Page 6 - NorthAmOil Week 39 2021

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

Blue hydrogen on a par with green

in climate terms, study finds

Green hydrogen may not have such an edge over blue hydrogen as has been claimed,

according to a new study

GLOBAL A new research paper has concluded that despite Green versus blue
a recent backlash against the use of natural Green hydrogen is often referred to as net zero,
WHAT: gas-derived blue hydrogen, it can be produced and a number of countries in Europe and else-
A new research paper as cleanly as green hydrogen. where have embraced it as a vital tool for elimi-
estimates that blue The study, entitled On the Climate Impacts nating emissions from hard-to-abate industries.
hydrogen production of Blue Hydrogen Production, was undertaken However, while the process of extracting hydro-
can result in similar by academics in the UK, the US, Canada, Swit- gen from water using renewable energy-pow-
low emissions to green zerland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. ered electrolysis itself does not result in any
hydrogen production. It concludes that, in the right conditions, blue emissions, there are still emissions when the
hydrogen can potentially be a powerful emis- entire value chain is considered, including from
WHY: sions-reducing tool. the manufacture of equipment.
For this to be achieved, “Our analysis sheds light on the relevant Meanwhile, some countries are primarily
the methane intensity of issues and provides a balanced perspective on pursuing blue hydrogen, including Norway, the
the gas feedstock needs the impacts of climate change associated with UK and Russia. This is a rational move for coun-
to be sufficiently low and blue hydrogen,” the study states. “We show that tries with significant domestic gas supply. What
the carbon capture rate such impacts may indeed vary over large ranges is more, blue hydrogen is currently cheaper.
sufficiently high. and depend on only a few key parameters; the The latest study contrasts with the conclu-
methane emission rate of the natural gas supply sions from another research paper published by
WHAT NEXT: chain, the CO2 removal rate at the hydrogen the universities of Cornell and Stanford, which
The paper calls for production plant and the global warming met- stated that blue hydrogen “had no place” in the
policymakers to consider ric applied.” energy transition, potentially resulting in more
lifecycle emissions when Provided that state-of-the-art methane steam emissions than would be released simply by
evaluating how clean reforming is used to produce the hydrogen, using natural gas or diesel as energy sources. It
hydrogen is, and sees CO2 capture rates are high and the feedstock gas pointed to the methane intensity of the natural
blue hydrogen as having has a low methane intensity, blue hydrogen “is gas that is used as a key factor.
a role in the energy compatible with low-carbon economies and fea- The latest study acknowledged the difficulty
transition. tures climate impacts in line with green hydro- in quantifying methane emissions from the
gen from electrolysis supplied with renewable natural gas supply chain. But it said that as long
electricity.” as there are methane emission rates of only 1%
The study adds that neither blue nor green global warming potential (GWP) over 100 years,
hydrogen, as they are currently produced, can or 0.3% GWP over 20 years, and provided that
be considered “net zero” without additional 93% of CO2 emissions from reforming are cap-
CO2 emissions. tured, blue hydrogen has a lifecycle greenhouse

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