Q: Please could you briefly explain your role, involvement, and experience with regards to the hydrogen economy and this conference?
Allan Simpson, National Nuclear Laboratory (AS): Since 2020 I have led the National Nuclear Laboratory’s research efforts on Nuclear Enabled Hydrogen, both developing the understanding of how the different technologies would operate, and how that supports development of a hydrogen economy.
Mark Goodwin, ITM Power (MG): Over the last 10 years at ITM Power, I have been responsible for the mechanical design of electrolyser projects increasing in size from 50kg/year of green hydrogen to 1,300 tonnes/year. Most recently I have been working on cost and manufacturability optimisation to increase electrolyser manufacturing to meet the demand of the growing hydrogen economy.
Ken Scott, Tevva Hydrogen Electric Trucks (KS): I am the Chief Engineer at Tevva Hydrogen Electric Trucks and am leading the development of a range of trucks including full battery electric and dual energy (hydrogen as a range extender) solutions. The first customer dual energy solutions will be in operation in late 2023.
Hua Zhao, Brunel University London (HZ): I am currently directing several R&D projects on H2/ammonia Internal combustion engines for various applications.
Q: What, in your experience, has been the biggest roadblock for utilising hydrogen in your sector?
AS: Recognition! Many people don’t realise that nuclear energy can be used to produce hydrogen at scale and help resolve future potential supply constraints.
MG: Lack of investment in green hydrogen in the UK.
KS: I believe this is a combination of technology maturity to develop trucks at an attractive cost for the TCO equation as well as infrastructure challenges for truck operators including safety implications, availability of green hydrogen and hydrogen cost.
HZ: The main roadblocks are the infrastructure to supply hydrogen, the cost and large volume of hydrogen storage devices, and the public perception on H2 safety.
Q: What key topics are you excited to discuss at this year's conference?
AS: For me, opportunities to think about the whole of the hydrogen value chain are great. When delivering a future hydrogen economy, it is important for us to understand the related impacts of any one technology choice and recognise that a balanced portfolio of technologies will be invaluable to de-risking the transition.
MG: How green hydrogen can replace brown hydrogen in ammonia production to decarbonise industry. Green hydrogen as fuel for heavy goods vehicles and rail. Injection of green hydrogen into the natural gas grid as part of grid balancing.
KS: The challenges we face to find optimal customer solutions that trade off range, payload and cost to result in viable zero emissions technology for truck operators.
HZ: How to enable more efficient and effective hydrogen production and how H2 and ammonia can be transported and used for different applications.
Q: Regarding the utilisation of hydrogen, what would you say are the technologies or applications to watch for the future?
AS: Nuclear, of course!
MG: The use of hydrogen in power to gas to achieve grid balancing to solve the impending energy crisis.
KS: Hydrogen fuel cell power vs. physical size and cost is a key element for hydrogen truck development and therefore the roadmap of applications to optimise power density will be the sought-after solution going forward.
HZ: High pressure hydrogen direct injection technologies and on-board hydrogen production from ammonia.
Q: Who else are you most interested in hearing from on the programme?
AS: I’m particularly interested in understanding more about the maturity of the hydrogen end use sectors. Understanding when demand is likely to grow in the different sectors is valuable to help us understand the role that nuclear could play in supporting decarbonisation.
MG: I am most interested in hearing from Ken Scott of Tevva Hydrogen Electric Trucks on the future of green hydrogen use in the decarbonising of road freight.
KS: I am looking forward to all the presentations as these represent a broad range of topics that all contribute to the hydrogen economy.
HZ: Government policies on zero emission powertrain technologies.
Q: Why is it important for engineers to join this conference?
AS: There are many challenges across the hydrogen value chain, this conference is valuable as it allows us to understand better the challenges others face, and how our step in the value chain may be able to help resolve those challenges.
MG: In the coming years, hydrogen will play a critical role in achieving both energy security and the reduction of greenhouse gases, two increasingly prominent issues. This will require a large amount of engineering innovation to overcome the numerous technical challenges posed by scaling up the technology.
KS: I think it’s a great opportunity to share common challenges and solutions between various sectors of the hydrogen economy and therefore a fantastic opportunity to work closer together.
HZ: To understand the challenges and opportunities associated with the hydrogen economy.
The Engineering Challenges in the Hydrogen Economy 2023 conference will be taking place on 14-15 March 2023 in London.
Join this conference to:
- Hear case studies from mature projects addressing infrastructure challenges for production, storage and distribution
- Identify bottlenecks and barriers in moving to a hydrogen economy
- Develop your understanding of the utilisation across different engineering sectors including rail, heavy-duty, aerospace, power generation, marine and more
- Hear from leading experts in the field and explore opportunities to collaborate on new projects
- Gain insight into gaps in the market and requirements for new technology
- Take away lessons learned from other innovative companies to ensure optimal development strategies
- Understand how your existing equipment or products can be deployed in the new hydrogen economy
To book your place, please visit the event website.