Green Hydrogen Gets A Ceramic Makeover

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The rogue Commander-in-Chief in the White House can steer US energy policy down the drain in a desperate attempt to cuddle up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he can’t stop the European Union from pursuing a low carbon future. In the latest development, the EU is supporting new green hydrogen technology aimed at reducing dependence on Russian gas — and, for that matter, US gas as well.

Green Hydrogen & The Catalyst Conundrum

The modern industrial economy runs on hydrogen, and almost all of the global supply of hydrogen is extracted from natural gas or coal. That is beginning to change as innovators apply themselves to extract green hydrogen from biomass, wastewater, solid wastes, and other more sustainable feedstocks.

Much of the investor activity is currently focused on water electrolysis. Ideally, electrolysis systems are powered by electricity from wind, solar, and other renewables. With the aid of a catalyst, the jolt of electricity forces hydrogen gas to bubble out.

Among many obstacles to mass market production, the cost of the catalyst is a significant roadblock. Conventional electrolysis systems deploy the extremely pricey transition metal iridium, and that is one of the factors behind the high cost of green hydrogen relative to fossil-sourced hydrogen.

Solving The Green Hydrogen Catalyst Problem, With Ceramics

New low-iridium or no-iridium catalysts are beginning to emerge, with ruthenium among the contenders. The Estonian startup Stargate Hydrogen has gone off on a different tack. The company asserts that its “Stardust” ceramic-based catalyst can beat the competition on cost, energy efficiency, and durability.

Stargate launched in 2021 on a mission to apply ceramic-based, solid oxide electrolyzer cell technology to alkaline electrolyzers. Public details on the proprietary formula are slim, but the idea has caught on with investors. Earlier this week, Stargate reported that it banked €11 million in Series A funding, bringing the company’s total private and public sector funding over the €50 million mark.

The company also notes that the leading Finnish utility Fortum has tapped it to supply its forthcoming pilot-scale, 2-megawatt green hydrogen production facility in Loviisa. The project launched in May last year. It will deploy grid-supplied electricity, presumably including output from a Fortum-owned nuclear power plant. “The pilot project is the first step towards possible future projects and investments,” advised Fortum’s VP of Power-to-X Satu Sipola.

Bringing The Cost Of Green Hydrogen Down

If you caught that thing about nuclear energy, that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms. With so many different feedstocks and systems in play, the hydrogen industry has resorted to a color-coded system. Electrolysis systems that deploy electricity from nuclear power plants drew the pink card — or purple, or red, depending on who’s doing the coding.

On the plus side, deploying electricity from existing power generation infrastructure can be a cost-cutter. It also avoids the land use issues that can block new wind and solar farms. To that end, Stargate is also exploring the potential for repurposing existing hydropower infrastructure on the Mošenik river in Slovenia.

The hydropower complex began life in the 1880s to power a textile factory. The textile work ceased in the early 2000s and the hydropower plants were upgraded and automated for renewable electricity production. If the plan comes to fruition, it will include a green hydrogen filling station for the use of local farmers. The rest will go to help decarbonize steel and other heavy industries.

Buh-Bye, Russian Gas

With Russia breathing down the neck of the EU and US President Trump ditching decades-long alliances to prove his subservience to Russian interests, the nations of Europe have all the more reason to lock in local resources for energy security. Stargate’s catalyst is one of the few electrolyzer technologies recognized under the EU’s competitive Important Project of Common European Interest program, indicating its potential for widespread use.

Estonia and the other Russia-adjacent Baltic states are also scrambling to harden their energy resources. As part of that effort, Estonia’s state-owned SmartCap Green Fund is supporting Stargate among other green hydrogen stakeholders. Last year Estonia also recast itself as the world’s first whole-of-nation sustainable H2 economy, and it is collaborating with Latvia and Lithuania to establish a green hydrogen corridor.

Despite industry-wide obstacles in Europe and elsewhere, a fresh wave of green hydrogen activity has cropped up. Last month, for example, the US firm Electric Hydrogen announced that it has tapped the European firm Ingeteam  to help expand its business on the continent. “Ingeteam’s best-in-class power systems have been successfully commissioned at Electric Hydrogen’s plants in San Jose, California and Devens, Massachusetts and Ingeteam will now supply rectifier systems to Electric Hydrogen for integration into its complete solution 100 megawatt (MW) electrolyzer plants in Europe,” Electric Hydrogen explains.

In another sign of life, the German firm INERATAC just scored €70 million, partly supported by the high-profile clean tech investor Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, enabling it to move forward with an e-fuel production and research facility. E-fuels, or electrofuels, are synthetic fuels made of green hydrogen and carbon. INERATAC plans to source the carbon from biogenic resources.

Meanwhile, Here In The USA

The picture for the US green hydrogen industry has been muddied by the freeze on federal disbursements engineered by Trump, including green hydrogen commitments through the Department of Energy.

The freeze is looking more and more illegal and unconstitutional by the day. However, even if the funds are unlocked by judicial decree — and Trump chooses to follow the instructions of the judicial branch — the damage has been done. One example is the green hydrogen firm Plug Power, which nailed a $1.66 billion loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy in the waning days of the Biden administration only to see it locked up by Trump.

Plug Power was already teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and the Trump Freeze could be a killing blow. Nevertheless, as of March 3 the company emerged with an optimistic plan for 2025.

Keep an eye on that e-fuels angle. Trump or no Trump, the aviation industry has been on the prowl for sustainable fuels. Bio-based sustainable aviation fuel is still in the running, but in recent years attention has turned to e-fuels and green hydrogen for a more scalable, cost-competitive solution.

In one recent development in that area, last month the clean hydrogen fund Hy24 put up $50 million into the North American e-fuels firm Stormfisher Hydrogen. StormFisher has e-fuels projects in the pipeline in Texas, Kansas, Minnesota, and the Ontario region. The combined capacity will suck up 1.8 gigawatts of solar and wind energy to produce green hydrogen, e-Methanol, green ammonia, and e-Methane.

What do you think? Is the current occupant of the Oval Office a servant of the people, or just a servant of Russian President Vladimir Putin? Drop a note in the comment thread or better yet, find your representatives in Congress and tell them what you think.

Photo (cropped): Green hydrogen is front and center as Europe locks down local energy resources in an effort to separate itself from Russia’s fossil fuel economy (courtesy of Stargate Hydrogen).