Hydrogen Technology Observatory

The Hydrogen Technology Observatory will be a catalyst for the exchange of technical knowledge in the hydrogen value chain and to promote technological advances that accelerate the deployment of this vector.

The Observatory is constituted as a forum for debate between the private, public and academia sectors, and its main objective is to promote and disseminate technological advances in renewable hydrogen, helping the main agents in the sector to adequately guide decisions, next steps and future needs.

Main functions of the Observatory

 

The Observatory is open to the incorporation of those national and European companies, institutions, technology and research centers that wish to join and has the vocation to establish agreements and alliances with other relevant public and private actors with a similar focus.

 

Scope and activities

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Positioning

Raise the profile of relevant hydrogen R&D&I projects and inform about the progress of European working groups on hydrogen technologies

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Dissemination

Share reports and feature articles on hydrogen technology developments, conclusions and presentations from the Observatory's events and workshops

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Events and communication

Organise face-to-face events and technical webinars on key topics related to hydrogen technology and make the Observatory's most relevant actions visible through different communication channels

 

 

Events and workshops

The first initiative of the Hydrogen Technology Observatory was the celebration of the Enagás H2 Technical Day. A technical day, held on April 9, 2024, where, together with key players in the sector at national and international levels, we analyzed the technological challenges of developing the future European hydrogen network. During the event, experts affirmed that the large-scale development of renewable hydrogen is perfectly viable technologically.

You can find the content of the speakers’ technical presentations and more information about the event below:

The Hydrogen Technology Observatory organized together with the French Embassy in Spain the event: “Technological Challenges of Hydrogen Infrastructure” at the headquarters of the Institut Français in Madrid on 26 September 2024.

A panel of Spanish and French energy sector experts addressed the main technological challenges for the development of Europe’s future hydrogen network.

 

 

Technical webinar where we share innovative practices for the development of hydrogen storage. In this first workshop of the Observatory, Storengy, a subsidiary specialized in storage of the Engie group, and H2Site participated, delving into hydrogen purification technology based on different types of membranes used in the PureH2 project.

Reports of interest

One of the objectives of the Hydrogen Technology Observatory is to share technical knowledge about hydrogen and disseminate technological advances that facilitate its development. Below, we highlight relevant publications and reports, carry out by leading organizations and actors in the sector, both national and international.

This report deals comprehensively with odorization of hydrogen, either pure or mixed with natural gas (H2-NG), and analyses different alternatives for this purpose. The main objective of this document prepared by Marcogaz is to contribute to determine the main factors and data to be taken into account when odorizing gases containing hydrogen.

In this study, Enagás and CIME (Centro de Investigación en Materiales Estructurales) of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid evaluate and validate the potential repurposing of existing gas pipelines of the natural gas backbone network for hydrogen transport. The tests carried out and their results, which reproduce real operating conditions, have made it possible to validate the system and test procedure developed jointly under an R&D programme. The validation of this experimental procedure already allows tests to be carried out in a hydrogen atmosphere under the same conditions in which the future hydrogen network will operate.

Final report of Hydrogen in Gas Grids (HIGGS), a project financed by the European Union, which yields positive conclusions on the potential of injecting hydrogen into the natural gas grid at high pressure through tests on its equipment and materials. The experimental results, under test conditions, determine that the pipelines are compatible with up to 100% hydrogen injection.

ticle by scientists at the University of California-Riverside explaining the new low-cost technology they have developed to improve the efficiency of catalytic converters in hydrogen engines, thus reducing the emission of nitrogen oxides. 

This research analyses the thermal performance of multi-layered insulation (MLI) structures in liquid hydrogen tanks and provides technological solutions to optimise storage efficiency.

This document, prepared by the working groups of the Spanish Hydrogen Technology Platform with the support of its Technical Secretary, summarizes the analysis of the hydrogen technologies situation in Spain in 2024 and considers all the stages of this vector value chain focused on R&D&I.