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AsianOil NEWSBASE’S ROUNDUP GLOBAL (NRG) AsianOil

The blue-green future

Energy consumers and producers are evaluating how the arrival of hydrogen as a

mainstream source of fuel will affect their environmental, political and financial goals

GLOBAL WELCOME the latest edition of NewsBase’s does not produce any on-site carbon emissions
Roundup Global (NRG), in which our team of when consumed in a power plant.
international editors reviews how the adoption At the moment, however, blue hydrogen is
of hydrogen is progresssing in their regional the more cost-effective of the two options, which
beats. Get the NRG Oil & Gas Editor’s Picks to could well buy proponents of gas-based produc-
your inbox every week for free. Just sign up here. tion enough time to prove CCS’ ability to offset
the associated emissions.
THE world’s largest energy consumers and pro-
ducers have begun to evaluate how the emer- REM: Support for blue hydrogen
gence of hydrogen as a mainstream alternative The International Energy Agency (EIA) has
to hydrocarbons will affect their economies. identified blue hydrogen, produced from natu-
A growing wave of governments and compa- ral gas and coal using carbon capture and under-
nies are committing to carbon neutrality within ground storage (CCUS) technology, as a major
the next 30 years, with many banking on hydro- tool for decarbonising the global economy over
gen becoming a major source of clean energy the next 50 years.
supply within that timeframe. With the world’s In its latest technology report on CCUS, the
major economies actively seeking to reduce their body identified that blue hydrogen could sup-
emissions, oil and gas producers find themselves port a rapid scaling up of low-carbon hydrogen
faced with a very uncertain future. production to meet current and future demand
As such, more and more gas producers and from new applications in transport, industry and
exporters are beginning to tout the economic and buildings.
environmental viability of blue hydrogen coupled Blue hydrogen would help governments and
with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technol- industry reduce their CO2 emissions and meet
ogy. Climate activists, on the other hand, argue that the Paris Agreement climate targets.
green hydrogen represents the only realistic path IEA executive director Fatih Birol said that
towards carbon neutrality. Blue hydrogen is pro- CCUS was “critical” in the transition from fossil
duced from gas using steam methane reforming, fuels to cleaner energy alternatives. “Without it,
while green hydrogen is produced from renewable our energy and climate goals will become virtu-
energy using electrolysis. ally impossible to reach,” he said.
In both production processes hydrogen is CCUS technology, which is central to the
combined with nitrogen to form ammonia to production of blue hydrogen, can offer a cost-ef-
enable it to be shipped as a liquid. Ammonia fective pathway for producing low-carbon

Week 39 01•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13