In the Lab: Spotlight on Surface Characterisation Activities at Johnson Matthey

Before joining Johnson Matthey, Tuğçe Eralp Erden was a Marie Curie PhD student at the University of Reading, UK, studying model chiral adsorption systems using synchrotron-based structural and spectroscopic techniques (1–5). After completing her PhD, she joined the advanced characterisation department at Johnson Matthey, Sonning Common, UK, where she is currently leading the surface spectroscopy team.

Hydrogen Storage and Transportation Technologies to Enable the Hydrogen Economy: Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers

Reliable storage and transportation of hydrogen at scale is a challenge which needs to be tackled to allow a robust and on-demand hydrogen supply when moving towards a global low carbon hydrogen economy with the aim of meeting net-zero climate goals. Numerous technologies and options are currently being explored for effective hydrogen storage and transportation to facilitate a smooth transition to the hydrogen economy. This paper provides an overview of different hydrogen storage and transportation technologies, focusing in more detail on liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs), its advantages and disadvantages, and future considerations for the optimisation of the LOHC technology.

Analysis of Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier Systems

Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) provide attractive opportunities for hydrogen storage and transportation. In this study, a detailed examination of the most prominent LOHCs is performed, with a focus on their properties and scope for successful process implementation, as well as catalytic materials used for the hydrogenation and dehydrogenation steps. Different properties of each potential LOHC offer significant flexibility within the technology, allowing bespoke hydrogen storage and transportation solutions to be provided. Among different LOHC systems, dibenzyltoluene/perhydro-dibenzyltoluene has been identified as one of the most promising candidates for future deployment in commercial LOHC-based hydrogen storage and transport settings, based on its physical and toxicological properties, process conditions requirements, availability and its moderate cost. PGM-based catalysts have been proven to catalyse both the hydrogenation and dehydrogenation steps for various LOHC systems, though base metal catalysts might have a potential for the technology.

Potential Deployment and Integration of Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier Technology within Different Industries

The deployment of hydrogen as an infrastructure fuel and an energy vector across a range of industries is expected to aid with meeting decarbonisation goals and achieving net zero emissions. For the transition towards a low carbon hydrogen economy, not only the production of hydrogen needs to be addressed, but also its transportation and storage. Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) are an attractive solution for the storage and transportation of hydrogen to allow a reliable and on-demand hydrogen supply, enabling industrial decarbonisation. This work describes the potential deployment and integration of LOHCs within different industries. These include: the transportation sector; steel and cement industries; the use of stored hydrogen to produce fuels and chemicals from flue gases, and a system integration of fuel cells and LOHCs for energy storage.

Johnson Matthey Highlights

Lv:0:53:http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#XMLLiteral<xhtml:span xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">A selection of recent publications by Johnson Matthey R&D staff and collaborators</xhtml:span>

A Comparison of Different Approaches to the Conversion of Carbon Dioxide into Useful Products: Part II : More routes to CO2 reduction

In this review, we consider a range of different technological approaches to carbon dioxide conversion, their current status and the molecules which each approach is best suited to making. Part II presents the photochemical, photoelectrochemical, plasma and microbial electrosynthetic routes to CO2 reduction and discusses the technological options together with proposals for future research needs from an industry perspective.

Comparative Study of Radiative Heating Techniques for Fast Processing of Functional Coatings for Sustainable Energy Applications

This study assesses the use of short wavelength radiative heating techniques such as near infrared, intense pulse light and ultraviolet heating for processing coatings in energy applications. Concentrating on the importance of investigating different radiative wavelengths to advance these technologies as scalable processes via reduced heating times. It illustrates the mechanisms by which these techniques can transform thin film materials: sintering, binder removal, drying and chemical reactions. It focuses on successful research applications and the methods used to apply these radiative mechanisms in solar energy, battery storage and fuel cells, whilst considering the materials suitable for such intentions. The purpose of this paper is to highlight to academics as well as industrialists some of the potential advantages and applications of radiative heating technologies.