry requires a large scale, reliable supply of hydrogen
which will be difficult to develop under current policy.
Clearer policy needs to be seen on green and blue hydrogen
to de-risk private sector investment.
It will be many years before local renewable energy
sources are sufficiently established and can provide a reliable
supply. The reality is that subsidising local electrolytic and
not subsidising imported renewables, risks favouring small
scale intermittent supply at the expense of larger scale
constant green supply sources which are more suited for
those industries that are hard to abate.
There is an urgent need to fix this cycle, with demand for
renewable energy in the near and medium-term set to grow
rapidly. Local economies need guidance and support to help
overcome the key barriers to investment in infrastructure
fuel: high upfront costs and uncertain financial returns in an
emerging market means that there is hesitation to begin the
journey to decarbonisation.
The government has two options to ensure targets for
emissions reductions are met: mandate the use of only
low-carbon fuels or provide enough support mechanisms
to encourage early take up. That support has to be directed
to at-scale supply of low-carbon energy to ensure value
for money and the largest environmental benefit for every
pound spent. For fuel switching, there needs to be support in
the early days, particularly in modifying equipment to ensure
the quality of the end product is not affected.
The pathway ahead
Generating a cleaner future requires experience, investment,
and innovation on a world scale. To drive this forward,
experts need to be called upon to showcase the latest
technology, provide the capital, and deliver on the ambition
to bring the hydrogen economy to scale. This includes
export-driven projects in regions of the world where the
conditions favour the generation of the renewable energy
needed for the production of green hydrogen.
Collaboration and support across industry and government
is required to ensure that investment is encouraged, and
hydrogen is available at scale. By producing and distributing
renewable and low-carbon hydrogen solutions for use in
heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles, industrial applications, and
energy storage, the energy transition can accelerate.
Deadlines are upon us, and the challenge ahead is all
too real. However, with greater collaboration between
governments, producers, OEMs and industry operators,
hydrogen can – and will – provide a critical part of the
solution. The goal on the pathway to 2030 remains the same
– to minimise carbon emissions, reduce reliance on finite
resources, and allow diversification of energy sources. The
journey to a hydrogen future is well underway.
Reference
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-security-
bill-factsheets/energy-security-bill-factsheet-enabling-the-
hydrogen-village-trial.

Winter 2023 GlobalHydrogenReview.com 7

 Brenor Brophy, Plug Power, USA, looks back at valuable lessons
learnt from commissioning and building a green hydrogen plant
and reviews how they can be applied to future projects.
R
enewables are now the least expensive way
to produce energy, putting the dream of a
cost-effective, carbon-free, energy-dense
molecule within striking distance.
Many companies across industries are now looking
at producing green hydrogen. Demand for electrolysers,
or even full-scale electrolytic hydrogen plants, is actively
increasing. The problem is that few companies know what
it takes to get a project done – especially at commercial
scale.
There is a lot of excitement surrounding the potenital
of green hydrogen for decarbonising fertilizers, refineries,
mobility/transportation sectors, and more. However, such
projects are often complicated. Because Plug has built a
liquid green hydrogen plant at scale, it is in a good position
to inform those interested just what it takes to get it done.
8
At 45 MW, Plug’s new 17 tpd green gaseous and liquid
hydrogen plant in Camden County, Georgia, US, is not only
currently the largest green hydrogen plant in North America,
it is also the largest operational proton exchange membrane
(PEM) plant in the world. This is a title that the plant is unlikely to
hold for long, as Plug and other companies have larger projects
in the works. However, as the first of a new generation of PEM
electrolysis plants to reach commissioning and production, it is
helpful to look back on the lessons learnt and discuss how these
can be applied to future projects.
Two plants in one
The Georgia plant is in fact two plants in one: a 5 MW gaseous
plant capable of producing 2 tpd of hydrogen at 550 bar and an
additional 40 MW liquid hydrogen plant. The smaller plant was
built first, both to provide an early cycle of learning with the
PEM electrolyser equipment, and as a valuable production plant
to service gaseous customers in the southeast region. Plug called
this small, self-contained plant, ‘Pathfinder’, which was its main
function during the debugging and tuning of the first single-skid
5 MW PEM electrolyser produced. This allowed the larger liquid
plant to start construction with a significantly more mature base
technology.
The liquid plant is comprised of eight of the same 5 MW PEM
electrolyser skids used in Pathfinder. These modules are housed
in a single building that provides shelter, ventilation, and other
critical safety systems.
Upstream of the electrolyser building, the electrical
infrastructure includes eight 5 MW transformer rectifiers
packaged in 40 ft containers, an e-house holding medium-voltage
switchgear and motor controllers, and a small substation that
interfaces to the 115 kV transmission voltage supply to the site.
Downstream of the electrolysers is a pressure swing absorption
(PSA) stage to remove water and then a 15 tpd helium-cycle
hydrogen liquefaction plant. This plant is an evolved version
of the same plant that Plug has operated for several years
at its hydrogen facility in Tennessee, US. Two 90 000 gal.
liquid hydrogen storage tanks provide 48 t of storage, or
approximately three days of production. A common loading area
allows the filling of gaseous tube-trailers or liquid tankers.
Site selection and permitting
There are at least three considerations required before breaking
ground: site selection, due diligence, and obtaining the right
permits. In many locations, this will be a slow and arduous
journey.
For Plug’s first plant, the initial site selection criterion was
simply the southeastern US. The best locations for hydrogen
9
 plants are sited within a service territory defined by the distance a
truck can drive in 11 hours. In this case, the facility must serve all
of Florida. The final site was selected in Camden County, Georgia,
because it met the first criteria and had easy freeway access.
The local authorities in Camden County – in conjunction with
the local electric utility – were key to the project’s success. They
went above and beyond to win the project for their location. At
this stage, many battles are won or lost before they start, but this
project was one of the smoothest early-stage developments Plug
has completed to date.
While the people of Camden County could not have been
more welcoming, the soil of the county was a different story.
Like much of the area, the site had a high water-table and poorly
consolidated ground. This required a significant amount of civil
work to prepare the site for construction and then significant
piling and heavy foundation work.
From groundbreaking to production
Plug broke ground on the initial Pathfinder 5 MW gaseous plant
in early August 2021. While this plant occupies just a couple of
Figure 1. Plug’s Pathfinder plant has been producing up to 2.1 tpd of gaseous green hydrogen
since August 2022.
Figure 2. Eight 5 MW PEM electrolysers are installed for Phase 1.
10 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
acres in the northwest corner of the site, the site preparation
took place across the full site of approximately 20 acres. The
Pathfinder project, which included a single 5 MW electrolyser
skid in its own building and associated 5 MW transformer
rectifier, e-house, cooling tower, gas dryer skid and dual PDC
compressors, was declared mechanically complete in April 2022.
Development of the 5 MW electrolyser was completed at the
same time as construction of the Pathfinder project, so final
development, including controls integration of the equipment
was completed onsite. The first hydrogen gas was produced in
August 2022, one year after breaking ground.
The decision to build the smaller project first was a valuable
one. A good deal of the project was first of its kind, and
there were many obstacles and problems to understand and
overcome, but on a smaller scale they were more manageable
and less expensive to resolve. It enabled the larger project to
start from a far more mature equipment base, with a more
experienced commissioning and operations team.
The preliminary engineering study (FEED) for the larger liquid
plant kicked off in September 2021. This continued through the
winter while civil site preparation was
underway. The purpose of a FEED
study is to do enough engineering
to accurately cost and schedule
the project and to enable the start
of procurement on long lead-time
equipment. It also forms the basis for
the EPC contract bid and is the gate
to a final investment decision (FID).
The full EPC contract was awarded
in May 2022 and full construction
mobilised on the site the next month.
The plant produced its first gas in
August 2023. At the time of writing,
commissioning of the liquefaction
train is ongoing, with full production
expected before the end of 2023. The
development speed of this project
has been exceptional given that this
is the first large facility using the first
generation of large-scale electrolyser
equipment.
Plant design
The plant is designed around Plug’s
1 MW PEM electrolyser stack. The
decision to group them into 5 MW skids
was driven by availability of off-the-shelf
5 MW transformer rectifiers. This
equipment is essentially a solar inverter
converted for use as a rectifier. The
fact that thousands of these systems
have been deployed, and that there is
a robust and cost-engineered supply
chain, drove the decision to minimise
risk on a piece of equipment that has
historically been an Achilles’ heel for
electrolyser systems.
Much of the equipment on the
electrolyser skid, including the stacks,
 We understand how you aim to maintain operations

UPTIME
and power plant efficiency without process interruption.

+ LIFETIME You benefit from our expertise and obtain field-proven best practices
to make your power plant safe and efficient for the long term.

Endress+Hauser helps you to improve your processes:

• With innovative installation concepts executed during

operation to minimize downtime
• With experts to advise you from concept to commissioning
• With measurement technologies, accessories and mechanical
pre-assembled components to minimize outages

Do you want to learn more?

www.endress.com/power-energy
 are not designed for outdoor installation. The equipment must be
protected from freezing conditions and kept clean and dry. While
temperature extremes were not a primary concern at the location,
hurricanes, wind, and rain certainly were.
Plug needed a building to enclose and protect the electrolyser
skid. The presence of hydrogen within the stacks, pipes, and vessels
on the skid also meant that the area within the building had to
be ventilated sufficiently, and the ventilation interlocked with
hydrogen production to avoid classification as a hazardous area.
As a result, the building was an integral part of the plant safety
functions.
The size of the liquefaction train, rated at 15 tpd, drove the
grouping of eight skids to create a 40 MW plant. At 40 MW, the
electrolyser plant is slightly oversized with a nameplate capacity
of about 17 tpd. This excess capacity serves two purposes. First,
electrolyser stack efficiency increases as current-density reduces.
That means there is an optimal operation point that is a cost-per-kg
minimum for a given capital cost and energy cost. For this plant,
that point is about 86% of nameplate. Second, this also allows one
full skid to be offline for maintenance and for there to be sufficient
capacity in the remaining seven skids to keep the liquefaction plant
running at full capacity.
The basic decisions around plant architecture were made more
than two years ago. Since then, Plug has learnt a great deal over the
course of the project that has helped to refine the design of future
plants. Plug is also refining its own electrolysers based on the hard-
won experience of building a full-scale plant.
Over the last two years, the green hydrogen space has
accelerated, especially in the US. The passage of the Inflation
Reduction Act (IRA) and the introduction of the low-carbon
hydrogen production tax credit has lit a fire under hydrogen
development. This acceleration is probably best reflected in plant
scale. Today, Plug’s minimum plant size is 30 tpd and multiples of
that.
Capital cost structure considerations
The capital cost structure of the project looks like a typical gas or
chemical processing plant. Engineering, construction management,
and labour are more than half of the total invested capital.
The typical model of an EPC integrating many separate pieces
of equipment generates a huge amount of engineering and
construction.
Figure 3. Plug’s Georgia plant will produce 15 tpd of liquid green hydrogen by the end of 2023.
12 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
While this is not surprising, this cost structure is not sustainable
if green hydrogen is to become a truly renewable technology and
achieve the scale of deployment required to move away from
fossil fuels. It also means that when planning a green hydrogen
plant, the major cost driver is not the electrolyser equipment. The
engineering and construction costs are far more significant.
For Plug’s plant, the need for a building to house the
electrolyser skids drove the cost significantly. While
pre-engineered-metal-buildings are relatively low-cost, their
foundations, erection, and provision with electrical, ventilation,
fire-suppression, and other systems is a cascading series of costs
that was a significant piece of the overall budget.
Green hydrogen plants use a lot of energy – it is their main
feedstock. This means that even though this is a relatively small
facility compared to other industrial sites, it is still energy hungry.
Consequently, the upstream medium and high voltage equipment
was also a significant cost driver, with a considerable portion of
the site given over to switch stations, substations, transformers,
and switchgear.
Lessons learnt
These plants are complex, early learning is
critical
The smaller Pathfinder project was invaluable given the early stage
of the electrolyser equipment development. But it is an expensive
way to learn and only made sense for Plug as there was a market
need for gaseous hydrogen. The electrolyser equipment has
matured and Plug now offers a Basic Engineering Design Package
(BEDP) that provides the engineering and plant integration details
to allow a full plant FEED study to proceed quickly.
Electrolysers need to live outside
Equipment that is designed with its own all-weather enclosure and
that solves the hazardous area classification, ventilation and safety
issues within its own footprint is enormously valuable.
Scale matters
It is almost as difficult to build a small plant as it is to build a large
plant. Building at the largest scale possible helps amortise the costs,
effort, and time across the largest possible output and income.
There are huge cost savings
to be realised in equipment
integration
Fundamentally, plant engineering
is about the connections between
equipment. Encapsulating those
connections within the equipment can
vastly simplify the plant engineering and
subsequent construction. One of the
lessons of the renewable energy industry
is that highly integrated equipment,
manufactured in factories, drives
relentless cost reduction.
Today, hydrogen equipment is only
just starting down that path, but for
companies that are focused on making
green hydrogen a true renewable
technology, the path forward is clear.
Go Hydrogen.

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14
 T
he move towards zero-emissions energy generation is
Uwe Wagner, gaining importance within the context of climate change
Endress+Hauser, driven by human activities. Hydrogen is a vital energy
source in a renewable energy economy of the future:
Switzerland, introduces a it has the potential to replace fossil resources and fuels in the
new method of hydrogen medium to long-term, not only in the mining, minerals and
production using thermal metals industries, but also in transport. In addition to electrolysis
using renewable electricity – the standard process for producing
waste treatment and climate-neutral, ‘green’ hydrogen – other emissions-free or
outlines the metrological reduced-emissions methods of production could also have
a major impact in the future. Today, approximately 98% of
challenges that must be hydrogen is generated from fossil fuels, primarily through the
overcome in the process. steam reforming of natural gas (‘grey’ hydrogen).

15
 The thermal recycling of municipal waste (and similarly Alternative methods for thermal
composed waste) provides another possible source of waste treatment: waste-to-X
hydrogen. In 2022, over 2600 waste treatment plants were Alternative methods can be used either as a further
in operation worldwide with a capacity of approximately treatment stage in addition to combustion, or as a
460 million tpy.¹ Up until now, this sector has been stand-alone process. Examples include thermochemical
dominated by traditional incineration processes that fully processes such as pyrolysis and gasification: in this case,
utilise the energy content of the largely organic waste to the feedstock is not fully oxidised, but partially converted
generate electricity and/or heat. Given that, according to a to liquid and/or gaseous components (‘synthesis gas’
forecast by the World Bank, the global volume of waste will or ‘syngas’) at temperatures of up to 1200 °C.⁴,⁵ These
continue to grow significantly from today’s approximate components can then be thermally recycled or separated
2.1 billion tpy to 3.4 billion tpy in 2050, alternative and used for secondary purposes, for example as a raw
treatment processes, which should ensure more efficient material in the chemical industry or as a fuel in transport –
recycling of the waste and therefore a reduction in the the hydrogen separated from the syngas can be used as a
landfill space required, are coming to the fore.² The reason fuel for fuel cell vehicles, for example. While conventional
for this is that the methane emissions from landfilled incineration processes focus primarily on the generation
organic waste – about 25 times more harmful to the of electrical energy (waste-to-energy [WtE]), a broader
climate than CO2 – contribute significantly to the warming range of valuable end products can therefore be produced
of the earth’s atmosphere. While 100% of municipal using alternative processes. Therefore, we generally speak
waste is thermally treated in Switzerland today, and only of ‘waste-to-X’ (WtX) solutions in this case or, if the focus
the residues that remain after incineration and cannot is mainly on hydrogen production, of ‘waste-to-hydrogen’
be used for other purposes are landfilled, the dumping (WtH).
of untreated waste is still widespread in developing and The aim of using alternative waste treatment
emerging countries. Approximately one seventh of global technologies is to achieve higher energy efficiencies,
methane emissions can be traced back to landfill.³ higher-quality conversion products and/or lower emissions
than would be achievable by
simply incinerating the feedstock.
For example, in terms of the
energy balance, a WtH process
must therefore be more efficient
than electricity generation from
a traditional incineration plant
and subsequent electrolysis.
These requirements generally call
for significantly more complex,
and therefore cost-intensive,
plant technology compared
to conventional combustion.
Although they have been tested
for approximately 50 years
already, alternative methods
Figure 1. Simplified illustration of the MIHG process. Copyright: Wildfire. have only become established
under special conditions, in Japan
for example.⁵ However, stricter
climate protection regulations and
increasing landfill costs could also
be expected to lead to a change
in the competitive situation
in Europe and other densely
populated regions of the world
in favour of more efficient waste
recycling.
This prospect, along with
the current focus on hydrogen
production with lower greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions, has led
to more intensive research
and development in this area.
Currently, several companies are
Figure 2. Possible feedstocks and products. Copyright: Wildfire.
working on optimised processes

16 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023

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Figure 3. The team from Wildfire Energy at the pilot plant site.
that also aim to be competitive. One such example is
the Australian start-up, Wildfire Energy, whose process
is based on the familiar gasification process which takes
place at over 800 °C, but differs fundamentally from
conventional gasifier technologies in terms of plant
design. In a process known as moving injection horizontal
gasification (MIHG), oxygen is injected horizontally under
the waste layer to enable particularly efficient conversion
of the organic waste into syngas.⁶ The basic operating
principle of MIHG is shown in Figure 1.
Higher overall efficiency, scalable
plant engineering
According to Wildfire Energy, the MIHG process offers
multiple advantages. Firstly, heterogeneous waste – which
can be problematic for many of the processes in place
– can also be treated without complex pre-processing
(for instance sorting and shredding of waste fractions).
Secondly, the process should ensure high WtX yields:
this means that roughly 42 kg of hydrogen can be
produced per t of feedstock (mixed waste with a calorific
value of 12 MJ/kg). Alternatively, the CO and hydrogen
components contained in the syngas can also be used for
the production of fuels, methanol or ethanol. The various
possible uses are shown in Figure 2. Wildfire Energy cites
the more favourable GHG balance compared to sending
untreated waste to landfill as a further advantage of its
process: in the case of WtE, negative emissions of up
to 850 kg CO2 eq/MWh could be achieved with MIHG
by avoiding methane emissions. In this comparative
calculation, the WtH path would also be CO2-negative
and therefore have an advantage over conventionally
produced grey hydrogen in terms of climate protection.
Thanks to its modular design, the MIHG process should
also open up the possibility of creating small, flexible
plants. This is important for the competitiveness of the
process with conventional waste incineration, which for
the most part takes place in large plants far away from
urban centres today. While typical capacities of large
incineration plants are several hundred kilotonnes of
waste per year, a MIHG reactor processes small quantities
from 4000 tpy, whereby upscaling to approximatley
50 000 tpy is possible. Housed in standard containers,
the number of modules can be customised to suit local
18 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
requirements. This facilitates short distances from the
source to the recycling of the waste and a corresponding
reduction in CO 2 during transportation. In addition, plants
can be easily adapted or moved to another location if the
volume of waste increases. Wildfire Energy therefore sees
the MIHG process as a flexible addition to recycling in
order to drive forward the transition to a circular economy
for materials and products.
Challenges for the measurement
technology
Reliable measurement and monitoring of key process
parameters such as temperatures, pressures and gas
volume flows are central in optimising the process flow.
When setting up its first pilot plant, Wildfire Energy
therefore placed its trust in the Swiss measurement
technology manufacturer, Endress+Hauser. One particular
challenge was to ensure accurate measurement at
very low pressure in the MIHG reactor – an important
requirement for the precise calculation of the volume
flow in the syngas and hydrogen production. In addition
to flow meters with different measuring principles,
temperature sensors, pressure transmitters and level
switches for accurate level measurement were used in the
Wildfire pilot plant.
With this pilot plant, Wildfire Energy was able to
demonstrate that MIHG technology delivers on the
expected results. Production is currently being upscaled
with the aim of commercialising the technology
worldwide. Endress+Hauser is also involved in this next
development stage as technology partner to guarantee
a high yield and quality in the production of syngas and
hydrogen. The measurement technology manufacturer
also hopes to gain new insights and economic potential
from participating in this groundbreaking project. If the
Wildfire technology proves its worth in practice, this
would not only open up new perspectives for thermal
waste treatment as a whole, but also for emission-reduced
hydrogen production. Wildfire Energy is confident that
it will be able to achieve a favourable hydrogen price
of US$2/kg and therefore create the conditions for
widespread use of the MIHG process.
References
1. ‘Waste to Energy 2022/2023: Technologies, plants, projects,
players and backgrounds of the global thermal waste treatment
business’, (2022), https://ecoprog.com/de/publikationen/data-
wte
2. ‘What a Waste 2.0, A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste
Management to 2050’, World Bank Group, (2018), https://
datatopics.worldbank.org/what-a-waste
3. ‘A critical review on the principles, applications, and challenges
of waste-to-hydrogen technologies, Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews’, (2020), https://www.sciencedirect.com/
science/article/pii/S1364032120306535?via%3Dihub
4. ‘Sachstand zu den alternativen Verfahren für die thermische
Entsorgung von Abfällen’, Umweltbundesamt, (2017), https://
www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/1410/
publikationen/2017-03-06_texte_17-2017_alternative-
thermische-verfahren_0.pdf
5. ‘Abfallverbrennung in der Zukunft (Waste Incineration in Future)’,
Dechema Position Paper, (2022), https://dechema.de/dechema_
media/Downloads/Positionspapiere/2022+03_Positionspapier_
Abfallverbrennung+2022-p-20008505.pdf
6. Wildfire Energy, https://www.wildfireenergy.com.au
 Brian Peters, Interface, explores how force measurement
sensors can make production, storage and monitoring
solutions for hydrogen more efficient.

T
he use of hydrogen as a clean and
reliable renewable energy source
has been a carrot on a stick for green
energy innovators for many years.
Scientists and technologists have understood
the positive impact of hydrogen for a long
time, and even harnessed it at times, but the
ability to reliably transport, store and harness
this energy at a reasonable cost has previously
eluded them. However, hydrogen is back in full
force as storage and battery technology has
advanced, giving new life to the promise of
hydrogen.
Hydrogen is critical to the future of green
energy because it is an optimal solution to
storing renewable energy from other sources
such as wind and water. Certain areas, such
as California, US, are actually producing too
much energy from renewable sources as
there is nowhere to store it. This is leading
to a tremendous amount of resource loss.
Therefore, hydrogen innovation investment is
on the rise to solve production, storage and
monitoring application challenges, aimed at
curtailing waste and holding enough energy to
power more infrastructure with green energy.
To start, production of hydrogen in its
current state is expensive because the element
is difficult to handle and the equipment and
processes available today are scarce or subpar.
Many of the traditional production and storage
methods also lead to excessive waste.
One of the key reasons that storage has
become such a challenge is due to the unique
nature of hydrogen energy. Hydrogen is an
incredibly light element in liquid form (a
popular way of storing it in higher volumes).
However, in liquid form it can be very volatile
and hard to maintain due to temperature
constraints. Therefore, storage and metering

19
 requires extreme precision. In a compressed form, hydrogen
takes up more space and needs to be carefully monitored for
pressure related concerns.
Due to the volatility of hydrogen, transportation has also
become a barrier to the reliable transfer and use of the
energy. The cost alone of transporting liquid or compressed
hydrogen can become immense with the current lack of
stable transportation and storage methods and the danger
they can pose to the individuals shipping the substance.
Force measurement
The road to hydrogen becoming a real solution to meeting
the renewable energy demand has been filled with hundreds
of technological advancements. One of the lesser known, but
extremely critical, solutions to making hydrogen a reality on a
large scale is force measurement. Force sensors are capable
of being used at every level of hydrogen advancement, from
harnessing the power of hydrogen, to storing, monitoring
and transporting it – and more use cases for hydrogen
applications are being implemented frequently.
When considering the challenges that have created
barriers to harnessing the full power of hydrogen, force
measurement can help to assist with, or solve, several
of them – most notably, the production and storage of
hydrogen. Today’s force measurement sensors have reached
a level of precision that is ideal for measuring liquid hydrogen
to be stored, as well as monitoring the pressure of stored
hydrogen in its gaseous form.
Force sensors are being used to measure the exact amount
of liquid hydrogen being dispensed in a storage container
by measuring incredibly small weights with extreme
precision. Miscalculations of the weight can lead to waste
via over/underfilling. For hydrogen in gas form, the same
principles apply with force sensing, although instead of
weight, pressure sensors can be used.
There are also structural requirements for the actual
containers storing hydrogen in any form. Force sensors are
used in the research and development of many types of
containers used for hydrogen storage to develop the optimal
container dimensions, materials and more.
From a transportation perspective, mitigating safety
concerns and reducing waste are the critical challenges
Figure 1. Diagram of a hydrogen electrolyser equipped with Interface’s load washers for fuel
cell tie rod monitoring.
20 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
that force measurement can help solve. With wireless,
high-precision force measurement sensors, handlers can
receive real-time updates on the pressure of the hydrogen in
storage tanks. Another method of transportation is packaging
hydrogen in a fuel cell, where force measurement sensors
can be used as a metering device in the energy transfer.
Transferring this energy into a fuel cell also allows for easier
transportation.
Included below is a list of the various hydrogen solutions
that force measurement can enable:
yy Compression: to prevent leaks or ruptures in hydrogen
systems, force sensors are used to monitor and control the
compression of hydrogen gas.
yy Dispensing: to stop leaks, ensure a more efficient refuelling
process, and create a secure connection between pump
and vehicle, force sensors are integrated into hydrogen
refuelling stations.
yy Pipelines: during the construction and maintenance of
hydrogen pipelines, force sensors are used to monitor
forces on pipeline components such as valves and fittings.
yy Tank inspections: force sensors are used to assess the
structural integrity of the tank walls and detect any
anomalies or signs of stress. In addition, automated
monitoring can be installed using wireless sensors to
improve efficiency by automatically notifying users when a
tank needs to be repaired or inspected.
yy Safety relief valves: to monitor safety relief valves in an
effort to prevent safety hazards from over-pressurised
conditions, force sensors are integrated into the valves to
monitor pressure and the force required to activate the
valve.
There is also currently one excellent example of the
promise of force measurement as it relates to an efficient
production, storage, and monitoring process for hydrogen
energy: electrolysis. Included below is an example of a
real-world application of force measurement in electrolysis,
which demonstrates the positive cost and time efficiency
improvement that can be provided.
Electrolysis and electrolyser farms
Electrolysis uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and
oxygen to store renewable energy
more efficiently. This reaction
takes place in an electrolyser.
Electrolysers can range in size from
small, appliance-size equipment
that is well-suited for small-scale
distributed hydrogen production,
to large-scale, central production
facilities that could be tied
directly to renewable or other
non-greenhouse-gas-emitting
forms of electricity production.
Over the past few decades,
organisations have invested in
these ‘electrolyser farms’ to
harness and safely store more
energy from various sources.
However, electrolysers are volatile
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 and inefficient in their current construction without the use
of force monitoring. The electrolyser is made by stacking
multiple anode and cathode plates and a membrane
between each, and these are held together by gigantic
tie-rods that secure the unit. Over time, if the rods are not
monitored, they can loosen and can leak a tremendous
amount of energy production efficiency.
It is recommended that the users inspect the electrolysers
periodically to check for leaks or damage. To do this, 10
or more electrolysers in a line need to be taken down for
inspection. This is not only an inefficient process, but it can
also lead to tremendous waste as taking the electrolysers
down for inspection or repair can cause energy to leak.
Therefore, more engineering innovation has been necessary
to improve the promise of electrolyser farms.
This is where force sensing comes into the equation. To
reduce the downtime of an electrolyser, load cells can be
used to measure the tie rod in real time. To do this, load
cells are secured to the tie rod and connected to a strain
bridge transmitter. This allows the user to always monitor the
tension of the tie rod.
This creates an autonomous monitoring system, which
will tell users exactly when repair or inspection is needed,
rather than a manual monitoring system that may shut down
a portion of electrolysers when it is not necessary. Not to
mention, the cost of downtime in electrolysers over time is
significant compared to the one-time cost of purchasing a
force measurement system to alert the user when repair is
needed more accurately.
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Additionally, load cells can last an infinite amount of time
with the proper calibration and electrolysers rarely ever
cycle, which reduces the opportunity for damage to the load
cell. This means that this is a solution that will last as long as
it is needed.
Figure 1 visualises the process for monitoring an
electrolyser unit using load cells.
Conclusion
Now is the time to truly invest in the promise of hydrogen
energy in order to meet demands for green energy.
Electrolysers have been around for a while now – there
was a big push in the 1990s for this technology. However,
the right elements were not there politically, economically,
or climate crisis wise. Now time is running out as global
warming becomes an ever-looming threat, pushing
governments to mandate green energy innovation and
usage.
With force sensing capabilities, production, storage and
monitoring solutions can become more efficient, safer
and cost effective. Force measurement can also be used
throughout the hydrogen energy innovation process, from
R&D and testing, to real time measuring and monitoring.
This promise can already be seen in electrolyser farms, which
have become a real solution to help store huge amounts
of green energy, while significantly reducing waste. As
more applications take advantage of force sensing, its role
will continue to grow throughout the journey of hydrogen
innovation.
 Carbon capture requires significant energy input, generating more carbon and
creating a new problem. Janka O’Brien, Emerson, UAE, explains how advanced
automation technology will play a major role in helping to solve this.

W
hile many alternative sources are emerging, the
bulk of hydrogen production today uses methane
in natural gas as feedstock. Reforming methane
liberates the hydrogen, but turns the remaining carbon
into carbon dioxide (CO2). This is often released to the atmosphere,
increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) levels. Carbon capture and storage
(CCS) techniques can be integrated into the hydrogen production
process, avoiding release of most of the CO2, but it requires large
amounts of energy. This creates an ‘energy penalty paradox’ because
trying to control one emission source creates another.
Solving this paradox requires developing more energy-efficient
capture technologies, improving the performance of current capture
methods, and using renewable sources to power capture systems.
The reality of hydrogen production today
Traditional ammonia manufacturing, oil refining, and even renewable
diesel manufacturing applications have a voracious appetite for
hydrogen for use as a feedstock. Reforming remains the primary source,
accounting for approximately 90% of all hydrogen production, and most
of it is still considered ‘grey’ (Figure 1) due to atmospheric CO2 release.
Some facilities are beginning to make a transition to ‘green’
hydrogen. These are typically located where renewable electricity is
available in substantial amounts, such as near a large wind farm, but
they are rare, primarily due to capacity constraints on electrolysis
technology. The best approaches today recognise that production
from natural gas is still irreplaceable, but its climate effects must be
mitigated.
There is a hopeful sign: the hydrogen production method in these
situations can be changed from ‘grey’ to ‘blue’ without disrupting
capacity. In the short-term, this development promises to reduce
emissions far faster than all the other processes since it has the
potential to affect the bulk of existing hydrogen production. Getting
the maximum benefit calls for two things: first, making the reforming
process more efficient so it does not require such heavy use of fossil

23
 Figure 1. The hydrogen value chain is growing more complex with new sources and uses of the gas. Environmental effects are
characterised by a colour assigned to each source category.
Figure 2. The SMR process requires several stages to break down methane into hydrogen
and remove all other components.
fuels itself; and second, increasing the efficiency and capacity of
CCS technology.
Improving reformer performance
A key challenge with hydrogen production via reforming is the
energy intensity of the process itself. In a typical reforming unit,
producing a ton of hydrogen requires at least another half-ton
of natural gas used as a fuel, creating CO2 emissions. While this
issue remains a conundrum, it stresses the importance of making
the reformer unit as efficient as possible.
There are two reforming approaches that dominate the
industry today. The first is steam methane reforming (SMR),
which has been in use for decades. An SMR unit comprises of
the several sections (Figure 2) necessary to produce high-purity
hydrogen from methane in natural gas.
Since steam consumption can be very high per unit of
hydrogen produced, reactor heating and boiler operation areas
deserve initial examination, especially burner control.
The second option is autothermal reforming (ATR), which
produces syngas, a mix of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and CO2
(Figure 3). These are then separated into individual streams.
ATR interfaces well with CCS technologies and is valued for its
cost effectiveness.
24 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
Both processes consume large
amounts of natural gas as fuel, and
techniques for improving efficiency
are similar. The primary reformer is the
largest single consumer of natural gas
as a fuel, so controlling combustion
in this part of the process has a direct
effect on overall energy consumption.
Carbon capture basics
Gas coming out of either reformer
process must pass through a step
(Figure 4) to remove as close to 100%
of the CO2 as possible to deliver pure
hydrogen. In the most commonly used capture method, mixed
gas flows through an absorption vessel filled with liquid solvent.
Gas enters at the bottom and liquid from the top, and they flow
counter-currently. The solvent chemically bonds to the CO2,
allowing hydrogen to flow out of the top.
CO2-rich solvent is then pumped to the desorption (stripper)
vessel where it is subjected to abrupt temperature and pressure
changes, causing CO2 to bubble out. The solvent recirculates
through a heat exchanger and then back to the capture vessel
where the process continues. This system depends on multiple
heat exchangers and a reboiler that consumes steam, so it
has its own energy consumption. Ultimately, the objective of
blue hydrogen carbon capture plants is to deliver high-purity
hydrogen while isolating as much concentrated CO2 as possible,
while using the smallest amount of energy.
Critical tools for improving process
efficiency
There are many tools available to reduce fuel consumption
and emissions while optimising SMR, ATR, and CCS processes.
Given budgetary realities in many facilities today, major capital
improvements are often not feasible, but improvements to
process measurement and control
strategies can drive positive changes
at far lower costs.

Combustion
management
Fuel consumption throughout the
process is the largest factor affecting
emissions and cost. Boilers for steam
production, along with fired heaters,
call for the same combustion control
tactics, each built around fuel flow
control and oxygen content of flue gas.
Most installations depend on
traditional volumetric flow meters to
measure fuel, but a far more complete
picture of combustion performance
Figure 3. ATR uses a mix of oxygen with CO2 or steam in a reaction with methane to form
is available by measuring natural
syngas. The reaction takes place in a single chamber where methane is partially oxidised in
gas flow using a mass flow meter
an exothermic reaction.
(Figure 5). A mass flow reading gives a
much clearer indication of the energy
content, rather than simply volume.
Combustion efficiency is monitored using a sensor to
evaluate flue gas oxygen content (Figure 6). The target is to
have only the stoichiometric amount of air to match fuel
flow, but in most situations it is necessary to have slightly
more because air and fuel do not mix perfectly. However,
too much air decreases efficiency and increases emissions.
A 2% increase of oxygen in the stack can increase emissions
between 25 - 30%.
An effective combustion control system uses feedforward
control based on fuel measurement and feedback control
based on oxygen measurement to optimise fuel flow and
air, delivering the maximum recoverable heat with minimum
emissions.

Other critical flow measurements

In addition to fuel flow measurements, there are many
points where flows of gases and liquids must be controlled to
balance reactions and heat transfer. Emerson’s Micro Motion
Coriolis mass flow meters can handle gases, as well as
liquids, and their ability to measure mass rather than volume
Figure 4. Carbon removal from mixed gas leaving the reforming stage
makes it simpler to compensate for changing densities.
must extract almost 100% of CO2. Achieving this depends on effective
A prime example in the CCS unit is matching solvent flow
temperature and pressure control.
to gas flow. There must be enough solvent to capture the
required volume of CO2, so many units run solvent flow high.
This is costly in terms of emissions and fuel as the solvent must This is in contrast to many situations where finding optimum
pass through multiple heat exchangers and a reboiler to support operating conditions is a trial-and-error process supported by
the required stripper temperature. The process must maintain a declining population of experienced operators. Mathematical
an optimal balance between the two flows to ensure maximum modelling and simulation techniques, using tools such as
capture with minimum flow. The ability of a mass flow meter to AspenTech’s Aspen Plus® asset management software, can
measure solvent density, in addition to flow, helps determine provide better information more quickly and reliably than
when it is necessary to add fresh make-up solvent. depending on human skill. A model captures the interactions
among different components, in all phases of the operation,
Control strategy for optimisation including the reformer and CCS stages.
As important as advanced instrumentation is for improving For example, the model can simulate different operational
operations, all elements must be tied together in a complete scenarios and parameters, making it possible to assess
automation strategy to realise the greatest benefits. With its different capture rates on energy consumption, all without
power to improve efficiency, reliability, and safety, automation the risk of real-world experimentation. Techniques such
technology is playing a central role in moving toward optimisation. as experimental design, sensitivity analysis, and numerical

Winter 2023 GlobalHydrogenReview.com 25


Figure 5. Flow meters can provide extensive information about natural
gas characteristics, making it easier to control fuel flow precisely.
Figure 6. Effective combustion control requires operating as close to
the stoichiometric balance as possible. A zirconia sensor, used with an
oxygen analyser, provides continuous measurement of excess oxygen
from any combustion process, including reformer furnaces and boilers.
optimisation algorithms can be used to determine the optimal
operating conditions, which typically vary depending on specific
applications, industrial processes, and geographical locations.
Aspen Plus interfaces directly with the process automation
system so strategies created through simulations can be
implemented for the actual process. Emerson’s DeltaV™ Virtual
Studio platform can provide all required distributed control
system functions, while reducing IT infrastructure complexity.
DeltaV virtualisation solutions provide easy scalability, while
improving sustainability, efficiency, and overall performance.
Because maintaining full availability for compressors, heat
exchangers, fans, valves, pumps, and other strategic assets
depends on monitoring condition and performance, automation
can help engineers and technicians optimise reformer and CCS
processes, save energy, and improve the reliability of essential
equipment.
Extending carbon capture
A high-volume hydrogen production unit usually exists in a
larger plant environment, such as a refinery or petrochemical
plant. Consequently, a carbon capture system may cover other
processes in addition to a hydrogen reformer. This could include
other manufacturing processes and plant utilities. Advanced
process control software can coordinate operation of the capture
system with the rest of the facility, optimising energy usage and
load distribution, providing better utilisation of resources, and
maximising overall efficiency.
Integrated control systems also leverage advanced machine
learning algorithms to optimise capture performance.
26 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
By analysing historical data and patterns, control systems
can help operators identify new opportunities for efficiency,
develop better predictive models, and recommend
operational adjustments, improving the economic viability of
capture systems over the long-term.
Storing carbon
Once captured, CO2 is compressed and removed from the
facility via pipeline or tanker truck. Ultimately it is pumped
into the ground at a well, frequently a depleted oil or
gas well. Here it is compressed again to 70 to 140 bar for
injection. Compressors used for this purpose are normally
multi-stage centrifugal designs that are subject to surge
conditions at low flow rates. If sufficient flow is not restored
quickly, the compressor’s internal components can be
severely damaged. An anti-surge valve provides the required
recycle flow, protecting compressors and avoiding costly
failures.
During startup, the anti-surge valve provides throttling
control to recycle a portion of the discharge flow as the
compressor is brought up to capacity. To prevent surge, the
compressor’s controller modulates the anti-surge valve for
throttling control. This requires a fast, stable response to its
open-loop step command. During the onset of a potential
surge event, the valve must open quickly – in less than two
seconds – to recycle the discharge gas back to the suction
side of the compressor. During normal operation, the
anti-surge valve will remain closed, but it could be opened
to catch a surge event, or due to changes in demand or
production optimisation.
Subsurface engineers monitoring an injection site must
use software to help integrate control systems with pressure,
flow, and temperature instrumentation above and below ground.
This information feeds systems to provide automated control
of pumps, compressors, valves, and other critical equipment,
calibrated specifically for the storage site’s unique parameters. In
addition, specialised hardware, including cryogenic valves rated
to withstand high temperature and pressure excursions, enable
precise control of injection of liquified or supercritical CO2,
improving efficiency, while reducing leaks and safety incidents.
Each well site is different, and injection pressures depend
greatly upon the depth and type of geologic formation at the
specific site. Valves controlling automated injection can be
subjected to thousands of pounds of pressure, high vibration,
and high noise – as well as corrosive conditions created when
trace amounts of water or hydrogen sulfide remain in the CO2.
Valve body, trim, and seal material selection is a critical aspect of
valve sizing and selection.
Pick your partner carefully
Partnering with a supplier that is able to provide a complete
portfolio of automation solutions, together with extensive
domain expertise, can help reduce project complexity, drive
operational efficiency, and maximise plant safety and reliability.
Automation technologies are designed to optimise reforming
and carbon capture units by delivering advanced control,
increased process visibility, and actionable information for
improved decision-making, all of which are necessary to meet
global net-zero goals and realise a sustainable economy for
future generations.
28
 Dr Peter Geiser, Dr Viacheslav Avetisov and Ove Bjorøy, NEO Monitors, Norway,
examine how tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) can aid
industrial decarbonisation by pushing the limits of hydrogen measurement.

D
ecarbonisation of industrial processes is crucial
to global efforts to minimise the impact of
climate change. Governments worldwide have set
aggressive targets for achieving net zero greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, and the industry must take
action to meet these objectives. Key elements of this effort
include reducing the demand for primary resources by
increasing the circular economy, improving energy efficiency,
using carbon-free fuels, reducing the uncontrolled release
of hydrocarbons and other GHGs into the atmosphere, and
electrifying the heat supply using renewable energy sources
such as wind, solar or hydropower. When carbon dioxide
(CO2) generation cannot be avoided, carbon capture,
utilisation, and storage (CCUS) can be employed to reduce
CO2 emissions.
Many of these activities require gas measurements
for optimising processes and ensuring safety, as well as
monitoring emissions. Tunable diode laser absorption
spectroscopy (TDLAS), with its fast response time, high
reliability, selectivity, and sensitivity, is a powerful tool for
these applications. Thanks to its exceptional performance and
flexibility, TDLAS is now widely used across many industries,
from petrochemicals and chemicals, to power and steel, as
a standard technology for numerous applications.1-4 Some
of the most important examples include, but are not limited
to, improving energy efficiency by optimising processes
to reduce fuel consumption, safety monitoring of process
inertisation, detecting methane leaks in natural gas pipelines,
and monitoring pollutant emissions.
Hydrogen has long been utilised in various industrial
production processes, including the hydrogenation of
petrochemicals, ammonia production, and semiconductor
manufacturing. Recently, much hope has been put on
hydrogen as a carbon-free energy source for the future, and
the Ukraine crisis has accelerated efforts to switch from fossil
fuels to renewable alternatives.
With the advent of a new energy sector and new
carbon-free manufacturing processes, many existing
production processes will have to be adapted or new
processes introduced. This means that there will also be

29
 new tasks and challenges for gas instrumentation. With its
flexibility, TDLAS will play a key role and contribute to the
successful and safe decarbonisation of the industry.
TDLAS – gas sensing with lasers
Photonics-based technologies for measuring gas
concentrations exploit the fact that every gas, be it
oxygen, carbon monoxide or complex hydrocarbons, has a
characteristic infrared (IR) absorption spectrum that can
be considered as its unique fingerprint. In many cases,
this allows accurate identification of gas components and
quantification of their respective concentration values.
Lasers are among the most important photonic devices,
and they are used for numerous applications thanks to their
unique properties. In the context of TDLAS, the key features
include the ability to emit light with narrow bandwidth and
the ability to collimate, direct and focus the laser beam.
The first property makes highly selective measurements in
complex gas mixtures possible, while the second is crucial
for directing the laser beam over longer distances.
The use of TDLAS enables real-time, contactless
measurements of gas concentrations directly in the
process, known as in-situ measurements. This has several
advantages:
yy Instrumentation is not exposed to the process gases.
yy Complex and high-maintenance sampling systems are
generally not required.
Figure 1. Sketch of a partial cross-section of a typical in-situ TDLAS installation. The
transmitter is mounted on the left-hand side of the stack, with the receiver on the right-hand
side.
Figure 2. Simulated IR transmission spectrum of 1% hydrogen.
30 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
yy Real-time measurements greatly improve the efficiency
of process control and safety monitoring.
The most commonly used configuration for TDLAS
instrumentation is cross-stack, meaning that the transmitter
(laser) is mounted on one side and the receiver (detector)
on the diametrically opposite side of a stack, pipe or duct
(Figure 1).
The transmitter is mounted on the left-hand side of the
stack, and the receiver on the right-hand side.
Although the ability to perform in-situ assessments is
a key feature of TDLAS, there are situations where direct
in-process measurement is not possible or preferable due
to system design, varying infrastructure, installed base, etc.
In cases of high gas pressures or very low concentrations,
extraction may be required. Multi-pass cells (MPCs) provide
a well-established method for increasing the optical path.
Since a TDLAS analyser’s lower detection limit (LDL) is directly
proportional to the distance that the laser beam travels
through the gas sample, improving LDL can be achieved
by folding the optical path using two mirrors. At high gas
pressures, a simple extraction cell with a transmitter and
receiver mounted on both sides can also be utilised.
A third principle configuration of TDLAS systems is called
open path. Open path sensors can cover optical path
lengths of several hundreds of metres. They are typically
used for the detection of diffuse or fugitive emissions.
TDLAS for hydrogen
As mentioned above, TDLAS is
used today for many applications
and gases. Nevertheless, there are
some important gases that were
considered impossible to measure
with this technology, and hydrogen
is probably the most prominent
example. This perception was based
on the misconception that hydrogen
does not have an IR absorption
spectrum. There are, however,
absorption lines spread throughout
the IR region (Figure 2). These lines
are very weak, so a high-quality
gas analyser is required in order to
obtain results that are useful in an
industrial operation.
When taking safety applications
as an example, hydrogen has a lower
explosive limit (LEL) of 4%; end-users
usually require alarm levels of 1% or
even lower. For many applications, a
fast response time (T90) is essential,
and typically a T90 of 1 second is
demanded by customers. Finally,
the analyser shall not have any
cross sensitivities with other gas
components in the process or in the
air to avoid false alarms.
NEO Monitors developed the
world’s first hydrogen TDLAS analyser
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 for in-situ applications in 2017.5 The latest version –
LaserGas™ III H2 – is designed for Zone 1 applications, with
the laser beam allowed to penetrate a Zone 0 and meeting
IEC 61508 functional safety requirements (SIL2).
One of the key figures of a TDLAS analyser is worth a closer
look. The lower detection limit (LDL) of a TDLAS analyser
can be determined by mounting it on an absorption cell
filled with ambient air, placing it in a climatic chamber, and
measuring the noise level over approximately 20 hours.
Figure 3. Noise measurement in a climatic chamber (T90 = 1s). Left y-axis:
measured hydrogen concentration (purple) and lower detection limit (blue).
Right y-axis: climatic chamber temperature (green).
Figure 4. Set vs measured hydrogen concentrations in various hydrocarbon
backgrounds.
Figure 5. Recorded spectra of (1) 6.1 ppm CO (sample 20) and 6.1 ppm CH4
(sample 50) in hydrogen background, purple trace, and (2) pure hydrogen, green
trace.
32 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
To simulate real ambient conditions, the set temperature
of the climatic chamber is changed in several steps, from
room temperature to -20 °C, up to 55°C, and back to room
temperature.
In general, the temperature changes lead to a drift of the
optical fringes that are caused by reflections from optical
components, such as lenses and windows in the beam path
between the laser and the detector. Since such a climatic
chamber test covers the entire operating temperature range
of the analyser, it can be considered a ‘worst
case scenario’ and the actual LDL is lower
in many cases due to smaller temperature
variations.
From Figure 3, a noise level of less than
0.05 %∙m (3σ) or 0.1 %∙m (peak-to-peak) at
a response time of 1 second was derived;
the latter corresponds to a sensitivity of
less than 3∙10-6 (rel. abs.) when related to
the absorption line strength reported in
spectroscopic databases. These sensitivities
are close to the theoretical limit of TDLAS
analysers. The results show that the
sensitivity is dominated by stochastic noise
and only a few optical fringes are visible.
Faster response times are also possible,
but with a certain penalty on the sensitivity
as the stochastic noise level will increase
while the level of optical fringes will be
maintained.
In summary, hydrogen measurements
using TDLAS also meet the fundamental
requirements for successful use in many
process control and safety applications.
Hydrogen in natural gas
Hydrogen is becoming increasingly used as
a fuel for vehicles, trains, ships, aeroplanes,
and many other applications. In addition,
blending hydrogen with natural gas
through existing pipeline networks is seen
as a possible first step in decarbonising
natural gas systems.
Accurate metering is a critical task in
supplying energy to end users; they want
to determine the energy content they
are receiving, and the supplier wants to
bill accordingly. Gas chromatographs are
commonly used to measure key indicators
such as calorific value or Wobbe index.
However, this expensive, slow, and complex
technology does not meet the needs of most
users. Hence, there is also a desire to use
optical technology for this purpose.
Figure 4 shows results of hydrogen
measurements in various hydrocarbon gas
mixtures. For this purpose, a LaserGas™ II
analyser with MPC was used in combination
with a gas mixer to generate different
gas compositions under well-controlled
conditions. For the first five measurement
 points, 10% hydrogen was mixed with different ratios
of methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), and
nitrogen (N2). The last measurement point represents a zero
measurement of a hydrocarbon mix without hydrogen. The
respective gas mixture is indicated on the x-axis and the
measured hydrogen concentration on the y-axis.
The results demonstrated that there were no
cross-sensitivities, and deviations of 1 - 2% relative from
the expected hydrogen value were observed. This shows
that the setup is very well suited to measure hydrogen in
hydrocarbons with the required degree of precision.
Hydrogen impurities
When using hydrogen, the quality or purity of the supply can
be critical. Impurities in hydrogen can interfere with the proper
functioning of equipment that stores, distributes, or uses
hydrogen as fuel. When hydrogen is blended with natural gas
and used in boilers, the tolerance for impurities is generally
higher than when hydrogen is used in vehicles powered by
polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. The presence of
impurities in hydrogen depends on the production process
used. Carbon monoxide (CO) and CH4 may be present in
hydrogen from steam methane reforming (SMR), while oxygen
(O2) is present from chlor-alkali or water electrolysis.
TDLAS can also be used for these types of applications.
For hydrogen generated from SMR processes, a combined
impurity measurement of CO and CH4 with low ppm ranges
is often desired. By carefully selecting an IR wavelength,
these two components can be measured with a single laser.
This is illustrated in Figure 5, which shows a combined
WE ARE READY
FOR THE GREEN FUTURE
measurement of these two gases. In real installations, LDLs of
0.05 ppm for CO and 0.2 ppm for CH4 have been achieved.
Conclusion
In summary, the innovative TDLAS technology has become
a valuable tool to push the limits of hydrogen measurement
in various industrial applications. As the world strives to
achieve ambitious decarbonisation goals and transition to a
sustainable future, TDLAS will play a key role in optimising
processes, ensuring safety, and monitoring emissions in
both established and emerging industrial sectors. Despite
initial misconceptions about the feasibility of measuring
hydrogen with TDLAS, advances in the field have led to the
development of specialised analysers that can accurately and
rapidly measure hydrogen in industrial environments.
TDLAS technology also offers the advantage that it can be
transferred very easily to other applications, from CCUS, to
ammonia as an energy carrier, and much more.
References
1. GEISER, P. and AVETISOV, V., ‘A smorgasbord of measurements’,
Hydrocarbon Engineering, (May 2018), pp. 81 - 84.
2. GEISER, P. and AVETISOV, V., ‘Switching to in situ analysis’,
Hydrocarbon Engineering, (October 2018), pp. 67 - 70.
3. GEISER, P., ‘New Opportunities in Mid-Infrared Emission Control’,
Sensors, Vol. 15, pp. 22724 - 22736, https://doi.org/10.3390/
s150922724, (2015).
4. WESTBERG, J., AVETISOV, V. and GEISER, P., ‘Contactless Combustion
Analysis’, Hydrocarbon Engineering, (October 2021), pp. 33 - 36.
5. AVETISOV, V., BJORØY, O., WANG, J., GEISER, P. and PAULSEN,
K.G., ‘Hydrogen Sensor Based on Tunable Diode Laser Absorption
Spectroscopy’, Sensors, Vol. 19, No. 5313. https://doi.org/10.3390/
s19235313, (2019).
LaserGas™ III SP & OP
Designed for safety applications in
process control and leak detection; available
in single path and open path configuration.
LaserGas™ II MP
Measure impurities in Hydrogen and
Carbon Dioxide with our highly selective
and sensitive extractive multipass analyzers.
Performance You Can Trust
www.neomonitors.com
34
 Frederic Thielland, David Janssens and Sebastian Fischer,
Siemens, Germany, outline the benefits of using tunable diode
laser spectroscopy (TDLS) in green hydrogen production plants.

A
s the world shifts towards sustainable energy
solutions, green hydrogen has emerged
as a promising contender in the quest for
decarbonisation. Produced through electrolysis
using renewable energy sources, green hydrogen holds
immense potential to revolutionise multiple sectors,
including transportation, energy storage, and industrial
processes. However, reliable and efficient production of
green hydrogen requires precise monitoring and control
of the entire process. In this regard, gas analysers play a
pivotal role, ensuring the quality, safety, and efficiency
of hydrogen production in green hydrogen plants. This
article explores the applications and significance of
gas analysers in facilitating the transition to a greener and
more sustainable future.
There are two major fields of application for online gas
analysers in green hydrogen production plants, both of
which will be discussed.
Monitoring the electrolysis process
Gas analysers prove indispensable in monitoring the
electrolysis process. They help in analysing the composition
and purity of the hydrogen and oxygen streams, ensuring
optimal electrolysis reaction and supporting plant safety
monitoring. These analysers continuously measure the
levels of hydrogen, oxygen, and water vapour, providing
real-time data to operators. By monitoring and controlling
these parameters, the analysers assist in maintaining
the desired efficiency, preventing system failures, and
optimising energy consumption.

35
 Controlling impurity levels
One of the critical aspects of green hydrogen production
is maintaining high purity levels throughout the process.
Gas analysers allow for the accurate measurement and
detection of impurities in line with the ISO 14687:2019
(hydrogen fuel quality – product specification) and
19880-8 (hydrogen fuel quality control). In fuel cells,
contaminants can temporarily or permanently disable
sites for catalytic separation of hydrogen, impede proton
transport, or dilute hydrogen fuel and reduce efficiency.
Key components that require continuous monitoring
online include trace oxygen and moisture in pure
hydrogen. Nitrogen measurement can also be required
as the gas can be used to inert the electrolyser in the
shut-down phase, and can potentially remain present
during the restart of the electrolyser.
Conventional (legacy) approach
The aforementioned gases are traditionally measured
using extractive methods, which extract the gas from
the process to carry out an adhoc sample preparation.
When the sample is under conditions within the analyser
specifications, the sampling line will convey this sample to
the analyser measurement chamber, where the relevant
technology is applied.
For the percentage of oxygen, the most commonly
used method is paramagnetic. It is carried out using the
magnetic property of the di-oxygen molecule. There are
devices which measure a differential pressure, ensuring
the process gas is never in contact with the sensors,
avoiding potential contamination. Other techniques
include the dumbbell effect principle, which is more
subject to vibrations, and electrochemical-based sensors
Figure 1. In situ TDLS analyser.
Figure 2. Typical in situ configurations: in a gas pipe (top) or
directly to a storage vessel (bottom).
36 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
with a limited lifetime, which is subject to drift and
interference.
The percentage of hydrogen is traditionally measured
with the accepted thermal conductivity principle. This
measurement technology uses the difference in thermal
conductivity of hydrogen with another specie (oxygen) in
contact with a heated detector.
The percentage of water, or moisture, is commonly
measured using phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) and
platinum-based electrodes. When water flows through the
electrodes, a current is detected and is directly proportional
to the water concentration, according to Faraday’s law.
There are noticeable benefits of all these measurement
technologies. They have been on the market for decades
and they are low cost, or low CAPEX. Nevertheless, several
drawbacks remain and must be taken into consideration,
especially when safety, production availability and yields
are at stake.
Firstly, the main hurdle is at the sampling and
conditioning system level. This requires significant care
and expertise. For instance, the sampling system must be
checked regularly to avoid potential failure and a lot of
consumables must be replaced.
Additionally, most of these technologies are drifting
over time and must often be calibrated using a certified
gas cylinder. This requires the presence of a skilled
operator to conduct the maintenance operation, with the
opportunity to install an automatic calibration system to
reduce the effort. However, these systems still require
regular checks and cylinder change.
From a measurement quality standpoint, most of these
technologies are not selective enough, meaning there are
many potential interferences, and various compensations,
if possible, must be applied.
The response time is mainly dependent on the sampling
system lag time and is typically close to one minute.
This generates a delay between the crossing of an alarm
threshold in the process and the actual signal going to
the counter action programmable logic controller (PLC) or
distributed control system (DCS) loop. When it comes to
safety, this long response time could be a major concern.
Tunable diode laser spectroscopy
analysers
Another class of gas analysers is based on the
measurement principle of tunable diode laser
spectroscopy (TDLS): the analyser’s emitter unit sends
a laser beam through the gas, which is detected by the
receiver unit (Figure 1). The laser beam’s wavelength is
selected so that the laser light can only be absorbed by
the gas species of interest. The gas concentration is then
determined by the strength of the light absorption signal.
TDLS analysers are commonly used in many industries
and are available for a large variety of gas species,
including oxygen and, more recently, hydrogen. They
can be installed in situ, i.e., directly attached to the
electrolyser plant, without any intermediate gas sampling
system. This simplifies the system design and allows a fast
concentration measurement with response times in the
range of 1 second.
 Modern TDLS analysers are equipped with internal
reference gas cells, apply modulation schemes on the
laser beam, and compensate for effects due to process
pressure and temperature. These measures enable
continuous analyser-internal performance monitoring,
minimise sensor drift, and ensure the long-term validity of
the analyser calibration.
Selectivity is one of the major features of TDLS.
The use of an infrared mono-chromatic light source
(tunable diode laser), means that there is almost no
interference expected when using TDLS. In contrast to
electrochemical sensors, TDLS analysers do not have
Figure 3. Gas analysers play a critical role in ensuring quality
depleting sub-components that require regular exchange
and safety in green hydrogen production plants.
and recalibration. The absence of maintenance-prone
gas sampling systems in the in situ configuration further
reduces maintenance efforts.
To produce green hydrogen, the electrolyser will be
located in remote areas (e.g., a desert with solar panel
fields) and even offshore, close to the offshore wind
mills. Any maintenance on a conventional analyser
requires a skilled service engineer and involves difficulties
concerning reaching the site quickly, and at an affordable
cost. Remote maintenance could be a potential
alternative, but it requires extensive set-up. Given the
low or non-systematic preventive maintenance, the use
of TDLS technology offers the advantage of lowering the
maintenance to its minimum requirement, whilst also
having a positive effect on OPEX.
Figure 4. Electrolyser principle.
In addition, the quality (no interference) and high
availability of the measurement of TDLS analysers are
strong arguments for producing high-quality hydrogen, configurations are not sensitive enough and larger OPLs
with a clear impact on the production plant yield, not are required. In addition, high pressure over 100 bar
to mention potential shut-down due to a defective widens the absorption spectra and does not facilitate
conventional analyser. proper in situ measurement. For such applications, an
Therefore, the eventual higher investment costs of TDLS extractive TDLS analyser with an internal multi-pass cell
analysers can be quickly compensated with a short return is a suitable alternative, and offers the same advantages
on investment. as using the TDLS technology. The internal multi-pass cell
To ensure safety in electrolysis process applications, creates a long OPL of tens of metres, required for low ppm
the oxygen concentration must be monitored in the measurement, and the pressure is reduced in the sample
hydrogen outlet stream. The same applies to the hydrogen conditioning system. This solution is perfectly suited for
concentration in the oxygen outlet stream. Measurement measuring impurities in hydrogen.
ranges are typically in the 0 - 5% range with a detection Trace nitrogen measurement is typically carried out
limit below 0.2% (2000 ppm). using online gas chromatograph – which has the best
The distance between the emitter and the receiver detection limit – or by using a thermal conductivity gas
unit is called the optical path length (OPL) and needs to analyser that will fulfill the threshold requirement of
be adjusted according to the required detection limit. 300 ppm.
According to the Beer Lambert law, there is a counter
proportionality between the OPL and the sensitivity. The Conclusion
longer the path length is, the better the sensitivity is. In conclusion, the efficient and safe operation of green
Suitable path length can be achieved by installing the hydrogen plants necessitates precise monitoring and
TDLS analyser either on a hydrogen gas storage tank, control of various gas parameters. Gas analysers act as
or by integrating the analyser into one of the gas pipes indispensable tools, offering real-time measurements
immediately after the electrolysis with the eventual use of and analysis to optimise the entire hydrogen production
a by-pass (see Figure 2). process. They enable the monitoring of electrolysis
The TDLS analyser can also be used for hydrogen purity and control impurity levels. Total cost of ownership is
measurement, which typically occurs after purification and becoming highly important in bringing down the cost of
compression. The measurement of the impurities (water hydrogen. TDLS technology offers very low maintenance
and oxygen) is in ppm levels or less. The mechanical costs and utilities consumption with a high measurement
set up of the electrolyser shows small diameter pipes quality and availability to increase yields and minimise
and high pressure (over several hundred bars). In situ potential shutdown of electrolyser plants.

Winter 2023 GlobalHydrogenReview.com 37

38
A. Kigel and A. Shats, Modcon Systems, UK,
reveal how advances in in-situ analysis are resulting
in precise oxygen monitoring in hydrogen production.
H
ydrogen is a highly volatile and explosive gas that is
significantly lighter than air, with a molecular weight
of 2.01. It has an extremely low ignition energy
threshold, one-tenth of the energy ignition threshold
of gasoline-air mixtures. This property, in combination with its
broad flammability range of 4 - 74% by volume concentration
in air and 4 - 94% in oxygen at atmospheric pressures, and
its explosion limits of 18.3 - 59% by volume, makes hydrogen
very susceptible to leakage. Consequently, explosion safety is
a crucial consideration in the design of hydrogen containing
systems.
A high oxygen level in hydrogen piping can pose a significant
risk of an explosion or fire. Moreover, in chemical reactions
and processes, a high oxygen content can also result in side
reactions which reduce the efficiency of the process and also
cause unwanted reactions, resulting in product contamination,
reducing its quality, or forcing additional purification
procedures. Therefore, accurate and reliable measurement
of the oxygen content in high-pressure hydrogen piping is
essential for increased process efficiency, product quality, and
safety.
To mitigate the hazards associated with hydrogen
production, systems must be carefully designed. Dedicated
equipment rated for both non-hazardous and hazardous
locations is typically used in hydrogen gas production
systems. However, in an attempt to lower installation costs,
general-purpose equipment may be utilised. The risk of
gas leaks must be minimised. However, sampling gas from
high-pressure pipelines for chemical analysis increases the
potential for leaks, and can pose a challenge when performing
oxygen analysis.
Traditionally, measuring the oxygen content in high-pressure
hydrogen piping involves extracting a sample and reduction of
the pressure of the sample for analysis. However, this method
39
 has several drawbacks, including complexity and inaccuracies
caused by sample conditioning and handling. As a result, many
companies are turning to the in-situ installation of oxygen
analysers inside high-pressure hydrogen piping, which offers
real-time measurement, reduced complexity, and improved
accuracy.
Installation of an oxygen analyser directly into high-pressure
hydrogen piping allows operators to continuously monitor
the oxygen content in real-time, without the need for
sample extraction or a pressure reducing sampling system.
This method is not only faster and more efficient, but also
much safer. It eliminates the risk of exposure of hydrogen to
atmospheric oxygen and subsequently reduces the need for
hazardous area classification.
Principles of in-situ oxygen analysis
In-situ analysis involves the measurement of oxygen
concentration directly at the process location of interest.
Several measuring techniques exist for in-situ oxygen analysis:
yy Paramagnetic analysis: this method uses the magnetic
properties of oxygen to attract oxygen molecules to a
paramagnetic material. The oxygen concentration is
determined by comparing the influence of the magnetic field
in an oxygen containing sample.
yy Zirconia analysis: zirconia sensors utilise the ionic
conductivity of zirconium dioxide. At high temperatures,
zirconia exhibits different electrical conductivities as a result
of the oxygen concentration at the sensor, enabling accurate
measurement.
yy Electrochemical analysis: electrochemical sensors employ
the principle of oxygen reduction in an electrogalvanic cell
electrode to determine oxygen concentration. They are
widely used due to their simplicity, low cost, and accuracy.
yy Optical analysis: this technique utilises optical principles to
measure the concentration of oxygen directly in the process,
without the need for physically extracting a sample or
altering its properties. This method relies on the influence
of oxygen on the absorption/transmission of light at a
certain wavelength. One commonly used optical method
for in-situ determination of the oxygen concentration is
based on the principle of fluorescence quenching. It exploits
the fact that oxygen molecules quench the fluorescence
emitted by certain fluorescent dyes. The intensity of the
fluorescence emitted by the dye is inversely proportional to
the concentration of oxygen. A probe is inserted at the spot
Figure 1. Schematic drawing of measuring principle of oxygen
by fluorescence.
40 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
where oxygen concentration needs to be measured. Light
of a specific wavelength is directed onto the probe, exciting
the dye molecules and causing them to emit fluorescence.
The intensity of emitted fluorescence is measured by a
photodetector, and converted into an electrical signal, which
is proportional to the oxygen concentration.
A relationship can be established between the fluorescence
intensity and oxygen concentration. This allows the
measurement of oxygen concentration in an unknown sample
based on the fluorescence intensity detected.
One advantage of the optical methods for in-situ oxygen
analysis is their non-invasive and non-destructive nature.
They do not require physical contact with the sample or
sample extraction, making them suitable for continuous
monitoring in various applications, such as industrial processes,
environmental monitoring, and medical diagnostics.
Key advantages of optical methods
Wide measurement range
Optical methods have a wider measurement range compared
to paramagnetic analysis. Zirconia-based sensors are typically
more suited for measuring oxygen concentrations at the higher
range (above a few percent). Electrochemical sensors may
have limitations in measuring very low or very high oxygen
concentrations. Optical methods can accurately measure
oxygen concentrations from low to high levels, making them
suitable for a broad variety of different applications.
Fast response time
Electrochemical sensors often have a slower response, which is
caused by the velocity of the chemical reactions involved in the
measurement. Optical methods provide rapid measurements,
often with response times in the milliseconds range. This
enables real time monitoring and rapid detection of oxygen
fluctuations. This is critical in applications where timely data is
crucial.
High accuracy and precision
Optical techniques offer high accuracy and precision in oxygen
measurement. They are capable of providing reliable and
repeatable results, ensuring confidence in the data that is
obtained.
Low maintenance
Electrochemical sensors often require periodic replacement
of electrolytes or membranes, which can be time-consuming
and costly. Optical sensors used in oxygen analysis typically
require minimal maintenance as compared to paramagnetic
analysers. They are often more robust and more resistant to
environmental factors, which reduces the need for frequent
calibration or sensor replacements.
Versatility
Optical methods can be used in various environments and
sample types. They can be applied in gases, liquids, and even
solids. This versatility allows for broader applications across
industries such as healthcare, environmental monitoring, and
industrial processes.
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 Reduced interference
Optical methods are less prone to interference from other
gases or contaminants compared to paramagnetic analysis. This
enhances the accuracy and reliability of oxygen measurements,
even in complex or challenging sample matrices.
Figure 2. Oxygen measurement compensation.
Figure 3. Low detection limit of the MOD-1040 analyser at
ambient conditions.
Figure 4. High pressure, in-situ analysis: sensing element of an
optical analyser based on photoluminescence technology.
42 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
Pressure dependance and low
detection limit
The pressure dependence on optical measurement of oxygen
refers to how the measured optical properties of oxygen
can vary with changes in pressure. In optical measurements,
various techniques are used to determine the concentration
or partial pressure of oxygen based on its interaction with
light.
One common optical technique for oxygen measurement
is based on the phenomenon of luminescence quenching.
Oxygen molecules can interact with certain luminescent
materials, such as phosphors or dyes, causing a decrease in
their luminescence intensity. The extent of this quenching is
directly related to the oxygen concentration.
In terms of pressure dependence, the luminescent
quenching method can be affected by changes in pressure
due to the following reasons:
yy Collisional quenching: at higher pressures, there is an
increased probability that oxygen molecules will collide
with the luminescent material. These collisions can lead to
more efficient quenching of the luminescence, resulting in a
stronger pressure dependence of the measured signal. The
relationship between pressure and quenching efficiency is
typically described by the Stern-Volmer equation.
yy Partial pressure changes: as the total pressure increases,
the partial pressure of oxygen also increases proportionally.
This can affect the oxygen measurement, particularly if the
measurement technique is sensitive to the partial pressure
rather than the concentration. It is important to ensure that
the measurement setup accounts for changes in the gas
composition and pressure accurately.
To mitigate the pressure dependence in optical
measurements of oxygen, several approaches can be
employed:
yy Compensation algorithms: by taking into consideration
the known pressure dependence of the measurement
technique, by means of compensation algorithms to the
measured signal can be corrected to suppress pressure
fluctuations. These algorithms typically involve additional
sensors to monitor and account for pressure variations.
yy Pressure regulation: maintaining a constant pressure
during the measurement can help reduce the impact of
pressure changes. This can be achieved using pressure
regulators or controlled gas flow systems.
Enhancing safety and efficiency in
hydrogen facilities
Hydrogen requires stringent safety conditions to prevent
leaks or accidents. To ensure the safety of personnel and
equipment, it is crucial to keep hydrogen facilities and piping
fully isolated. Complete isolation minimises the risk of
hydrogen escaping into the environment, where it can pose a
significant hazard.
The classification of an area as hazardous is an essential
consideration in the design and operation of hydrogen plants.
When multiple sample extraction points are present, there
is an increased risk of gas leakage, which necessitates the
classification of the area as Zone 2 of medium risk for the
presence of potentially explosive gas. In the case of sample
extraction methods, where samples are vented to the
atmosphere, the locations where the extraction occurs are
often classified as Zone 1 areas where flammable gases may
be present in normal operating conditions. This classification
requires the implementation of stringent safety measures,
including the use of certified equipment and controls
designed for hazardous environments.
By reclassifying the area as general purpose, the plant
can benefit from the use of standard, non-hazardous area
equipment, which is often more readily available and less
expensive compared to specialised hazardous area-certified
solutions. This provides greater flexibility in equipment
selection and reduces the overall project cost. Furthermore,
reclassifying the area as general purpose simplifies the
design and construction of the hydrogen plant facility. It
eliminates the need for complicated hazardous area wiring,
instrumentation, and explosion-proof enclosures, streamlining
the installation process and reducing associated costs.
The simplified design also facilitates future modifications
or expansions, allowing for more agile and cost-effective
operations.
Ensuring safety, efficiency, and quality assurance is vital
in the context of hydrogen production and distribution.
By keeping hydrogen facilities and piping fully isolated
and employing in-situ analysers suitable for high-pressure
installations, these objectives can be effectively achieved.
In-situ analysers offer numerous benefits, including enhanced
safety, improved efficiency, cost savings, and accurate data.
Embracing this advanced technology is a significant step
towards optimising hydrogen operations and paving the way
for a sustainable and reliable hydrogen economy.
Conclusion
The optical oxygen analyser offers a high level of accuracy in
oxygen measurement, making it ideal for applications where
precise monitoring under harsh environments is critical.
Moreover, the oxygen analyser demonstrates excellent
suitability for harsh environment operations. In environments
with extreme temperatures, corrosive gases, or particulate
matter, traditional measurement methods may face challenges
or limitations. In contrast, the optical method, being
non-intrusive, remains unaffected by these harsh conditions
and offers robust and stable performance over time.
The oxygen analyser also excels in selectivity, distinguishing
oxygen from other gases without significant cross-sensitivity.
This characteristic ensures accurate oxygen measurements
in complex gas mixtures or environments with multiple gases
present.
To conclude, the oxygen analyser stands out as a highly
accurate and suitable option for high-pressure and harsh
environment operations. Its non-intrusive nature, fast
response time, wide dynamic range, selectivity, stability,
and lower maintenance requirements make it a preferred
choice in various industrial applications, including hydrogen
production, where precise control of oxygen levels is
essential.
 A
s growing numbers of industries embrace the use
of hydrogen, it is important that the hazards of
working with this fuel are understood, and the
right safety measures and systems are put in place.
While hydrogen is safer to handle than some other commonly
used fuels (in that it disperses quickly in air and is not toxic), it
is still highly combustible and is an asphyxiant gas. Its unique
properties also pose special challenges, which is why, in
addition to general fuel safety regulations, there are specific
regulatory requirements for those working with hydrogen.
44
Considerations to make when working
with hydrogen
Hydrogen’s chemical properties pose unique challenges,
specifically:
� The gas is not visible to the eye and is odourless, making it
undetectable by human senses.
� Hydrogen is lighter than air. It is commonly understood
that in confined areas it will rise upwards to ceiling level,
displacing oxygen, making it difficult to detect in spaces
where accumulations cannot occur. However, pressurised
 Andrzej Janowski, MSA Safety, examines workplace safety
risks and challenges posed when producing, handling,
transporting and storing hydrogen.

hydrogen gas leaks can be hard to detect as the gas jet
direction can be unpredictable, making detector positioning
difficult.
� When mixed with air, hydrogen is highly combustible.
However, a pure hydrogen flame is very pale and almost
invisible in daylight and fails to register with traditional heat
detectors.
Fire, explosion, and asphyxiation are the main safety
considerations associated with handling hydrogen, especially
considering its wide flammability range of 4% to 77% of volume
in air. The main areas of risk can be categorised as shown below:
� Propensity to leak: small molecular size and permeation
properties, extremely high diffusivity.
� Propensity to ignite: very low ignition energy, fast detonation
and wide flammability range.
� Fire consequences: invisible flame with low thermal radiation
and high flame temperature.
� Human related: colourless, odourless and tasteless gas which
can cause potential injury or loss of life.

45
 Standards, strategies and solutions
for sites handling hydrogen
Explosion protection is currently governed internationally by the
IEC 60079 and IEC 80079 standards, with many regions adopting
almost identical standards locally. Additionally, specific standards
for hydrogen facilities are also available, for example:
yy ISO 22734 – hydrogen generators using water electrolysis
– industrial, commercial, and residential applications:
manufacturers of electrolysers are required to perform a risk
assessment. However, depending on the final placement
location of the equipment, plant owners/operators may need
to perform their own additional assessment on the hydrogen
generator, applying zone classification using IEC 60079-10-1 or
an appropriate national standard.
yy ISO 19880 – gaseous hydrogen – fuelling stations: sites
must be inspected in accordance with the IEC 60079-10-1
standard or sufficient national regulations. This includes zone
classification and ignition protection methods to IEC 60079
and IEC 80079.
Both standards also specify requirements for risk mitigation
with a gas detection system as one of the methods to prevent
accumulation of ignitable gas mixtures.
Figure 1. MSA point gas detector ULTIMA® X5000.
Figure 2. MSA Safety ULTIMA-X5000.
46 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
The need for layered fire and gas
protection
Hydrogen’s minimum ignition energy in air at atmospheric
pressure is approximately 0.02 mJ. In the case of a hydrogen gas
leak, especially in a confined space, a static electric discharge
from a worker’s clothing or equipment could result in an
explosion or fire.
Coupled with the physical properties highlighted earlier, a
robust and layered strategy for fire and gas detection is required,
supported by plume modelling and gas mapping to demonstrate
the effectiveness of a hydrogen detection system.
Key challenges for any site handling or storing hydrogen,
such as an electrolytic hydrogen production plant or hydrogen
fuelling station, include detecting leaks outside, where the gas
cannot accumulate, and installing detectors appropriately within
different risk zones.
To detect any loss of hydrogen containment therefore
requires the application of several distinct, yet complementary,
technologies spanning across ultrasonic leak detection,
conventional gas detection, and flame detection.
Ultrasonic detection of hydrogen leaks
When pressurised hydrogen gas leaks, it generates an ultrasonic
sound at the exit point. Ultrasonic monitors detect airborne
ultrasound produced by turbulent flow above a predefined
sound pressure level. Depending upon the level of background
ultrasound, a single detector can respond to even a small
hydrogen leak some distance from the source.
Since ultrasonic detection does not rely on a presence or
concentration of hydrogen gas, and is unaffected by wind or
plume direction, it is ideal for monitoring pressurised pipes
and vessels (e.g. well-ventilated, open areas of storage facilities
ranging from large production sites to smaller fuelling stations).
Instruments can alarm rapidly as the time it takes for ultrasonic
noise to travel from the leak source to the detector is typically
measured in milliseconds.
Low and combustible hydrogen levels:
point gas detection
Point gas detectors for hydrogen use either catalytic or
electrochemical sensors. In catalytic gas detection, gas enters
the sensor through a sintered disc (flash-back arrestor), comes
into contact with pellistors (beads) and is oxidised. A sensor
uses a Wheatstone Bridge which converts the resulting change
in resistance into a corresponding sensor signal, proportional to
the amount of gas present. Results are read either locally via a
display on the device or remotely at a control unit located in a
safe area. The operational range of these sensors is in the range
of 0 - 100% lower explosive level (LEL).
Electrochemical sensors use an electrochemical reaction
to generate a current proportional to the gas concentration.
The sensor is a chamber containing a gel or electrolyte and
electrodes. The gas sample enters the casing through a
membrane; oxidation occurs at the working electrode and
reduction takes place at the counter electrode, resulting in
flowing ions which create a current. Measurement of this
current is converted into a displayed gas reading.
The operational range of electrochemical cells for the
detection of hydrogen is more sensitive than catalytic sensors
– typically 0 - 1000 ppm. This makes electrochemical gas
detectors well-suited to areas where hydrogen gas would be
contained within an enclosure e.g., within a compressor housing
where the very earliest detection of a release with small gas
concentrations is usually required or sought.
Hydrogen flame detection
In the event of a fire resulting from an undetected gas leak due
to, for example, incorrect gas detector placement, selection,
or sensor failure, hydrogen-specific flame detectors provide a
warning to deploy fire suppression and other safety actions.
Detectors simultaneously monitor infrared (IR) and ultraviolet
(UV) radiation at different wavelengths. When hydrogen burns,
radiation is emitted in the infrared spectrum by hot water
molecules or steam created by combustion. An algorithm that
processes IR radiation modulation reduces false signals caused
by hot objects and solar reflection.
The UV detector is typically a photo discharge tube that
detects deep UV radiation. The key benefit of using current
UV and IR sensors within a single instrument is the only alarm
source shared between the two sensing technologies is a real
fire.
Due to absorption by the atmosphere, solar radiation
at certain wavelengths does not reach the earth’s surface,
eliminating alarms from solar radiation when appropriate range
is monitored. This combination of IR and UV detection improves
speed of response and false alarm immunity, while producing
detectors that can detect even small hydrogen fires.
Detectors: zones, placement and fire
and gas mapping
Correct placement and utilisation of multiple detector
technologies increases the likelihood of identifying hydrogen gas
dispersal or fire early. Suggested locations may include but are
not limited to:
yy Areas where leaks are possible, and gas can accumulate.
yy Connections that are frequently separated (i.e., hydrogen
refuelling connections).
yy Building air intake and exhaust ducts drawing possible leaks
into or outside the building.
Ultrasonic detectors ‘listening’ for leaks can be placed
wherever background noise or large structures will not impede
detection of the ultrasonic sound.
Presently, hydrogen detection schemes are mainly
based on point gas detectors, either with catalytic-bead or
electrochemical-cell type sensors. Users should be aware that
the likelihood of hydrogen gas detection by point gas detectors
can be quite poor for applications in unconfined areas. This is as
hydrogen gas in processes or storage is usually under elevated
pressures, and the direction of the leaked hydrogen plume is not
necessarily upwards.
When under pressure, hydrogen gas leaks are likely to be in
the form of gas jets. The shape of these jets is typically long but
narrow in width, and the momentum of release can maintain
this shape for a considerable time. This increases the likelihood
of the gas jet bypassing point gas detectors for a lengthy
period. And, since it is difficult to know where a leak would
occur, the direction of such gas jets is typically random. This
further increases the likelihood of delayed detection or, in the
worst case, the likelihood of no detection. Positioning point gas
detectors for rapid hydrogen gas detection in unconfined areas is
difficult. Consequently, the likelihood of hydrogen gas detection
can be much lower than realised.
Plume modelling and gas mapping software tools can be used
to demonstrate the limitations of point gas detectors in hydrogen
gas applications. They can also help bring new detection
techniques into urgent consideration, such as ultrasonic gas leak
detection for more effective hydrogen gas risk mitigation.
Worker protection: portable gas
monitors
Workers may need to access areas of a site where sensors
are not installed. In an enclosed space, the risk of a potential
hydrogen leak causing worker asphyxiation is generally
outweighed by the danger of combustion caused by static from
clothing, footwear, or equipment causing an explosion or fire.
Therefore, the focus is on personal atmospheric monitoring
using portable gas detectors.
Choosing a vendor for hydrogen
detection and safety
As previously mentioned, hydrogen gas detection and
monitoring can pose several unique challenges. Organisations
engaged in or entering the hydrogen supply chain should seek
guidance from a safety partner with a proven track record
backed by sector-specific insight and expertise.
As an experienced supplier of gas and flame detection
equipment, MSA Safety has pioneered the detection of
combustible gases such as methane and propane. With
an in-house R&D team, MSA develops, tests, and manufactures
its own fully certified portfolio of products and safety solutions,
including hydrogen gas and flame detection technologies.
Best practice fire and gas mapping
In summary, hydrogen gas presents exciting commercial and
sustainability opportunities – and several new and distinctive
challenges across the production and distribution chain.
Design, installation, and planning of a layered gas and flame
detection system for process industry facilities usually begins
with choosing correct instrumentation for the specific
potential hazards, as well as determining sensor detection
range, mounting, and positioning, field of view, knowledge
of lines of sight, and blind spots. Quantifying flame and gas
risks to correctly position fixed gas and flame detectors for the
highest detection coverage benefits from careful analysis and
a systematic approach. Plume modelling and gas mapping can
provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of an applied
hydrogen detection scheme.
Through its fire and gas mapping solution, MSA offers
a technical assessment of a facility coupled with mapping
software to provide metrics calculation based on the technical
report’s findings. The software informs optimal sensor
placement and determines the location and scope of gaps in
coverage targets. Coverage calculations provide a quantitative
measure of gas detection needs that complement conventional
methods. A mapping report includes graphical maps of residual
risks, recommended detector placements, and numerical
estimates of detection coverage. The approach used is based
on recommendations outlined in ISA’s TR84.00.07 technical
report.
Winter 2023 GlobalHydrogenReview.com 47
48
 Dinesh Pattabiraman and Manish Verma,
TMEIC Corp. Americas, USA, address the impact
that power supply can have on the cost and
efficiency of electrolytic hydrogen production.

O
ne of the biggest challenges with the hydrogen economy
is replacing fossil-derived hydrogen with clean hydrogen, a
product that has zero impact on the environment. Among the
various pathways to produce clean hydrogen, electrolysis is
a powerful catalyst for achieving a low-to-no-carbon hydrogen supply.
The prevailing idea is that by harnessing excess renewable electricity
and transforming it into hydrogen, we have the potential to decarbonise
stalwart industries like steel, refining, and fertilizers, and unlock new
use applications for hydrogen; replacing traditional energy sources with
a clean one. While electrolysers receive much attention as a crucial
component in electrolysis, the technology selection for the power supply
unit is equally vital. This power supply unit (PSU) is critical in converting
alternating current (AC) power to direct current (DC) power, ensuring
optimal performance. Its significance lies in its impact on the project’s
overall capital cost and operating expenses, which has a material effect
on the levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH). This article will outline the
importance of the PSU, as well as factors which drive the cost of the
PSU, and finally, what types of PSU technologies are available, along with
crucial advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately, understanding the
PSU and its nuances will help the cost, performance, and scalability of
electrolytic hydrogen as one of the most cost-effective vectors for energy
transition paths for hydrogen.

Regulatory background
The US government has sent a clear signal to develop the nascent
hydrogen industry by passing two pieces of legislation:
� The Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021 pledges
US$8 billion in funding to de-risk and develop promising hydrogen
hubs nationwide, regardless of the hydrogen production technology
used. The overarching goal is to demonstrate that for every 1 kg of
hydrogen produced, no more than 2 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent
(CO2e) are emitted on-site.
� The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, under Section 26 USC 45V of
the tax code, provides a production tax credit (PTC) based on the
lifecycle carbon emissions, on a well-to-gate basis, for every kilogram
of hydrogen. Table 1 summarises the amount of PTC.

49
 In perspective, current methods of producing hydrogen
through the conventional steam methane reforming (SMR)
process emit around 8 - 12 kg of CO2e / kg of hydrogen.
Therefore, to qualify for the statutory allowable maximum tax
credit of US$3/kg of hydrogen, the carbon intensity should be
between 0 – 0.45 kg of CO2e / kg of hydrogen.
These two pieces of legislation are helping with investment
decisions in the hydrogen industry and will accelerate the
development of related technologies.
Producing electrolytic hydrogen
Over the past year, hydrogen’s role in the energy transition
has been widely discussed. Regarding electrolytic hydrogen,
the talk has been exclusively focused on the electrolyser
itself, focusing on novel materials. There is indeed lots to talk
about when it comes to novel materials, coatings, costs, and
overall project economics. However, the discussion has not
detailed the upstream DC power supply unit, the PSU. This
is understandable, as most professionals in this industry are
chemical or electrochemical engineers. DC power supplies
are viewed as a mature technology relative to electrolysers.
However, this is not so. Megawatt (MW) scale DC supplies
Table 1. 45V tax credit structure for hydrogen
production
Life cycle emissions PTC value
(kg of CO2e/kg of hydrogen) (US$/kg of hydrogen)
4 – 2.5 0.60
2.5 – 1.5 0.75
1.5 – 0.45 1.00
0.45 – 0 3.00
Figure 1. Cost structure of typical electrolyser system and balance of plant (BOP)
component disaggregation.¹
Figure 2. Electrical illustration of an electrolyser.
50 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
can vary significantly in cost and performance depending
on the technology and topology. A wholistic approach is
therefore required to safely, cost-effectively and reliably deploy
electrolytic hydrogen.
Figure 1 shows the typical cost structure of an electrolyser
system and the component disaggregation for the balance of
plant services. The PSU constitutes approximately one-third of
the total cost of the electrolyser system, and it should not be
overlooked.
Figure 2 provides an illustration of a typical electrolysis
process. Three major factors affect the cost structure of the
PSU:
yy Step-down transformer.
yy Grid-side and electrolyser-side performance requirements of
the rectifier.
yy Electrolyser DC current rating.
The step-down transformer reduces the voltage level
available from the utility service (typically 34.5 kV) to a voltage
level used by the rectifier itself. In power electronics, the basic
building blocks of a circuit form what is known as a topology.
The power conversion topology determines the grid-side
and load-side (electrolyser) performance. The DC current rating
determines the size and number of PSUs necessary to satisfy
the current rating at the electrolyser’s beginning and end of
life.
It is critical to note that rectifiers are primarily sized and
priced based on their DC current rating rather than the power
rating, which is a product of voltage and current. A higher
current requires more semiconductor devices, more copper
and more thermal cooling, which drives up cost. Rectifier cost
strongly, positively, and directly correlates with the current
they have to deliver. While there is some correlation of cost
with operating voltage due to the choice
of semiconductor devices, the impact is
much stronger with current. Transformer
cost is also affected by the stack current
rating, since the low voltage winding
would require more copper to deliver a
higher current, therefore increasing its
cost.
Figure 3 shows how DC amps vary
as a function of DC volts for a 20 MW,
10 MW and 5 MW electrolyser stack
size. Holding DC volts constant, the
electrolyser watts directly determine the
amps that are required from the rectifier.
In addition, as the electrolyser stack
voltage is increased, the DC amps are
lower in order to hold the stack power
constant. This can be leveraged in the
electrolyser design to reduce the PSU
cost, by lowering the current (amps) that
a particular stack requires. A rectifier
that needs to deliver 25 MW at 500 V is a
quite different rectifier (in terms of size,
cost, and configuration) than one that
needs to deliver 25 MW at 1500 V. The
number of amps necessary is reduced by
almost 66%.
 Major topologies available for PSUs
Historically, thyristor devices such as the silicon-controlled
rectifier (SCR) have been used for AC to DC power conversion.
Power-intensive processes such as chlor-alkali, electrowinning,
and aluminium smelting use these devices. SCRs continue to
serve the industry with their robustness and low cost. However,
they have application considerations that need to be accounted
for in project design. The advent of fast switching transistor
devices known as insulated gate bipolar junction transistors
(IGBTs), and continuous improvements in their performance,
have led to their widespread adoption in many applications
such as electric motor adjustable speed drives, traction systems
and, more recently, in solar and energy storage inverters. Due
to the economies of scale and the nature of their voltage and
current characteristics, IGBT-based rectifiers present a unique
value proposition for their applicability in electrolytic hydrogen
production. These characteristics are summarised in Figure 4.
Two crucial application considerations are highlighted here:
harmonics and power factor. AC to DC power conversion
inherently introduces non-linearities, generating electrical
harmonics on the grid. This can be likened to ‘electrical
pollution’ in simple terms and utility standards necessitate
these harmonic levels to be within acceptable limits.
In the case of thyristor-based technology, additional
harmonic filters are required at the electrical substation.
These passive filters introduce extra costs, occupy physical
space, have power losses, and control flexibility comes at a
high cost. These filters are hard to design to accommodate
the variable electrolyser load which may fluctuate based
on available renewable power. Additionally, thyristor-based
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rectifiers exhibit a low power factor load to the utility, as the
line-side power factor is dependent on the electrolyser load.
Many utilities worldwide are imposing mandates on their
customers, requiring a minimum power factor of 0.95 or even
higher. Failure to meet this requirement may result in penalties.
Transistor-based rectification technology such as IGBTs mitigate
these two issues, providing greater certainty in electrical
performance. Furthermore, due to their widespread adoption
in the renewables industry, these systems have become
cost-effective in terms of manufacturing and installation.
By transitioning to transistor-based rectifiers, the harmonic
pollution and power factor challenges can be significantly
reduced or eliminated. This alternative technology offers
improved electrical performance, cost-effectiveness, and
operational flexibility, making it an attractive choice for
electrolysis systems seeking optimal efficiency and compliance
with utility requirements.
Comparing IGBT-based power
conversion topologies
IGBT-based conversion topologies can utilise a single stage or
a multi-stage conversion with each topology possessing its
own application considerations. A single-stage AC-DC power
conversion is typically achieved through a 3-phase converter,
which is widely applied in solar photovoltaic inverters,
energy storage inverters, etc. This topology offers acceptable
harmonic pollution and allows for active control of reactive
power, which eliminates the need for any additional harmonic
filter or power factor compensation equipment in the plant.
The operating principle of this topology is a voltage boost
 which delivers a higher DC voltage than the AC voltage and
therefore necessitates a minimum DC voltage for operation
based on a fixed AC voltage. Since the minimum stack
voltage is affected by the beginning of life operation at the
lowest possible current, the AC voltage must be lowered to
match this voltage. A lower AC voltage increases the current
capability required and would drive up the cost. In addition,
the minimum DC voltage required can complicate pre-charging
requirements for the electrolyser.
A two-stage conversion utilises a front-end to rectify the AC
voltage to DC as well as a separate DC-DC stage to match the
electrolyser demand and overcome the minimum DC voltage
requirement. The front-end can be diode-based in order to
reduce cost and increase conversion efficiency. Even though
active reactive power control is not possible, the topology
can deliver at least 0.95 power factor. Harmonic pollution
Figure 3. DC current (amps) as a function of DC volts (V) for 20 MW, 10 MW and 5 MW
electrolyser stack.
Figure 4. Summary of major rectification topologies for electrolytic hydrogen.
52 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
can be lowered to acceptable levels by using a multi-pulse,
phase-shift transformer. Using an active front-end instead
helps achieve unity power factor and compliance with
harmonic limits without using phase-shifted transformers.
The active front-end and DC-DC stages can be coordinated to
achieve good overall efficiency. Further, the active front-end
can boost the DC voltage above the nominal voltage produced
by a diode rectifier, which enables operation at higher DC
voltages. Overall, the topology offers a broad control range
from 0 V – rated DC voltage, which increases its flexibility to
match the electrolyser performance.
Conclusion
Hydrogen is poised to revolutionise decarbonisation efforts
across major sectors of the economy, and electrolytic
hydrogen production stands out as a promising method.
While improving electrolyser stack
performance and reducing costs remain
critical, disregarding the significance of
the DC power supply would be a costly
mistake. The current flow through
the system directly impacts rectifier
costs, making it an essential factor
to consider. One effective approach
to minimise current is by increasing
stack voltage. While the average stack
voltage hovers around 700 V, the
industry is witnessing a trend toward
stack voltages in the 1000 - 1500 V
range. Standardising the volts and amps
within the electrolyser industry would
unlock economies of scale and lead to
cost reduction, mirroring the success
achieved in the solar industry in the last
decade. Regarding CAPEX in hydrogen
production facilities, the rectifier’s cost,
performance, and scalability play a
crucial role.
Conversely, OPEX is driven by safety,
efficiency, and reliability considerations.
In the short-term, aligning stack volts
and amps with the PSU capability proves
to be the most effective means of
reducing CAPEX. However, eventually,
the OPEX truly matters. The industry
must actively engage with both balance
of plant (BOP) scope suppliers and,
more importantly, DC power supply unit
manufacturers at the preliminary stages
of design. Collaboration between these
stakeholders will enable mutual support
and pave the way for widespread
adoption of hydrogen, driving the
industry toward a cleaner and more
sustainable future.
Reference
1. ‘Harnessing green Hydrogen in India,’
adapted for IRENA report 2020,
https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/
files/2022-06/Harnessing_Green_
Hydrogen_V21_DIGITAL_29062022.pdf.
 Nora Han, ABB System Drives, Switzerland,
outlines the importance of efficient power
supply in green hydrogen production.

T
oday, over 99.6% of hydrogen
processing involves petroleum
and natural gas. This is
unsustainable and does
not make net zero goals any more
achievable. As the hydrogen industry
shifts to focus on producing green
hydrogen, there is one major obstacle
to overcome: the cost.
Assuming that water is relatively
affordable, electricity is an electrolysis
facility’s greatest OPEX. In an average
green hydrogen plant, electricity
accounts for approximately 80% of
OPEX. Therefore, improving the energy
efficiency of a facility is the best
way to lower the unit cost of green
hydrogen.
Fortunately, technological advances
in power supplies mean that greater
efficiency is now possible. These
developments, in combination with
other economic factors, will earn green
hydrogen its place as the fuel of the
future.
A clear way to improve
energy efficiency
A green hydrogen processing system
involves many components, and

53
 each introduces the possibility for inefficiency. There are
losses in the electrolysers, protection equipment, cooling
systems, auxiliary equipment, and every other component.
Upgrading these to more energy-efficient versions –
without compromising their performance – produces a
more productive system.
The greatest potential efficiency improvements come
from the power supply. A power supply system converts
alternating current (AC) from the grid into direct current
(DC) used by the electrolyser. The right choice of power
supply can achieve system efficiency of over 98%.
Power supplies typically account for up to 30% of
the cost of an electrolysis system. Fortunately, savings
are possible. As an International Renewable Energy
Agency (IRENA) report states, the use of “standard
utility scale power supply systems” for green hydrogen
production “can significantly reduce cost and increase the
performance of the power supply for electrolysers.”1
Figure 1. A hybrid solution combines both thyristor and IGBT building blocks.
Figure 2. A hybrid solution minimises electrical system life cycle costs.
54 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
What does a power supply do?
Today, green hydrogen is produced using alkaline,
proton exchange membrane (PEM), and solid oxide
electrolyser cell (SOEC) systems. Each has advantages and
disadvantages and places different demands on the power
supply. However, all three approaches are low-voltage (LV)
DC systems.
This means that electricity must be stepped down from
the grid’s medium-voltage (MV) AC to LV DC before it can
be used. Here, there are a variety of approaches. One
option is to use transformers to reduce the voltage and
then rectifiers to convert it to DC. Alternatively, the current
can be changed first and then the voltage can be adjusted
using a DC-DC converter. This approach achieves greater
performance.
If a facility already has a supply of DC power, no current
conversion is necessary, and a DC-DC converter can simply
lower the voltage to the required level.
Choosing a power supply
There is no single ‘best’ power supply – operators
must select a solution that suits the facility’s
requirements. However, there are some general
points to consider.
First, the energy supplied for green hydrogen
must come from renewable sources such as wind
and solar. Renewable energy sources can be
intermittent and dynamic, so power supplies must
be able to respond rapidly to input and output
signals. Designs with specialised power electronics
are suitable for use with uninterruptible power
supplies (UPS), maximising plant uptime.
Whichever approach operators select, they
should consider investing in a modular solution.
This ensures that scaling up production in the
future – which is a likely outcome as demand for
green hydrogen grows – is as straightforward as
possible.
Finally, operators must understand that the
industry has yet to settle upon standards, so every
system will be unique. To ensure that the system
is cost-effective and performs as efficiently as
possible, they must work with expert partners. As
IRENA states: “optimisation can be achieved by
careful system integration of different components
in the electrolyser facility, optimising the entire
facility rather than individual components.”
Optimising power factor
A significant contributor to a system’s efficiency
is the power factor (PF). This metric measures the
ratio of apparent power, supplied by the network,
to active power, the power used to perform work.
An ideal PF is unity, meaning that the system uses
all of the electricity provided. However, this is
rarely achieved in reality. A more realistic target is
a PF of 0.95.
However, facilities often have a PF far below
this. This means that the network contains a
significant amount of reactive power – power that
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 flows back to the grid without doing any work, wasting
system capacity. Some grid operators impose significant
penalties for excess reactive power.
Power factor correction equipment, such as capacitors,
STATCOMs and synchronous condensers, can increase a
facility’s PF. The right choice of equipment also ensures
that a facility can achieve a near-unity PF, another reason
why it is essential to consult with experts during the design
phase.
Reducing harmonics
Harmonic distortion is another significant contributor to
a system’s efficiency. Harmonic distortion, or ‘electrical
pollution’, is noise introduced to the electrical network
resulting from equipment drawing power. If the noise
occurs at a multiple of the fundamental frequency, it
produces a harmonic wave, and this can cause several
issues for a hydrogen production facility.
Harmonic content on the network results in voltage
distortion, which reduces the system’s energy efficiency.
Losses from harmonics can be significant – a percent total
harmonic distortion in the current (THDi), a level that many
industrial facilities experience, results in a 16% increase in
energy losses.
In addition to lowering the system’s energy efficiency,
harmonics also increase total energy consumption and can
damage equipment. Harmonics often cause overheating
of components such as transformers, motors and cables.
This could be a safety hazard when dealing with hydrogen.
Minimising harmonics must therefore be a priority for
facilities.
To limit the impact of harmonics, many facilities
over-specify electrical components. However, this
approach increases CAPEX and further lowers efficiency.
Overcoming challenges from
harmonics
Several technologies are available to address harmonics.
Operators can specify multi-pulse technology to cancel out
harmonics using phase shift, which typically lowers THDi
to between 6 and 10%. Another option is to use a choke
and capacitors to passively filter harmonics to a THDi of
under 10%. Alternatively, facilities can apply active filtering
to generate the same harmonic in the opposite phase,
cancelling it out and reducing THDi to less than 5%.
These solutions are constructed from the building blocks
of diodes, thyristors, and insulated-gate bipolar transistors
(IGBTs). Diodes let current move in one direction and
thyristors act as diodes which can be turned on and off.
IGBTs are more complex, and therefore more expensive,
but they are controllable, bidirectional and can be used to
ensure the whole converter counteracts harmonics.
Solutions built using different combinations of these
technologies and approaches have unique strengths and
weaknesses. For example, a 6-pulse thyristor rectifier is an
affordable, simple solution, but it may introduce harmonic
content on the grid side. A 12-pulse model counters
harmonics more effectively, but requires a more advanced
transformer, and is more costly and bulky.
56 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
Two- and three-level active rectifiers are effective at
reducing harmonic content but are less energy efficient
than other solutions and experience higher current stress.
Two-stage power supplies – such as a 12-pulse diode
rectifier paired with an interleaved DC/DC converter – are
also less efficient.
The benefits of hybrid solutions
As a general rule, more expensive options achieve lower
THDi. Fortunately, by combining these technologies,
operators can benefit from the best of each at a price that
strikes a balance between CAPEX and OPEX.
A hybrid solution that combines IGBT and thyristor
technology, for example, achieves outstanding
performance while eliminating the need for compensation
equipment like capacitor banks and active filters.
The advantages of a hybrid approach become even
clearer as the system scales up. According to an internal
study, a hybrid solution is the most affordable way to
power a 200 MW system while achieving a power factor
over 0.97 and harmonic content and DC ripple of lower
than 5%. This solution achieves overall efficiency of over
98%.
This hybrid design is cheaper than an equivalent
thyristor or IGBT system, meaning that it requires lower
CAPEX. It also uses less power, providing lower OPEX.
Experts can conduct a simulation to estimate the potential
savings from installing a hybrid system.
Modern power supply systems also offer advantages in
terms of reliability, maintenance, and safety. This helps
hydrogen facilities to maximise uptime. Manufacturers
with expertise in hazardous environments, such as ABB,
design equipment with safety as a priority. For example,
equipment may have a minimised number of components,
use materials with a high comparative tracking index (CTI),
and come with a suitable ingress protection (IP) rating.
Efficiency drives affordability
Green hydrogen is essential to reaching net zero and
decarbonising the economy, but it must come down in
price. Efficiency is essential to this, as it is the top OPEX
for facilities. To improve energy efficiency, facilities
can invest in power supplies and other equipment that
maximises power factor and minimises harmonics.
In addition to energy efficiency, other factors will
contribute to lowering the price of green hydrogen. The
IRENA report finds that, as designers gain real-world
experience with large-scale green hydrogen production,
they will be able to lengthen electrolyser lifetimes from
10 to 20 years. Economies of scale, meanwhile, are
forecast to reduce the cost of new electrolysers by as
much as 80%.
The technological steps that will lead to the market
success of green hydrogen are clear – now it is up to
operators to take them.
Reference
1. ‘Green hydrogen cost reduction: scaling up electrolysers to
meet the 1.5˚C climate goal’, IRENA, (2020).
 Adoption of hydrogen as a marine fuel is still in its early stages but
the opportunity to support shipping’s net-zero journey is clear.
Panos Koutsourakis, ABS, explores how hydrogen can fulfil its potential role.

I
n response to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets
instituted by international regulators, the maritime industry
has shown increased interest in the use of LNG, methanol,
ethane, LPG, hydrogen, ammonia and other gases and
low-flashpoint fuels, including e-fuels.
Of the alternative fuels being considered in the clean energy
transition, hydrogen is one of the potential zero-emission fuel
sources due to its ability to be produced from renewable and
sustainable sources and its lack of carbon emissions in use.
In recent years, industry has recognised hydrogen’s
potential to generate electricity through fuel cells and
combustion technologies. In a hydrogen fuel cell consuming
a pure hydrogen fuel supply, GHGs are not emitted, while in
combustion engines or gas turbines, hydrogen can be used to
significantly reduce GHG emissions.
Challenges and opportunities
While hydrogen appears to be an ideal fuel for power
generation, it carries various challenges including storage
requirements and fire hazard mitigation. To become a
competitive alternative marine fuel, hydrogen also faces the
challenges of availability and high costs to scale production
and transportation infrastructure.
Its low density causes any hydrogen to dissipate relatively
quickly when released in an open environment; hydrogen in
the atmosphere cannot be contained by earth’s gravity and
eventually escapes into space. Hydrogen leaks are considered
non-toxic, although the wide flammability range and potential
for combustion can raise concerns regarding hydrogen safety
and risk management.
Hydrogen has the potential to be a zero-carbon marine
fuel when it is consumed in a fuel cell or a mono-fuel
internal combustion engine. When consumed in a dual
fuel combustion engine, hydrogen can significantly reduce
carbon emissions. Hydrogen is characterised by having a very
low tank-to-wake (TTW) emissions impact, which considers
the emissions produced by an energy source. However,
the lifecycle of hydrogen production must be considered

57
 to evaluate the overall emissions of GHGs from hydrogen.
Well-to-tank (WTT) emissions consider all pollutants generated
during fuel production, storage and transportation to the end
consumer.
These can include the emissions generated when coal or
natural gas is processed to generate hydrogen, or the fossil
fuels combusted to generate grid electricity used to generate
hydrogen through electrolysis. To fully eliminate hydrogen
emissions prior to fuel delivery, it is critical to focus on
carbon-free production, storage and transportation methods.
Hydrogen can be produced in renewable or ‘green’ forms that
can eliminate upstream carbon and GHG emissions and result
in very low WTT emissions.
When both WTT and TTW emissions are eliminated from
the fuel life cycle, a zero-carbon well-to-wake (WTW) fuel
option is created. Sustainability verification schemes or
guarantees of origin certificates such as the EU CertifHy
project can be used, which may be implemented in the
hydrogen market to track and quantify the emissions footprint
of generated hydrogen. Such schemes may be implemented
regionally or nationally but are not yet mandated by the
International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Potential as a marine fuel
Compared to other marine fuels, hydrogen is characterised
by having the highest energy content per mass of all chemical
fuels at 120.2 MJ/kg, as shown in Table 1. In terms of mass
energy, it exceeds MGO by 2.8 times, and alcohols by five
to six times. Therefore, hydrogen fuel can increase the
effective efficiency of an engine and help reduce specific fuel
consumption.
However, due to its lower volumetric energy density, liquid
hydrogen may require four times more space than MGO,
or about two times more space than LNG for an equivalent
amount of carried energy. Also important to consider when
comparing fuel energy and required volumes are the energy
efficiencies of the consumer, or electrical energy losses in
fuel cells.
Additional volumes of fuel may be required to account
for efficiency losses between the tank to the output
shaft power. Hydrogen requires low temperatures below
-253°C (-423.4°F) to liquefy. Due to this very low temperature,
the required volume to store liquid hydrogen could be even
greater when considering the necessary layers of materials or
vacuum insulation for cryogenic storage and other structural
arrangements
Hydrogen can also be stored within other materials, such as
metal hydrides. This storage method binds hydrogen to metal
alloys in porous and loose form by applying moderate pressure
and heat. Subsequently, hydrogen is extracted by removing
the pressure and heat. While technologically feasible and safe,
metal hydride and other hydrogen storage methods within
solid materials may not be a weight-effective solution for
hydrogen storage on board ships.
Due to the challenges related to low temperature or
high-pressure storage, hydrogen can alternatively be carried
within other substances such as ammonia or methanol. These
fuels may require less energy than that needed to refrigerate
liquefied hydrogen or to compress gaseous hydrogen. Some
fuel cells can consume ammonia, methanol or other hydrogen
carrier fuels by reforming and extracting hydrogen from the
fuel using internal reformers.
However, these technologies may require higher energy
input to hydrogenate and reform the fuel and therefore may
result in less efficient electrical production than pure hydrogen
containment and consumption in fuel cells. Figure 1 shows
how ammonia as an energy carrier can play a role in the life
cycle of hydrogen fuel, leading to either consumption in a fuel
cell or combustion engine.
Regulatory backdrop
Although hydrogen has yet to be adopted as a fuel in
the maritime industry beyond a few pilot projects, it has
already been implemented in land-based uses. Some of
the information, rules and regulations from land-based
resources are referenced in MSC.420(97). These include safety

Table 1. Properties of hydrogen compared to other marine fuels

Hydrogen MGO Heavy Methane Ethane Propane Butane Dimethyl- Methanol Ethanol Ammonia
fuel oil ether
(DME)
Boiling point -253 180 - 360 180 - 360 -161 -89 -43 -1 -25 65 78 -33
(˚C)
Density (kg/m³) 70.8 900 991 430 570 500 600 670 790 790 696
Lower heating 120.2 42.7 40.2 48 47.8 46.3 45.7 28.7 19.9 26.8 22.5
value (MJ/kg)
Auto ignition 585 250 250 537 515 470 365 350 450 420 630
temperature
(˚C)
Flashpoint (˚C) - > 60 > 60 -188 -135 -104 -60 -41 11 16 132

Energy density 8.51 (4.8) 38.4 39.8 20.6 27.2 23.2 27.4 19.2 15.7 21.2 15.7
liquid (H2 gas
at 700 bar)
MJ/L
Compared 4.51 (7.98) 1.00 0.96 1.86 1.41 1.66 1.40 2.00 2.45 1.81 2.45
volume to
MGO (H2 gas
at 700 bar)

58 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023

measures, methods of transportation
and standard hydrogen production
procedures. Various referenced codes
and regulations exist for hydrogen
component standards and equipment
design, fire codes and other
hydrogen-specific safety codes, and
general safety codes or standards that
include hydrogen.
The IMO has initiated the ‘MSC CCC
8-W.3 Draft Interim Guidelines for
the Safety of Ships using Hydrogen as
Fuel’, which is yet to be finalised. This
document focuses on systems and
arrangements provided for the use of
hydrogen for propulsion and auxiliary
systems. In addition, the MSC.1/Circ. Figure 1. ABS diagram showing how ammonia as an energy carrier can play a role in
1647 for IMO’s ‘Interim Guidelines the life cycle of hydrogen fuel, leading to either consumption in a fuel cell or combustion
for the Safety of Ships Using Fuel engine.
Cell Power Installations’ was also
published for promoting the use of
hydrogen-based fuel cells.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO),
‘Technical Report ISO/TR 15916 Basic Considerations for the
Safety of Hydrogen Systems’ focuses on providing technical
information that forms the basis of understanding hydrogen
safety issues. The report addresses the recent interest in
using hydrogen as a fuel and aims to address the unique
hydrogen-related safety properties and phenomena and best
engineering practices to minimise risks and hazards from
hydrogen.
The future possible development and adoption of IMO
regulations for hydrogen as marine fuel and fuel cell guidelines Figure 2. Rendering of the ABS-classed, Glosten-designed
may help accelerate adoption and spur development of hydrogen-fuelled research vessel for the University of California
the associated infrastructure for hydrogen generation and San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography (image
distribution. courtesy of Glosten).

Supporting adoption
ABS is working with organisations to support the safe
development and use of hydrogen as a marine fuel.
Current projects include the ABS-classed, Glosten-designed
hydrogen-fuelled research vessel for the University of
California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Designed by Glosten, the vessel will feature a new
hydrogen-hybrid propulsion system that integrates hydrogen
fuel cells alongside a conventional diesel-electric power plant,
enabling zero-emission operations. The design is scaled so that
the ship will be able to operate 75% of its missions entirely
using hydrogen. For longer missions, extra power will be
provided by diesel generators.
The 150 ft vessel will be equipped with advanced
instruments and sensing systems, along with laboratories,
enabling multidisciplinary research and advancing
understanding of the physical and biological processes active
in California’s coastal oceans.
ABS has also supported vessels such as Veer Voyage, a
wind-powered containership with auxiliary fuel cell propulsion
that utilises green hydrogen as fuel, by leveraging the risk
assessment defined in the new ‘ABS Requirements for
Hydrogen Fuelled Vessels’.
ABS recognises the potential that hydrogen also shows
in supporting a sustainable, lower carbon future. Safe and
efficient storage and transportation of hydrogen at sea will be
critical to the development and viability of the global hydrogen
value chain.
To this end, ABS has presented Provaris Energy with an
approval in principle (AIP) for its gaseous hydrogen floating
storage concept.
The solution, dubbed H2Leo, has a design capacity range
of 300 to 600 t of hydrogen, expandable to up to 2000 t.
The unit is designed for various hydrogen supply chains and
applications, including bunkering for the maritime sector,
intermittent/buffer storage for green hydrogen production,
and long-duration storage for excess renewable energy.
The AIP is the latest example of ABS assessing novel
approaches that support the development of the hydrogen
value chain. Provaris’ H2Neo design for a compressed
hydrogen carrier marks an industry first for a bulk hydrogen
gas carrier.
The development of H2Leo will run parallel to the remaining
engineering and approvals for the H2Neo carrier, targeting
prototype testing and final class approval later this year, with
the unit available for construction in 2025.

Winter 2023 GlobalHydrogenReview.com 59

Hydrogen innovation reaches high point with
record patent filings for production
I nnovation in hydrogen production technologies has reached
a record high, according to the latest patent data reported by
Appleyard Lees. The intellectual property firm’s third annual
edition of the ‘Inside Green Innovation: Progress Report’, reveals
that patent filings for innovations related to hydrogen production
reached 555 in 2021 (the latest reported data) – an increase of
224 (almost 68%) since the previous 15-year peak in 2018. In
geographic terms, Japan leads innovation in this area, followed
by South Korea, the US, Europe and China.
Patent applications for green hydrogen innovations have seen
an unprecedented rise in the five years to 2021, reflecting the
need for energy suppliers to produce more green hydrogen to
support the transition to net zero by 2050. Innovation trends
in this energy area suggest that the technologies aimed at both
production and storage of hydrogen are each advancing at pace.
Companies including Mitsubishi, Air Liquide, Toyota and
Tokyo Gas, are among the top global patent filers in hydrogen
production.
TÜV SÜD introduces new standard for
low-carbon hydrogen
T ÜV SÜD has developed the TÜV SÜD CMS 77 standard for the
certification of low-carbon hydrogen or blue hydrogen and
their derivatives (currently ammonia). The new standard will be
continuously adapted to current and future developments and legal
and normative requirements.
The standard is applicable to all companies seeking to
demonstrate their compliance with criteria set in the regulatory
frameworks of various countries and regions, and to show their
commitment to a sustainable energy supply. The standard sets a
maximum threshold for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction
potential allowed in the production process for hydrogen and its
derivatives to be considered as ‘low-carbon products’.
According to the standard, the GHG reduction of low-carbon
hydrogen and low-carbon ammonia must be at least 70% compared
to the global benchmark of 94 gCO2eq/MJLHV. This corresponds to
a GHG value of not more than 28.2 gCO2eq/MJLHV. The standard
additionally requires the construction and use of facilities for carbon
capture and geological storage with robust proof of permanency of
geological storage.
60 GlobalHydrogenReview.com Winter 2023
EC launches first European Hydrogen Bank
auction
T he European Commission (EC) has launched the first
auction under the European Hydrogen Bank to support the
production of renewable hydrogen in Europe, with an initial
€800 million of emissions trading revenues, channelled through the
Innovation Fund.
Producers of renewable hydrogen can bid for support in the form
of a fixed premium per kg of hydrogen produced. The premium is
intended to bridge the gap between the price of production and
the price consumers are currently willing to pay, in a market where
non-renewable hydrogen is still cheaper to produce.
The Hydrogen Bank complements other policy tools to build
a market for renewable hydrogen, stimulate investments in the
production capacity, and bring production to scale. Under the
pilot auction, producers of renewable hydrogen, as defined in the
Renewable Energy Directive and its Delegated Acts, can submit
bids for EU support for a certain volume of hydrogen production.
The bids should be based on a proposed price premium per kg of
renewable hydrogen produced, up to a ceiling of €4.5/kg.
ADNOC opens high-speed green hydrogen
refuelling pilot station
A DNOC has announced that it has opened ‘H2GO’, the
region’s first high-speed green hydrogen pilot refuelling
station, to test a fleet of zero-emission hydrogen-powered
vehicles. The station, which is located on land provided by
Masdar City and operated by ADNOC Distribution, will create
green hydrogen from water using an electrolyser powered by
clean grid electricity.
Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC Executive Director,
Low Carbon Solutions and International Growth, said: “We
are pleased to launch this unique high-speed green hydrogen
refuelling station which supports the UAE’s National
Hydrogen Strategy. ADNOC continues to collaborate with
local and international companies on innovative technologies
and low-carbon solutions that can accelerate decarbonisation
and support a responsible energy transition.”
The hydrogen supplied at the pilot station will be
certified as ‘green’ from solar sources by the International
REC Standard, an internationally recognised certification
organisation.
UK government agrees £2 billion funding for
green hydrogen projects

T he UK government has announced £2 billion in funding to

support green hydrogen projects over the next 15 years. For the latest hydrogen
Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho has announced backing
for 11 major projects, and confirmed suppliers will receive a news, click here and follow
guaranteed price from the government for the clean energy they
supply.
This represents the largest number of commercial scale green
us on social media
hydrogen production projects announced at once anywhere in
Europe.
In return for this government support, the successful projects will
invest over £400 million in the next three years, generating more @Hydrogen_Review @HydrogenReview Global Hydrogen Review
than 700 jobs in local communities across the UK and delivering
125 MW of new hydrogen for businesses.
The funding represents the most significant step in scaling up the www.globalhydrogenreview.com
UK’s hydrogen economy to date – speeding up progress towards
the government’s ambition to deploy up to 10 GW low-carbon
production capacity by 2030.

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