PTQ Q3 2024 Issue

high power costs at roughly 100 $/MWh, and medium natu- ral gas costs at 4 $/GJ SMR with flue gas capture, the lowest CO₂ avoidance cost is 1.45 $/ton CO₂ removed. Considering the third parameter levelised cost of hydro - gen (Table 3) while using power at 100 $/MWh and natural gas at 4 $/GJ, at varying unit rates with SMR as the base case, the relative levelised costs of other processes are about 40 to 60% higher. This suggests that in order to real - ise these processes, one may need some kind of incentive or a subsidy CO₂ tax. For example, considering the medium power cost of 40 $/ MWh and natural gas at 4 $/GJ, the levelised hydrogen pro - duction costs are further reduced with SMR plus flue gas capture, and ATR and POX attaining nearly the same value. Hydrogen produced from the electrolyser shows the value in negative. Moving to further lower cost of power amidst a slighter higher natural gas prices, the cost structure moves in favour of ATR, followed by POX and SMR with flue gas capture. As shown in Table 3, the value for hydrogen from electrolyser technology is below 2.0. Based on the data and other details available on compara - tive studies of mature blue hydrogen production processes, it is possible to state that researchers are closely examining all the major parameters that govern plant operation, GHG emissions, cost of the produced blue hydrogen, and the lat - est factors such as CO₂ intensity and its avoidance costs. Some studies are qualitative, like the thermodynamic model and Darcy’s comparison, while others speak in quantita- tive values. Notable among these are comparison studies by A. O. Oni et al are the Shell Catalyst and Technologies and Linde comparisons. Although it is difficult to identify a single technology that has an edge on all the others, it is generally accepted that both oxygen-based ATR and POX with CCS facilities perform significantly better than SMR with CCS facilities. In summary, blue hydrogen is required to meet the car- bon reduction targets. The CO₂ balance needs to account for energy and utility imports, and green hydrogen is within the economic reach of sites with cheap green power. Emerging technologies The necessity for a cost-effective and competitive hydro - gen production process has spurred interest towards the development of alternative reforming routes. Considerable research efforts have been directed in recent years towards the development of novel reforming concepts such as chemical looping reforming (CLR) and sorption enhanced reforming (SER). These alternatives target the reduction of energy requirements of steam reforming and/or in-situ sep - aration of one of the products (CO₂), leading to significant process intensification. The IDTechEx report identifies and describes novel ther - mochemical and biomass-based processes for blue hydro - gen production. Although IDTechEx predicts that these processes will not account for a substantial portion of future production, their assessment is still valuable because it provides insight into the technologies that could further innovate blue hydrogen production. Blue H₂ production and the implementation of carbon

capture technology present a promising partnership that positions them as important factors in GHG reduction. The combination of these two solutions reduces the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere while ensuring the continued availability of natural gas. The potential synergy makes blue hydrogen production and the implementation of carbon capture technology essential in mitigating the impact of fossil fuels on the environment and combating climate change. Chevron³ is piloting technology and investing where it makes sense to help accelerate CCUS to advance a lower carbon future. Carbon Clean’s technology is designed to reduce the costs and physical footprint required to capture CO₂. One such project from the US Department of Energy to find ways to reduce the cost of capturing CO from post-com - bustion gas is in partnership with Svante and the National Energy Technology Laboratory on a six-month pilot. Blue hydrogen market dynamics and end uses 4 The global blue hydrogen market is expected to reach $6.0 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 15% during the forecast period 2023 to 2032. Asia Pacific is expected to grow the fastest during the forecast period because of rising hydro - gen demand in end-use sectors such as fertilisers, chem - icals, and refineries in nations such as India, China, and South Korea. China consumes and produces the most hydrogen of any country. China’s current yearly hydrogen consumption sur - passes 24 million tons. North America emerged as the most significant global blue hydrogen market, with a 40% market revenue share in 2022. The presence of government meas - ures to create the hydrogen economy will benefit the market. The technology segment is divided into SMR, ATR, and gas partial oxidation. The SMR segment dominated the market, with a share of around 40% in 2022. This approach is one of the least expensive ways to obtain industrial hydrogen. SMR is a low-cost, energy-efficient method of producing high levels of pure hydrogen, which may be collected using in-house pressure swing adsorption (PSA) purification technology. This will promote adoption and drive market growth throughout the forecast period. Blue hydrogen is one of several methods aiming to cut the carbon emissions associated with the industrial pro- duction of the gas. It is purportedly cleaner than the cur - rent industrial processes but still a long way from being zero emission or ‘green’ hydrogen, which is produced using renewable power and electrolysers. Like the green variety, blue hydrogen is expensive to produce compared to the tra - ditional carbon-intensive production processes used today. By reducing blue hydrogen’s costs, companies could speed up hydrogen’s much-vaunted replacement of fossil fuels. The end-user segment is divided into power generation, refinery, chemical, and others. The power generation seg - ment dominated the market, with a share of around 43% in 2022. Blue hydrogen demand for power generation is expected to grow significantly in the forecast period. A shift in renewable power sources has helped the market grow drastically as blue hydrogen works as an initiator of green hydrogen and its proper commercialisation in the future.

PTQ Q3 2024