Hydrogen needs to grow sevenfold to support global energy transition
January 3, 2023, by Aida Čučuk
A report by Hydrogen Council, a global CEO-led initiative that brings together companies with a united vision, suggests that hydrogen needs to grow sevenfold to support the global energy transition, eventually accounting for 10% of total energy consumption by 2050. The report, named Sufficiency, sustainability, and circularity of critical materials for clean hydrogen, is a joint product of the World Bank and the Hydrogen Council and examines critical points of that suggested hydrogen deployment.It points out that a scale-up of that magnitude will increase demand for materials such as aluminium, copper, iridium, nickel, platinum, vanadium, and zinc to support hydrogen technologies, including renewable electricity technologies and the electrolyzers for renewable hydrogen, carbon storage for low-carbon hydrogen, or fuel cells using hydrogen to power transport.
It also says that an analysis of the impact of that material intensity is vital to deploying hydrogen sustainably, at scale, for various reasons. It explains that the analysis can help identify bottlenecks in the supply of a critical material that could create challenges for the entire hydrogen sector or a specific technological component and highlights the need to consider the wider environmental challenges, moreover the impacts on greenhouse gas emissions or stresses to the water supply that may arise from mining and processing the materials.
The report also indicates that while the material footprint of the hydrogen economy is low, it’s worth assessing whether materials needed for hydrogen may be competing with large-scale demand from other sectors of the low-carbon transition such as wind, solar, and battery technologies. It estimates the number of critical minerals needed to scale clean hydrogen by using new data on the material intensities of key technologies and shows how incorporating sustainable practices and policies for mining and processing materials can help minimise environmental impacts.
In addition, it indicates that the key is the use of recycled materials, innovations in design in order to reduce material intensities, and the adoption of policies from the Climate-Smart Mining (CSM) Framework to reduce impacts on greenhouse gas emissions and water footprint. Even so, Hydrogen Council points out that further research needs to be done to have a more complete picture of the material impacts of hydrogen along its value chain, including crucial aspects such as transportation, storage, and distribution. Earlier, in its Hydrogen Insights 2022 report, the council pointed out the urgency to ramp up investments in hydrogen energy projects.
Green hydrogen: Fuel of the future has ‘big potential’ but a worrying blind spot, scientists warn
Governments are pushing ahead with financial support for green hydrogen plants. –
Copyright REUTERS/Thomas Peter
By Angela Symons with Reuters • Updated: 29/12/2022
Made exclusively with renewable power, green hydrogen is emerging as a promising alternative to polluting fossil fuels. But this much-touted fuel of the future may have a pitfall.
Some scientists say the lack of data on leaks and the potential harm they could cause is a blind spot for the nascent industry.
At least four studies published this year say hydrogen loses its environmental edge when it seeps into the atmosphere. This is because it reduces the concentration of molecules that destroy the greenhouse gases already there, potentially contributing to global warming.
If even 10 per cent leaks during its production, transportation, storage or use, the benefits of using green hydrogen over fossil fuels would be completely wiped out, two scientists told Reuters.
They say the lack of technology for monitoring hydrogen leaks means there is a data gap, and more research is needed to calculate its net impact on global warming before final investment decisions are taken.
Yet governments and energy companies are lining up big bets on green hydrogen.
In Europe, the energy squeeze prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is forcing governments to seek alternative sources of power – and the spike in gas prices has made green hydrogen appear much more affordable.
The European Union approved €5.2 billion in subsidies for green hydrogen projects in September. The United States, meanwhile, included billions of dollars of green hydrogen tax credits in its Inflation Reduction Act.
Are we ready to transition to green hydrogen?
Studies on the risk of leaks undermining green hydrogen’s climate benefits have been published by Columbia University, the Environmental Defense Fund, the universities of Cambridge and Reading, and the Frazer-Nash Consultancy.
“We need much better devices to measure the leakage, and we need regulation which actually enforces the measurement of the leakage.”
“We need much better data. We need much better devices to measure the leakage, and we need regulation which actually enforces the measurement of the leakage,” says Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a researcher at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
It estimates that leakage rates could reach up to 5.6 per cent by 2050 when hydrogen is being used more widely.
Norway’s climate research institute CICERO is also working on a three-and-a-half-year study, due to conclude in June 2024, on the impact of hydrogen emissions. Maria Sand, who is leading the research, says there is a big gap in the science.
“We need to be aware of the leakages, we need some answers… There is big potential for hydrogen, we just need to know more before we make the big transition.”
How common are hydrogen leaks?
Hydrogen has not been monitored for leaks in the past, and most of the odourless gas used now is made where it is consumed – but there are plans to pipe and ship it vast distances.
The fossil fuel industry hopes that hydrogen could eventually move through existing infrastructure, such as gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas import and export terminals.
About 1 per cent of the natural gas – which is mostly methane – moving through European infrastructure leaks. However, rates are higher in some countries including Russia, according to analysts and satellite images of leaks.
They say the lack of technology for monitoring hydrogen leaks means there is a data gap. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
“There’s a lot we don’t know about hydrogen,” says Sand. “We don’t know yet if we can assume it will behave the same way as methane.”
Initial results of tests in pipelines at DNV’s Spadeadam research site in northern England showed that hydrogen leaks in the same places and rates as natural gas. Companies working on green hydrogen projects say, however, that careful monitoring would be needed.
Scientists and analysts say that as hydrogen molecules are much smaller and lighter than those in methane, they are harder to contain.
Once hydrogen enters pipelines, it can weaken metal pipes which can lead to cracking. Hydrogen is also far more explosive than natural gas which could create safety issues.
While potential leakages of hydrogen are not expected to be on a scale that could derail all green hydrogen plans, any seepage would erode its climate benefits, scientists say.
Green hydrogen vs grey hydrogen
Hydrogen, a highly combustible gas that can store and deliver energy, is the simplest and most abundant element on Earth, but it doesn’t typically exist in its free form and must be extracted from compounds that contain it, such as water, coal, natural gas or biomass.
Producing the hydrogen long used in oil refineries, chemicals factories and the fertiliser industry relies on natural gas or coal, in processes that emit large amounts of carbon dioxide. This type of fossil-based hydrogen is often referred to as ‘grey’ hydrogen.
Industry experts estimate that close to 95 per cent of hydrogen production currently uses fossil fuels, and it generates as much CO2 as the emissions of the UK and Indonesia combined.
‘Green’ hydrogen, by contrast, is made by using renewable energy to split water into its two components – water and oxygen – through electrolysis, without producing greenhouse gases.
This type of ‘clean’ hydrogen could replace fossil fuel in sectors that can’t easily switch to electricity, such as steel making or heavy transport.
The chief attraction of using hydrogen as a fuel is that the main by-product is water vapour, along with small amounts of nitrogen oxides, making it far less polluting than fossil fuels – assuming it doesn’t seep out.
Leaks are one of many issues plaguing the adoption of green hydrogen, besides high costs, safety concerns, and the need to invest in enough renewable energy to make it, as well as in the infrastructure to store and transport the colourless gas.
How can the risks of hydrogen leaks be assessed?
In December 2022, Brussels called for applications for funding for more research into the risks linked to a large-scale deployment of hydrogen. It asked the research to show how hydrogen could reduce global warming by replacing fossil fuels, but also how it could contribute to global warming in the event of leakages.
The Environmental Defense Fund’s study, meanwhile, urged governments and businesses to gather data on hydrogen leakage rates first, then identify where the risks were highest and how to mitigate them before building the infrastructure needed.
The Frazer-Nash report also flagged how measures to prevent hydrogen leaks needed to be taken into account to allow for greater up-front and maintenance costs.
“The more we know about how to produce it in a sustainable way, and the regulation and management needed, the more it costs and therefore that limits its use unless there is no alternative,” says Richard Lowes, senior associate at The Regulatory Assistance Project think-tank.
Hydrogen projects are on the rise globally
Almost 300 green hydrogen projects are under construction or have started up worldwide, but the vast majority are tiny demonstration plants, International Energy Agency data shows.
The largest is in China where Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group is using green hydrogen produced from solar power to make petrochemicals such as polyethylene and polypropylene.
Consultancy DNV forecasts that green hydrogen would need to meet about 12 per cent of the world’s energy demand by 2050 to hit Paris climate targets. Based on the current pace of development and DNV’s modelling of future uptake, the world is only on track to reach about 4 per cent, DNV says.
David Cebon, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Cambridge, says 4 per cent might be only what’s “manageable”, given the huge amount of renewable energy needed to make enough green hydrogen.
To replace the dirty hydrogen used now in refineries, fertiliser and chemical plants, almost double the electricity produced by every wind turbine and solar panel worldwide would be required – and that’s before green hydrogen is used for anything else, such as steelmaking, transport or heating, Cebon says.
Still, the EU is considering mandates for green hydrogen’s use in transport, while countries such as South Korea, Japan and China have targets for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
Energy giant BP, which is planning to build multiple green hydrogen projects, including a facility in Britain due to start in 2025 known as HyGreen Teesside, says it is developing leakage monitoring systems.
“We really want to launch an effort now to assess how low can we maintain the level of leakage across a value chain and that’s going to be the critical thing,” says Felipe Arbelaez, senior vice president for hydrogen and carbon capture at BP
Bacton could provide decades of clean energy for up to 20 million homes and businesses
14 Dec 2022
- London and the South East could be heated by hydrogen
- Greenhouse gas emissions dramatically reduced
- Potential jobs boost from £500 million project
Low carbon hydrogen could heat up to 20 million homes and businesses across London and the South East of England for decades to come, according to a new industry report.
The Bacton Energy Hub (BEH), a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) hydrogen project, located on the coast of Norfolk, could not only help to secure the UK’s energy supply but also play a major role in significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Bacton could provide decades of clean energy for up to 20 million homes and businesses
Currently the National Transmission System (NTS), supplying gas to homes and businesses in London and the South East of England, caters largely for methane. However, it is possible that, by 2030, hydrogen produced at Bacton could be blended into the NTS, helping the transition to net zero while ensuring energy security.
Blending 20% hydrogen into the NTS creates the potential to abate 1.6 million tonnes per annum (MTpa) of CO2 by 2030, rising to 17MTpa by 2050.
CCS-enabled hydrogen – produced from natural gas with carbon dioxide captured and stored – would form the early supply until the early 2040s, after which electrolytic hydrogen – produced through a process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, called electrolysis – would take over.
CCS-enabled hydrogen production creates CO2 as a by-product and Bacton offers plentiful potential carbon storage fields – supported by the North Sea Transition Authority’s (NSTA) Carbon Storage Licensing Round – which can meet those needs.
There are undeveloped gas reserves of up to 2 trillion cubic feet at Bacton, which could be used as feedstock for the production of CCS-enabled hydrogen. The NSTA’s 33rd Licensing Round, launched in October 2022, included four priority clusters in the Southern North Sea – areas with known hydrocarbons with the potential to be developed quickly – so the necessary gas resource will be readily available.
The Climate Change Committee suggested that carbon storage can play an important role in scaling up the hydrogen industry. The use of hydrogen in boilers can save up to 85% of emissions compared to natural gas use in boilers.
The scale of the project is such that it will create hundreds of green jobs in East Anglia, providing a significant boost to the local economy.
The business opportunity report also highlights the potential that interconnectors to Europe could unlock, which could see Bacton develop into a CO2 import hub, storing gas transported from western Europe and importing feedstock for hydrogen production.
Wind power is also a significant part of the project; by 2030 the East of England is expected to supply 15GW of offshore wind capacity towards the UK’s target of 50GW. This growth in offshore wind will help support the build out opportunity through the generation of electrolytic hydrogen.
The report was produced following work, supported by the NSTA, looking into essential issues around hydrogen supply and demand, infrastructure requirements, opportunities for the supply chain and regulatory issues by Progressive Energy Limited, Summit Energy Evolution Limited (a Sumitomo Corporation Company), Xodus, Petrofac, Turner & Townsend, and Energy Transition Advisory.
The report calculates that the core project would cost £500m and can be delivered by 2030 if a consortium forms by H1 in 2023 and a final investment decision is reached by Q3 2025.
The NSTA, which launched the project in 2020, published the report today (14 December) at a special event in Norwich.
Alistair Macfarlane, NSTA Southern North Sea Area Manager, said:
‘We are resolutely focused on the twin goals of ensuring security of supply and reaching net zero. This project can play a transformative role in both.
‘The reports produced by our partners clearly demonstrate that the Bacton Energy Hub is a viable, commercial project with significant expansion opportunities that can secure long-term gains in terms of energy security, the energy transition and employment.
‘We now want to see a consortium coming together to turn this exciting opportunity into reality.’
Paul Lafferty, CEO, Summit Energy Evolution Ltd, said:
‘Summit Energy Evolution, in collaboration with our parent company Sumitomo Corporation, have been pleased to lead the Hydrogen Supply SIG and we see Bacton as a key infrastructure play in the energy transition journey for the UK.
‘The study has identified a viable proposition which when linked with the CCS opportunities in the SNS could provide a significant contribution to the UK Government’s aims for both the hydrogen economy, the East Anglia region, and CCS targets for 2030 and beyond. Sumitomo believe this is an outstanding initiative and we look forward to remaining involved as the opportunity develops.’
Ian Phillips, Director of Energy Transition Advisory, said:
‘The Bacton Energy Hub is potentially a major contributor to the greening of the UK economy – maximising the use of the gas resource that has been so important to our energy system for the last 50 years, whilst delivering a major contribution to decarbonising the UK economy whilst creating a significant number of green jobs.’
Daniel Paterson, Head of Infrastructure, Advisory, at Xodus, said:
‘We are proud to have taken a leading role in establishing what infrastructure is required to ensure Bacton continues to be a key player in the supply of energy to the UK. We were able to integrate our expertise across the energy sector, from oil and gas, offshore wind, CCS, and hydrogen, working with key stakeholders and the Infrastructure SIG Core Group, to create a credible pathway for Bacton to deliver low carbon hydrogen in the future.’
Andrew Etherington, Director at Turner & Townsend, said:
‘Bacton Energy Hub is a game charger for East Anglia in terms of the potential investment and highly skilled jobs it will bring to the local economy, while also greatly enhancing the UK’s efforts to lead the field in the energy transition. By sharing our expertise in supply chain and technology with the NSTA, and working in close collaboration with industry leading energy companies, we are excited to be making this complex project a reality.’
Chris Manson-Whitton, CEO of Progressive Energy, said:
‘Our foundational work has shown that the Bacton Energy Hub is an important national site for the production of hydrogen and storage of carbon dioxide.
‘We look forward to supporting the realisation of Bacton’s potential in the low carbon hydrogen-led economy over the coming years, helping the UK and Europe achieve net zero.’
Jon Carpenter, Vice President of Petrofac’s New Energy Services unit, said:
‘The location of the Bacton Energy Hub offers real potential for hydrogen transition. Initially enabling low-carbon hydrogen production using natural gas and the potential reuse of existing infrastructure for CO2 storage, and, in the future, as a significant centre for green hydrogen production drawing on its substantial renewable energy resources. We look forward to seeing how this exciting opportunity develops.’
This Business Opportunity Report was developed by industry as part of the extensive work undertaken as part of the Bacton Energy Hub Special Interest Groups; the NSTA supports the work to progress the Bacton Energy Hub.
Source: NSTA
£102 million government backing for nuclear and hydrogen innovation in the UK
13 Dec 2022
UK government announces new funding for nuclear and hydrogen technologies.
Government further commits to the future of nuclear power by investing £77 million to support nuclear fuel production and next generation advanced nuclear reactors in the UK
further £25 million funding announced for innovative new technologies that will generate clean hydrogen from biomass and waste.
Government also seeks views on proposals to make domestic gas boilers more efficient and be hydrogen-ready from 2026, to prepare for any future transition to using low-carbon hydrogen for heating
The UK government has announced new funding to support clean energy production in the UK, following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent impact on global energy prices.
The funding includes £77 million to bolster nuclear fuel production and support the development of the next generation of advanced nuclear reactors, along with £25 million for technologies that can produce hydrogen from sustainable biomass and waste, while removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Nuclear investment
The government is committing to new and innovative nuclear energy with the announcement of funding worth up to £60 million to kick start the next phase of research into the new cutting-edge high temperature gas reactor (HTGR), a type of advanced modular reactor (AMR), which could be up and running by the early 2030s.
The funding, from the Advanced Modular Reactor R&D programme, aims to get a demonstration project of the engineering design up and running by the end of the decade.
HTGRs are typically smaller than conventional nuclear power stations, more flexible, and could be built at a fraction of a cost. It is hoped that as well as safely creating electricity to power homes, HTGRs will bolster the UK’s energy sovereignty and security, by reducing reliance on expensive fossil fuels, as well as generate by-products such as low-carbon hydrogen. By generating temperatures of up to 950 degrees, HTGRs provide a source of clean, high temperature heat that could help decarbonise industrial processes in the UK.
Today’s funding for HTGR innovation is supported with a further £4 million funding for the AMR Knowledge Capture Project, as a complementary project to the AMR Research, Development and Demonstration programme. The project seeks to facilitate knowledge capture and sharing to reduce the time, risk, and cost of the programme delivery.
Also announced today is up to £13 million for nuclear fuel fabricators Westinghouse in Preston, which has strategic importance to producing fuel for the current UK advanced gas cooled reactor fleet. The funding will mean the UK has the option of being less reliant on imports from abroad and helps the company develop the capability to making both reprocessed uranium and freshly mined uranium. This is a significant investment at the Westinghouse Springfields site in Lancashire safeguarding hundreds of highly skilled jobs in the northwest.
As well as bolstering UK energy security, ministers hope it will also deliver export opportunities for the sector and position the UK as a key international supplier of nuclear fuel and fuel cycle services.
The news comes a fortnight after ministers announced the further revitalisation of the UK nuclear industry, by confirming the first state backing of a nuclear project in over 30 years, with an historic £700 million stake in Sizewell C in Suffolk. The power station will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 6 million homes for over 50 years.
Energy and Climate Minister Graham Stuart said:
‘This funding package will strengthen our energy security, by ensuring we have a safe and secure supply of domestic nuclear fuel services – while also creating more UK jobs and export opportunities.’
Hydrogen innovation
Set to become a super-fuel of the future, accelerating the use of hydrogen will be key to the UK’s greener energy future, alongside the government’s work to deploy renewables and nuclear to strengthen the UK’s energy security.
To support this, the government has committed £25 million to accelerate the deployment of hydrogen from bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) – a unique ‘negative emission’ technology that can permanently remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Biomass absorbs CO2 during growth which is then captured and permanently stored during the hydrogen generation process.
Hydrogen BECCS technologies will have a key role to play on the UK’s path to net zero emissions, providing hydrogen as a clean fuel for hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as transport and heavy industry. Today’s funding will go directly towards progressing BECCS projects from the design stage to demonstration, supporting the technology to eventually become integrated as part of our everyday energy system.
Energy Minister Lord Callanan said:
‘With its potential to go one step further than net zero, and be carbon negative – removing greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere – this hydrogen technology will be crucial to achieving our climate goals.
Our £25 million government funding to develop this technology will help unlock private investment and generate new green jobs – all while cutting carbon emissions.’
This programme forms one of many steps the government is taking to develop a thriving low-carbon hydrogen sector as part of the UK’s green industrial revolution.
Also announced today are proposals to set higher efficiency standards for new gas boilers, which could help households save on energy bills by cutting their use of expensive fossil fuels. Improving boiler efficiency will cut carbon emissions on the way to phasing out new and replacement natural-gas-only boilers from 2035. The proposal estimates 21 million tonnes of CO2 can be saved by 2050, the equivalent of taking nearly 9 million cars off the road for a year.
In a further move towards making household heating more efficient, the government is also consulting on a proposal for all new domestic-scale gas boilers sold from 2026 to be capable of being powered by hydrogen, to prepare for any potential future transition to the use of low-carbon hydrogen for heating.
Also published today is the ‘UK Hydrogen Strategy update to the market: December 2022’, summarising the government’s action to advance the hydrogen economy since the last update this summer. Activity undertaken by government in the last few months includes:
- funding 9 projects through the £26 million Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator competition
- launching the first Electrolytic Hydrogen Allocation Round, which offers joint support through the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund and Hydrogen Production Business Model
- announcing the shortlisted CCUS-enabled hydrogen projects in the Cluster Sequencing Process
- publishing a consultation on hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure
These documents strengthen the policy and regulatory landscape for the UK’s hydrogen sector, to provide further certainty for investors and industry alike.
Stakeholder reaction
Tarik Choho, President of Nuclear Fuel at Westinghouse, said:
‘There is a strong global appetite for diversified and secure sources of supply of fuel and services and the UK’s nuclear excellence and experience, particularly at Springfields, offer utilities an attractive option.
‘We are delighted the UK government recognises the role of Springfields, and its workforce, as a strategic asset that supports a clean and secure energy future.’
Jane Toogood, UK Hydrogen Champion, said:
‘It’s good to see the next stage of implementation of the Hydrogen Strategy, particularly the consultation on the proposal to make new gas boilers hydrogen-ready. To maintain market confidence and investment, industry needs the Government to keep up the momentum, particularly on decisions to create demand for hydrogen and progress the hydrogen business models.’
Mike Foster, Chief Executive of Energy and Utilities Alliance and The Heating and Hotwater Industry Council, said:
‘Mandating hydrogen-ready boilers is an important step towards decarbonising homes. The government are absolutely right to support this no-regrets option. Boiler manufacturers have already made their ‘price promise’ so that a new hydrogen-ready boiler will cost the same as a natural gas appliance. So this means 1.7 million homes a year will be ready for net zero at no extra cost to the consumer, helping us hit our 2050 target.’
The hydrogen and nuclear funding announced today is part of the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.