Decarbonisation Technology - August 2023 Issue

Hydrogen economy Part 1: Supply, demand, reliability and safety Implementing strategy across the hydrogen supply chain as a critical component in addressing climate change

Robert Ohmes, Nathan Barkley, Mike Annon, Greg Zoll, and Jessica Hofmann Becht

A s governments as well as energy and research firms look to meet global carbon footprint reduction targets, many options are being examined, analysed, and invested in. One such option within the core of the energy transition is hydrogen. Long being a basic building block for transportation fuels, petrochemicals, and specialty products, hydrogen is now considered a critical component to address climate change. Based on current projections, in order to meet 2050 net zero targets, global production of hydrogen will need to grow from around 90 to more than 500 million metric tons (MmT) per year. The production and usage options for hydrogen are expanding on a regular basis, as are the challenges of leveraging this molecule.

Within this two-part series, we will examine the overall hydrogen supply chain; identify key risks, challenges and issues within the technical, economic, reliability, and regulatory arenas; and provide insights and case studies to help address these areas to drive the transition to a hydrogen-based economy. Part One addresses the value chain elements of supply, demand, infrastructure, as well as reliability and safety. Part Two will discuss the economic and regulatory aspects of the hydrogen economy. Overall hydrogen supply chain The three main functional areas in the hydrogen supply chain are production, distribution (supply), and consumption (demand) (see Figure 1 ). Underpinning each of these areas are the

HYDROGEN SUPPLY CHAIN

Producers

Distribution

Consumers

Blue hydrogen

Combustion

Renewable gasoline, jet & diesel + E-fuels + fuel cells

Compression

Gas pipeline

Green hydrogen

Liquifaction

Grey hydrogen

Ammonia

Turquoise hydrogen

Steel

Liquid and gas storage

Liquid and gas transportation

Cooking

Pink hydrogen

Power

Regulatory

Financial

Feasibilty

Safety

Mechanical integrity

Figure 1 Hydrogen economy supply chain overview