The Hydrogen Thread

[NewcastleFalcon]

As I recall the first British nuclear plants were advanced gas cooled reactors but were pushed aside by the US water cooled reactors.
Maybe our experts could have a go at these.

Torness on the East Coast of Scotland near Dunbar just off the A1 was the last of the UK's Second Generatioon Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors commissioned in 1988 and due for shutdown unless it has changed recently in 2028.
Approval for construction was granted in 1978 after consideration of a number of different technolgies, including a High Temperature Reactor along the lines of the Japanese developments discussed in the video.

I put up a nice image of Torness on POTD today. viewtopic.php?p=735160#p735160

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torness_n ... er_station

Regards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

We had two on the River Severn at Oldbury and Berkeley Neil, both have been decommissioned.

[CitroJim]

Only one nuclear power station was ever built inland in the UK as far as I know... Possibly in the wettest place in the UK - Trawsfynydd in North Wales...

It could draw all its cooling water needs from the massive Llyn Trawsfynydd reservoir nearby...

It generated from 1959 until 1989...

I believe the hydroelectric Maentwrog power station, also utilising water from Llyn Trawsfynydd, is still operational...

[myglaren]

[Dormouse]

This probably straddles a few threads but I will put it here.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-64471798

[bobins]

Unfortunately, this video isn't suitable for BEV fanboys, so may I suggest they watch something else instead

For anyone else who wants to look at the progress that JCB are making with their Hydrogen engines then may I suggest they watch this latest Youtube from Harry Metcalfe. Of note in the video - the UK Gov. seems utterly reluctant to embrace Hydrogen, whereas all around the rest of the world they seem to making great inroads into producing it and developing it. How strange The U.S of A is looking to get its production (sale) cost down to below that of diseasel. JCBs engine is slightly more efficient - gram for gram of fuel - than that of their diseasel engines. BEVs just ain't going to cut it in the plant and machinery business where equipment can be running all day, so a solution has to be found.

[NewcastleFalcon]

I have followed the Riversimple story from the very beginnings, and receive periodic updates on their activity in a newsletter. They are still going, have friends in high places, and decent grant getters and crowd funders, but as yet haven't taken-off, but have come up with some brightly coloured beta testers of their odd looking RASA.

They don't intend selling a single vehicle but will use a subscription model of £/mth plus £/mile with everything thrown in insurance/tax/maintenance/fuel whatever you can think of. They want to scale up now to create production facilities of 5000 cars per year capacity, but while their development to date has been sustained by grants and crowdfunding, big investors will have to join in on the journey to take them to that level.

What's holding them back The provision of a green hydrogen supply and distribution chain. They currently have one hydrogen refuelling station at Abergavenny and that has been the situation now and throughout their progress to date. For a two minute overview of the story so far here's a video from Riversimple.



Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

The latest Riversimple Newsletter arrived through my virtual letterbox the other day. Not a lot new and more a whinge about changes in govt policy. Over 20 years in the making, and they are to be commended on their persistence, but the desired take off from a handful of beta-testing hydrogen fuel-cell electric cars, to production still waits.

They are not alone. Pioneering automotive giants Toyota if you look at "how many left" for their Mirai fuel Cell Vehicle will show that as of quarter 1 2023 they had 131 Mirai fuel cell vehicles registered on the roads of the United Kingdom, with inexplicably 17 on SORN.

There is a lot about the riversimple approach I like. The car is designed to be lightweight, aerodynamic, run on narrow tyres, motive power provided by electric motors with regen. They don't mention the word "battery" but use "super capacitor" as the recipient of the regen.

Not sure they will ever become car manufacturers, and scaling up looks to me like they would have to convince some bigger players to share their vision and turn their development work into a commercially viable product.

It is an odd looking product they have developed, the RASA, but this is maybe the shape which fuel efficient vehicles whether petrol, BEV or fuel cell optimally arrive at.

http://riversimple.org/

Neil

[CitroJim]

At least it looks a bit different from the current crop I quite like it...

[bobins]

Redcar hydrogen trial scrapped by government

"A proposed pilot project to replace home gas supplies with hydrogen will not go ahead, the government has said.
Redcar, on Teesside, was the remaining area bidding to host the trial after proposals for Ellesmere Port were scrapped in July due to residents' objections.
Both areas have seen protests by people concerned about safety, cost, and the ability to opt out of any trial."

More at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c842wzn9g35o