Svalbards electric power could come from hydrogen (shipping liquid hydrogen-cheaper than a cable)

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://www.sintef.no/en/latest-news/svalbards-electric-power-could-come-from-hydrogen/

[font face=Serif][center][font size=5]Svalbard’s electric power 
could come from hydrogen[/font]

Published 07 February 2017[/center]

[font size=4]Longyearbyen, the world’s most northerly city, could save more than 100 million kroner (11.5 million US dollars) a year in the cost of electricity, if a completely green hydrogen-fuelled power station is built in preference to laying a cable from the mainland, according to calculations made by SINTEF scientists.[/font]

[font size=1]The world’s first special ship for cargoes of liquid hydrogen is already being built. SINTEF researchers have evaluated a number of solutions, and concluded that Svalbard, which currently obtains its energy from coal, could become a zero-emissions society in the future, thanks to hydrogen shipped in from the mainland. Illustration: Kawasaki Heavy Industries[/font]

[font size=3]The energy supply to Longyearbyen, midway between continental Norway and the North Pole, is a hot topic in the climate debate.

Longyearbyen is the largest settlement and the administrative centre of Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Today, Longyearbyen obtains its electric power and district heating from its coal power plant, the only one in Norway.

…

In the course of the debate about sustainable alternatives, some politicians have already been speaking warmly about replacing Longyearbyen’s coal power plant with a cable between the city and mainland Norway: a 1000-km undersea cable capable of bringing surplus wind- and hydro-power to the country’s outpost in the far north.

A recent study carried out by SINTEF has shown that shipping surplus energy to Svalbard in the form of liquid hydrogen rather than via a cable could mean annual savings of more than NOK 100 million (USD 11.5 million).

…[/font][/font]

[FogerRox]

1. Really?

without reading the article this seems preposterous. I'm sure it can be done, but why?

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. 11.5 Million $'s a year.

…

A recent study carried out by SINTEF has shown that shipping surplus energy to Svalbard in the form of liquid hydrogen rather than via a cable could mean annual savings of more than NOK 100 million (USD 11.5 million).

…

It’s a small town of a little over 2,000 people. Installing an undersea cable is an expensive proposition.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longyearbyen

[FogerRox]

5. SINTEF

http://www.sintef.no/globalassets/upload/konsern/arsrapporter/petro_m_omsl_e_lav.pdf

[OKIsItJustMe]

7. Yes, and?

This space intentionally left mostly blank.

[hunter]

3. Liquid hydrogen is squirrelly stuff.

One of my mentors believed in it.

I don't.

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. I understand the President doesn't "believe in" Climate Change

That doesn’t mean that the facts are wrong.

[hunter]

6. Page 42.

https://books.google.com/books?id=Wvx_S3VuqdcC&pg=PA42&lpg=PA42&dq=%22hindenburg+society%22&source=bl&ots=cCmGrogWFm&sig=a2-cVjkwFZlYvgGCu26RwV0MHWE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi0r7L_3YHSAhUE4WMKHXC5CZwQ6AEIPTAI#v=onepage&q=%22hindenburg%20society%22&f=false

[FogerRox]

8. I doubt there are more than 2 or 3 LH2 tankers in the world

So this town of 2000 is going to need how many refills a year?

[FogerRox]

9. There are no LH2 tankers

Kawasaki has a proposal for one. And it uses a superconducting electric motor which uses the boiling off hydrogen to cool the motor.

Apparently the town uses solar in the summer.

[OKIsItJustMe]

10. They have approval in principle

http://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/khi-obtains-aip-liquefied-hydrogen-carrier-cargo-containment-system/

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Kawasaki’s Innovative Liquefied Hydrogen Carrier Cargo Containment System Gets ClassNK Approval[/font]

By MI News Network | In: Shipping News | Last Updated on January 3, 2017

[font size=3]Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. has obtained approval in principle (AiP) from the Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, one of the major Classification Societies in the world also known as ClassNK, for its new cargo containment system (CCS) for ships that carry liquefied hydrogen in bulk.

The approval comes after an exhaustive examination, which sought to clarify that the novel concept design of a CCS satisfied the existing IGC Code*1 and class regulations, and a stringent risk assessment performed based on hazard identification study & analysis (HAZID)*2 methods.

The CCS, which is equipped with a pressure build-up (accumulation) system, has a capacity to store 1,250m3 of cryogenic liquefied hydrogen. It was developed using Kawasaki’s proprietary design and construction technologies, which are tailor-made for onboard and onshore storage and transportation of liquefied hydrogen and LNG.

…

Japanese demand for hydrogen is expected to jump in the near future as more fuel-cell-powered vehicles reach the market and alternative energy policies are stepped up. Kawasaki is preparing for the expansion of the hydrogen market by launching pioneer liquefied hydrogen carriers (LHC) to take up the slack in the transport of the gas to Japan from overseas.

…[/font][/font]

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. I'd have thought wind power would be a good fit for Svalbard

They average about 5m/s wind speed: https://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Svalbard/Longyearbyen/statistics.html

Plenty of room to put up turbines.

Oh, I see they say it would be more expensive than the cable. Surprising.

[dumbcat]

12. I have to wonder how well wind turbines do

when they are covered with ice. I don't think I have ever seen any in a really cold, icy climate. Maybe that's why? I dunno.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Good point (nt)

[NNadir]

14. Norway generated lots of delusional cheering press with the Utsira wind to hydrogen scheme.

It powered ten homes before being shut down, but the amount of carbon dioxide generated to run computers to praise how wonderful it was greatly exceeded the diesel fuel that wasn't burned on the Island.

It started in 2004 and was shut down in 2008. The number of large scale commercial systems resulting from this "pilot" is zero.

The Utsira wind to hydrogen project.

The overall capacity utilization of the wind plant was 20%, this on an island in the North Sea.

The wind industry is trivial and has failed notoriously to address the continued use of dangerous fossil fuels. The thought that it would be a good idea to waste energy from what is already a trivial form of energy is absurd.

It would be useful for people who pretend to care about the environment to learn the laws of thermodynamics, but that doesn't seem to be a popular idea which is why we are squandering resources, and most importantly time, on repeating over and over and over, schemes that haven't worked, aren't working and won't work.

History will not forgive us.