Hydrogen roundup: Atome Energy, AFC Energy, Ceres Power Holdings, Hydrogen Utopia
Hydrogen energy companies have been much in the news lately. Soaring oil and gas prices, coupled with the global transition to net-zero carbon, has led to a surge of development in hydrogen, seen as a viable alternative to fossil fuels where other green technologies may struggle.
Here is a roundup of updates from the past two days, from four companies with active development in the field: ATOME Energy, AFC Energy, Ceres Power Holdings, and Hydrogen Utopia.
Atome Energy
( ), a hydrogen and ammonia producer, said in its latest trading update that it had signed a purchase agreement in May for its Villeta Project, a large-scale 60 MW green hydrogen plant in Paraguay. Atome expects to hire a FEED contractor for Villeta by Q322 and make a final investment decision by the end of 2022. Construction is then expected to commence by H1 2023.
The company is also upscaling its existing Itaipu/Iguazu Project in Paraguay by 50 MW to 300 MW of total capacity. The company reported it is in advanced conversations with potential offtake customers who have shown "firm interest" in all of Atome's future Paraguay production.
Atome also said it is expanding in Iceland, a leading nation in hydrogen power. The company is in detailed discussions with all major power providers in the country and is receiving "broad political support" for its 75%-owned subsidiary Green Fuel's hydrogen and ammonia projects.
Its new mobility division is progressing on track with its 1 MW electrolyser, currently built in the UK and scheduled for delivery at around the turn of the year, with first revenues expected in H1 2023.
Chair Peter Levine commented: "The year 2021 was the start of our journey. In that short time, we have become one of the most advanced new hydrogen and ammonia focused companies in terms of planned timescale for delivery, with our production of green molecules targeted to arrive in a fast-expanding market with limited supply. The rest of the current year promises dynamic progression, news flow and a continued expansion of our business."
The UK Ambassador to Paraguay, Ramin Navai, will address an audience of renewable energy analysts to discuss Paraguay's clean energy plans and 's projects in the region. Chair Levine and and CEO Olivier Mussat will represent the Company. The event will be streamed live and then published on 's website tomorrow, 30 June 2022.
AFC Energy
Surrey-based hydrogen fuel cell producer ( , announced interim results for the year ended 30 April 2022 (H122), which showed a widening pre-tax loss of £8.5, up from £3.6m last year. Revenue from customer contracts increased to £275,590 from £149,062 but was offset by a rise in operating costs to £8.6m from £3.6m. Its half-year cash balances was down from £61.3m to £48.6m.
The company received its first commercial order for its "S Series" liquid fuel cell system from giant ABB, worth up to £4m. It will initially be configured for EV charging use in grid-constrained environments. The next milestone is a £1m payment due upon delivery of an initial 100kW unit, scheduled for this year.
In December 2021, the Company received an Approval in Principle (AIP) from international certification agency DNV, for ammonia-based fuel cell and cracker systems for cargo ships, in conjunction with ship builder VARD.
Also, AFC will deploy its mobile hydrogen-based "Power Towers" later in the year to locations in Spain and the UK. These towers provide temporary power to off-grid locations. CEO Adam Bond elaborated: "The Power Tower, whilst currently focussing on hydrogen fuel, will also be able to meet the demands of clients for hydrogen carrier fuel compatibility later this year with the integration of methanol reformer technology.
"AFC Energy will see several of these new systems being operated by strategic partners in off-grid environments in the coming months. We are carefully selecting strategic partners that have a pressing need and desire to lead in the decarbonisation of their industries in line with net zero aspirations."
CEO Adam Bond summarized the results: "Our robust cash position enables us to continue to invest in our people, products and technology platforms to maximise our potential within the global clean energy space. The macro environment of high global energy prices and drive for enhanced energy security and independence continues to create a compelling environment for accelerated growth of the global Hydrogen market and we remain focused on delivering tangible deployment expectations for the full year."
Ceres Power Holdings
( ), a fuel cell and electrochemical technology company, announced a milestone agreement with to deliver a megawatt-scale solid oxide electrolyser (SOEC) demonstrator in 2023.
The partnership will see SOEC technology used to deliver high-efficiency, low-cost, green hydrogen. This type of technology can help decarbonise hard-to-abate parts of the energy system that rely on fossil fuels today. This partnership will help achieve its goal of becoming a net-zero energy producer by 2050.
's product is said to be 20% more efficient than the competition, in the range of 80-90%. The system will be installed at 's R&D centre in Bangalore, India, where hydrogen will be used in industrial processes on-site.
The company has allocated £100m to the development of this SOEC project, with the goal of being able to produce hydrogen at a cost of $1.5/kg by 2025.
Hydrogen Utopia International
( ) announced the design of its system that converts waste plastic to hydrogen has reached an advanced phase, and a testing programme will now follow.
has collaborated with Electron Technologies BV since May 2021 on the design of this unique thermal processing system. The system pyrolyses plastic in the absence of air at a temperature of up to 500 degrees celsius, producing a synthetic gas (syngas). It then subjects that syngas to a higher temperature conversion step. The test system, currently in final stages of assembly, will test the first lower temperature pyrolysis stage.
Jos Koelewijn, CEO of Electron, commented: "I am delighted with the announcement of this milestone in the development of a full scale plant for the conversion of plastics to syngas and hydrogen. This project is a result of the combined efforts of HUI and Electron, which will enable waste transition on a global scale."
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