Future-proof your businesswith green Hydrogen

Blending green hydrogen into the normal natural gas supply could help to significantly decarbonise the heating of homes.

• Heating and cooling homes and enterprises in order to reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
• This huge energy demand is usually met by using natural gas, instead of utilising low carbon solutions, such as green hydrogen.
• Green hydrogen can be blended with natural gas via the ‘power-to-gas’ approach to decarbonise the gas we use for heating and cooling. By doing this, the sector would use less natural gas and be able to reduce atmospheric emissions, which is essential for tackling climate change.
• Mixtures with up to 20% hydrogen in natural gas are being trialled globally, and existing gas appliances will not require new appliances to operate on such mixtures. In addition, electrolyzers in power-to-gas systems can provide grid services to power system operators.

Our Green Hydrogen generation systems can utilise the renewable resources, found on remote islands to create sustainable energy sources for island communities.

• Islands tend to have abundant renewable resources yet they rely heavily upon importing fossil fuels, often at relatively high cost.
• The integration of renewables into an island’s power grid soon creates substantial balancing and curtailment problems.
• These can be overcome by deploying controllable rapid response electrolysers to produce green hydrogen for the island’s transport, heat, and power sectors.

Our PEM electrolysers can aid the stabilisation of the electricity network, whilst also providing a source of power when alternative renewable sources are below capacity.

• Utilising PEM electrolysers can plug the gap from renewable energy’s intermittent generation and provide a low carbon grid balancing solution.
• The ongoing trend to deploy more renewable power sources is a positive step towards reducing dependency on fossil fuels, but it causes some big issues for electricity grid operators. Balancing the grid is becoming more challenging, because renewables are increasing the temporal mismatch between supply and demand on all timescales. Conventional grid balancing techniques cause CO2 emissions (ramping up a gas or coal power plant), so a new approach is needed for managing the emerging low-carbon power system.
• Rapid response PEM electrolysers can be used to absorb additional renewable energy on the electricity network and to provide up/down response to help stabilise frequency and voltage variations.

Our PEM electrolysers can provide a solution for surplus energy generated by the renewable grid, with a storage capacity far greater than conventional storage methods.

• In a bid to step away from dependence on fossil fuels, more and more renewable energy is being added to the energy mix.
• Some renewable energy, such as electricity generated by wind turbines, is produced in an unpredictable and intermittent cycle, when the wind blows. This energy supply does not always match the energy demands, and therefore, very often wind turbines are turned down (this is called wind curtailment).
• In times when there is a peak in electricity demand, grid operators will ramp up fossil fuel power plants to ensure the electricity supply, but these cause substantial emissions.
• The ability to store underground large amounts of hydrogen generated by rapid response electrolysers, provides the necessary means for both capturing surplus renewable energy and generating peak power without causing emissions when there’s a defi.

In off-grid or emergency situations where electricity supply isn’t available, stored Green Hydrogen produced by our PEM electrolysers can provide a reliable and immediate solution.

• There are several off-grid work situations that require electricity and sometimes situations arise, such as natural disasters, when the grid electricity supply fails. In some cases this can be catastrophic and back-up power has become a necessity of emergency planning.
• Today, we rely heavily on an electricity supply to power many applications, including very important transport and emergency systems.
• Back-up power can be provided at a range of scales, but conventional solutions cause substantial atmospheric emissions (eg. diesel generators). Green hydrogen can be used with fuel cells to provide a zero-emission electricity source which can start up within seconds and has the added benefit of being silent. In addition, off-grid electrolysers are under development to absorb the variable and intermittent outputs of solar and wind power sources.

Our fuel cells can be utilised, alongside a hydrogen store, to provide lighting in areas where grid electricity is unavailable.

• There are many outdoor working situations where mobile lighting is needed, but a grid electricity supply isn’t available.
• Usually small diesel generators are employed where a grid electricity supply isn’t available, but these produce noise and atmospheric pollution. The modern alternative is to deploy a hydrogen lighting system, consisting of a hydrogen store, fuel cell, and LED lighting.
• This provides a zero-emissions solution that is silent and avoids any possibility of diesel spillage.

• With tube trailer filling, Green Hydrogen isn’t bound to the location is was produced in, making it a truly global energy solution.
• Green hydrogen can be generated in regions of high renewable resource, including remote areas with little or no hydrogen demand, and transported by tube trailer to demand centres. This approach allows a supply of green hydrogen to be available wherever it is required.
• Shipping hydrogen stored in pressure vessels by road is a long established practice for conveying hydrogen to small industrial users and refuelling stations.

We produce and supply on-site hydrogen generation systems, which use our groundbreaking electrolysis technology to make Green Hydrogen for refuelling Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs).

The hydrogen created is not only the cleanest fuel on the market, but it also makes for an exceptional driving experience.

• The gas network has the capacity to store energy at scale and Power-to-Gas (P2G) has the potential to store MW to GW for durations that extend from hours to many months.
• Apter Power proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers will play a leading role in the future of Power-to-Gas.
• Up to 20% of green hydrogen can be injected into the local gas grid network.

We manufacture and supply on-site hydrogen generation systems using our groundbreaking PEM electrolyser technology to produce green hydrogen for refuelling Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs).

• The hydrogen created is not only the cleanest fuel on the market, but it also makes for an exceptional driving experience.
• The refuelling process is very simple and similar to refuelling a car with petrol or diesel today, taking around 3 minutes to refill the tank. A typical FCEV only requires 40% of the energy to travel the same distance as a modern petrol car, so its fuel consumption is much less.
• Also, the required battery capacity is only a few percent of that of a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), so the FCEVs makes much better use of the Earth’s finite material resources.

The hydrogen produced by our PEM electrolysers allows Fuel Cell Electric Buses (FCEBs) to be refuelled as quickly as conventional diesel buses.

A zero emissions solution, without compromising valuable infrastructure, makes our hydrogen a perfect solution for cities.

• Decarbonising the production of hydrogen, enabling a green transport fuel for buses.
• Green hydrogen is a perfect fuel for Fuel Cell Electric Buses (FCEBs) as it offers a ten-minute refuel time, enabling the bus to be back in operation as quickly as a conventional bus. Unlike buses powered by batteries, which add substantial weight to the vehicle, a FCEB stores energy compactly enabling it to cover a similar distance to a conventional bus – yet the only tailpipe emission is water vapour.
• Buses are usually refuelled at depots or bus stations and so return-to-depot refuelling of FCEBs can be achieved by locating suitable hydrogen refuelling stations at bus depots. This approach can easily be replicated in towns and cities across the country to eradicate emissions from bus transport.

Our green hydrogen generation systems can be retrofitted to diesel trains, allowing locations across the global to reach net-zero where alternative renewable sources aren’t economically available.

• Decarbonising the production of hydrogen, enabling a green transport fuel for trains.
• Hydrogen trains use a fuel cell electric powertrain to provide a zero emissions alternative to diesel trains in regions where railway electrification isn’t economically viable.
• Electric trains are common in cities and on the mainlines of national networks, but elsewhere diesel trains are required and these cause very substantial atmospheric emissions.
• Hydrogen trains offer a means for both eradicating these emissions and switching to a sustainable green fuel, without requiring the deployment of expensive and ugly electrification infrastructure along rail tracks. They can be refuelled at the main depot or depots serving a region, by employing large scale electrolysers and hydrogen refuelling facilities.

Green Hydrogen fuel cells provide a compact storage solution to the packaging constraints onboard ships, whilst also lowering the harmful emissions emitted from the shipping industry.

• Atmospheric emissions from the maritime sector far exceed those of the road transport sector.
• Fortunately ships can be fuelled directly with hydrogen, or alternatively it can be used as a feedstock for producing green liquid fuels. Short-range hydrogen boats and ferries are currently being demonstrated, while multi-MW fuel cells and large scale hydrogen production facilities are being developed to facilitate zero-emission ocean going ships.
• Because of packaging constraints onboard ships, it is likely that some types will be fuelled by hydrogen while others will be fuelled by a liquid fuel synthesised from green hydrogen (e.g. synthetic natural gas, diesel, ammonia).

Our green hydrogen solutions can remove the need for long recharging times by replacing conventional battery-powered Manual Handling vehicles, increasing productivity where it’s needed.

• Ensuring continuous and zero emissions operation of material handling vehicles.
• Material Handling vehicles (MHV) are essential in many industries and how they are powered can be very influential in terms of productivity. Because they are operated in an indoor environment, lead-acid batteries have traditionally been used to provide the zero emissions solution.
• However, they are heavy and require long charging times, as well as requiring a large charging station to be located within the premises. Green hydrogen can be generated on-site and then used to refuel MHVs in seconds, enabling them to be back in operation much faster. Also, because hydrogen is a fuel, the performance of the vehicle does not change during use (unlike batteries which cause the vehicle to slow down as they approach needing to be charged).

Our green hydrogen generation systems create a sustainable solution for the heavy transport industry that reduces both weight and refuelling times, lowering the industry’s significant CO2 contribution.

• Reducing global heavy-duty vehicle CO2 emissions from road transport.
• Green hydrogen is considered to be the superior zero emission solution for heavy transport (such as trucks) due to lower powertrain costs for longer range, significantly faster refuelling times versus recharging and lower overall weight.
• Trucks may be refuelled by hydrogen refuelling stations located at truck depots and on major motorway corridors. On-site green hydrogen generation affords a high degree of freedom for locating such refuelling stations and for operating the electrolysers to avoid increasing peak loads on the electricity network.

Green Hydrogen produced by our PEM electrolysers can aid the desulfurisation of crude oil, without the output of CO2 into the atmosphere.

• Apter Power can provide a clean, on-site green hydrogen supply which will decarbonise the refining process and reduce emissions.
• Refineries use vast quantities of hydrogen in the de-sulfurisation of crude oil to make petrol and diesel and other chemicals.
• Hydrogen production is central to the operation of a refinery and recently demand has been increasing. Currently it is made at the refinery via steam methane reformation (SMR) using natural gas for the feedstock, but this results in a high CO2 output per tonne of hydrogen.
• Refineries are under increasing pressure to meet environmental legislation and reduce the emissions of their processes and so it is desirable to produce hydrogen in a cleaner way. The production of green hydrogen by locating large scale electrolysers at refineries serves to decarbonise the use of hydrogen.

Through the methanation process, green hydrogen generated by our PEM electrolysers can aid in the development of synthetic natural gas for usage in both industry and the home.

• Methane (or ‘synthetic natural gas’) can be produced via the methanation of electrolytic hydrogen with carbon dioxide.
• Synthetic natural gas (SNG) is compatible with the natural gas grid and all existing gas burning devices used in industry and the home. SNG is produced via the methanation of green hydrogen and green CO2, sourced from the anaerobic digestion of biomass or by direct air capture.
• For example, the CO2 in biogas at bio-methane injection sites in the gas grid can be used in conjunction with green hydrogen to produce SNG and so augment the amount of green methane injected.
• There are two methods of methanation, biological and chemical, which can be deployed at various scales to feed gas networks with SNG and so displace the use of natural gas.

Significant sustainability gains can be made in the steel industry by switching to green hydrogen to reduce iron ore to iron.

• Hydrogen can be used to replace coke at large-scale in furnaces during steel production.
• Conventional steel mills are energy intensive and they depend on fossil fuels, which makes them one of the largest contributors to industrial CO2 emissions (i.e. 7-9% of global emissions).
• Furnaces conventionally use coke or hydrogen derived from natural gas to reduce iron ore to iron. Alternatively green hydrogen produced by a large-scale PEM electrolyser can be used as the reducing agent, in order to decrease the CO2 emissions of steel production.
• In addition, the oxygen by-product from the electrolyser can be used to increase furnace efficiency and so further reduce CO2 emissions.

Hydrogen is employed to create an oxygen-free environment as a blanket to avoid oxidisation of the glass, preventing imperfections. However, green hydrogen can help decarbonise glass production.

• Hydrogen is used in float glass processes to provide an atmosphere of 5-10% hydrogen in nitrogen.
• Float glass is widely used to create high quality glass for automotive and buildings applications.
• Because of the way it is made, float glass is very flat, of uniform thickness, and contains no bubbles or distortions.
• Using green hydrogen generated from renewable sources rather than fossil fuels offers a solution for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of float glass production.

Our larger PEM electrolysers can create sustainable hydrogen without harmful emissions to be used in methanol production.

• Primary uses for methanol are as chemical feedstock and transportation fuel.
• Similar to ammonia, methanol production requires hydrogen in very large quantities, which is typically derived from natural gas resulting in a large CO2 footprint.
• Green hydrogen produced by a large-scale electrolyser using renewable electricity can be used to transition away from fossil fuels and so decarbonise the methanol production process.

Our PEM electrolysers can be used to sustainably produce ammonia, helping to decouple production form fossil fuels.

• Ammonia is one of the most highly produced inorganic chemicals.
• Conventional production of ammonia (NH3) is a large scale industrial process, which uses hydrogen derived from natural gas.
• Currently, 5% of global natural gas consumption is used to make ammonia (2% of world energy) causing it to contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Urea is a nitrogen-rich fertiliser made from ammonia and carbon dioxide. With the growing global population and demand for foodstuffs increasing, together with less acreage being dedicated to crop cultivation, 50% of global food production currently relies on the use of ammonia-based fertilisers to increase crop yields.
• Ammonia and urea fertiliser can be produced sustainably by using hydrogen derived by electrolysis of water using a renewable electricity supply and a PEM electrolyser.