UK plans $95 million hydrogen gigafactory to supply parts for autos

A U.Okay.-headquartered agency mentioned Monday it was constructing an £80 million ($95.9 million) “gigafactory” specializing within the manufacture of hydrogen gasoline cell parts, with operations deliberate to start out within the first half of 2024.

In a press release, London-listed Johnson Matthey mentioned the ability in Royston, England, would have the ability to produce three gigawatts of proton trade membrane gasoline cell parts per 12 months. Often known as polymer electrolyte membrane gasoline cells, the U.S. authorities says PEM gasoline cells in cars “use hydrogen gasoline and oxygen from the air to supply electrical energy.” PEM gasoline cells are constructed from numerous totally different supplies.

The concept is that the parts shall be utilized by hydrogen autos, with the announcement referencing street freight. Earlier reviews about JM’s plans for a hydrogen gigafactory had been revealed by The Sunday Occasions in Nov. 2021.

Johnson Matthey’s plans have acquired backing from the U.Okay. authorities through the Superior Propulsion Centre’s Automotive Transformation Fund, a funding program targeted on large-scale industrialization.

The concept behind gasoline cell autos is that hydrogen from a tank mixes with oxygen, producing electrical energy. Based on the U.S. Division of Vitality’s Various Fuels Information Heart, gasoline cell autos emit “solely water vapor and heat air.”

In its personal announcement on Monday, the Superior Propulsion Centre mentioned it was forecasting that U.Okay. demand for gasoline cells could be roughly 10 GW by 2030, rising to 14 GW by the 12 months 2035. This, it added, could be “equal to 140,000 autos.”

The APC mentioned gasoline cell autos had been “as fast to refuel as a typical combustion engine and have a variety and energy density to rival diesel engines.” This made them “excellent for heavy obligation functions” corresponding to heavy items autos, or HGVs.

“Decarbonising freight transportation is vital to assist societies and industries meet their bold web zero emission targets – gasoline cells shall be a vital a part of the vitality transition,” Liam Condon, chief govt of Johnson Matthey, mentioned.

JM is one in every of a number of companies engaged on expertise associated to hydrogen gasoline cell autos. On the finish of June, Tevva, one other firm based mostly within the U.Okay., launched a hydrogen-electric heavy items automobile.

The identical month noticed Volvo Vans announce it had begun to check autos that use “gasoline cells powered by hydrogen,” with the Swedish agency saying their vary may prolong to as a lot as 1,000 kilometers, or slightly over 621 miles.

Whereas some are excited concerning the potential of gasoline cell autos within the years forward, their present market share stays small in comparison with battery electrical autos.

Based on the Worldwide Vitality Company’s International Electrical Automobile Outlook 2022 report, the world’s gasoline cell electrical automobile inventory stood at round 51,600 in 2021.

The IEA says electrical automobile gross sales — that’s, gross sales of battery electrical and plug-in hybrid autos — hit 6.6 million in 2021. Within the first quarter of 2022, EV gross sales got here to 2 million, a 75% improve in comparison with the primary three months of 2021.