Hydrogen

When coupled to gigawatt-scale solar and wind generation, green hydrogen could be the clean fuel to unlock hard-to-electrify sectors of the economy. But first it must be transported cost-effectively to where it’s needed.

Ireland’s Fusion Fuel Green would first set up a demonstrator plant for BGR Energy to generate cost-competitive green hydrogen. The plant would come up in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district in the second half of 2021. It would then co-develop projects with BGR throughout India.

The Memorandum of Understanding entails joint research and development projects in solar, wind, hydrogen and biomass energy.

A new report discusses battery storage, green hydrogen, and flexible coal-fired power generation as key grid firming options for India as solar and wind are poised to form 51% of the nation’s total installed generation capacity by 2030. 

India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) and Greenstat Hydrogen India will collaborate on establishing a Norwegian Centre of Excellence on Hydrogen in India and supporting the development of green hydrogen technologies.

IHS Markit is predicting the world will add 30% more solar capacity this year.

Falling module prices will help PV post another record year after an estimated 132 GW was installed worldwide in 2020, according to an energy transition investment trends report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The private-sector arm of the World Bank, which claims to leverage $3 of its own capital and $8 from third parties for every dollar invested in its blended finance funds, has attempted to quantify what devoting Covid recovery funds to green investment would mean for emerging economies.

A report by McKinsey & Company reinforces the widely-held view renewables will supplant fossil fuels in the energy system but also joins the chorus of voices warning the world is on track to fall well short of limiting global temperature rises this century to 1.5C.

The use of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells as backup power generation in solar microgrids could drive down costs and improve efficiency, according to an international group of researchers. They have proposed a new energy management system that could be ideal for hybrid solar-hydrogen microgrids in remote locations.