The 24-hour Hydrogen Challenge

Learning by doing

KWR’s participation in the challenge allowed us to learn hands-on lessons and to experience driving in a hydrogen car for ourselves. That experience ties in with KWR’s broader work in the Life New Hyts project, in which an entire hydrogen chain has been established in Nieuwegein: from local production and distribution to application in road transport and mobile machines. It goes without saying that, during the challenge, we refuelled at the Greenpoint refuelling station Hysolar that was built on the Jos Scholman location as part of that project. But refuelling was also needed in Belgium, and even in France, providing valuable insights into how the hydrogen transition is progressing in neighbouring countries. A good example is that, since the Olympic Games, as many as 500 taxis have been running on hydrogen in Paris. Inside the confines of the Paris ring road, there are eight hydrogen refuelling stations for those taxis, demonstrating how quickly the infrastructure is developing there.

In addition, the researchers picked up a number of other valuable ideas:

• Payment infrastructure during refuelling: There is no uniform method for refuelling in the different countries. Each country, and sometimes each refuelling station, has a separate payment system and so multiple fuel cards are needed. Many hydrogen refuelling stations say they would like to work with a standardised payment system in the future. That will make things much easier for customers.
• Availability of refuelling stations: Refuelling stations are sometimes closed unexpectedly, despite being flagged as ‘available’ in the H2live app. So drivers of hydrogen cars are advised to think ahead and consider alternative locations.
• Experience with refuelling: Despite trust in the technology, hydrogen refuelling is still new and so it can be stressful at first. Even so, hydrogen refuelling is very similar to petrol and takes a few minutes. One striking difference is that, in rainy weather, the nozzle can freeze and get stuck because of the low temperature. A simple solution is to use a rag to dry the nozzle before refuelling.
• Comfort and large range of the hydrogen car: The Hyundai Nexo was a comfortable drive with a large range of over 600 km, more than enough to cover long distances with multiple riders.

Relevance for the water sector

Green hydrogen begins and ends with water. The production of hydrogen with electrolysis requires pure water. In the Netherlands, most of that water comes from sources managed by drinking water utilities, water authorities and provincial authorities. This means that the expected upscaling of hydrogen production raises some questions: where will the required water come from and what impact will that have on the present water system?

These questions have a direct effect on KWR’s work. The Energy and Circular Systems (ECS) expert group is researching topics that affect both water and energy. Water plays several roles here. It is:

1. a raw material for hydrogen
2. an energy carrier in heat networks, and
3. a medium for aquifer thermal energy systems and more.

In addition, the treatment and distribution of all the drinking water used in the Netherlands requires a large amount of electricity (approximately 1 percent of total Dutch electricity consumption). ECS is investigating how these links between water and energy can be organised optimally and sustainably.

Our participation in the Hydrogen Challenge provided a valuable opportunity to acquire practical experience and establish contacts with pioneers from other sectors. It is precisely this cross-sector collaboration that is important for an integrated approach to the energy transition that also affects the drinking water sector. By actively learning in practice and seeking to establish connections with other domains, the researchers want to contribute to a future in which energy and water will not be viewed separately but as an interlinked system.

The KWR team during the Hydrogen Challenge, upon arrival in Paris.

The KWR team during the Hydrogen Challenge, upon arrival in Paris. Refuelling at the Hysolar filling station, close to the water district in Nieuwegein.

The KWR team together with a colleague from the Province of Utrecht at the start of the Hydrogen Challenge at the provincial government building in Utrecht.