Purple is the New Green

In this final episode of season 1 of Purple is the New Green, our hosts Leila and Rob are joined by Michael Stefan, Nel's Senior Director Product Development, to discuss the viability of a hydrogen ecosystem, and to discuss our future fueling capabilities.

Joining our hosts Leila and Rob for this episode is our guest Thorsten Herbert, Nel's Director Market Development and Public Affairs, and he'll be discussing how we can take a proactive role towards policy, how we can encourage public acceptance, and the importance of government commitment to hydrogen.

By simple definition, an electrolyser is an energy conversion device. So, what does that mean and why is it relevant to our world today? If you’re listening to Nel’s podcasts, you probably already know what we're about to delve into, but just in case, let’s take a closer look...

For years, one of the issues with hydrogen has been that it is manufactured at one facility – sometimes as a byproduct – then taken elsewhere. But what if the hydrogen could be made on-site? It would cut down on costs and make the process simpler. On this episode of Purple Is the New Green, David Wolff, Nel Hydrogen’s Region Manager for the Eastern U.S. and Canada, said that scenario already is a reality.

David Bow, Nel Hydrogen’s SVP of Business Development said that, while green is the ideal, production of an intermediate hydrogen like blue hydrogen is a necessary step toward a world in which green hydrogen is widely available.

Few companies in the world can say they’ve been working with hydrogen for as long as Nel.That’s why Bjorn Simonsen, who, until recently, was Nel’s Vice President for Investor Relations and Corporate Communication, said the company’s history aligns with and has driven how humans work with hydrogen.“Nel has been involved in the entire development, from the early beginnings until today. Nel has consistently been a pioneer in the field with many firsts, both with regards to the industry with the 700 megawatts of electrolyser capacity installed in Norway for fertilizer production to the world’s first publicly available hydrogen fueling station, which opened in Reykjavik in 2003.”Simonsen also recalled that the next year Nel powered the world’s first power-to-power project, providing 10 households on the island of Utsira power from stored hydrogen produced by excess wind power – something that made those homes the envy of the island when the rest of the grid went down during an important televised soccer match.Nel has continued to innovate, becoming listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and constructing the world’s largest manufacturing plant for hydrogen fueling stations as demand continues to increase for hydrogen solutions.While some are skeptical hydrogen’s current uptick is another climb preceding a fall in a cycle of peaks and valleys, Simonsen has no doubt hydrogen is here to stay, since it solves so many of the issues our world is facing today.“It’s super abundant. You can produce hydrogen anywhere in the world and can do that with zero emissions from production to use. And its nature’s own Swiss-army knife element, being both an ingredient and being an energy carrier,” he said.That’s why, even after leaving Nel to become CEO of Saga Pure, he’ll still be cheering the growth of the hydrogen industry in his new role.

Hydrogen vehicles are on the market, but it’s more of an anomaly than standard to see one on the road. That could be changing in the near future. NEL Hydrogen Business Development Manager Jesper Boisen said he sees attitudes beginning to change about hydrogen as a fuel source for vehicles, and he’s confident more and more drivers will have the option to go hydrogen in the next few years.

There is little doubt hydrogen is a huge player in energy going forward, but just what will that look like? Dr. Kathy Ayers, Nel Hydrogen’s Vice President of Research and Development, is working on some of those answers – and working with membranes in an effort to increase the ease of distributing hydrogen using electrolysis.

Everett Anderson, Vice President, and Head of Advanced Product Development at Nel joined hosts Leila Danielsen, Brand Manager at Nel, and Rob Cockerill, Managing Editor of H2 View, for a deep dive on the hydrogen industry in North America, and a specific look at Proton OnSite, the world’s largest manufacturer of on-site hydrogen generators.  “The story of Proton OnSite is an interesting one,” Anderson said. “The founders of Proton worked in a large aerospace company, United Technologies, doing PEM water electrolysis for aerospace and undersea applications where oxygen was the value product. They had the vision of using this same technology for generating hydrogen for commercial use.” Anderson noted that Proton’s business plan is the same today as when they founded the company in 1996. “Create a sustainable business for industrial uses of onsite hydrogen generation in anticipation of emerging energy markets.” Proton OnSite became an official part of the Nel family in 2017, but the name remains the same. “Nel recognized the value the Proton name had in the market,” Anderson said. “Some products outside the on-site market are branded as Proton PEM to capitalize on Proton's history in terms of this space.” While hydrogen has experienced its fair share of ups and downs in the US market, Anderson believes there is a significant interest in hydrogen in the US to move towards green hydrogen technology. So, what makes now the right time to start thinking purple? “I think across the industry there’s a much greater level of maturity in the product offerings and the technology,” Anderson said. “From the automotive side, the vehicles are light years ahead of the prototype vehicles introduced a decade ago. And from the Nel perspective, we’ve had decades of experience in the marketplace and addressing the needs generated. We are ready to scale the technology to larger production rates and meet the commercial demands.”

After a 20-plus year career in the hydrogen industry, Pietro d’Erasmo seemingly moved on from renewable energy's purple shores. But, just when d'Erasmo thought he was out, Nel pulled him back in. The rapid advancements and renewed global interest in hydrogen energy solutions were just too significant a calling for d’Erasmo to deny. He rejoined Nel in 2016 as a technical consultant in Nel’s electrolyzer division. With so many new and exciting challenges occurring in the hydrogen industry as a whole, d’Erasmo said this is an exciting time to be involved with electrolyzers. “When I first started in the hydrogen industry, all we had were industrial customers. Now we can see that hydrogen is becoming an important element in the energy sector,” d’Erasmo said.The next step, d’Erasmo said, is to adapt and weave hydrogen solutions into the public area. For almost 100 years, electrolyzers have been an important tool for efficient fertilizer production. But now, d’Erasmo said some of the projects he’s involved with employ high-pressure electrolyzers to fuel renewable energy efforts. “We need to have more efficient and more flexible electrolyzers,” d’Erasmo said.That flexibility is essential for the fast-load requirements of wind and solar. And, when it comes to large hydrogen plants, d’Erasmo believes alkaline electrolyzers' flexibility and sustainability will play an essential role in the coming years.