Page 6 - MEOG Week 39 2021

MEOG COMMENTARY MEOG

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.

HYDROGEN A new research paper has concluded that despite entire value chain is considered, including from
a recent backlash against the use of natural the manufacture of equipment.
gas-derived blue hydrogen, it can be produced Meanwhile some countries are primarily pur-
WHAT: as cleanly as green hydrogen. suing blue hydrogen, including Norway, the UK
A new research paper The study, entitled On the Climate Impacts and Russia. This is a rationale move for countries
estimates that blue of Blue Hydrogen Production, was undertaken with significant domestic gas supply. What is
hydrogen production by academics in the UK, the US, Canada, Swit- more, blue hydrogen is currently cheaper.
can result in similar zerland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The latest study contrasts with the conclu-
low emissions to green It concludes that, in the right conditions, blue sions from another one published by the univer-
hydrogen production. hydrogen can potentially be a powerful emis- sities of Cornell and Stanford, which stated that
sions-reducing tool. blue hydrogen “had no place” in the energy tran-
WHY: “Our analysis sheds light on the relevant sition, potentially resulting in more emissions
For this to be achieved, issues and provides a balanced perspective on than would be released simply by using natural
the methane intensity of the impacts of climate change associated with gas or diesel as energy sources.
the gas feedstock needs blue hydrogen,” the study states. “We show that It pointed to the methane intensity of the nat-
to be sufficiently low and such impacts may indeed vary over large ranges ural gas that is used as a key factor.
the carbon capture rate and depend on only a few key parameters; the The latest study acknowledged the difficulty
sufficiently high. methane emission rate of the natural gas supply in quantifying methane emissions from the
chain, the CO2 removal rate at the hydrogen natural gas supply chain. But it said that as long
WHAT NEXT: production plant, and the global warming met- as there are methane emission rates of only 1%
The paper calls for ric applied.” global warming potential (GWP) over 100 years,
policymakers to consider Provided that state-of-the-art methane steam or 0.3% GWP over 20 years, and provided that
lifecycle emissions when reforming is used to produce the hydrogen, CO2 93% of CO2 emissions from reforming are cap-
evaluating how clean capture rates are high and the feedstock gas has tured, blue hydrogen has a lifecycle greenhouse
hydrogen is, and sees a low methane intensity, blue hydrogen “is com- gas (GHG) footprint of no more than 2-4 kg of
blue hydrogen as having patible with low-carbon economies and features CO2 equivalent per kg. This gives it the same cli-
a role in the energy climate impacts in line with green hydrogen mate footprint as green hydrogen.
transition. from electrolysis supplied with renewable The study noted that emissions rates as low
electricity.” as 0.3-0.4% had been measured for US shale
The study adds that neither blue nor green gas, and that several other countries including
hydrogen, as they are currently produced, can Norway, the UK and the Netherlands, and rates
be considered “net zero” without additional CO2 typically below 0.5%.
emissions. Furthermore, it said that current carbon cap-
ture technology could “allow removal rates at the
Green versus blue hydrogen plant of above 90%,” adding that rates
Green hydrogen is often referred to as net zero, of “close to 100% are technically feasible, slightly
and a number of countries in Europe and else- decreasing energy efficiencies and increasing
where have embraced it as a vital tool for elimi- costs, but have yet to be demonstrated at scale.”
nating emissions from hard-to-abate industries. “Our main conclusion is that, if the above
However, while the process of extracting requirements are met, blue hydrogen can be
hydrogen from water using renewable ener- close to green hydrogen in terms of impacts on
gy-powered electrolysis itself does not result in climate change and can thus play an important
any emissions, there are still emissions when the and complementary role in the transformation

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 39 29•September•2021