Rolls-Royce Considering Switching From BEV To Hydrogen For Future Models

Rolls-Royce is considering ditching all-electric powertrains in favor of fuel cell technology for its future zero-emissions models once the technology is mature enough and can be scaled to meet its demands, according to Autocar, quoting the luxury car brand’s CEO, Torsten Müller-Ötvös.

The statement comes after the debut of the Spectre, the company’s first-ever series-production battery electric vehicle (BEV), which is powered by a massive 120-kilowatt-hour battery that can enable a driving range of over 300 miles (482 kilometers) and can charge at up to 195 kilowatts.

But even as Rolls-Royce transitions from silky-smooth gasoline-powered V12 engines to electric motors getting juice from huge battery packs, the company’s CEO says hydrogen fuel cell technology is considered a possible alternative for future models and one that could work well with the niche use case of the average Rolls-Royce user.

Hydrogen-powered combustion engines are out of the question, though, as Müller-Ötvös thinks it’s not the most efficient way to use the chemical element, recalling what parent company BMW trialed in the early 2000s with a specially engineered 7 Series.

“I think a hydrogen combustion engine is nothing I would in any way look into, because that was tested already years ago,” he said. “This is not the most efficient way to use hydrogen,” he added. “If hydrogen will be used in the future, then it’s fuel cells. And fuel cells are nothing different from a battery. It is just how you get the energy.

“And why not? I would say so when the time is right for us, and when the technology is so much advanced, that it is definitely something we would pursue as Rolls-Royce. Why not? We might exit batteries, and we might enter into fuel cells.”

But there’s a potential problem that may stop the British luxury brand from going forward with this approach.

“You can’t obviously have hydrogen charging at home, whereas [with battery EVs] you have one big advantage, and all our clients have big garages. There is lots of space at home and there is lots of space in office buildings to install charging. Quite a lot of our clients already have charging installed at home because, for many, Spectre is not their very first electric car.”

Source:insideevs.com

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#hydrogen #hydrogeneconomy #bev #rollsroyce # #carbonneutral #alternativeenergy #energy #future #technology #brand # #batteries #spectre

LyondellBasell and AFA Nord to Create JV for Circularity of Secondary Plastic Packaging

LyondellBasell and AFA Nord, a recycler of agricultural film, have agreed to create a 50:50 joint venture that intends to recycle post commercial flexible secondary packaging waste.

The joint venture company, LMF Nord GmbH, plans to build a mechanical recycling plant in Northern Germany to turn Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) and Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) waste into quality recycled plastic materials for use in flexible packaging. Start of production is expected for early 2025.

To Provide Recycled LDPE and LLDPE Materials:

Secondary plastic packaging, such as stretch or shrink film, is mainly used to hold packed consumer goods together and protect them during transportation and storage from contamination and damage. Until today, this material is difficult to recycle into high-quality raw materials that can meet the requirements of the packaging industry regarding strength and transparency of their final product.

"This Joint Venture will provide recycled LDPE and LLDPE materials and complements our existing CirculenRecover range of high-density polyethylene and polypropylene products," says Yvonne van der Laan, LyondellBasell's executive vice president, Circular and Low Carbon Solutions. "It adds to our efforts in advanced recycling and delivers against our integrated hub strategy, where we invest upstream to provide feedstock from various plastic waste streams. With this efficient full suite of solutions, we continue to be the preferred partner of our customers."

The new recycling unit is expected to produce 26,000 tons per year of recycled LDPE and LLDPE grades that LyondellBasell will market through its CirculenRecover family of products for use in various applications from stretch films to collation shrink films. The CirculenRecover product family comprises a wide range of mechanically recycled materials that are currently used in applications ranging from electrical appliances, to washing detergent bottles and suitcases.

TM Recycling GmbH, a sister company of AFA Nord, will be responsible for providing the feedstock for LMF Nord GmbH. TM Recycling is also a member of the Mensing Group.

"We already operate Germany's only agricultural film recycling plant for a number of years and have a broad experience in the production of recycled materials," says Andreas Mensing, managing director of AFA Nord. "Together with LyondellBasell we can contribute to a circular economy and increase the availability of recycled solutions for flexible packaging applications."

Source: LyondellBasell/Omnexus-specialchem

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#plastics #packaging #recycling #waste #wastemanagement #recyclingsolutions #lldpe #ldpe #germany #flexiblepackaging #stretchfilm

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share: RHEOLOGY

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share:

RHEOLOGY

After many years in Polymer Science, I have to say that Dynamic Rheology is probably one of the most powerful tools out there !

It uses 1 or 2 grams of sample and gives you a tremendous insight in both processing/flow aspects or more fundamental molecular structure of your polymer.

Once you understand the basic concept of the produced output signals (essentially in-phase and 90° out of phase response), it will deliver its incredible power to describe the polymer melt.

The tool is also the absolute best to study thermal degradation vs. time or temperature.

It allows you to access the polymer relaxation spectrum, assess the degree of branching/crosslinking, predict weldline strength through re-entanglement time, study flow induced crystallization or gelification, etc. etc.

The comparison with steady shear or Capillary data and the applicability (or not) of the COX-MERZ rule will also highlight very important aspects of your sample micro-structure.

Yield stress of Bingham fluid can be observed also.

Don't underestimate this incredible technique to help you solve many polymer related issues.

Source:Vito Leo

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#plastics #polymerscience #plasticinjectionmolding #rheology #thermal

Rare earths: The forgotten foundation of the green economy

When we think of the global economic transition from fossil fuels to renewables, we often think of electric vehicles (EVs) and lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are incredibly important; however, even more so are rare earth permanent magnets. Without them, the global net zero transition is simply not feasible.

Rare earth magnets permeate our homes and offices. They can be found in numerous vehicles, such as trains, buses, and cars. If the latter is taken in isolation, 66 rare earth magnets are required to construct a modern EV. Additionally, they are present in a range of consumer technologies: mobile phone speakers and charger cable ports, to list but two examples.

They are also a prerequisite for establishing the greener, more technological future we all wish to see. The wind turbines that contribute toward a supply of renewable power and the satellites that assist with information sharing are both formed of rare earth magnets.

Funding barriers to rare earth magnet projects

In spite of the fact that rare earth magnets are integral to almost every aspect of modern life, many people still conceptualise magnets as those found on their fridges. Thus, the importance of rare earth magnets is difficult to articulate.

Despite their importance to the creation of the green economy, the difficulty of explaining this to voters has reduced their funding compared to other critical minerals.

Subsequently, UK State funding does not favour rare earth magnets. The Automotive Transformation Fund has been granted over £750m to build a gigafactory economy in the UK.

By comparison, the rare earth magnet focused Driving the Electric Revolution has only been granted £80m.

A further barrier to increased state funding for rare earth magnet projects is that rare earths, 17 of which are clustered together on the periodic table, have highly complex, opaque, and volatile supply chains.

Ironically, rare earths are not particularly rare either. They can be found across the globe. The reason for their somewhat puzzling name stems from the fact that they are rarely found in enough abundance to make them economically viable to mine.

China’s control of the global rare earth supply

What is most troubling for many is that the processing and refining of rare earths are monopolised by one nation. Figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show that China accounts for 60% of rare earth production,1 87% of processing, and 92% of magnet production.

China now effectively controls rare earth supply globally. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been increasingly willing to invoke this control in bilateral and multilateral fora, employing rare earths as a tool of economic statecraft.

Source:innovationnewsnetwork.com

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#rareearths #magnets #ev #evcharging #china #refinery

The Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X engine development programme for Dassault’s new flagship aircraft Falcon 10X is running full steam ahead

The programme is advancing at pace and has successfully accumulated more than 1,500 testing hours, both on the Advance 2 demonstrator and the Pearl 10X engine configuration. The team is now preparing for the start of the flight test campaign on Rolls-Royce’s dedicated Boeing 747 flying testbed in Tucson, Arizona, USA, which will start later this year.

The Pearl 10X is the newest member of the state-of-the-art Pearl engine family and the first Rolls‑Royce engine ever to power a Dassault business jet. The French aircraft manufacturer’s selection of the Pearl 10X for its new top range product is another testament to Rolls-Royce’s position as the engine manufacturer of choice in business aviation.

All the tests completed to date confirm the reliability of the engine and show it will meet the performance requirements to power Dassault’s flagship, the Falcon 10X.

So far, the development programme has included the rigorous testing of the new ultra-low emissions ALM combustor, which is compatible with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and the new accessory gearbox, which allows for higher additional power extraction. The engine, which surpassed its target thrust levels on the very first test run, will be the most powerful business aviation engine in the whole Rolls-Royce portfolio. The first run of the full powerplant, including its bespoke Spirit nacelle, engine build up (EBU) and mount system, was conducted earlier this year.

The Pearl 10X features the Advance2 engine core, the most efficient core available across the business aviation sector, and combines it with a high-performance low-pressure system, resulting in a superior thrust of more than 18,000lbf. Compared to the last generation of Rolls-Royce business aviation engines, the Pearl 10X offers a 5% higher efficiency, while delivering outstanding low noise and emissions performance. The result is an engine that offers a market-leading combination of power and efficiency. This combination will enable customers and operators to have premium airport accessibility and fly ultra-long-range connections whilst also being able to travel nearly as fast as the speed of sound.

The engine brings together innovative technologies derived from the Rolls‑Royce Advance2 demonstrator programme and proven Pearl family features to deliver world-class environmental performance. This includes a highly efficient blisked fan; a high pressure compressor with a market-leading pressure ratio and six blisked stages; an ultra-low emissions combustor; a two-stage shroudless high pressure turbine as well as an enhanced four-stage low pressure turbine that is one of the most efficient and compact in the industry.

Source:Rolls Royce/jeccomposites

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#aviation #boeing #aircraft #business #rollsroyce #dassaultsystèmes

BioCNG's carbon internsity score

 #biocng  (#RNG, #biomethane) has the lowest #carbonintensity score of any on road fuel in California Air Resources Board's #LCFS program by far. Access NGVAmerica's and Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas's report at: https://lnkd.in/env-5hVN.

Source:NGVAmerica
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#biocng #rng #biomethane #california #naturalgas