Linking geological and infrastructural requirements for large-scale underground hydrogen storage in Germany

Hydrogen storage might be key to the success of the hydrogen economy, and hence the energy transition in Germany. One option for cost-effective storage of large quantities of hydrogen is the geological subsurface. However, previous experience with underground hydrogen storage is restricted to salt caverns, which are limited in size and space. In contrast, pore storage facilities in aquifers -and/or depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs- could play a vital role in meeting base load needs due to their wide availability and large storage capacity, but experiences are limited to past operations with hydrogen-bearing town gas. To overcome this barrier, here we investigate hydrogen storage in porous storage systems in a two-step process: 1) First, we investigate positive and cautionary indicators for safe operations of hydrogen storage in pore storage systems. 2) Second, we estimate hydrogen storage capacities of pore storage systems in (current and decommissioned) underground natural gas storage systems and saline aquifers. Our systematic review highlights that optimal storage conditions in terms of energy content and hydrogen quality are found in sandstone reservoirs in absence of carbonate and iron bearing accessory minerals at a depth of approx. 1,100 m and a temperature of at least 40°C. Porosity and permeability of the reservoir formation should be at least 20% and 5 × 10−13 m2 (∼500 mD), respectively. In addition, the pH of the brine should fall below 6 and the salinity should exceed 100 mg/L. Based on these estimates, the total hydrogen storage capacity in underground natural gas storages is estimated to be up to 8 billion cubic meters or (0.72 Mt at STP) corresponding to 29 TWh of energy equivalent of hydrogen. Saline aquifers may offer additional storage capacities of 81.6–691.8 Mt of hydrogen, which amounts to 3.2 to 27.3 PWh of energy equivalent of hydrogen, the majority of which is located in the North German basin. Pore storage systems could therefore become a crucial element of the future German hydrogen infrastructure, especially in regions with large industrial hydrogen (storage) demand and likely hydrogen imports via pipelines and ships

Evidence of a dynamic association between intergroup contact and intercultural competence

Three studies explored the association between intergroup contact and intercultural competence. Study 1 and Study 2 provided evidence of a cross-sectional association between intergroup contact and intercultural competence in which positive contact was associated with increased intercultural competence and negative contact was associated with reductions in this outcome. In Study 3 longitudinal data allowed us to test the possibility of mutual influence between these variables whereby intercultural competence is not only a consequence of intergroup contact, but is also predictive of the quality of future intergroup contact. Results showed that positive contact was longitudinally associated with improvements in intercultural competence, and that higher intercultural competence was associated with a reduction in future negative contact. Findings speak to the importance of taking a dynamic outlook on contact effects. The beneficial consequences of positive contact may be the same variables capable of transforming future contact encounters and reducing the likelihood of negative interactions

Survival dimensionality reduction (SDR): development and clinical application of an innovative approach to detect epistasis in presence of right-censored data

Contains fulltext : 89126.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Epistasis is recognized as a fundamental part of the genetic architecture of individuals. Several computational approaches have been developed to model gene-gene interactions in case-control studies, however, none of them is suitable for time-dependent analysis. Herein we introduce the Survival Dimensionality Reduction (SDR) algorithm, a non-parametric method specifically designed to detect epistasis in lifetime datasets. RESULTS: The algorithm requires neither specification about the underlying survival distribution nor about the underlying interaction model and proved satisfactorily powerful to detect a set of causative genes in synthetic epistatic lifetime datasets with a limited number of samples and high degree of right-censorship (up to 70%). The SDR method was then applied to a series of 386 Dutch patients with active rheumatoid arthritis that were treated with anti-TNF biological agents. Among a set of 39 candidate genes, none of which showed a detectable marginal effect on anti-TNF responses, the SDR algorithm did find that the rs1801274 SNP in the Fc gamma RIIa gene and the rs10954213 SNP in the IRF5 gene non-linearly interact to predict clinical remission after anti-TNF biologicals. CONCLUSIONS: Simulation studies and application in a real-world setting support the capability of the SDR algorithm to model epistatic interactions in candidate-genes studies in presence of right-censored data. Availability: http://sourceforge.net/projects/sdrproject/

Enhanced CHO Clone Screening: Application of Targeted Locus Amplification and Next‐Generation Sequencing Technologies for Cell Line Development

Early analytical clone screening is important during Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line development of biotherapeutic proteins to select a clonally derived cell line with most favorable stability and product quality. Sensitive sequence confirmation methods using mass spectrometry have limitations in throughput and turnaround time. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies emerged as alternatives for CHO clone analytics. We report an efficient NGS workflow applying the targeted locus amplification (TLA) strategy for genomic screening of antibody expressing CHO clones. In contrast to previously reported RNA sequencing approaches, TLA allows for targeted sequencing of genomic integrated transgenic DNA without prior locus information, robust detection of single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and transgenic rearrangements. During clone selection, TLA/NGS revealed CHO clones with high-level SNVs within the antibody gene and we report in another case the utility of TLA/NGS to identify rearrangements at transgenic DNA level. We also determined detection limits for SNVs calling and the potential to identify clone contaminations by TLA/NGS. TLA/NGS also allows to identify genetically identical clones. In summary, we demonstrate that TLA/NGS is a robust screening method useful for routine clone analytics during cell line development with the potential to process up to 24 CHO clones in less than 7 workdays

Shortened abstract for Enhanced CHO clone screening using Next-Generation Sequencing and Targeted Locus Amplification publication

Early analytical clone screening is important during Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line development of biotherapeutic proteins to select a clonally derived cell line with most favorable stability and product quality. Sensitive sequence confirmation methods using mass spectrometry have limitations in throughput and turnaround time. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies emerged as alternatives for CHO clone analytics. We report an efficient NGS workflow applying the targeted locus amplification (TLA) strategy for genomic screening of antibody expressing CHO clones. In contrast to previously reported RNA sequencing approaches, TLA allows for targeted sequencing of genomic integrated transgenic DNA without prior locus information, robust detection of single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and transgenic rearrangements. During clone selection, TLA/NGS revealed CHO clones with high-level SNVs within the antibody gene and we report in another case the utility of TLA/NGS to identify rearrangements at transgenic DNA level. We also determined detection limits for SNVs calling and the potential to identify clone contaminations by TLA/NGS. TLA/NGS also allows to identify genetically identical clones. In summary, we demonstrate that TLA/NGS is a robust screening method useful for routine clone analytics during cell line development with the potential to process up to 24 CHO clones in less than 7 workdays

Export Potentials of Green Hydrogen - Methodology for a Techno-Economic Assessment. Annex A.1 - Modeling parameters

This working paper describes the quantitative and model-based methodology used in HYPAT to assess hydrogen and Power-to-X (PtX) export potentials in the countries Morocco, Ukraine, Namibia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Chile, Canada, Brazil, and New Zealand. The results of the techno-economic assessment are further used as a basis for a global hydrogen and PtX atlas, and as an indication of the price development of hydrogen and PtX