Global materials technology and recycling group Umicore and global mining giant Anglo American, through subsidiary Anglo American Platinum, have teamed up to develop new platinum-group-metals- (PGM-) based catalyst technology to potentially simplify hydrogen storage and its use to power fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).

The new research and development agreement aims to enhance the process through which hydrogen is chemically bonded to a liquid, targeting new PGMs-based catalyst technologies that can be installed directly in FCEVs and other forms of transport.

Liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technologies provide an effective alternative solution by chemically bonding hydrogen to a stable organic liquid carrier, thereby eliminating the need for compression and enabling a safer, easier-to-handle, more practical and cost efficient approach to the transport of hydrogen using existing conventional fuel networks.

Currently, compressed hydrogen is used to power FCEVs; however, insufficient infrastructure and refuelling networks for compressed hydrogen are among the main barriers to a more widespread use of hydrogen in the transport industry.

Using an LOHC allows for hydrogen to be handled and transported in a similar way to oil or petrol, using conventional liquid transport networks such as tankers and pipelines, rather than meeting the more complex requirements of compressed gas, says Anglo American PGMs market development executive head Benny Oeyen.

This avoids the need for new and dedicated hydrogen infrastructure and accelerates the adoption of hydrogen as a clean fuel for transport and other applications.

“There is growing enthusiasm for the role that hydrogen can play in tackling global energy challenges. To unlock its full renewable-energy potential, however, we need to solve the existing transport, logistics and infrastructure challenges,” Oeyen explains.

“LOHC technology provides a versatile and attractive solution both for the short- and long-term future, and PGMs have an important role to play in streamlining logistics, offering a better user experience and reducing cost across the entire value chain.”

With the additional new technology being explored, the LOHC-containing hydrogen can be unloaded directly on the FCEV and the dehydrogenation phase will be carried out onboard the vehicle at lower temperatures and pressures, which is required for mobile applications, providing a simpler and cheaper alternative to onboard storage of compressed hydrogen.

This use of advanced LOHC dehydrogenation catalyst technology will help to overcome existing challenges of hydrogen infrastructure and logistics and foster the wider introduction of FCEVs, says Umicore New Business Incubation senior VP Lothar Mussmann.

“With our PGMs playing a critical catalytic role in many technologies related to green hydrogen production and hydrogen-fuelled transportation, we are investing in those technologies that support a long-term investment environment for hydrogen to deliver its potential,” adds Anglo American Platinum CEO Natascha Viljoen, noting that the company was an early supporter of the global potential for a hydrogen economy, recognising its role in enabling the shift to greener energy and cleaner transport.

Umicore will conduct the research with support from Anglo American’s PGMs market development programme and in cooperation with Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies cofounder and University of Erlangen professor Peter Wasserscheid.

Hydrogenious, a portfolio company of AP Ventures, is an independent venture-capital fund founded by Anglo American that focuses on the development of hydrogen production, storage, transportation and other applications.

Anglo American’s PGMs market development team develops and encourages new end-user applications for PGMs, including cleaner and sustainable energy solutions, fuel cells to power electric vehicles and the production and transport of green hydrogen, besides others.