For decades, government and industry have looked to hydrogen as a potentially game-changing tool in the quest for clean energy. As far back as the early days of the Clinton administration, energy sector observers and public policy experts have extolled the virtues of hydrogen - to the point that some people have joked that hydrogen is the energy of the future, 'and always will be.'
Even as wind and solar power have become commonplace in recent years, hydrogen has been held back by high costs and other challenges. But the fuel may finally be poised to have its moment. At the MIT Energy Initiative Spring Symposium - entitled 'Hydrogen's role in a decarbonized energy system' - experts discussed hydrogen production routes, hydrogen consumption markets, the path to a robust hydrogen infrastructure, and policy changes needed to achieve a 'hydrogen future.'
During one panel, 'Options for producing low-carbon hydrogen at scale,' four experts laid out existing and planned efforts to leverage hydrogen for decarbonization.
'The race is on'
For the past 14 years, Dinh has worked on fuel cells and hydrogen production for NREL. 'We think that the 2020s is the decade of hydrogen,' she said. Dinh believes that the energy carrier is poised to come into its own over the next few years, pointing to several domestic and international activities surrounding the fuel and citing a
'Now is the time for hydrogen, and the global race is on,' she said.
Dinh also explained the parameters of the Hydrogen Shot - the first of the
The Hydrogen Shot will be facilitated by
'The time frame is short, the competition is intense, and a coordinated effort is critical for domestic competitiveness,' Dinh said.
Hydrogen across continents
Wambui Mutoru, principal engineer for international commercial development, exploration, and production international at the Norwegian global energy company
'The ambition here is for us to deploy the world's first at-scale hydrogen value chain to decarbonize the Humber industrial cluster,' Mutoru said.
The project consists of three components: a clean hydrogen production facility, an onshore hydrogen and carbon dioxide transmission network, and offshore carbon dioxide transportation and storage operations. Mutoru highlighted the importance of carbon capture and storage in hydrogen production.
Mutoru also touched on
Mutoru acknowledged that the biggest challenge facing potential hydrogen producers is the current lack of viable business models. 'Resolving that challenge requires cross-industry collaboration, and supportive policy frameworks so that the market for hydrogen can be built and sustained over the long term,' she said.
Confronting barriers
'Just take a moment to think about that,' Baier said. 'We've been talking about hydrogen production and the cost of it, and this is basically free hydrogen. And it's still too much of a barrier to somewhat recycle that and use it for ourselves. The environment is clearly changing, and we do have plans for that, but I think that kind of sets some of the challenges that face industry here.'
However, Baier said, hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in Dow's future as the company attempts to decarbonize by 2050. The company, she said, plans to optimize hydrogen allocation and production, retrofit turbines for hydrogen fueling, and purchase clean hydrogen. By 2040, Dow expects more than 60 percent of its sites to be hydrogen-ready.
Baier noted that hydrogen fuel is not a 'panacea,' but rather one among many potential contributors as industry attempts to reduce or eliminate carbon emissions in the coming decades. 'Hydrogen has an important role, but it's not the only answer,' she said.
'This is real'
'A quarter of emissions in the world are currently from hard-to-decarbonize sectors - the industrial sector, steel making, heavy-duty transportation, aviation,' she said. 'These are really challenging decarbonization sectors, and as we continue to expand and electrify, we're going to need more supply. We're also going to need to produce clean hydrogen using emissions-free power.'
'The scale of nuclear power plants is uniquely suited to be able to scale hydrogen production,' Wright added. She mentioned Constellation's
'We're very excited to see hydrogen go from a [research and development] conversation to a commercial conversation,' she said. 'We've been calling it a little bit of a 'middle-school dance.' Everybody is standing around the circle, waiting to see who's willing to put something at stake. But this is real. We're not dancing around the edges. There are a lot of people who are big players, who are willing to put skin in the game today.'
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