Featured Articles

Mitigating climate change is a pressing challenge in the modern world, and hydrogen stands out as a fuel with the potential to decarbonize several high carbon-emitting sectors, such as transportation and heavy industries, including ammonia synthesis, steel manufacturing, cement production etc. Additionally, it can be used in decarbonizing electric power production by generating electricity using hydrogen-capable combustion turbines. Due to its versatile applications in the energy transition, the production, storage, and distribution of affordable and low-carbon hydrogen have become focal points of many research and industrial endeavors.

Founded in Bergamo in 1927, SIAD has been a major player in Europe’s industrial gas sector for nearly a century. Besides producing and distributing industrial gases, the Italian-based company specialises in engineering gas processing equipment. Leveraging over 70 years of its expertise in the design and manufacture of hydrogen compressors, SIAD’s latest engineering breakthrough is a high-pressure compressor featuring oil-free technology and delivering industry-leading performance and reliability. To learn more about this innovation and the company’s core strengths, we spoke with Sandeep Gadkary, Director of Compressors and Global Service Divisions at SIAD Macchine Impianti, the engineering arm of the SIAD Group.

In a world grappling with the growing urgency of combating climate change, transitioning to renewable and sustainable energy sources has become a paramount concern. Many energy experts advocate for the benefits of direct electrification whenever and wherever possible. While the efficiency benefits of direct electrification are evident, challenges remain. For example, industrial processes, energy storage, and heavy-duty transportation cannot be easily electrified using only renewable energy and batteries. As we progress towards a clean energy economy, the introduction of a green molecule to complement green electrons becomes essential. Green hydrogen presents a significant potential for ‘indirect electrification,’ using a versatile molecule primarily produced from renewable electricity to enhance our clean energy usage.

Ammonia is a vital building block for the modern economy, serving as the foundation for the production of nitrogen fertilizers, which are essential for feeding the growing world population, and it also has various other industrial applications. Recently, as carbon emission reduction strategies and legislation are being adopted around the world, ammonia is receiving even more attention. Due to its high energy density, ammonia has the potential to play an important role as an energy carrier and storage solution in the clean energy transition. In the future, global demand for ammonia is expected to increase significantly, but with an emphasis on emissions reduction and distributed production.

The hydrogen value chain must scale up on several fronts. Various solutions are available for compression and liquefaction, with the choice of the most suitable technology often tailored to the transportation and distribution strategy, closely linked to production volumes. This article offers an overview of available compression and expansion technologies in the hydrogen sector, drawing on the Baker Hughes portfolio, recent experiences, and case studies in the field of energy transition, along with planned developments. Beyond presenting technical aspects, the focus extends to unveiling the economic fits and gaps of current technologies to cope with the forecasted increase in demand for hydrogen production.

As the global community confronts the escalating climate crisis, the steel industry, accounting for up to 8% of worldwide carbon emissions, stands at a critical juncture. Long-term expectations for a carbon-neutral future are pervasive, but the realities within the current business landscape are constraining the speed of innovation and, ultimately, execution. However, slower progress toward larger ambitions should not hinder actions that can yield benefits today.

The energy transition is well underway, with hydrogen expected to play a key role as an energy carrier to achieve net-zero ambitions. As a result, many network operators are assessing the suitability of their gas pipelines for conversion to hydrogen or hydrogen/gas blend service. This article summarises some of the key challenges faced in pipeline repurposing currently being tackled by Wood as they support operators in conversion.

Three concepts have the power to slow and possibly reverse the momentum in the US hydrogen market: temporal matching, additionality, and deliverability. This is happening at a time when the hydrogen industry is beginning to develop solutions for niche markets in the great energy transition. These are markets where electrification is difficult and carbon-free alternatives do not exist.

Horizon 2020 research and innovation project BEST4Hy – SustainaBlE SoluTions FOR recycling of end-of-life Hydrogen technologies – is developing low-environmental-impact technologies for the recovery and recycling of materials vital to the hydrogen supply chain, while considering the policy framework that could support sustainable management of end-of-life (EoL) fuel cells. This article introduces the BEST4Hy project and provides an analysis of the challenges and opportunities associated with the recycling of EoL hydrogen technologies.