Johnson Matthey and Atome ramp up hydrogen transportation projects
( ), a hydrogen and ammonia producer, updated markets today on its Mobility Division, created in February to provide clean energy solutions for heavy road transport and shipping. The division's initial focus will be the decarbonisation of Paraguay's transport sector with operations scheduled to begin in Q1 2023, and a view to expand to Iceland at a later date.
In its June trading update, announced it had signed a purchase agreement for the Villeta Project, a large-scale 60 MW green hydrogen plant in Paraguay. expects to hire a FEED contractor for Villeta by Q3 22 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 Itaipu/Iguazu Project by 50 MW to 300 MW. said it is in advanced conversations with potential offtake customers who have shown "firm interest" in all of 's future Paraguay production.
This brings us to today's announcement, which detailed preliminary work for 's Paraguay operations. reported that clearance work has begun in preparation for delivery of its first 1MW electrolyser to Asunción, Paraguay, currently being built by UK-based Clean Power Hydrogen. First production of hydrogen at the site is still scheduled for H1 2023 and within budget. is currently in discussions with several suppliers of hydrogen-powered heavy vehicles.
The government of Paraguay has prioritised electrification of its transport sector in order to reduce expensive hydrocarbon imports and avail of the country's green resources. The government is facilitating 's discussions with suppliers and end-users of heavy goods vehicles. is currently pursuing a leasing model in order to make the technology more accessible.
The UK government has also encouraged the cooperation, with UK Ambassador to Paraguay Ramin Navai recently presenting to an audience of renewable energy analysts on the role of renewable energy in the country', including 's projects. That presentation is now available at www.atomeplc.com.
Atome CEO, Olivier Mussat, commented: "Atome continues to demonstrate its intent to be the accelerator in the field of green hydrogen and ammonia with work on the ground already commencing to provide Paraguay with its first-ever commercial green hydrogen mobility solution less than a year from now."
Johnson Matthey
( ) announced today it is building a new £80m hydrogen gigafactory in order to "accelerate the transition to a decarbonised transport economy". is a major UK multinational chemicals and sustainable technology company and FTSE 250 consitutent. The factory will be built at the company's existing site in Royston, and is expected to be operational by H1 2024.
The factory will be needed in order to ramp up production of fuel cell components. Earlier this year, announced a refreshed strategy with a goal to be the "market leader in performance components for fuel cells and electrolysers", targeting more than £200 million sales in hydrogen technologies by the end of 2024/25.
The gigafactory will initially be capable of manufacturing 3GW of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell components annually for hydrogen vehicles and is supported by the UK Government through the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF).
Road freight accounts for ~9% of global CO2 emissions, with 62% arising from medium and heavy-duty trucking - the hardest-to-abate transport segments. Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) are a popular and feasible option for decarbonising these segments. The UK is estimated to need 14GW of fuel cell stack production and 400,000 high pressure carbon fibre tanks annually to meet local vehicle production demands by 2035, while the market expects there could be as many as 3 million FCEVs on the road globally by 2030.
Liam Condon, CEO of Johnson Matthey said: "The fuel cell market has now reached a pivotal moment with the increasing urgency to decarbonise transportation and today marks the next step of the journey to a low-carbon future in the UK."
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng commented: "This investment, backed by Government, is a major vote of confidence from Johnson Matthey in the UK. Their new facility will not only add to our growing electric vehicle supply chain, but it will also help secure hundreds of highly skilled jobs."
And Ian Constance, chief executive of the APC, added: "This is incredibly significant and puts the UK in an enviable position in the global fuel cell supply chain. ... Our insight forecasts that the UK could dominate European fuel cell production and be a centre of excellence globally and today's announcement is a huge step towards realising that ambition."
View from Vox:
Today's news follow a long string of updates from the hydrogen industry that all share the same theme: accelerating demand for hydrogen-based solutions. Hydrogen will be a key component of the net zero future, at least until batteries have a high-enough energy density to be used in heavy transport vehicles.
As that is unlikely to occur until well into the 2030s or later, hydrogen companies are in a position to benefit from the electrification of transport. Read our recent hydrogen roundup with more news from the industry. Most hydrogen stocks - including sector favourites () and () - were up today on 's news.
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