Hydrogen rivals oil and gas for storage and hard-to-decarbonise sectors (industry, heavy and long distance transport). But it isn’t all carbon free. “Grey” hydrogen – the cheapest at €1.50/kilo – is made from gas. “Blue” hydrogen depends on the fortunes of carbon capture technology. “Green” hydrogen is CO2 free, but needs further cost reductions in the green electricity used in the electrolysis process. Noé van Hulst, at the Netherland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy, runs through what countries around the world are doing to accelerate green hydrogen’s growth. And companies too: Sweden’s Vattenfall says it can produce a €20,000 car from CO2-free steel (using green hydrogen) rather than regular steel, adding just €200 to the price. There is a growing international consensus that clean hydrogen will play a key role in the world’s transition to a sustainable energy future. It is crucial to help reduce carbon emissions from industry and heavy transport, and also to provide long-term energy storage at scale. Hydrogen is a versatile energy carrier that can be produced from a wide range of sources and used in many ways across the entire energy sector. It could become a game-changer in its low-carbon form, but its widespread adoption faces challenges. Researchers have found that clean hydrogen still costs too much to enable it to be widely deployed. Prices may not come down sufficiently until the 2030s, according to some estimates. But despite the uncertainty surrounding the future of clean hydrogen, there are promising signs that it could become more affordable sooner than expected. The projected scale-up in offshore wind production in Northwest Europe is expected to kick in over the next 10 to 15 years. By the early 2030s, mass deployment of green hydrogen may have begun in that part of the world. Some big industrial players, like Engie, have set an explicit cost target for green hydrogen to reach grid parity with grey hydrogen by 2030. The Japanese government has also formulated stringent cost targets for clean hydrogen by 2040.
Energy Post 22nd May 2019 read more »