Global expectations for hydrogen are
currently sky-high. Transport applications stand at the threshold of
commercialisation, while ahead lies an investment boom in the
hydrogen distribution network. The changeover to hydrogen based on
natural gas would already mean a potential saving of billion in
Finland's balance of payments. If hydrogen could then be produced
from domestic renewable raw material, our car and bus traffic would
eventually be practically self-sufficient and leave a significantly
reduced carbon footprint. The above was revealed in the Finnish
hydrogen roadmap published recently.
The Finnish hydrogen roadmap, compiled by VTT Technical Research
Centre of Finland and partly funded by the Finnish Funding Agency
for Technology and Innovation (Tekes), assesses the export
opportunities that can be available to Finnish businesses through
international development. The report envisages the kind of energy-,
climate- and industrial-political opportunities offered to Finland
through widespread adoption of hydrogen energy, and presents
realistic recommendations for gaining access to them.
Hydrogen Transport Fuel also Price Competitive
The global car industry is the driver of development in hydrogen
energy technology, having confirmed the arrival of hydrogen fuel
cell vehicles on the consumer markets by 2015.
Finland's expertise in biofuel refinement and efficient biofuel
industry are also significant globally. Hydrogen can be produced
from forestry biomass highly effectively using processes based on
fluidised bed gasification and reforming. By-product hydrogen
generated by the chemical industry and hydrogen production
integrated with other production are already a practical
alternative.
"VTT's research indicates that gasification of timber harvest debris
produces hydrogen with greater efficiency than it does diesel. For
the time being, however, the cheapest hydrogen is obtained through
reforming natural gas. This also reduces emissions, as greater
mileage is obtained with hydrogen reformed from natural gas than
with pure natural gas. Another advantage with hydrogen vehicles is
that they don't produce oxides of nitrogen or any other particulate
emissions, just water," says Project Manager and Principal Scientist
Jussi Solin of VTT.
The changeover of car and bus transport to electric power has
already begun, offering notable efficiency benefits compared to the
internal combustion engine. Replacing the big battery in an electric
car with a 5 kg hydrogen tank and fuel cell enables a range of more
than 500 kilometres of winter driving and refuelling in five
minutes.
The roadmap recommends Finland's preparing for the market arrival of
vehicles powered by fuel cells by procuring cars and buses of this
type for trial purposes. Such trials should be linked to the
development, testing and marketing of hydrogen refuelling stations,
other export products, and services.
Hydrogen Demands Special Technology and Expertise in
Materials
Finland is already prepared for the construction of hydrogen
refuelling stations through gas company Woikoski Oy, which this year
has set the ball rolling by using its own innovative technology to
bring an exportable hydrogen refuelling station to Vuosaari in
Helsinki.
"We are now investing at record levels and are fully focused on
hydrogen. Last winter we supplied hydrogen for Arctic trials in
Lapland, and in Hanover at the beginning of the week published the
refuelling station concept now undergoing trials at Voikoski," says
Managing Director Kalevi Korjala. Mr Korjala hopes the Finnish pilot
will support export drives and the efforts of technology growth
enterprises to develop the demanding components and control systems.
Hydrogen use in energy and transport reveals considerable benefits
in reducing carbon dioxide and other environmental emissions,
replacing imported fuels with domestic renewable energy, and in
maintenance support performance, regional employment and cleantech
development.
Using hydrogen produced by electrolysis to store electricity enables
growth of the share of renewable energy and its connection to the
electricity network. An electrolysis plant managed according to
electricity price fluctuations can be made profitable.
For Finland the question is not only one of energy, but of
processes, materials, equipment and the manufacture of components.
In other words, of building the export products that will be needed
for the future hydrogen distribution network.
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