RESEARCH NEWS
Funding boost for hydrogen materials research in the UK
Cranfield University in the UK has been awarded over £ 0.5 million for a range of manufacturing projects , including three initiatives focused on how materials respond to hydrogen , which could help accelerate the adoption of hydrogen-fuelled engines and assist industries with reaching net zero carbon emissions .
With funding from The Henry Royce Institute through its Industrial Collaboration Programme , Cranfield ’ s specialist facilities in the Surface Engineering and Precision Centre ( SEPC ) are set to advance understanding of how materials behave and react with hydrogen , paving the way for wider use of this clean fuel .
Professor Dame Helen Atkinson , Pro- Vice-Chancellor of the School of Aerospace , Transport and Manufacturing , welcomed the news : “ Hydrogen is one of the most exciting clean energy developments but it simply can ’ t scale up without this crucial work to make the production , transport and storage of it cost-effective and feasible . This funding will enable Cranfield ’ s specialist facilities and expertise in this area to support the developments that industry absolutely needs to move forward with a net zero agenda .”
Adapting existing engines to run with hydrogen or Sustainable Aviation Fuels could be an effective solution to reduce CO₂ emissions from transport , as hydrogen combustion only produces water vapour and nitrogen oxides . But water vapour corrosion of components can be a significant issue in hydrogen-fuelled engines , currently being developed for aerospace and automotive industries . It is estimated that hydrogen combustion in an aerospace gas turbine produces 2.6 times more water vapour than kerosene fuel , which could lead to corrosion in engine components , currently optimised for kerosene .
Project SAUNA
Project SAUNA , in collaboration with Rolls- Royce , Zircotec and Imperial College London , will examine corrosion in materials operating in environments with up to 100 % water vapour volume . Testing capabilities covering the temperature and water vapour ranges required by industry do not currently exist , so this project will upgrade a horizontal tube furnace at Cranfield University to test in up to 100 % water vapour and 1,000 degrees Celsius .
“ This facility will be of fundamental importance to all industries aiming to develop hydrogen-fuelled engines , and the data on a range of key materials and coatings will help commercialise hydrogen-fuelled engines , helping aviation and transport industries to achieve net zero emission goals ,” commented Cranfield University .
Moving aviation to hydrogen power
Image : Shutterstock . com .
Gas turbine powered aircraft account for 96 % of current aviation carbon emissions , so moving aviation to alternative energy sources is key for zero carbon flight . Establishing materials that are compatible and safe with hydrogen is an urgent priority and will be essential for the future certifications of hydrogen-powered gas turbines .
H2 Embrittlement Testing , the “ Mechanical Assessment of Aerospace Engine Materials in Hydrogen ” project , examines how materials may become brittle in hydrogen environments , testing them at elevated temperature and using microscanning technologies to evaluate their susceptibility to embrittlement . The project will run hydrogen fatigue tests , seeing how materials are stressed in hydrogen environments . A third package of work will test where hydrogen gets trapped in the microstructures of materials .
Working with Rolls-Royce and the University of Manchester , this project will develop technologies crucial to creating hydrogen-powered aviation .
Carbon-free hydrogen generation
The “ Novel Electrocatalysts for Green Hydrogen Electrolysis ” project focuses on developing new catalyst materials to enable the direct electrolysis of seawater for the economical and sustainable production of hydrogen .
The researchers will develop new catalysts based on hard coatings , used widely in the precision machining industry , to replace existing noblemetal catalysts such as platinum and iridium for the electrolysis process . As an additional benefit , the new catalysts can protect against corrosion , enabling the direct electrolysis of seawater and marinisation of electrolysers for use in freshwater-scarce areas .
The research , developed in collaboration with Hardide Coatings and the University of Manchester , could reduce the costs of green hydrogen production without increasing freshwater stress . The research capitalises on the photo / electrochemistry facility at Cranfield University , of fundamental importance for development and testing of new materials for next-generation electrolysers and fuel cells .
Hydrogen research at Cranfield
The funding builds on Cranfield ’ s expertise in hydrogen research – the University ’ s Hydrogen Gateway brings together researchers covering the entire supply chain of hydrogen .
Projects include the HyPER project , which examines the potential for low-carbon hydrogen to be the fuel of the future , and the ENABLEH2 initiative , which researches the use of liquid hydrogen in civil aviation . In May 2022 the University was awarded £ 3.1 million to advance sustainable aviation , which included investment in a hydrogen electrolyser , to support research , and a mobile hydrogen compression and refuelling system .
Royce ICP and MCAP programmes are funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ( EPSRC ), part of UK Research & Innovation . n
www . cranfield . ac . uk /
ISMR May 2023 | ismr . net | 19