ROBERT BASFORD CPEng

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🔴2020-present OTSO
⭘2013-2020 Germany
⭘1997-2013 Finland
⭘1990-1997 ADF.Navy
⭘1978-1990 ADF.Army




Royal Military College of Australia

Research 2022

Defence Force Service Medal Australian Defence Medal

Research into the Hydrogen Economy The Institution of Engineers Australia

Topic: Green Hydrogen Economy

Purpose: The purpose of this evolving portal is to share my current literature research and developments into the Green Hydrogen Economy.



2H2O(l) ↔ 2H2(g) + O2(g)E0 = -1.229V
Nature Communications, 15 March 2022: "A high-performance capillary-fed electrolysis cell promises more cost-competitive renewable hydrogen" https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28953-x
"With the recent focus on human missions to the moon and eventually Mars, hydrogen will continue to be innovatively stored, measured, processed and employed." NASA Hydrogen & Fuel Cells
Hydrogen market significant companies:
01. Panasonic Corporation (Japan) - panasonic.com
02. FuelCell Energy, Inc. (U.S.) - fuelcellenergy.com
03. Plug Power Inc. (U.S.) - plugpower.com
04. Intelligent Energy Holdings plc (UK) - intelligent-energy.com
05. Hyster-Yale Group (U.S.) / Nuvera Fuel Cells - nuvera.com
06. Ballard Power Systems. (Canada) - ballard.com
07. Doosan Fuel Cell (U.S.) - doosanfuelcellamerica.com
08. Nedstack fuel cell technology BV. (Netherlands) - nedstack.com
09. Cummins Incorporated / Hydrogenics Corporation (Canada) - cummins.com
10. Pearl Hydrogen (China) - fuelcellchina.com
11. Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies (Singapore) - horizonfuelcell.com
12. JOUAV Hydrogen Cell UAS (China) - jouav.com
13. Air Liquide (France) - airliquide.com
14. Messer Group (U.S.) - messer-us.com
"NASDAQ: The $11 Trillion Hydrogen Revolution Is Coming in 2022" https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/the-%2411-trillion-hydrogen-revolution-is-coming-in-2022.-are-you-ready:
Energys Australia - Published 15 March 2022: "Energys 30 kW Fuel Cell Power Generator Online at Toyota Australia Hydrogen Centre." https://energys.com.au/green-hydrogen-news/energys-30-kw-fuel-cell-power-generator-online-at-toyota-australia-hydrogen-centre
"Sojitz Corporation will begin a demonstration project together with CS Energy and Nippon Engineering Consultants to transport renewable hydrogen produced in Australia to the Republic of Palau for utilization in fuel cells and hydrogen fuel cell vessels." https://www.sojitz.com/en/news/2022/01/20220112.php
"International Journal of Hydrogen Energy Volume 46, Issue 29, 26 April 2021: Large-scale compressed hydrogen storage as part of renewable electricity storage systems. This paper focuses on the large-scale compressed hydrogen storage options with respect to three categories: storage vessels, geological storage, and other underground storage alternatives." https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360319921005838#!
"Nature Catalysis - Published 14 February 2022: Enhancing the stability of cobalt spinel oxide towards sustainable oxygen evolution in acid. This report shows that incorporating Mn into the spinel lattice of Co3O4 can extend the catalyst lifetime in acid by two orders of magnitude while maintaining the activity." https://www.nature.com/articles/s41929-021-00732-9
2H2O(l) ↔ 2H2(g) + O2(g)E0 = -1.229V
Plastic Omnium 1. Plastic Omnium "High Pressure Type IV Hydrogen Storage: Designing and producing high-pressure type IV hydrogen vessels, composed of a liner encased in a carbon-fiber shell. Our expertise in filament winding enabled us to obtain European and international certifications in 2019." https://www.plasticomnium.com/en/technologies-new-energies
Hexagon Purus 2. Hexagon Purus "Over the last couple of decades Hexagon Purus has been adapting its leading and proven Type 4 composite pressure cylinder technology for a wide range of mobility and storage applications in the hydrogen industry. Our hydrogen cylinders developed to date, are available in the pressure levels 250, 300, 500, 700 and 950 bar." https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/hexagonpurus-website/HexagonPurus_Broschüre_HighPressureType4.pdf
MT Aerospace 3. MT Aerospace "have provided proof that a high-performance pressure tank made of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) can withstand cryogenic stress (H2 or O2). In the future, the use of CFRP high-performance tanks should not only enable safe rocket launches, it can also exploit the advantage of significantly lower mass compared to metallic tanks." https://phys.org/news/2021-07-rocket-tanks-carbon-fiberreinforced-plastic-proven.html
NPROXX 4. NPROXX "create high strength, lightweight pressure vessels using filament wet winding, with braiding and resin transfer moulding used for more complex geometries. Our CFRP Type 4 pressure vessels can be used for up to 30 years without needing to be replaced, which is twice the expected life span of Type 1 and Type 2 vessels."
Linde IC Fuelbox 5. Linde Engineering IC Fuelbox is an all-in-one transportable hydrogen refueling station that integrates Linde’s proprietary IC 90/30 or IC 50/30 Ionic Compressors with an intermediate H2 storage tank and dispenser. With a small footprint of just 12 m², this ready-to-run unit can be deployed at just about any location - in record time with almost no installation effort."
Toyota H2 Storage 6. Toyota H2 Storage "Pioneer in building 70 MPa mass-produced tanksAchieves world top-level 70 MPa class hydrogen mounted mass with effectiveness ＊1 6.0 wt% ＊1:Hydrogen mounted mass effectiveness (weight%) = hydrogen mounted amount (kg)/tank mass (kg) × 100 Vehicle-mounted 70 MPa tanks have been produced since 2008, and more than 20,000 were produced for the first-generation Mirai."
Steelhead H2 Storage 7. Steelhead H2 Storage "Patented “Steelhead” expanded port openings with hydrogen-ready, stainless steel or aluminum threaded connections large enough to house an in-tank valve and regulator. Custom, high-performance carbon fiber composite for least weight and long life capabilities. Size availability range from 6L to 270L"
2H2O(l) ↔ 2H2(g) + O2(g)E0 = -1.229V
PEM Nature Catalysis, High loading of single atomic iron sites in Fe–NC oxygen reduction catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells, 25 April 2022 Here we show that by preforming a carbon–nitrogen matrix using a sacrificial metal (Zn) in the initial synthesis step and then exchanging iron into this preformed matrix we achieve 7 wt% iron coordinated solely as single-atom Fe–N4 sites, as identified by 57Fe cryogenic Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The catalyst delivers an excellent proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance with current densities of 41.3 mA cm−2 at 0.90 ViR-free using H2–O2 and 145 mA cm−2 at 0.80 V (199 mA cm−2 at 0.80 ViR-free) using H2–air.
PEM Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, A completely precious metal–free alkaline fuel cell with enhanced performance using a carbon-coated nickel anode, 21 March 2022 In this research: "a groundbreaking advance in completely nonprecious hydrogen fuel cell technologies achieving a record power density of 200 mW/cm2 with Ni@CNx anode and Co−Mn cathode. The 2-nm CNx coating weakens the O-binding energy, which effectively mitigates the undesirable surface oxidation during hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) polarization, leading to a stable fuel cell operation for Ni@CNx over 100 h at 200 mA/cm2, superior to a Ni nanoparticle counterpart. Ni@CNx exhibited a dramatically enhanced tolerance to CO relative to Pt/C, enabling the use of hydrogen gas with trace amounts of CO, critical for practical applications. The complete removal of precious metals in fuel cells lowers the catalyst cost to virtually negligible levels and marks a milestone for practical alkaline fuel cells."
PEM Los Alamos National Laboratory, 0203 POLYMER FUEL CELLS (80-160C range), 4 February 2022 In this research: "A new high-temperature polymer fuel cell that operates at 80-160 degrees Celsius, with a higher-rated power density than state-of-the-art fuel cells, solves the longstanding problem of overheating. The Los Alamos team designed a polymer electrolyte composed of a phosphonated polymer and a perfluorosulfonic acid. In this composite electrolyte structure, the team found that a proton from the perfluorosulfonic acid transfers to the phosphonated polymer and dramatically enhances proton conductivity."
PEM ScienceAdvances 2 February 2022 Nonprecious transition metal nitrides as efficient oxygen reduction electrocatalysts for alkaline fuel cells
This is a report on a group of nonprecious Transition metal nitrides as potential oxygen reduction reaction catalysts in alkaline medium.
PEM International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Volume 46, Issue 70, 11 October 2021, Pages 34867-34873 Effect of the CeO2 nanoparticles in microporous layers on the durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells
PEM Advanced Polyimide Materials, 2018-2021 Proton Exchange Membrane
This is a report on Bridging a bi-directional connection between electricity and fuels in hybrid multienergy systems.
2H2O(l) ↔ 2H2(g) + O2(g)E0 = -1.229V
Hylium Industries 1. Hylium Industries Aerospace and Defence Hylium Industries develops creative technologies on compact hydrogen liquefaction and ultra light hydrogen storage through R&D programs supported by the Korean Government. Hylium Industries' HyliumX is a hydrogen fuel cell powered drone operating on liquefied hydrogen. With a power pack that combines ultra-light liquefied hydrogen fuel tank and PEM fuel cell, the HyliumX has a flight endurance of up to 5 hours.
Haskel 2. Haskel (Ingersoll Rand) Aerospace and Defence division delivers high-pressure gas and liquid transfer and pressurization solutions to aircraft manufacturers and military bases around the world. Haskel's new Nano refueling station furthers our commitment to developing hydrogen technologies that support more sustainable, flexible, and affordable refuelling.
Linde SKYCORP 3. Linde Corporation Hydrogen Division and SKYCORP have produced a Hydrogen refillable long range drone This new state-of-the art drone developed by Estonian technology company SKYCORP is able to stay in the air up to three times longer than a regular drone. It also offers dramatically reduced downtime as refueling takes only a few minutes. This next-generation drone is powered by the highest end hydrogen fuel cell technology in the world.
DJ25 4. Doosan Mobility and JOUAV won an 2022 CES 2022 Innovation Award with the DJ25. “DJ25 is the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) commercial drone solution.
South Korean Doosan Mobility have established expertise in hydrogen fuel cell drones: China’s JOUAV has partnered with companies around the world to bring their suite of robust VTOL air frames to the skies. The DJ25 is the integration between the advanced PEMFC (Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) technology to a VTOL air frame.
The DJ25 has a flight time of up to 5 and half hours and able to cover up to 500 km in a single flight, the DJ25 offers an ideal solution for long distance inspections, large scale site surveying, and mapping."
5. "Honeywell is developing a new technology suite for light drones, including hydrogen fuel cells, that enables them to fly three times longer and with less human intervention." https://aerospace.honeywell.com/us/en/learn/products/honeywell-hydrogen-fuel-cell
6. "MMCUAV hydrogen power system is a light-weighted and compact hydrogen fuel cell system, and it provides endurable and stable electricity output. It is applicable to UAV power system, electric bike, electric golf car, electric boat, emergency power supply, outdoor power supply." https://www.mmcuav.com/portfolio-items/hydrogen-fuel-cell-system
7. "07/10/2021, Jørgen Apeland PhD Fellow, University of Stavanger, Norway PhD Thesis "Fuel Cell Powered Drone: Use of Fuel Cells to Extend Multirotor Drone Endurance". Excerpt: "In this thesis, results from research about the use of fuel cells to extend multirotor drone flight endurance are presented." hhttps://doi.org/10.31265/usps.105
8. "2021, ISS Aerospace "High Endurance Hydrogen Fuel Cell UAVs High Endurance UAVs are always top of the list of demands from our industrial Unmanned Aerial Systems clients. At ISS Aerospace we have worked extensively to create a first-of-its-kind hydrogen fuel cell powered UAV, capable of up to 120 minutes flight time." https://www.issaerospace.com/uav-manufacturing/hydrogen-fuel-cells
9. "2022, HES Energy Systems "HYCOPTER has 3+ hour flight duration & is the world's most advanced hydrogen-electric multirotor drone." https://www.hes.sg/hycopter
10. "2018, IOP Science: Materials Science and Engineering, Volume 421, Issue 4, J Dutczak "Compressed hydrogen storage in contemporary fuel cell propulsion systems of small drones." https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/421/4/042013
2H2O(l) ↔ 2H2(g) + O2(g)E0 = -1.229V
thyssenkrupp air-independent propulsion H2 fuel cell 2022 - thyssenkrupp Marine Systems Submarine Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) HDW fuel cell system delivers a unique AIP solution for direct integration into non-nuclear submarines. Fuel cells are energy converters that transform chemical energy directly to electrical energy without noise or combustion. In these fuel cells hydrogen and oxygen stored on board combine to produce water while giving off electricity.
US Army H2 Stealth Tank 2022 - US Army develops stealthy Hydrogen Fuel Cell Tanks.
US NRL Hybrid Tiger UAV 2021 - US Navy Research Laboratory develops multi-day endurance Solar Hydrogen Fuel Cell drone.
Hybrid Tiger is a Group 2 UAV (typically 21-55 pounds, operate below 3,500 feet AGL at speeds less than 250 knots), 16 kg, 5.7 m wingspan autonomous air vehicle that is launched from a tether. Hybrid Tiger employs two energy-harvesting techniques:
1. Auto-soaring, autonomously finding and exploiting thermal updrafts to harvest energy from them by rising;
2. Integrated solar, with unique co-cured solar panel integration process employing high-efficiency photovoltaics, enabling nearly “free” flight during daylight.
US Military Academy West Point 2021 - US Modern War Institute - The promise of Hydrogen: An alternative fuel at the intersection of Climate Policy and Lethality. "Hydrogen vehicles and platforms also offer significant advantages in performance, which translates to increased lethality on the battlefield."
US Army H2 FCEV 2019 - US Army Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology and Its Military Applications. This article explores and evaluates fuel cell power generation technologies and their support equipment that enable tactical advantages for ground vehicle systems.
US Department of Defense 2018 - US Department of Defense - Operational Energy Strategy Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Review: Capabilities; Range; Endurance; Payload; Speed; Survivability.
2H2O(l) ↔ 2H2(g) + O2(g)E0 = -1.229V
Ballard Fuel Cell Electric Trucks Ballard heavy duty motive modules are powering a fleet of fuel cell delivery trucks in China, Kenworth Truck Company’s fuel cell hybrid drayage truck, Anglo American ultra heavy duty mining truck and the ATMA project in Alberta, Canada.
BMW iX5 BMWs iX5 fuel cell solution Despite harsh below-zero temperatures and the most challenging conditions such as ice and snow, all drive components of the BMW iX5 Hydrogen – from the fuel cell system to the hydrogen tanks and the power buffer battery to the central vehicle control unit – impressively underlined their reliability and suitability for everyday use.
Toyota Mirai Toyota Mirai fuel cell solution Our fuel cell system is in fact a development of our hybrid electric technology, with a hydrogen fuel cell stack taking the place of a petrol engine. The fuel cell produces electricity that powers the motor that drives the car, all with no emissions other than water.
Hyundai NEXO Hyundai NEXO With just 5 minutes filling time and a driving range of 666 kilometres, the Hyundai NEXO proves the practicality of an eco-friendly powertrain.
2H2O(l) ↔ 2H2(g) + O2(g)E0 = -1.229V
THE JET THE JET ZeroEmission is a hydrogen powered boat with iconic design and high-end positioning. A one-of-a-kind boat in the world, both innovative and respectful of the environment: zero emission, zero wave, zero noise, “flying” 80cm above the waters at a speed of 35-40 knots.
ABB Marine ABB’s fuel cell solution is a modular power supply system developed for marine use. The system is based on the hydrogen proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The fuel cell technology is applicable to high and low voltage, as well as AC and DC power systems, and can be used in combination with batteries or engines. The system can be fully hydrogen-electric or integrated as part of a hybrid power system. With the use of renewables to produce the hydrogen, the entire energy chain can be clean.
2H2O(l) ↔ 2H2(g) + O2(g)E0 = -1.229V
Capillary-Fed Electrolysis Nature: 15 Mar 2022 "A high-performance capillary-fed electrolysis cell promises more cost-competitive renewable hydrogen." ..."a unique concept of water electrolysis is introduced, wherein water is supplied to hydrogen- and oxygen-evolving electrodes via capillary-induced transport along a porous inter-electrode separator, leading to inherently bubble-free operation at the electrodes. An alkaline capillary-fed electrolysis cell of this type demonstrates water electrolysis performance exceeding commercial electrolysis cells, with a cell voltage at 0.5A cm−2 and 85 degC of only 1.51V, equating to 98% energy efficiency, with an energy consumption of 40.4 kWh/kg hydrogen (vs. ~47.5 kWh/kg in commercial electrolysis cells). High energy efficiency, combined with the promise of a simplified balance-of-plant, brings cost-competitive renewable hydrogen closer to reality."
Hysata CFE University of Wollongong - Hysata: 16 Mar 2022 Hysata’s overall electrolyser system has been designed for ease of manufacturing, scaling and installation, delivering 95 percent overall system efficiency, compared to 75 percent or less for existing electrolyser technologies. For hydrogen producers, this will significantly reduce both the capital and operational costs to produce green hydrogen.""
2H2O(l) ↔ 2H2(g) + O2(g)E0 = -1.229V
Sequential cocatalyst decoration on BaTaO2N Nature: 12 Feb 2021 "Sequential cocatalyst decoration on BaTaO2N towards highly-active Z-scheme water splitting" This article demonstrates "...efficient utilization of photoexcited electrons in a single-crystalline particulate BaTaO2N photocatalyst prepared with the assistance of RbCl flux for H2 evolution reactions via sequential decoration of Pt cocatalyst by impregnation-reduction followed by site-selective photodeposition."
SunHydrogen process SunHydrogen 1 Feb 2022 Splitting water into H2 and O2 "The Solution: Photoelectrosynthetically Active Heterostructures (PAH) Each PAH nanoparticle is a microscopic machine, composed of multiple layers enabling the solar electrolysis reaction to take place. It’s a process similar to what happens inside a plant cell during photosynthesis."
Solar REDOX Hydrogen process MDPI: 13 Jul 2021 "Fresh water is provided to the plant through seawater desalination at the seaside and subsequent pipeline transport to the plant location. The water is then split into hydrogen and oxygen via a two-step solar thermochemical redox cycle at temperatures of 1000–1900 K driven by concentrated solar radiation." Solar Thermochemical Hydrogen Production in the USA - MDPI
Solar REDOX Hydrogen process Nature: 31 Oct 2016 "Solar water splitting by photovoltaic-electrolysis with a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency over 30%" Hydrogen production via electrochemical water splitting is a promising approach for storing solar energy.