Hydrogen production by PEM water electrolysers (PEMWE) has the potential of becoming a key enabling technology in the deployment of FCH technologies in the future energy market as an energy storage system able to deliver hydrogen to different applications and enabling a high penetration of renewable energy sources (RES). PEMWE has showed capabilities in the emerging hydrogen scenarios to be a valid alternative to previously developed technologies, especially considering the dynamic and versatile operation expected of hydrogen production methods when integrated with RES. Despite the advances and improvements experienced to date with these systems, the technology needs to be further improved if it is to be installed as a competitive solution for energy markets and even more so in the case of off-grid configurations due to their particularities. The development of an autonomous off-grid electrolysers as an energy storage or backup solution (e.g. replacing diesel engines) is an unusual and challenging goal because it needs to have the capability of being directly coupled to RES in locations where the electricity grid is not deployed or weak. The main goal of the ELY4OFF proposal is the development and demonstration of an autonomous off-grid electrolysis system linked to renewable energy sources, including the essential overarching communication and control system for optimising the overall efficiency when integrated in a real installation

<< Background >>As part of the EU’s Green Deal, hydrogen is foreseen to play a big role in the decarbonisation goals prescribed. Current research suggests that the ongoing decrease of cost for producing “green” hydrogen (i.e. renewable hydrogen from electrolysis) will make hydrogen a significant contributor to the fight against climate change, and especially for the mobility sector (e.g. heavy-duty transport, taxi fleets, local city buses). The EC has put forth its hydrogen strategy, according to which it plans to produce up to 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen and invest heavily in the hydrogen mobility sector. In fact, the trade body Hydrogen Europe expects 10,000 hydrogen trucks on Europe’s roads by 2025 and 100,000 by 2030 [1]Spain, France and Germany have pledged to heavily invest in H2 mobility technologies, with the last two countries having already pledged a 16 billion € investment by 2030. The “Hydrogen Roadmap: a commitment to renewable hydrogen” approved by the Spanish government proposes a fleet of 150 buses and 5.000 light and heavy-duty vehicles to be on the road by 2030, and projecting to build 38 Hydrogen Refuelling Stations (HRS) by 2025. The French H2 strategy plans 20,000-50,000 light-duty vehicles, 800-2,000 heavy-duty vehicles and between 400-1,000 Hydrogen Refuelling Stations (HRS) by 2028 [3], while the trade body Hydrogen Europe expects 10,000 H2 trucks on Europe’s roads by 2025 and 100,000 by 2030. While hydrogen use is spread in the EU, more than 1 million jobs are expected to be created (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/eu-wants-become-market-leader-hydrogen-technologiescreate-1-million-jobs), a substantial amount of which will be unavoidably offered in the H2 mobility sector.In order to support the move towards a hydrogen-based transport sector, there is a pressing need for a workforce (namely technicians to be employed in the sector) with a specific set of skills (e.g. vehicle parts ordering and inventory management, vehicle instrumentation, diagnosis and repair of H2 power-trains, installation and maintenance of Hydrogen Refuelling Stations, following protocol for refuelling H2 vehicles). Furthermore, changes in technology often imply loss of blue-collar jobs in any sector; therefore, upskilling of the workforce is of vital importance and the only way to avoid unemployment by the imminent shift to a green mobility sector. A workforce comprised by technicians who will be able to maintain H2 power-trains but also install and maintain Hydrogen Refuelling Stations (HRS), thus combining the two worlds of power-train maintenance and refuelling, will play a key role in the EU’s Hydrogen Strategy. Still, and despite this spike in investment and interest in a hydrogen-fuelled fleet, there is a shortage in I-VET and upskilling courses. Some European projects have developed relevant courses, though the need for an H2 mobility specific course, designed to be used both for initial and continuous training, remains unanswered. A training programme tailored to cover the needs of the emerging H2 mobility sector is currently lacking.<< Objectives >>1.Define EU-wide occupational requirements for H2 mobility technicians that reflect the needs in the H2 mobility sector2.Design and deliver a joint curriculum & educational resources on H2 mobility technicians’ skills, to be embedded into formal & non-formal training provision.3.Introduce and pilot test contemporary, flexible training delivery methods and open-access pedagogical resources, to support self-paced H2 mobility skills acquisition.4.Pave the way for the recognition, validation, integration of new skills requirements & a qualification for H2 mobility technicians into relevant schemes.<< Implementation >>1.Mapping of the technical skills needed for hydrogen mobility technicians.2.Development of a course curriculum on H2 mobility skills and creation of corresponding training and assessment materials to be offered as Open Educational Resources.3.Development of a Massive Open Online Course on H2 mobility sector skills, promoting the uptake of innovative and flexible learning.4.Development of a trainer’s handbook for the integration of the UpHyMob learning outcomes in H2 mobility in-house training.5.Involvement of key sectoral stakeholders for the integration of the project results in VET and in-house training offerings & workplace practices, through the development of a Statement of Support. 6.Validation of skill requirements by sectoral and industry representatives (e.g. industry endorsement).7.Dissemination of the project results through multiplier events, inviting target groups to uptake the UpHyMob results and to act as further multipliers<< Results >>1.R1: H2 mobility skills mapping and UpHyMob learning outcomes 2.R2: UpHyMob curriculum, open educational recourses and trainers handbook3.R3: UpHyMob Massive Open Online Course structure and functionalities4.R4: Framework for the recognition of the UpHyMob skills requirements into certification and standardisation schemesIn terms of outcomes, the project foresees to have the following impact: -250-300 VET providers opting to offer hydrogen mobility technicians’ courses-12,000 Individuals (technicians, students) -30-45 regulatory entities from across the EU such as National Qualifications Agencies, Standard Setting Organisations and career guidance bodies-20-30 EU and national sectoral representatives and social partners, incl. EU regulatory bodies (e.g. DG ENV), trade unions, employers’ associations, associations of Education and Training providers (e.g. EFVET)-80-120 companies currently involved or going to be involved in the hydrogen mobility sector

High deployment of fuel cells and hydrogen technologies is expected in the near term in the EU to decarbonize energy and transport sectors. The idea is to generate vast amounts of green hydrogen from the expected surplus of renewable energy sources (implemented policies are going towards 65% of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2050) to be used in transport (moving fuel cell electric vehicles), energy (feeding stationary fuel cells for cogeneration, injecting hydrogen into the gas grid) and industries (hydrogen generation for chemical industries). However, the expected commercial FCH technologies (mainly PEM and alkaline electrolysers as well as PEM and Solid Oxide fuel cells) are not prepared for full deployment in what regards to recycling and dismantling stage. The main goal of proposal is to deliver reference documentation and studies about existing and new recycling and dismantling technologies and strategies applied to Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (FCH) technologies, paving the way for future demonstration actions and advances in legislation. To achieve this goal, the following key steps will be followed considering the involvement and validation of relevant FCH value chain actors and the HYTECHCYCLING Advisory Board of manufacturers: 1. Pre-study and techno-economic, environmental, RCS assessment related to dismantling & recycling of FCH technologies to detect future needs and challenges 2. Development of new technologies and strategies applied to FCH technologies in the phase of recycling & dismantling and LCA analysis considering critical, expensive and scarce materials inventory 3. Proposal of new business model, implementation roadmap and development of reference recommendations and guidelines to focus the sector and pave the way for future demonstrations and introduction of the concept among FCH stakeholders

Today’s alkaline electrolysers are typically operating at voltages exceeding 2 V/cell, corresponding to electrolyser power consumption >54 kWh/kg. Improved performance is often achieved by incorporating platinum-group metals (PGM) in electrode coatings, but the wider adoption of such approach is severely hindered by the limited availability and high cost of PGM. Not only does electrode degradation negatively affect the efficiency of the electrolyser stack, but also the efficiency of the entire system. Degradation also negatively affects CAPEX: due to degradation, the amount of waste heat that needs to be removed from the stack increases, which means that electrolyser components need to be significantly oversized. If electrolyser degradation rate could be reduced, it would result in two-fold benefits: 1) lower operating expenditures via lower energy consumption over electrolyser lifetime, 2) lower capital expenditures via lower level of oversizing of balance-of-plant components needed. Both would positively affect the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH). We aim to develop a PGM-free alkaline electrolyser stack with PEM-like performance and low degradation rate. Proposed innovations: • Development of 3D structured, laterally graded, flow-engineered, monolithic porous transport electrodes (PTE), drastically improving electrode kinetics and mass transport compared to state-of-the-art cells • Multi-level computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling coupled with advanced X-ray tomography • Novel PGM-free high performance electrocatalysts fabricated using inherently scalable methods • Stack-level improvements and performance validation using 100cm2 and 1000cm2 stack platforms, and benchmarking with state-of-the-art • Building upon the work done by the JRC, the development of harmonised test protocols and accelerated testing procedures for alkaline water electrolysers.

The main aim of project Demo4Grid is the commercial setup and demonstration of a technical solution utilizing “above state of the art” Pressurized Alkaline Electrolyser (PAE) technology for providing grid balancing services in real operational and market conditions. In order to validate existing significant differences in local market and grid requirements Demo4Grid has chosen to setup a demonstration site in Austria to demonstrate a viable business case for the operation of a large scale electrolyser adapted to specific local conditions that will be found throughout Europe. To achieve that, Demo4Grid will demonstrate at this demo site with particular needs for hydrogen as a means of harvesting RE production: I. a technical solution to meet all core requirements for providing grid balancing services with a large scale PAE in direct cooperation with grid operators, II. a market based solution to provide value added services and revenues for the operation strategy to achieve commercial success providing grid services and those profits obtained also from the hydrogen application. III. Aiming at the exploitation of the results after the project ends, Demo4Grid will assess the replicability and viability of various business cases Demo4Grid will be the decisive demonstration stage of previous FCH-JU projects related to the PAE addressed in this proposal. The first project ELYGRID (finished) and the following one ELYntegration (still ongoing) have provided promising results on the development of PAE to provide grid services operating under dynamic profiles (significant results will be shown in this proposal).