Tag: Hydrogen

The partners in the HyLion network are planning to produce low carbon hydrogen from renewable energy in Scotland and convert it into methanol for use as a low carbon fuel in the shipping, aviation, and motorsport sectors in the UK and Europe. The HyLion project partners include ARUP, McPhy Energy, Bosch, E.On, CO2 Recovery Ltd, Mareneco Ltd, Cadeler A/S, and P1 Fuels. Management and IT consultancy MHP is providing strategic and operational advice on the development and digitalisation of an efficient supply chain. Around 9,000 t/a of hydrogen and around 45,000 t/a of green methanol are planned in the initial pilot plant, which will use 63,000 t/a of biogenic CO2 from E.On’s biomass power plant at Lockerbie and from local whisky distilleries for the production of methanol. Hydrogen will come from an 80 MW electrolyser supplied by McPhy Energy, using local wind energy, with pure water being supplied using Bosch technology. P1 Fuels’ technology will convert e-methanol into an e-fuel that fits seamlessly into the existing fuel infrastructure and offers a decarbonisation solution for the automotive industry, international and national racing series, and light aircraft, for example. Another customer for the e-methanol will be the shipping company Cadeler A/S. The plant is expected to start production at the beginning of 2028.

Johnson Matthey (JM) has signed an agreement with Bosch, a leading supplier to the automotive industry, to develop and produce catalyst coated membranes (CCM) for use in fuel cell stacks. JM’s high performance CCMs will be used in Bosch’s integrated, compact and scalable fuel cell power module for commercial vehicles, designed for longer distances.

Days 2 and 3 of the CRU’s 38th Nitrogen+Syngas 2025 Expoconference turned to the technical sessions, organised in three parallel streams covering: green ammonia technology, nitric acid and ammonium nitrate, plant operations and reliability, urea technology, digitalisation, carbon capture, emissions reduction and sustainable fertilizer production, and fertilizer finishing.

10th February, 2025 – sessions as reported by Richard Hands from Barcelona CRU’s 38th Nitrogen+Syngas 2025 Expoconference has begun in Barcelona with three strands covering business development, technical innovations and practical operator training, the latter comprising case studies for analysing hazards associated with green ammonia production. Heading up the business development session, Marti Leppälä, Secretary […]

6th February, 2025 Johnson Matthey (JM) – a global leader in sustainable technologies – and Bosch a leading supplier to the automotive industry – have today agreed terms to accelerate future projects together. The agreement confirms both parties’ intentions to develop and produce catalyst coated membranes (CCM) for use in fuel cell stacks. Transforming and […]

Carbon Recycling International (CRI), which operates a geothermally powered green methanol plant at Svartsengi, 40km southwest of Reykjavik, had to evacuate its site in late November when a 3km fissure opened in the earth a few kilometres away and lava began spilling across adjacent land. Satellite photos of the area taken on November 24 show a large field of molten and cooled lava to the north, west, and south of Svartsengi, though the plant itself remained undamaged. CRI’s Iceland facility runs on CO2 , water, and renewable electricity from the Svartsengi geothermal power station. CRI says the low-carbon energy source allows it to produce 4,000 t/a of methanol with a greenhouse gas footprint just 10–20% that of conventional methanol.

Blue hydrogen has emerged as a crucial technology for decarbonisation as nations around the world work towards net-zero carbon targets. By decarbonising hydrogen production and exploring clean hydrogen sources we can fully harness the potential of hydrogen in the global energy transition. Johnson Matthey, Topsoe and Casale report on their strategies and advanced technical solutions for large scale blue hydrogen production.

While there is still a considerable push for use of biomass waste as a lower carbon feedstock for chemical production via gasification to syngas, biological processes such as fermentation are increasingly gaining traction as an alternative.

The start of a new year is a traditional time to take stock of the previous 12 months and look ahead to the next. In this regard, CRU’s most recent annual client survey, conducted at the end of December last year, makes interesting reading as to your own concerns for 2025 and beyond. There were numerous responses across commodity and financial sectors, and broadly based worldwide, if slightly skewed towards Europe and North America, but across all of these the key worry for the coming year clearly emerged as trade tariffs and protectionism. This is perhaps unsurprising, given incoming US president Donald Trump’s avowed intent to impose blanket 20% tariffs on all goods entering the US, and up to 60% on China. While most clients did not think tariffs would rise as much as some of Trump’s rhetoric might suggest, most expect rises of 5-10% across the board, and Asian businesses are most concerned. CRU’s most recent position paper on US tariffs highlights some of the internal political and legal challenges in implementing these, but does acknowledge that some rises will be inevitable, and may well produce the kind of reciprocal measures last seen in the previous Trump administration’s trade war with China and the EU in 2018.

An ammonium nitrate industry geared around producing explosives for the mining sector is now being joined by a major urea project and a number of renewables-based products for export of green ammonia.