The world’s commitment to hydrogen needs an assessment of which regions can make it the cheapest. Herib Blanco at IRENA and Jacopo de Maigret at Fondazione Bruno Kessler describe their study of the range of factors that affect the future cost and therefore the potential for clean renewable hydrogen, estimated for 2030 and 2050. The main drivers are the capital cost of the renewable generation and the electrolyser, the cost of capital, and the … [Read more...]
Reversible Hydrogen fuel cells: can H2 gas-to-power support the grid economically?
We know about making green hydrogen from excess intermittent wind and solar. We also know that that same intermittency means the gaps in wind and solar generation need filling. Green hydrogen is very expensive to make. But what if that green hydrogen could be economically converted back to power when needed? Writing for Stanford University, Edmund Andrews describes new research, in collaboration with the University of Mannheim in Germany, into … [Read more...]
Hydrogen is also a greenhouse gas, so leaks must be minimised
Even leaked hydrogen can warm the climate. How serious is it as a greenhouse gas? How easy is it to minimise leaks? Thomas Koch Blank, Raghav Muralidharan, Kaitlyn Ramirez, Alexandra Wall and Tessa Weiss at RMI answer these important questions as the hydrogen ramp up begins. The first observation is that hydrogen is much less damaging than natural gas, even with minimal hydrogen leakage regulation. Nevertheless, the roll-out of this new energy … [Read more...]
Renewable Ammonia’s role in reducing dependence on Gas
Today, IRENA and the Ammonia Energy Association (AEA) released its “Innovation Outlook Renewable Ammonia” which updates in detail the current state and prospects for green ammonia as an energy carrier. Here, Dolf Gielen, Francisco Boshell and Gabriel Castellanos at IRENA and Kevin Rouwenhorst and Trevor Brown at the AEA summarise the findings. Worldwide ammonia production, though fossil-based, is already at-scale as a feedstock for fertiliser. So … [Read more...]
What’s best for Hydrogen transport: ammonia, liquid hydrogen, LOHC or pipelines?
The ability to transport hydrogen in bulk will mean clean energy can be taken where it’s needed, as easily as fossil fuels are today. But there is a cost involved in converting the hydrogen into something easy to transport (and un-converting it at the destination). Herib Blanco at IRENA summarises the findings of their paper that looks at those costs: a better understanding will enable us to choose the right pathways today fit for the next 30 … [Read more...]
Europe’s long-term energy security: do not become dependent on “green” Russia’s future LNG and Hydrogen exports
It’s not enough for Europe to cut Russian energy imports without a plan to make the change endure, says Leslie Palti-Guzman writing for the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center. Boycotts and divestments usually have expiry dates. What’s more, Russia will be proactive in driving its export capabilities to make them commercially attractive in the post-war world. Russia plans expanding LNG shipments from its Yamal Peninsular, as well as getting … [Read more...]
Our Hydrogen future: 27 authors imagine the world in 2030-2050
Here’s something very different for our readers today, and an opportunity for you to register for our Webinar and Q&A on Wednesday Feb 16th at 09:00 CET (register here). It’s to mark the book launch of “Touching Hydrogen Future”, where 27 energy experts from around the world have written a chapter each. They are fictional accounts of what our world could like in the near future. The countries covered are the Netherlands (2029), Denmark … [Read more...]
The Green Hydrogen disruption: what nations, firms and investors are doing to reshape global energy
Everyone knows the new hydrogen economy has huge up front capital costs to make the green H2 (called GH2), the logistical challenges of delivering it where it’s needed, and creating the customer base to consume it. But Tim Buckley at IEEFA believes the policy support is already shaping up to make GH2 a successful disruptor of the global energy system. He runs through the nations, companies and investors at the beginning of the learning curve that … [Read more...]
Hydrogen at COP26: committing to scale-up and creating demand
At COP26 the voice of hydrogen staked its claim to meeting its targets and its contribution to making the 1.5°C scenario a realistic ambition. Cato Koole and Thomas Koch Blank at Rocky Mountain Institute explain that hydrogen supply should not be the problem. The combination of deployed and announced projects already places the world close to the green hydrogen production capacity needed as outlined in the IEA’s "Net Zero by 2050" roadmap. The … [Read more...]
Modelling Hydrogen’s role in high penetration Wind + Solar grids
A hydrogen ramp-up is going to be expensive and asset-heavy. So, a whole-system analysis is needed to ensure its deployment is done cost-effectively today and meets long term goals. This is what all nations committing to hydrogen are struggling with. Kelley Travers at MIT describes their modelling, in collaboration with Shell, that looks at the optimisation of hydrogen deployment in grids where variable renewables (VREs) like wind and solar are … [Read more...]
How much Hydrogen will the German Gas Network have?
What will be the scale and design of Germany’s hydrogen roll-out? Different scenarios are coming to wildly different conclusions. Simon Göss at cr.hub, writing for Energy Brainpool, looks at several, including the dena-TM95 scenario of the German transmission system operators for gas (FNB Gas) where gas consumption rises, and the NECP-KSP 87.5 scenario of the German Ministry for Economic Affairs where gas consumption falls. The possible hydrogen … [Read more...]
How to share the cost of an EU-wide Hydrogen network
The EU’s ambition is to make green hydrogen available throughout the region, and ramp up the transportation infrastructure as fast as possible to deliver it at a competitive price. But there are big disagreements between stakeholders over how and who should pay, explains Walter Boltz. The simplest solutions like focussing on hydrogen clusters will only deliver it to nearby customers. If only the customers pay it will make the hydrogen very … [Read more...]
Renewable Hydrogen: what policy instruments are needed to reach the new targets?
A comprehensive mix of policy instruments is needed to ensure that the EU meets its ambitious hydrogen targets. What should they look like? Pia Kerres, Matthias Schimmel and Corinna Klessmann at Guidehouse quote their study, done in collaboration with Agora Energiewende, for the answers. Industry and long-haul transport should be the main customers for hydrogen. The big challenge is to cut the cost of hydrogen production; it’s too expensive and … [Read more...]
Hydrogen production in 2050: how much water will 74EJ need?
There’s no point ramping up hydrogen if other resource constraints are going to bring it to a halt. Here, Herib Blanco at IRENA summarises their research into how much water will be needed in the production of hydrogen through electrolysis (i.e. from water) and the costs involved. A wide range of analyses have been reviewed to calculate the amount of water used during the hydrogen production, and by the energy source used to power it (renewables … [Read more...]
Hydrogen: can gas, electricity and industrial majors agree on the next steps?
Here’s our written summary of our panel debate held on 16th June “Hydrogen: Designing the Net Zero Gas System”. With representatives from BASF, SNAM and ELIA to cover consumption, gas and electricity, there were plenty of differences of opinion. For example, with no end in sight for demand for green electricity for the grid, is it efficient to use some of it for hydrogen? Will subsidies for hydrogen skew markets away from industrial … [Read more...]
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