Policy & Socio-Economics
Everything About Hydrogen Podcast: Taking the Lead in the Hydrogen Economy
Sep 2021
Publication
On the season premier episode the EAH hosts are joined by the Governor of New Mexico Michelle Lujan Grisham. The State of New Mexico has the opportunity to lead the United States into the hydrogen era and the Governor and her team are poised to take the opportunity to make New Mexico the strategic center of the US hydrogen economy. The Governor is joined by New Mexico Environment Department Secretary James Kenney on the show to announce the forthcoming New Mexico Hydrogen Hub Act which her administration expects to drive investment in the state job growth in the energy sector and catapult New Mexico to top of the list of states driving the hydrogen revolution.
The podcast can be found on their website.
The podcast can be found on their website.
The Role of Clean Hydrogen Value Chain in a Successful Energy Transition of Japan
Aug 2022
Publication
The clean hydrogen in the prioritized value chain platform could provide energy incentives and reduce environmental impacts. In the current study strengths weaknesses opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis has been successfully applied to the clean hydrogen value chain in different sectors to determine Japan’s clean hydrogen value chain’s strengths weaknesses opportunities and threats as a case study. Japan was chosen as a case study since we believe that it is the only pioneer country in that chain with a national strategy investments and current projects which make it unique in this way. The analyses include evaluations of clean energy development power supply chains regional energy planning and renewable energy development including the internal and external elements that may influence the growth of the hydrogen economy in Japan. The ability of Japan to produce and use large quantities of clean hydrogen at a price that is competitive with fossil fuels is critical to the country’s future success. The implementation of an efficient carbon tax and carbon pricing is also necessary for cost parity. There will be an increasing demand for global policy coordination and inter-industry cooperation. The results obtained from this research will be a suitable model for other countries to be aware of the strengths weaknesses opportunities and threats in this field in order to make proper decisions according to their infrastructures potentials economies and socio-political states in that field.
Energy Futures and Green Hydrogen Production: Is Saudi Arabia Trend?
May 2023
Publication
This paper explores the potential for hydrogen energy to become a future trend in Saudi Arabia energy industry. With the emergence of hydrogen as a promising clean energy source there has been growing interest and investment in this area globally. This study investigated whether the country is likely to pursue this trend given its current energy mix and policies. A study was conducted to provide an overview of the global trends and best practices in hydrogen energy adoption and investment. The outcomes of the analysis show that the country current energy mix has the potential to produce green hydrogen energy. The evaluation of its readiness and potential obstacles for hydrogen energy adoption has been drowned and there are several challenges that need to be addressed. The study outcomes also conclude with policy implications and recommendations for the country energy industry.
The Smart Community: Strategy Layers for a New Sustainable Continental Framework
Feb 2023
Publication
The topic investigated in this article is a comparison contrast and integration effort of European strategies for sustainable development with the evolving market initiatives that are beginning to fuel the fourth industrial revolution. Several regulatory initiatives from continental bodies come into effect to radically change access to finances for business development based on sustainability goals and an analysis of the legislation and trends becomes essential for an effective pivot tactic in the face of adversity as well as change management policies to pre-emptively adapt and perform. The general research question is “what the strategic tools are best employed to overcome the hurdles laid forth by the drastic changes legally required for a sustainable future?” The research methods include a quantitative analysis of norms regulations and legislation including strategic initiatives circulated in the European Union governmental bodies integrated with qualitative research of the literature. The study finds and draws synergies between national strategies that have recently been drafted or are currently evolving with sustainability-centric initiatives such as the hydrogen initiative the nuclear initiative the natural gas initiative the renewables initiative the synthetics and biomass initiative the ESG initiative the digital initiative. The findings are to contribute to the business administration field by providing an appropriate image of the organizational design model in the sustainability era and a strategy framework to build the optimum long-term vision founded on continental regulatory initiatives that have come into effect.
Resource Assessment for Green Hydrogen Production in Kazakhstan
Jan 2023
Publication
Kazakhstan has long been regarded as a major exporter of fossil fuel energy. As the global energy sector is undergoing an unprecedented transition to low-carbon solutions new emerging energy technologies such as hydrogen production require more different resource bases than present energy technologies. Kazakhstan needs to consider whether it has enough resources to stay competitive in energy markets undergoing an energy transition. Green hydrogen can be made from water electrolysis powered by low-carbon electricity sources such as wind turbines and solar panels. We provided the first resource assessment for green hydrogen production in Kazakhstan by focusing on three essential resources: water renewable electricity and critical raw materials. Our estimations showed that with the current plan of Kazakhstan to keep its water budget constant in the future producing 2–10 Mt green hydrogen would require reducing the water use of industry in Kazakhstan by 0.6–3% or 0.036–0.18 km3/year. This could be implemented by increasing the share of renewables in electricity generation and phasing out some of the water- and carbon-intensive industries. Renewable electricity potential in South and West Kazakhstan is sufficient to run electrolyzers up to 5700 and 1600 h/year for wind turbines and solar panels respectively. In our base case scenario 5 Mt green hydrogen production would require 50 GW solar and 67 GW wind capacity considering Kazakhstan's wind and solar capacity factors. This could convert into 28652 tons of nickel 15832 tons of titanium and many other critical raw materials. Although our estimations for critical raw materials were based on limited geological data Kazakhstan has access to the most critical raw materials to support original equipment manufacturers of low-carbon technologies in Kazakhstan and other countries. As new geologic exploration kicks off in Kazakhstan it is expected that more deposits of critical raw materials will be discovered to respond to their potential future needs for green hydrogen production.
Policy Toolbox for Low Carbon and Renewable Hydrogen
Nov 2021
Publication
The report “Policy Toolbox for Low Carbon and Renewable Hydrogen” is based on an assessment of the performance of hydrogen policies in different stages of market maturity and segments of the value chain. 48 policies were shortlisted based on their economic efficiency and effectiveness and mapped to barriers across the value chain and over time. These policies were subsequently clustered into policy packages for three country archetypes: a self-sufficient hydrogen producer an importer and an exporter of hydrogen.
The paper can be found on their website.
The paper can be found on their website.
Establishment of Austria’s First Regional Green Hydrogen Economy: WIVA P&G HyWest
Apr 2023
Publication
The regional parliament of Tyrol in Austria adopted the climate energy and resources strategy “Tyrol 2050 energy autonomous” in 2014 with the aim to become climate neutral and energy autonomous. “Use of own resources before others do or have to do” is the main principle within this long-term strategic approach in which the “power on demand” process is a main building block and the “power-to-hydrogen” process covers the intrinsic lack of a long-term large-scale storage of electricity. Within this long-term strategy the national research and development (R&D) flagship project WIVA P&G HyWest (ongoing since 2018) aims at the establishment of the first sustainable business-case-driven regional green hydrogen economy in central Europe. This project is mainly based on the logistic principle and is a result of synergies between three ongoing complementary implementation projects. Among these three projects to date the industrial research within “MPREIS Hydrogen” resulted in the first green hydrogen economy. One hydrogen truck is operational as of January 2023 in the region of Tyrol for food distribution and related monitoring studies have been initiated. To fulfil the logistic principle as the main outcome another two complementary projects are currently being further implemented.
Future Pathways for Energy Networks: A Review of International Experiences in High Income Countries
Oct 2022
Publication
Energy networks are the systems of pipes and wires by which different energy vectors are transported from where they are produced to where they are needed. As such these networks are central to facilitating countries’ moves away from a reliance on fossil fuels to a system based around the efficient use of renewable and other low carbon forms of energy. In this review we highlight the challenges facing energy networks from this transition in a sample of key high income countries. We identify the technical and other innovations being implemented to meet these challenges and describe some of the new policy and regulatory developments that are incentivising the required changes. We then review evidence from the literature about the benefits of moving to a more integrated approach based on the concept of a Multi-Vector Energy Network (MVEN). Under this approach the different networks are planned and operated together to achieve greater functionality and performance than simply the sum of the individual networks. We find that most studies identify a range of benefits from an MVEN approach but that these findings are based on model simulations. Further work is therefore needed to verify whether the benefits can be realised in practice and to identify how any risks can be mitigated.
Challenges of Industrial-Scale Testing Infrastructure for Green Hydrogen Technologies
Apr 2023
Publication
Green hydrogen is set to become the energy carrier of the future provided that production technologies such as electrolysis and solar water splitting can be scaled to global dimensions. Testing these hydrogen technologies on the MW scale requires the development of dedicated new test facilities for which there is no precedent. This perspective highlights the challenges to be met on the path to implementing a test facility for large-scale water electrolysis photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic water splitting and aims to serve as a much-needed blueprint for future test facilities based on the authors’ own experience in establishing the Hydrogen Lab Leuna. Key aspects to be considered are the electricity and utility requirements of the devices under testing the analysis of the produced H2 and O2 and the safety regulations for handling large quantities of H2 . Choosing the right location is crucial not only for meeting these device requirements but also for improving financial viability through supplying affordable electricity and providing a remunerated H2 sink to offset the testing costs. Due to their lower TRL and requirement for a light source large-scale photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry testing are less developed and the requirements are currently less predictable.
Just Energy Transition: Learning from the Past for a More Just and Sustainable Hydrogen Transition in West Africa
Dec 2022
Publication
The rising demand for energy and the aim of moving away from fossil fuels and to low-carbon power have led many countries to move to alternative sources including solar energy wind geothermal energy biomass and hydrogen. Hydrogen is often considered a “missing link” in guaranteeing the energy transition providing storage and covering the volatility and intermittency of renewable energy generation. However due to potential injustice with regard to the distribution of risks benefits and costs (i.e. in regard to competing for land use) the large-scale deployment of hydrogen is a contested policy issue. This paper draws from a historical analysis of past energy projects to contribute to a more informed policy-making process toward a more just transition to the hydrogen economy. We perform a systematic literature review to identify relevant conflict factors that can influence the outcome of hydrogen energy transition projects in selected Economic Community of West African States countries namely Nigeria and Mali. To better address potential challenges policymakers must not only facilitate technology development access and market structures for hydrogen energy policies but also focus on energy access to affected communities. Further research should monitor hydrogen implementation with a special focus on societal impacts in producing countries.
Towards a Low-Carbon Society via Hydrogen and Carbon Capture and Storage: Social Acceptance from a Stakeholder Perspective
Apr 2020
Publication
Transformation concepts towards a low-carbon society often require new technology and infrastructure that evoke protests in the population. Therefore it is crucial to understand positions and conflicts in society to achieve social acceptance. This paper analyses these positions using the example of implementing hydrogen and carbon capture and storage infrastructure to decarbonise the German energy system. The empirical basis of the study are explorative stakeholder interviews which were conducted with experts from politics economics civil society and science and analysed within a discursive and attitudinal framework using qualitative content analysis. These stakeholder positions are assumed to represent dominant social perceptions and reflect chances and risks for acceptance. The results indicate different positions while pursuing the common goal of addressing climate change. The general conflict concerns strategies towards a low-carbon society especially the speed of phasing-out fossil energies. Regarding the combination of hydrogen and carbon capture and storage as instrument in the context of the energy transition the stakeholder interviews indicate controversial as well as consensual perceptions. The assessments range from rejection to deeming it absolutely necessary. Controversial argumentations refer to security of supply competitiveness and environmental protection. In contrast consensus can be reached by balancing ecological and economic arguments e.g. by linking hydrogen technologies with renewable and fossil energy sources or by limiting the use of carbon capture and storage only to certain applications (industry bioenergy). In further decisions this balancing of arguments combined with openness of technology transparency of information and citizen participation need to be considered to achieve broad acceptance.
Investment in Wind-based Hydrogen Production under Economic and Physical Uncertainties
Feb 2023
Publication
This paper evaluates the economic viability of a combined wind-based green-hydrogen facility from an investor’s viewpoint. The paper introduces a theoretical model and demonstrates it by example. The valuation model assumes that both the spot price of electricity and wind capacity factor evolve stochastically over time; these state variables can in principle be correlated. Besides it explicitly considers the possibility to use curtailed wind energy for producing hydrogen. The model derives the investment project’s net present value (NPV) as a function of hydrogen price and conversion capacity. Thus the NPV is computed for a given price and a range of capacities. The one that leads to the maximum NPV is the ‘optimal’ capacity (for the given price). Next the authors estimate the parameters underlying the two stochastic processes from Spanish hourly data. These numerical estimates allow simulate hourly paths of both variables over the facility’s expected useful lifetime (30 years). According to the results green hydrogen production starts becoming economically viable above 3 €/kg. Besides it takes a hydrogen price of 4.7 €/kg to reach an optimal conversion capacity half the capacity of the wind park. The authors develop sensitivity analyses with respect to wind capacity factor curtailment rate and discount rate.
Cost Assessment of Alternative Fuels for Maritime Transportation in Ireland
Aug 2022
Publication
In this study we investigated the cost-effectiveness of four alternatives: Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) methanol green hydrogen and green ammonia for the case of top 20 most frequently calling ships to Irish ports in 2019 through the Net Present Value (NPV) methodology incorporating the benefits incurred through saved external carbon tax and conventional fuel costs. LNG had the highest NPV (€6166 million) followed by methanol (€1705 million) and green hydrogen (€319 million). Green ammonia utilisation (as a hydrogen carrier) looks inviable due to higher operational costs resulting from its excessive consumption (i.e. losses) during the cracking and purifying processes and its lower net calorific value. Green hydrogen remains the best option to meet future decarbonisation targets although a further reduction in its current fuel price (by 60%) or a significant increment in the proposed carbon tax rate (by 275%) will be required to improve its cost-competitiveness over LNG and methanol.
Beyond the triangle of renewable Energy Acceptance: The Five Dimensions of Domestic Hydrogen Acceptance
Aug 2022
Publication
The ‘deep’ decarbonization of the residential sector is a priority for meeting national climate change targets especially in countries such as the UK where natural gas has been the dominant fuel source for over half a century. Hydrogen blending and repurposing the national grid to supply low-carbon hydrogen gas may offer respective short- and long-term solutions to achieving emissions reduction across parts of the housing sector. Despite this imperative the social acceptance of domestic hydrogen energy technologies remains underexplored by sustainability scholars with limited insights regarding consumer perceptions and expectations of the transition. A knowledge deficit of this magnitude is likely to hinder effective policymaking and may result in sub-optimal rollout strategies that derail the trajectory of the net zero agenda. Addressing this knowledge gap this study develops a conceptual framework for examining the consumer-facing side of the hydrogen transition. The paper affirms that the spatiotemporal patterns of renewable energy adoption are shaped by a range of interacting scales dimensions and factors. The UK’s emerging hydrogen landscape and its actor-network is characterized as a heterogenous system composed of dynamic relationships and interdependencies. Future studies should engage with domestic hydrogen acceptance as a co-evolving multi-scalar phenomenon rooted in the interplay of five distinct dimensions: attitudinal socio-political community market and behavioral acceptance. If arrived to behavioral acceptance helps realize the domestication of hydrogen heating and cooking established on grounds on cognitive sociopolitical and sociocultural legitimacy. The research community should internalize the complexity and richness of consumer attitudes and responses through a more critical and reflexive approach to the study of social acceptance.
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Sustainable Energy Carriers Including Production, Storage, Overseas Transport and Utilization
Aug 2020
Publication
Countries are under increasing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as an act upon the Paris Agreement. The essential emission reductions can be achieved by environmentally friendly solutions in particular the introduction of low carbon or carbon-free fuels. This study presents a comparative life cycle assessment of various energy carriers namely; liquefied natural gas methanol dimethyl ether liquid hydrogen and liquid ammonia that are produced from natural gas or renewables to investigate greenhouse gas emissions generated from the complete life cycle of energy carriers accounting for the leaks as well as boil-off gas occurring during storage and transportation. The entire fuel life cycle is considered consisting of production storage transportation via an ocean tanker to different distances and finally utilization in an internal combustion engine of a road vehicle. The results show that using natural gas as a feedstock total greenhouse gas emissions during production ocean transportation (over 20000 nmi) by a heavy fuel oil-fueled ocean tanker and utilization in an internal combustion engine are 73.96 95.73 93.76 50.83 and 100.54 g CO2 eq. MJ1 for liquified natural gas methanol dimethyl ether liquid hydrogen and liquid ammonia respectively. Liquid hydrogen produced from solar electrolysis is the cleanest energy carrier (42.50 g CO2 eq. MJ1 fuel). Moreover when liquid ammonia is produced via photovoltaic-based electrolysis (60.76 g CO2 eq. MJ1 fuel) it becomes cleaner than liquified natural gas. Although producing methanol and dimethyl ether from biomass results in a large reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional methanol and dimethyl ether production with a value of 73.96 g CO2 eq. per MJ liquified natural gas still represents a cleaner option than methanol and dimethyl ether considering the full life cycle.
Optimal Hybrid Renewable Energy System: A Comparative Study of Wind/Hydrogen/Fuel-Cell and Wind/Battery Storage
Dec 2020
Publication
This paper performs a technoeconomic comparison of two hybrid renewable energy supplies (HRES) for a specific location in Ghana and suggests the optimal solution in terms of cost energy generation capacity and emissions. (e two HRES considered in this paper were wind/hydrogen/fuel-cell and wind/battery storage respectively. (e necessity of this study was derived from the rise and expansion of hybrid renewable energy supply in a decentralised network. (e readiness to embrace these new technologies is apparently high but the best combination for a selected location that brings optimum benefits is not obvious and demands serious technical knowledge of their technical and economic models. In the methodology an analytical model of energy generation by the various RE sources was first established and data were collected about a rural-urban community in Doderkope Ghana to test the models. HOMER software was used to design the two hybrid systems based on the same load profiles and results were compared. It turns out that the HRES 1 (wind/hydrogen/fuel-cell) had the lowest net present cost (NPC) and levelized cost of electricity (COE) over the project life span of 25 years. (e energy reserve with the HRES 2 (wind/battery storage) was huge compared to that with the HRES 1 about 270% bigger. Furthermore with respect to the emissions the HRES 2 was environmentally friendlier than the HRES 1. Even though the battery storage seems to be more cost-effective than the hydrogen fuel cell technology the latter presents some merits regarding system capacity and emission that deserve greater attention as the world looks into more sustainable energy storage systems.
The Hydrogen Economy - Where is the Water?
Jul 2022
Publication
"Green hydrogen” i.e. hydrogen produced by splitting water with a carbon “free” source of electricity via electrolysis is set to become the energy vector enabling a deep decarbonisation of society and a virtuous water based energy cycle. If to date water electrolysis is considered to be a scalable technology the source of water to enable a “green hydrogen” economy at scale is questionable. Countries with the highest renewable energy potential like Australia are also among the driest places on earth. Globally 380000 GL/year of wastewater is available and this is much more than the 34500 GL/year of water required to produce the projected 2.3 Gt of hydrogen of a mature hydrogen economy. Hence the need to assess both technically and economically whether some wastewater treatment effluent are a better source for green hydrogen. Analysis of Sydney Water’s wastewater treatment plants alone shows that these plants have 37.6 ML/day of unused tertiary effluents which if electrolysed would generate 420000 t H2/day or 0.88 Mt H2/year and cover ∼100% of Australia’s estimated production by 2030. Furthermore the production of oxygen as a by-product of the electrolysis process could lead to significant benefits to the water industry not only in reducing the cost of the hydrogen produced for $3/kg (assuming a price of oxygen of $3–4 per kg) but also in improving the environmental footprint of wastewater treatment plants by enabling the onsite re-use of oxygen for the treatment of the wastewater. Compared to desalinated water that requires large investments or stormwater that is unpredictable it is apparent that the water utilities have a critical role to play in managing water assets that are “climate independent” as the next “golden oil” opportunity and in enabling a “responsible” hydrogen industry that sensibly manages its water demands and does not compete with existing water potable water demand.
Everything About Hydrogen Podcast: Manufacturing the Components of a Hydrogen Economy
Dec 2022
Publication
On today’s episode Alicia Chris and Patrick are chatting with Vonjy Rakajoba UK Managing Director at Robert Bosch. The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services and employs roughly 402600 associates worldwide. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions Industrial Technology Consumer Goods and Energy and Building Technology. Bosch believes that hydrogen has a bright future as an energy carrier and is making considerable upfront investments in this area. From 2021 to 2024 the company plans to invest around 600 million euros in mobile fuel-cell applications and a further 400 million euros in stationary ones for the generation of electricity and heat. Vonjy is here with us to discuss more about what Bosch’s expansion into the hydrogen energy sector will look like and how the company expects the market to grow moving forward.
The podcast can be found on their website.
The podcast can be found on their website.
Model Supported Business Case Scenario Analysis for Decentral Hydrogen Conversion, Storage and Consumption within Energy Hubs
Mar 2022
Publication
Recently smart energy hubs with hydrogen conversion and storage have received increased attention in the Netherlands. The hydrogen is to be used for vehicle filling stations industrial processes and heating. The scientific problem addressed in this paper is the proper sizing of capacities for renewable energy generation hydrogen conversion and storage in relation to a feasible business case for the energy hub while achieving security of supply. Scenario analysis is often used during the early stages of the energy planning process and for this an easy-to-use analysis model is required. This paper investigates available modelling approaches and develops an algorithmic modelling method which is worked out in Microsoft Excel and offers ease of use for scenario analysis purposes. The model is applied to case study which leads to important insights such as the expected price of hydrogen and the proper sizing of electrolyser and hydrogen storage for that case. The model is made available open-source. Future work is proposed in the direction of application of the model for other project cases and comparison of results with other available modelling tools.
Risk of the Hydrogen Economy for Atmospheric Methane
Dec 2022
Publication
Hydrogen (H2) is expected to play a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However hydrogen losses to the atmosphere impact atmospheric chemistry including positive feedback on methane (CH4) the second most important greenhouse gas. Here we investigate through a minimalist model the response of atmospheric methane to fossil fuel displacement by hydrogen. We find that CH4 concentration may increase or decrease depending on the amount of hydrogen lost to the atmosphere and the methane emissions associated with hydrogen production. Green H2 can mitigate atmospheric methane if hydrogen losses throughout the value chain are below 9 ± 3%. Blue H2 can reduce methane emissions only if methane losses are below 1%. We address and discuss the main uncertainties in our results and the implications for the decarbonization of the energy sector.
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