ically about the hydrogen economy, carbon capture, and energy storage, as well as Green Premiums and driv- ing the economics of new technolo- gies through scaling and investment. Sufficient investment in sustain - able practices is starting to seep through, with investors typically altering their portfolios to include the offering of ESG-conscious funds. Figures by Black Rock suggest that sustainable assets will reach almost $2 trillion by 2028. Further findings in the research by AspenTech found that almost half of capital invest- ments anticipate shifting 5-30% of their capital allocation towards sus- tainability initiatives. Green hydrogen At ADIPEC 2021, Thyssen Krupp CEO, Sami Pelkonen, projected that by 2030 green hydrogen would be cost compatible with blue hydro- gen. However, IHS Markit Vice Chairman, Daniel Yergin, coun - tered that the limiting factor might be the supply constraint of “green molecules”. Pelkonen believes that there is a 100 GW market for green hydro- gen electrolysis by 2030, with the capital cost currently sitting at 500 Euros per kilowatt. Yergin predicts
that the global demand for oil and gas will continue to grow well into the 2030s. With the current inter- ruptions in the European natural gas market caused by the Ukraine conflict, to accelerate green hydro - gen innovation even faster. This is because natural gas as a blue hydrogen feedstock may be in lim- ited supply in Europe for some unknown period. Given this projection, it is clear that change is not happening fast enough for many advocates, and political pressure will continue to grow. Today, unique and differ - entiated technologies are available for innovating, scaling, and achiev - ing competitive advantage in the hydrogen economy, biofuels, and other energy transition strategies. Companies now have a significant opportunity to accelerate the time- to-value for the hydrogen economy, carbon capture, and biofuels by leveraging today’s digital solutions that help ensure faster adoption, scale, and competitive advantage. Those that do so will be well placed to claim a leading role as this new economy plays out.
energy sources such as hydrogen are implemented. The latest pro- cess simulation technology moni- tors and optimises CO 2 and other pollutant emissions. In combina- tion with other technologies, such as enterprise visualisation tools and planning solutions, this pro - vides the foundation for emissions reporting for chemical plants, refin - eries, and other energy assets. Beyond hydrogen Today’s energy industry faces a number of challenges: the need to drive to net-zero carbon, macroeco - nomics impacting global demand for hydrocarbons, and an energy transition that is gaining momentum and building demand for renewable electricity and zero-carbon mobility solutions. The rapid acceleration of the circular economy and a focus on the re-use of materials to reduce the drain on resources also place more importance on harnessing alterna- tive energy sources. At the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda in January 2021, Bill Gates talked about the need to cre- ate a trusted global carbon market, which will spur the need to shift very large capital investments into low carbon areas. He talked specif-
Ron Beck is Senior Director, Industrial Marketing at Aspen Tech.
digitalrefining.com is the most extensive source of freely available information on all aspects of the refining, gas and petrochemical processing industries.
It provides a constantly growing database of technical articles, company literature, videos, industry news and events.
dr half 22.indd 1
05/04/2022 12:41:58
Powered by FlippingBook