Q+A with Danny Nicholas, Rotork
Danny Nicholas joined Rotork in March 2022 as Business Development Manager, Hydrogen Equipment for EMEA. Before joining Rotork, Danny worked for Swagelok Manchester where he played a central role in the Technical Support and Business Development team, working with customers in the advancement of technology and design of equipment for use in the green hydrogen value chain. Danny also supported research work undertaken at Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre (part of Manchester Metropolitan University) and at The University of Manchester’s graphene facility.
您能否提供Rotork提供给市场的摘要？
我们为整个氢供应链中的氢设备制造商和阀门制造商提供关键的流量控制解决方案。60多年来，Rotork为广泛的行业提供了可靠，精确和高效的流量控制产品。作为流程控制技术的全球领导者，我们在氢气中的供应链和任务关键应用程序的供应链中被完美地放置在氢气中。来自我们投资组合的相关产品自然包括电动和气动执行器，以及诸如电磁阀，开关盒，针和球阀，压力调节器和滤波器调节器等关键仪器。氢的生产，存储和分布存在众所周知的挑战 - 如果无法正确管理，可能会有安全问题。当用作燃料时，氢是高度易燃的。很难检测到泄漏，因为它是无味，无色和无味的。如果我们安全控制所有阶段，我们就有知识和经验来降低风险。我加入了对氢气的重点和“实现可持续未来”的消息传递的时候。我们是英国HFCA的成员，这意味着我们是英国氢行和制造系统创新的核心。
Do you have a project or case study you could provide some details of?
Our CVL process control electric actuators were recently installed on green hydrogen electrolysis skids for French equipment manufacturer, AREVA H2Gen (now Elogen). Because electrolysis requires extremely precise control, actuators on the skids needed to provide accuracy, a fail-safe action and a high-duty cycle. The accuracy offered by all Rotork actuators meets these challenges; process control actuators in particular (like the CVL) offer precise modulating control and the repeatability necessary within electrolysis.
每个电解滑动都有三个CVL致动器，该执行器安装在球阀上，以调节用于电解的水的压力和水平。我们的许多电动执行器都提供基本的安全认证（CVL已获得ATEX IIC认证），这对于存在氢的环境至关重要，因为它的波动性。安全必须始终是氢应用中的首要关注点，而我们的执行器应迎接这一挑战。
What do you see as the key trends in the wider decarbonisation sector?
Within decarbonisation as a whole, there is not one single element to consider. All different decarbonisation approaches must combine together to have an overall positive impact. The positive impact of hydrogen and renewable energy is one of these multiple approaches, alongside carbon capture and storage, increased efficiency in industrial and domestic applications, and global emission reduction. All of these efforts combine to have a substantive effort on the necessary decarbonisation of the world.
There is an argument that we should not simply be thinking in terms of colours of hydrogen production, but in terms of overall carbon footprint of each production type. For example, blue hydrogen might be a bigger pull in the short term because of the existing infrastructure assets in place. Green hydrogen conversely is in the process of scaling up and we are not yet in a position where there is enough green hydrogen to cover our needs. We need to balance different ways of producing hydrogen. This balance is something the industry is still working out.
What are the main challenges facing the hydrogen sector?
The two main challenges I see at the moment are the issues of scaling up green hydrogen and of making the wider production/use of hydrogen cost-effective. The number of green hydrogen manufacturers is still relatively low and scaling up has to be done in a cost-effective way (both in terms of investment in production and in the price of the final product).
In terms of wider infrastructure, a lot of testing still needs to be done on existing gas networks, pipelines and systems. A clear danger of hydrogen is its flammability and its tendency to explode, so it is essential that production, storage and usage minimises or eliminates potential leaks. Therefore, the high degree of control in the management of hydrogen at all stages (including via flow control) is critical for safe production and utilisation.
What are your reflections on 2021?
2021年是在氢，低碳能和更广泛脱碳的未来方向上的关键时刻。全年对我来说很清楚，行业，大型组织和政府都聚集在一起探索和扩大氢行产业希望实现的目标的信息。世界各地的政府开始改变其能源政策，包括氢。关于氢的重要性，有大量的路演，展览和会议，这是讨论该行业未来的重要加速性的一部分。
我们还看到了较小的公司和初创企业的数量增加。它们的氢设备规模较小，似乎正在弥合我们现在的位置与我们将来的位置之间的差距（因为更大，长期的项目被投入并建造）。例如，提供移动氢加油站的公司在2021年增长。它们是可扩展的，可移动的，非常适合当前的需求。
在2022年及以后，您的目标是什么？
We know that hydrogen is a rapidly moving sector. Our ultimate aim is to become a global player in the supply of mission critical flow control products to hydrogen applications and become recognised as a sustainability leader within our industry. Rotork is here to support the constantly evolving landscape for equipment manufacturers who are beginning to scale up their production and to increase the number of systems they are in the process of building. We are in a great position to do that because of the size of Rotork, because of our multiple strategic locations around the world and our history in providing safe, efficient flow control solutions.