Hydrogen is increasingly being explored as a means of energy storage, particularly in conjunction with solar energy. Several firms and startups are working on innovative technologies and solutions to utilise hydrogen for energy storage, making it a promising avenue in the renewable energy landscape.
There is potential for green hydrogen to play a significant role in decarbonising energy systems where there are challenges and limitations to replacing fossil fuels with direct use of electricity.
Hydrogen fuel can produce the intense heat required for industrial production of steel, cement, glass, and chemicals, thus contributing to the decarbonisation of industry alongside other technologies, such as electric arc furnaces for steelmaking. However, it will likely play a more significant role in providing industrial feedstock for cleaner production of ammonia and organic chemicals. For example, hydrogen could function in steelmaking as a clean energy carrier and a low-carbon catalyst, replacing coal-derived coke. Hydrogen used to decarbonise transportation is likely to find its most extensive applications in shipping, aviation and, to a lesser extent, heavy goods vehicles through hydrogen-derived synthetic fuels such as ammonia and methanol and fuel cell technology. As an energy resource, hydrogen has a superior energy density (39.6 kWh) versus batteries (lithium battery: 0.15-0.25 kWh).] For light-duty vehicles, including passenger cars, hydrogen is far behind other alternative fuel vehicles, especially compared with the rate of adoption of battery-electric vehicles. It may not play a significant role in future.
Green hydrogen can also be used for long-duration grid and seasonal energy storage. It has been explored as an alternative to batteries for short-duration energy storage.
Methanol economy
Green methanol is a liquid fuel that combines carbon dioxide and hydrogen (CO2 + 3 H2 → CH3OH + H2O) under pressure and heat with catalysts. It is a way to reuse carbon capture for recycling. Methanol can store hydrogen economically at standard outdoor temperatures and pressures, compared to liquid hydrogen and ammonia, that need to use a lot of energy to stay cold in their liquid state. In 2023 the Laura Maersk was the first container ship to run on methanol fuel. Ethanol plants in the midwest are a good place for pure carbon capture to combine with hydrogen to make green methanol, with abundant wind and nuclear energy in Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois. Mixing methanol with ethanol could make methanol a safer fuel to use because methanol doesn't have a visible flame in the daylight and doesn't emit smoke. Ethanol has a visible light yellow flame.[ Green hydrogen production of 70% efficiency and a 70% efficiency of methanol production would be a 49% energy conversion efficiency
As of 2022, the global hydrogen market was valued at $155 billion and was expected to grow at an average (CAGR) of 9.3% between 2023 and 2024 Of this market, green hydrogen accounted for about $4.2 billion (2.7%).[ Due to the higher cost of production, green hydrogen represents a smaller fraction of the hydrogen produced compared to its share of market value. The majority of hydrogen produced in 2020 was derived from fossil fuels. 99% came from carbon-based source .Electrolysis-driven production represents less than 0.1% of the total, of which only a part is powered by renewable electricity.
The current high cost of production is the main factor limiting the use of green hydrogen. A price of $2/kg is considered by many to be a potential tipping point that would make green hydrogen competitive against grey hydrogen.[ It is cheapest to produce green hydrogen with surplus renewable power that would otherwise be curtailed, which favours electrolyses capable of responding to low and variable power levels (such as proton exchange membrane electrolyses)
The cost of electrolysers fell by 60% from 2010 to 2022,[ and green hydrogen production costs are forecasted to fall significantly to 2030 and 2050, driving down the cost of green hydrogen alongside the falling cost of renewable power generation. Goldman Sachs analysis observed in 2022, just before Russia invades Ukraine , that the "unique dynamic in Europe with historically high gas and carbon prices is already leading to green H2 cost parity with grey across key parts of the region", and anticipated that globally green hydrogen achieve cost parity with grey hydrogen by 2030, earlier if a global carbon tax were placed on grey hydrogen.
As of 2021, the green hydrogen investment pipeline was estimated at 121 gigawatts of electrolysers capacity across 136 projects in planning and development phases, totalling over $500 billion If all projects in the pipeline were built, they could account for 10% of hydrogen production by 2030.The market could be worth over $1 trillion a year by 2050 according to Goldman Sachs. An energy market analyst suggested in early 2021 that the price of green hydrogen would drop 70% by 2031 in countries with cheap renewable energy.
Companies Under Agreement
Pure Hydrogen Corporation Limited
Australia
EMERALD
Emerald hydrogen uses biomass and heat to produce the gas on a net-zero carbon emissions basis.
TURQUOISE
Turquoise Hydrogen is produced through a process known as methane pyrolysis, using natural gas and just 12.5% of the electricity required for electrolysis
GREEN
Green Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis, using water and renewable electricity
Waste Collection Vehicles
Pure Hydrogen has unveiled one of Australia’s first hydrogen-fuelled garbage trucks.
The truck is one of the most advanced in the world, with the first being delivered to South Australia. Pure Hydrogen has secured trials with large Australian waste management companies, Solo Resource Recovery and JJ Richards.