Page 4 - NorthAmOil Week 26 2021

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

North American pipeline

players explore hydrogen

Several pipeline operators in North America have started

experimenting with hydrogen in anticipation of its wider

adoption in the future

NORTH AMERICA VARIOUS North American pipeline operators 2030. The target is considered a stepping stone
are starting to make forays into hydrogen as the to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.
WHAT: energy transition picks up pace. This includes Under the Biden administration, the
North American pipeline efforts to start producing hydrogen, as well as US Department of Energy (DoE) recently
operators are beginning beginning to test it in existing natural gas sys- announced that it wanted to reduce the cost of
to produce hydrogen and tems, in anticipation of the fuel’s wider adoption. clean hydrogen from $5 per kg to $1 per kg, or
test it in their existing Such plans are still in their early days, how- by 80%, within a decade.
infrastructure. ever, and there is still a long way to go before Canada, meanwhile, is also targeting net-zero
the cleanest forms of hydrogen – those that are emissions by 2050 and unveiled a hydrogen
WHY: being talked up as being key components of strategy in late 2020. The strategy projects that
The fuel is expected to the energy transition – can become economi- hydrogen could deliver up to 30% of Canada’s
play a major role in the cally viable. Nonetheless, pipeline operators are end-use energy by 2050.
energy transition, and increasingly willing to demonstrate their envi- All of this is good news for private companies
these companies are ronmental credentials and show that they are wishing to move into hydrogen, as they will
anticipating its wider open to what is being described as an important certainly benefit from initiatives to bring down
adoption. transition fuel. the cost of clean versions of the fuel, as well as
These early efforts are being seen in both the broader government support. However, signif-
WHAT NEXT: US and Canada – two countries that are trying icantly more financial support will be needed
Cleaner forms of to show that the energy transition is increasingly to help blue and green hydrogen – the former
hydrogen will require a priority for them. In the US, under President produced from natural gas using carbon capture
significant financial Joe Biden, this marks a significant turnaround and storage (CCS) to address emissions, and the
support in order to from his predecessor, Donald Trump, who took latter made using renewable sources – take off.
become mainstream. the country out of the Paris Agreement and con-
stantly sought to prioritise fossil fuel production Steps forward
over any climate change concerns. By contrast, In the meantime, hydrogen initiatives being pur-
Biden has returned the US to the Paris Agree- sued by various pipeline operators could help
ment and set a target for the country to cut its put them at the forefront of the nascent industry.
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50-52% by Among those making a foray into hydrogen is

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