HYDRIDE4MOBILITY · Hydrogen fuelled utility vehicles and their support systems utilising metal hydrides

Hydrogen fuelled utility vehicles and their support systems utilising metal hydrides

The collective will to move towards a broader use of hydrogen energy in the global energy landscape is undisputable. The need for using hydrogen energy comes as associated with a growing share of renewables which are slowly replacing fossil fuels and complementing an energy supply landscape. Various attractive features of hydrogen energy – its ecofriendly operation and its adaptability to the conditions of energy supply in remote locations – contribute to its promotion. In many countries, the projects emerge to explore various scenarios aiming at the implementation of hydrogen energy systems. The present work is a part of such activities. It has been supported by the EU via the Horizon2020 RISE MSCA staff exchange project 778307 HYDRIDE4MOBILITY, and was executed in 2017–2024. The HYDRIDE4MOBILITY project was focused on the knowledge exchange between the participants from the EU countries (Norway, Germany, Croatia) and from the partner countries (Ukraine, South Africa, Indonesia), exploring the available at different participating institutions complementary expertise in hydrogen powered energy systems. Regretfully, the staff exchange activities were interrupted at the end March 2020 due to the COVID-19 related lockdown. However, after the pandemic-related restrictions were removed, the project has resumed in full capacity while benefiting from the active participation of a new partner from the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The goal of the EU Horizon 2020 RISE project 778307 “Hydrogen fuelled utility vehicles and their support systems utilising metal hydrides” (HYDRIDE4MOBILITY), was in assisting a commercialization of hydrogen powered forklifts using metal hydride (MH) based hydrogen stores and PEM fuel cells, together with the systems for their refuelling by applying MH compression. The multinational project consortium joined the forces of 9 teams from 6 countries and brought together academic and industrial partners. Improved kinetics of H2 charge / discharge in MH, high efficiency of the MH compression in parallel with reaching an extended (up to 700 bar H2) level of H2 pressures, optimisation of the system design and a reduction of its cost, together with improved “MH store-FC” system efficiency were also the goals of the work. The work program included a) Development of the materials for hydrogen storage and compression; b) Theoretical modelling and optimisation of the materials performance and system integration; c) Advanced fibre reinforced composite cylinder-based systems for H2 storage and compression; d) System integration, testing, optimisation and validation. The project HYDRIDE4MOBILITY successfully reached its goals. The system for power generation integrating MH store and PEM FC was built as the most significant part of the project activities and validated at the Implats plant (South Africa) in a fuel cell powered forklift with on‐board MH hydrogen storage and on‐site refuelling by compressed hydrogen gas. The work on the HYDRIDE4MOBILITY project (http://hydride4mobility.fesb.unist.hr) executed in 2017–2024 resulted in a publication of more than 35 papers in high impact journals, including two review papers presenting the project outcome at the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy and in the Journal of Energy Research, and 23 presentations at international conferences. Further details of the dissemination activities are presented at the project website http://hydride4mobility.fesb.unist.hr/.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union