Coradia iLint, the first 100% hydrogen operated route. (Alstom image)
George Harvey
There seems always to be a lot of news about “green hydrogen.” It is clearly a big issue. Companies, including oil and gas companies, have committed to enormous spending on the technology. According to one article in Recharge, it is projected to grow at a phenomenal rate, over 50% annually, for the next ten years (https://bit.ly/3NMPbPk).
There is a lot to green hydrogen, however, so it might be best to step back and take a look. Hydrogen is said to come in different “colors.” What is called gray hydrogen is made using fossil fuels, and emissions are released. Blue hydrogen is made the same way, but the emissions are said to be captured. Pink hydrogen uses electricity from nuclear power. Green hydrogen is made using electrolysis powered by renewable energy, usually wind, solar, or hydro-power. There should be no greenhouse gas emissions associated with green hydrogen.
Green hydrogen has attracted a lot of interest because it is seen as part of the solution for climate change. Big companies, including big oil and gas companies, are investing heavily in it. For example, BP has taken a lead in the Asian Renewable Energy Hub, a huge project in northwestern Australia that will make green hydrogen, or green ammonia made with it, for sale in Asia. The cost of the project may exceed $1 billion per gigawatt (GW). The first 15 GW of wind and solar capacity, which were to power the project, were approved in 2020. Beyond that, another 11 GW of renewable generating capacity were being developed for the project at that time.
Other big projects are being developed in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere. An important issue is that making and using green hydrogen can be done without contributing to climate change. Hydrogen can be burned directly in internal combustion vehicles, but there seems to be agreement that such use is far from optimal. It can be used more efficiently in a fuel cell to produce electricity.
Of course, since green hydrogen can be used in fuel cells, the hydrogen can be created and used on the spot to produce electricity as needed. So, it can be the basis for yet another system for storing energy.
Green hydrogen can also be used as a partial replacement for natural gas, and it is being injected into gas lines in some parts of Germany. Conversion to using 100% hydrogen in current natural gas lines is not yet done, as there are technical issues with replacing natural gas. Appliances would have to be altered for it, and it is not certain that it is even feasible to use it in such a manner.
One major use of hydrogen is as a chemical feedstock. For example, it is used with atmospheric nitrogen to make ammonia. The ammonia, in turn, has a very wide variety of uses, the most important of which may be for making fertilizer. When Russia reduced supplies of natural gas, the availability of fertilizer was reduced because it had been made from natural gas. Now, with green hydrogen, a supply can be maintained sustainably, without carbon emissions.
Part of the problem with green hydrogen has been that it has been expensive to make. As more electrolyzers come online, however, we can project with some confidence that the cost of green hydrogen will decline, according to Wright’s Law. In fact, it is quite possible that renewable energy may become the least expensive source of hydrogen in not many years. Another part of the problem is that it is expensive to store and transport.
Nevertheless, many companies and countries have been investing many billions of dollars in the development of generating facilities, even though there is not much market for the hydrogen they will produce. Clearly, they have the idea that if the hydrogen is available, someone will buy it.
We might imagine that they are taking quite a risk on this. But we should note that a lot of engineers and financial leaders at a lot of companies have come to the same conclusion at the same time, agreeing that it is a good investment. While this is not proof of the soundness of the investment, it may indicate that it is not entirely foolish.
And, as it turns out, the market for green hydrogen is already developing. The first trains to use it for fuel are already running in Germany, according to an article at CNN (https://cnn.it/3UsDBeY). It will be interesting to see where this goes.
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