Decarbonisation Technology - November 2021

Green hydrogen: a possible path towards a low carbon future Interest in green hydrogen is reaching unprecedented levels, and the fuel could play an important role in decarbonising hard-to-electrify sectors of the economy

Dr Himmat Singh Scientist ‘G’ & Prof (Retd)

G reen hydrogen is the new kid on the hydrogen block, and because it is manufactured with renewable energy, it is CO 2 free. Such advantages are fuelling interest in green hydrogen globally. Across Europe, Middle East and Asia, companies are embracing this as a high-quality fuel. Countries like China and the US are investing in green hydrogen, primarily to meet their domestic demand. Japan, the first country to adopt a national hydrogen strategy in 2017, gave hydrogen a starring role at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (held in July 2021) by using it to light the Olympic cauldron. The global energy system today stands at a point where it will transform energy economics because of rapid technological advances in electrolysers and declining renewable energy costs. Recent PwC estimates for the year 2050, of ‘green hydrogen’ global demand and expected displacement of oil equivalent, exports and expected job creation, add significance to the choice of hydrogen becoming the solution for transporting cheap clean energy across the globe. This article analyses the developments related to green hydrogen and as a possible path towards a low carbon future. Introduction On account of the huge climate change challenge, energy systems are facing a transition towards technologies that result in decreased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Hydrogen is increasingly viewed as a potential saviour in national and international strategies, to be applied to different sectors from industry to transport. As per DNV, hydrogen in 2021 1 holds the status of a viable and rapidly developing pillar in the energy

transition. Over the past few years, hydrogen’s role in the future of energy has grown much more fundamental. Hydrogen, produced from renewable energy sources (RES), has also been proposed as a potential energy carrier to support a wider deployment of low carbon energy. Different waves of enthusiasm have supported the narrative of green hydrogen as the basis of an alternative to fossil fuels by exploiting fuel cell applications in the transport sector. Dedicated hydrogen strategies and research projects are being developed by major world economies 2-5 for addressing different components of the hydrogen pathway. Among the five different shades of hydrogen, based on production technologies, 6 green hydrogen, meaning hydrogen produced by RES- based electrolysers, is considered most suitable for a fully sustainable energy transition. The US promises to use renewable energy to produce green hydrogen that costs less than natural gas, and the Department of Energy is putting up to $100 million into the research and development of hydrogen and fuel cells. The European Union has a strategic plan to invest $430 billion in green hydrogen by 2030 to help achieve the goals of its Green Deal. Chile, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Australia are all making major investments into green hydrogen. 7 Parnell 8 declared the 2020s as the decade of hydrogen, notable for the rush of activity in the green hydrogen space. As 2020 unfurled and then unraveled, climate change mitigation ambition ramped up. ‘Green recovery’ emerged as a favoured approach to stoking flagging economies. Scott 9 writes “seven of the biggest green hydrogen project developers came