The secondment of HZG scientist and research manager, Dr. Klaus Taube, to Impala Platinum and including a visit to the University of the Western Cape, SA, (UWC) was related to WP2 “Development of cost efficient MH containers with a focus on their mass production” and WP3 “Integration of MH containers comprising advanced MH materials”.

During his secondment (9. October to 9. November, 2019, 31 days), Dr. Taube met with research managers at Hydride4Mobility partners IMPALA PLATINUM and UWC. The focus of discussions at IMPALA PLATINUM was on potentials for industrial applications of metal hydride based compression and storage of hydrogen.

Visit of Dr. Roman Denys (3rd from left) and Dr. Mykhaylo Lototskyy (3rd from right) to IMPALA PLATINUM and inspection of MH compressor and hydrogen store of forklifter. IMPALA host, Mrs. Delisile Mathebula, 2nd from right. Dr. Klaus Taube 1st from right.

Together with Dr. Sivakumar Pasupathi, Programme Manager of HySA CHP programme, and Dr. Mykhaylo Lototskyy, Senior researcher and key technology specialist, both UWC, and Dr. Roman Denys, Hystorsys, he discussed especially prospects for metal hydride compressors and ongoing projects in Europe and worldwide. A focus of their discussions was on needs for further developments for enhancing the application potentials for metal hydride compressors and metal hydride based hydrogen storage.

On November, 1st, he gave a talk at UWC about current hydrogen related activities at HZG.

On November, 5, 2019, he participated in the SafeWaterAfrica final Workshop at Irene and Waterval, Province Gauteng, where the SafeWaterAfrica demonstration has been set up. SafeWaterAfrica - “Self-Sustaining Cleaning Technology for Safe Water Supply and Management in Rural African Areas” (https://safewaterafrica.eu) is a European funded project, where a joint consortium from Europe, South Africa and Mozambique has developed and constructed two water cleaning units to be used in rural areas with unsafe water supply. He discussed with the coordinator, Dr. Lothar Schäfer, and project participants about potentials for recovery, storage and use of hydrogen, which is produced during the electrolytic water cleaning process in part of the system.

Visit to SafeWaterAfrica demonstration plant at Waterval, Gauteng, South Africa.

Dr. Klaus Taube (left) together with Dr. Lothar Schäfer (coordinator of the SafeWaterAfrica project, Fraunhofer Institute for Thin Films and Surface Engineering, Braunschweig, Germany) and a project participant.

Furthermore, Dr. Taube informed Dr. Pasupathi and Dr. Lototskyy from UWC about the new possibility for non European research organisations to become an associated member of Hydrogen Europe Research (https://www.hydrogeneurope.eu/research) and thus get direct access to information of European activities on hydrogen technology and the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking FCH JU (https://www.fch.europa.eu/).