BLUE HYDROGEN IS A BIG OIL GIMMICK
'Expensive distraction': Chair of UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association resigns citing blue hydrogen concerns
18 August 2021 • 
A 3D rendering of a hydrogen storage tank | Credit: iStock
Protium CEO Chris Jackson claims blue hydrogen risks locking UK into reliance on fossil fuels as he quits the trade body
Chris Jackson has stepped down from his role as chair of the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (UKHFCA), arguing that he is no longer able to advocate in good faith on behalf of 'blue' hydrogen made using fossil fuel gas coupled with carbon capture technology.
Jackson announced his resignation on Monday, just prior to the publication of the long-awaited UK Hydrogen Strategy, which confirmed the government's intention to take a "twin track" approach to scaling the low carbon fuel that will see support provided to both blue hydrogen as well as 'green' hydrogen, which is broadly regarded as more climate-friendly as it is produced using renewable energy.
Advocates of blue hydrogen argue that it is a critical transition energy source that would enable a raft of industries and processes - from home heating, transport, energy and heavy manufacturing - to decarbonise over the medium term while electrolyser capacity for producing green hydrogen is scaled up to meet growing demand. Several governments around the world have announced they intend to subsidise production of the low carbon fuel over the coming years as they seek to wean hard-to-abate industries off fossil fuels. In the UK, oil and gas giant BP is aiming to produce 1GW of the fuel at its H2 Teesside project by the end of this decade.
However, in a statement provided to trade publication H2 View earlier this week, Jackson expressed fears that the roll out of blue hydrogen could derail the UK's climate goals, because it risks keeping the country reliant on fossil fuel infrastructure and exploration for years to come, right when emissions need to be rapidly reduced to hit net zero targets. Blue hydrogen is produced using a process known as steam reforming, which splits methane from natural gas plants into its component parts of hydrogen and carbon, with most - but not all - of the resulting CO2 emissions mopped up using CCS.
"I believe passionately that I would be betraying future generations by remaining silent on that fact that blue hydrogen is at best an expensive distraction, and at worst a lock-in for continued fossil fuel use that guarantees we will fail to meet our decarbonisation goals," he said, echoing growing concerns raised by green groups in recent months.
Jackson, who is also the CEO and founder of green hydrogen outfit Protium, reiterated this sentiment in a statement provided to BusinessGreen on Wednesday, arguing his personal views on blue hydrogen meant that he could no longer "in good conscience" represent the interests of all players across the UK's fledgling hydrogen industry.
"Our industry is at a very important crossroad, one where the decisions we make will have long-lasting effects," he said. "I fully appreciate the energy transition cannot be achieved by one silver bullet, and green hydrogen alone cannot solve all the worlds challenges. Equally, I cannot ignore or make arguments for blue hydrogen being a viable and ‘green' energy solution (a fact also validated by external studies)."
"As chair of the UKHFCA, my role has been to represent the interests of all, even when I disagree," he added. "However, I feel I can no longer do this in good conscience. "There is a hugely important role for a trade group like the UKHFCA that can be a bridge between different interests, perspectives and companies. But it is also one that requires its leaders to hold positions of neutrality on some of the biggest questions the sector must answer. And I no longer feel that is consistent with my personal views on the role of hydrogen in the transition to a net zero world."
In a statement, UKHFCA CEO Celia Greaves thanked Jackson for his work as chair of the association and emphasised the body represented companies engaged in all types of hydrogen production. "We would like to thank Chris for his hard work on behalf of the association over the past 10 months and welcome his continued involvement on our executive committee," she said. "As the oldest and largest pan UK association, dedicated to the hydrogen sector and the fuel cell industry, our duty is to support stakeholders across the entire value chain and across all hydrogen production methods."
Jackson's resignation comes just a few days after a controversial academic study into the full lifecycle emissions of hydrogen produced by fossil fuel gas with carbon capture technology concluded its production could in some circumstances be worse for the climate than natural fossil fuelgas. The study estimated the emissions generated from the production of blue hydrogen are more than 20 per cent greater than burning natural gas or coal for heat and some 60 per cent greater than burning diesel oil for heat - although the study also drew criticism in some quarters over some of the assumptions used to draw its conclusions.
‘Blue hydrogen’ more carbon-intensive than gas and coal
By E&T editorial staff
Published Friday, August 13, 2021
A study by Cornell and Stanford University researchers has found that – despite being touted as an environmentally friendly approach to heating – blue hydrogen has a carbon footprint significantly greater than natural gas, coal and diesel.
Hydrogen is a potentially zero-carbon fuel source, producing just heat and water when burned or used in fuel cells and making it an attractive alternative to fossil fuels in transport, heating and industry. For instance, part of the UK government’s decarbonisation plan is a significant expansion in hydrogen to 5GW of capacity by 2030.
There are two approaches to producing hydrogen: blue hydrogen (produced by splitting natural gas into hydrogen and carbon dioxide) and green hydrogen (produced by splitting water via electrolysis into hydrogen and oxygen). While green hydrogen requires a large energy input, blue hydrogen cannot be described as a zero-emission fuel source, though it may be described as net-zero when used in conjunction with efficient carbon capture. Climate think tanks and campaigners have warned the UK government that blue hydrogen expansion will compromise its net-zero target.
The Cornell and Stanford researchers assessed the carbon footprint associated with blue hydrogen as defined by the US Department of Energy. The process begins by converting methane to hydrogen and carbon dioxide using heat, steam and pressure (grey hydrogen). Once some of the carbon dioxide has been captured and sequestered along with other impurities, it can be classed as blue hydrogen. This is a particularly energy-intensive process, with energy typically provided by burning more natural gas.
The researchers calculated that the carbon footprint to create blue hydrogen is more than 20 per cent greater than using either natural gas or coal directly for heat and 60 per cent greater than using diesel oil for heat.
“In the past, no effort was made to capture the carbon dioxide by-product of grey hydrogen and the greenhouse gas emissions have been huge,” said Professor Robert Howarth, a Cornell University environmental biologist. “Now the industry promotes blue hydrogen as a solution, an approach that still uses the methane from natural gas, while attempting to capture the by-product carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, emissions remain very large.”
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas: more than 100 times stronger as an atmospheric warming agent than carbon dioxide when first emitted. The UN’s recent climate change report called on governments to focus on cutting methane emissions in addition to decarbonisation efforts.
Emissions of blue hydrogen are less than for grey hydrogen by nine per cent to 12 per cent. The researchers wrote: “Blue hydrogen is hardly emissions free. Blue hydrogen as a strategy only works to the extent it is possible to store carbon dioxide long-term indefinitely into the future without leakage back to the atmosphere.”
Commenting on indiscriminate political support for hydrogen, Howarth said: “Political forces may not have caught up with the science yet. Even progressive politicians may not understand for what they’re voting. Blue hydrogen sounds good, sounds modern and sounds like a path to our energy future. It is not.”
The researchers emphasised the difference between blue hydrogen and green hydrogen, the latter of which has not yet been commercially realised.
“The best hydrogen, the green hydrogen derived from electrolysis - if used widely and efficiently - can be that path to a sustainable future,” said Howarth. “Blue hydrogen is totally different.”
UK hydrogen strategy 'needs clearer focus on renewables'
Trade body RenewableUK slams government plans for seeming to treat blue and green hydrogen as ‘interchangeable’
17 August 2021 by Craig Richard
The UK government aims to have 5GW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, but industry group Renewables UK has criticised the strategy for not focusing enough on developing a green hydrogen industry.
The government is consulting on using a business model similar to the contracts for difference (CfDs) used for renewable energy tenders in the UK in an attempt to reduce the cost gap between low-carbon hydrogen and fossil fuels.
Under the plan, the government would work with industry to assess the feasibility of mixing 20% hydrogen into the existing gas supply and determine what is needed from the UK’s network and storage infrastructure to support the hydrogen sector.
It is consulting on the design of a £240 million (€282 million) net-zero hydrogen fund to support the commercial deployment of low-carbon hydrogen production plants across the UK.
The government also plans to use a “twin track” approach to supporting multiple technologies, featuring a mix of green and blue hydrogen. Green hydrogen is made when renewable energy is fed through water, splitting oxygen from hydrogen molecules. Meanwhile, blue hydrogen is made by using methane to split natural gas to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide, though some of the carbon dioxide is then captured.
Researchers from Cornell and Stanford Universities last week said blue hydrogen may be more harmful than gas and coal.
Not green enough
RenewableUK CEO Dan McGrail today said that the government’s strategy “doesn’t focus nearly enough on developing the UK’s world-leading green hydrogen industry”.
“The government must use the current consultation period to amend its plans and set out a clear ambition for green hydrogen,” he added. “We’re urging the government to set a target of 5GW of renewable hydrogen electrolyser capacity by 2030, as well as setting out a roadmap to get us there, to show greater leadership on tackling climate change.”
Meanwhile, director of future electricity systems at RenewableUK Barnaby Wharton said that both green and blue hydrogen would be needed to meet net zero targets, as green hydrogen is “truly zero carbon”, while blue hydrogen “can provide volume”. He said the government appeared to be treating the two as interchangeable and that he was concerned that creating a single market mechanism for both would be a “struggle”.
The government believes a UK hydrogen economy could be worth £900 million and create more than 9,000 jobs by 2020. This could then grow to being worth £13 billion and creating 100,000 jobs by 2050, by which point it could account for 20-35% of the UK’s energy consumption, it believes.
Study finds blue hydrogen worse than gas or coal
The carbon footprint of creating blue hydrogen is more than 20% greater than using either natural gas or coal directly for heat, or about 60% greater than using diesel oil for heat, according to joint research by Cornell and Stanford universities in the US.
The paper, which was published in Energy Science and Engineering, warned that blue hydrogen may be a distraction or something that may delay needed action to truly decarbonise the global energy economy.
A research team claimed blue hydrogen requires large amounts of natural gas to produce and said that even with the most advanced carbon capture and storage technology, there are a significant amount of CO2 and methane emissions that won’t be caught.
Blue hydrogen sounds good, sounds modern and sounds like a path to our energy future, it is not
Professors from the universities calculated that these fugitive emissions from producing hydrogen could eclipse those associated with extracting and burning gas when multiplied by the amount of gas required to make an equivalent amount of energy from hydrogen.
The paper comes hot on the heels of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report claiming methane has contributed about two-thirds as much to global warming as CO2 and as many governments are looking to invest in hydrogen production.
Robert Howarth, a Cornell University professor and co-author of the study, said: “Political forces may not have caught up with the science yet. Even progressive politicians may not understand for what they’re voting. Blue hydrogen sounds good, sounds modern and sounds like a path to our energy future. It is not.”
The UK is high up on the list of countries aiming to put blue hydrogen at the core of its energy transition agenda. UK energy consultancy Xodus recently launched a new report urging a bolder vision to enable the country to become a global leader in the adoption of hydrogen. The researchers, on the other hand, recommended a focus on green hydrogen, which is made using renewable electricity to extract hydrogen from water, leaving only oxygen as a byproduct.
“This best-case scenario for producing blue hydrogen, using renewable electricity instead of natural gas to power the processes, suggests to us that there really is no role for blue hydrogen in a carbon-free future. Greenhouse gas emissions remain high, and there would also be a substantial consumption of renewable electricity, which represents an opportunity cost. We believe renewable electricity could be better used by society in other ways, replacing the use of fossil fuels.”
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