Policy & Socio-Economics

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.

Green hydrogen is considered a highly promising vector for deep decarbonisation of energy systems and is forecast to represent 20% of global energy use by 2050. In order to secure access to this resource Japan Germany and South Korea have announced plans to import hydrogen; other major energy consumers are sure to follow. Ammonia a promising hydrogen derivative may enable this energy transport by densifying hydrogen at relatively low cost using well-understood technologies. This review seeks to describe a global green ammonia import/export market: it identifies benefits and limitations of ammonia relative to other hydrogen carriers the costs of ammonia production and transport and the constraints on both supply and demand. We find that green ammonia as an energy vector is likely to be critical to future energy systems but that gaps remain in the literature. In particular rigorous analysis of production and transport costs are rarely paired preventing realistic assessments of the delivered cost of energy or the selection of optimum import/export partners to minimise the delivered cost of ammonia. Filling these gaps in the literature is a prerequisite to the development of robust hydrogen and ammonia strategies and to enable the formation of global import and export markets of green fuel

In this paper we will explore the state of play with renewable hydrogen development in Africa through some case studies from AGHA members and the scope for growth moving forward. In so doing we will address some of the prevailing challenges to build out of a clean hydrogen economy that could be foreseen already at this early stage and look for potential solutions building on what is already in place in other sectors. We make the case that there should be four key areas of focus moving forward on African-EU hydrogen collaboration. Firstly (i) foreign direct investment (FDI) should be de-risked through offtake mechanisms and public-private partnerships (ii) flagship projects should lead the way (iii) large parts of the value chain should remain in Africa (iv) wider ‘democratisation’ and accessibility of the sector should be encouraged

The existing literature on the hydrogen supply chains has knowledge gaps. Most studies focus on hydrogen production storage transport and utilisation but neglect ports which are nexuses in the supply chains. To fill the gap this paper focuses on ports' readiness for the upcoming hydrogen international trade. Potential hydrogen exporting and importing ports are screened. Ports' readiness for hydrogen export and import are reviewed from perspectives of infrastructure risk management public acceptance regulations and standards and education and training. The main findings are: (1) liquid hydrogen ammonia methanol and LOHCs are suitable forms for hydrogen international trade; (2) twenty ports are identified that could be first movers; among them twelve are exporting ports and eight are importing ports; (3) ports’ readiness for hydrogen international trade is still in its infancy and the infrastructure construction or renovation risk management measures establishment of regulations and standards education and training all require further efforts.

In recent years increasing concerns regarding the energy costs and environmental effects of urban motorcycle use have spurred the development of hydrogen-electric motorcycles in Taiwan. Although gasoline-powered motorcycles produce substantial amounts of exhaust and noise pollution hydrogen-electric motorcycles are highly energy-efficient relatively quiet and produce zero emissions features that suggest their great potential to reduce the problems currently associated with the use of motorcycles in city environments. This study identified the significant external variables that affect consumers’ purchase intentions toward using hydrogen-electric motorcycles. A questionnaire method was employed with a total of 300 questionnaires distributed and 233 usable questionnaires returned yielding a 78% overall response rate. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to test the research hypothesis. The research concluded that (1) product knowledge positively influenced purchase intentions but negatively affected the perceived risk; (2) perceived quality via hydrogen-electric motorcycles positively influenced the perceived value but negatively affected the perceived risk; (3) perceived risk negatively affected the perceived value; and (4) the perceived value positively affected purchase intentions. This study can be used as a reference for motorcycle manufacturers when planning their marketing strategies.

This briefing considers the opportunities and challenges associated with the manufacture and future use of zero-carbon ammonia which is referred to in this report as green ammonia. The production of green ammonia has the capability to impact the transition towards zero-carbon through the decarbonisation of its current major use in fertiliser production. Perhaps as significantly it has the following potential uses: • As a medium to store and transport chemical energy with the energy being released either by directly reacting with air or by the full or partial decomposition of ammonia to release hydrogen. • As a transport fuel by direct combustion in an engine or through chemical reaction with oxygen in the air in a fuel cell to produce electricity to power a motor. • To store thermal energy through the absorption of water and through phase changes between material states (for example liquid to gas).

In order to wrap Season 3 of EAH appropriately we are honored to have our most popular EAH guest back with us Alicia Eastman President and Co-Founder of Intercontinental Energy is here to help us review the big hydrogen happenings of 2022 and preview some of the most important predictions and expectations for the sector coming for 2023.

The podcast can be found on their website.

Hydrogen (H2) is a low-carbon carrier. Hence measuring the impact of its supply chain is key to guaranteeing environmental benefits. This research proposes a classification of H2 in Colombia based on its carbon footprint and source. Such environmental characterization enables the design of regulatory instruments to incentivize the demand for low carbon-H2. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to determine the carbon footprint of H2 production technologies. Based on our LCA four classes of H2 were defined based on the emission threshold: (i) gray-H2 (21.8 - 17.0 kg CO2-eq/kg H2) (ii) low carbon-H2 (4.13 – 17.0 kg CO2-eq/kg H2) (iii) blue-H2 (<4.13 kg CO2-eq/kg H2) and (iv) green-H2 (<4.13 kg CO2-eq/kg H2). While low carbon-H2 could be employed to reduce 22% of the national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as defined in the National Determined Contribution (NDC) both blue and green-H2 could be employed for national and international trade since the standard emissions are aligned with international schemes such as CertifHy and the Chinese model. Besides gasification of biomass results in environmental savings indicating that biomass is a promising feedstock for international and local trade. Furthermore combinations of H2 production technologies such as renewable-based electrolysis natural gas steam reforming with CCS and ethanol conversion were evaluated to explore the production of a combination of green- and blue-H2 to meet the current and future demand of low carbon emission H2 in Colombia. However to comply with the proposed carbon emission threshold the installed capacities of solar and wind energies must be increase.

Water electrolysis is a process which converts electricity into hydrogen and is seen as a key technology in enabling a net-zero compatible energy system. It will enable the scale-up of renewable electricity as a primary energy source for heating transport and industry. However displacing the role currently met by fossil fuels might require a price of hydrogen as low as 1 $/kg whereas renewable hydrogen produced using electrolysis is currently 10 $/kg. This article explores how mass manufacturing of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers can reduce the capital cost and thus make the production of renewable power to hydrogen gas (PtG) more economically viable. A bottom up direct manufacturing model was developed to determine how economies of scale can reduce the capital cost of electrolysis. The results demonstrated that (assuming an annual production rate of 5000 units of 200 kW PEM electrolysis systems) the capital cost of a PEM electrolysis system can reduce from 1990 $/kW to 590 $/kW based on current technology and then on to 431 $/kW and 300 $/kW based on the an installed capacity scale-up of ten- and one-hundred-fold respectively. A life-cycle costing analysis was then completed to determine the importance of the capital cost of an electrolysis system to the price of hydrogen. It was observed that based on current technology mass manufacturing has a large impact on the price of hydrogen reducing it from 6.40 $/kg (at 10 units units per year) to 4.16 $/kg (at 5000 units per year). Further analysis was undertaken to determine the cost at different installed capacities and found that the cost could reduce further to 2.63 $/kg and 1.37 $/kg based on technology scale-up by ten- and one hundred-fold respectively. Based on the 2030 (and beyond) baseline assumptions it is expected that hydrogen production from PEM electrolysis could be used as an industrial process feed stock provide power and heat to buildings and as a fuel for heavy good vehicles (HGVs). In the cases of retrofitted gas networks for residential or industrial heating solutions or for long distance transport it represents a more economically attractive and mass-scale compatible solution when compared to electrified heating or transport solutions.

Political decarbonisation commitments and outcompeting renewable electricity costs are disrupting energy systems. This foresight study prepares stakeholders for this dynamic reactive change by examining visions that constitute a probable plausible and possible component of future energy systems. Visions were extrapolated through an expert review of energy technologies and Australian case studies. ‘Probable–Abundant’ envisages a high penetration of solar and wind with increased value of balancing services: batteries pumped hydro and transmission. This vision is exemplified by the South Australian grid where variable and distributed sources lead generation. ‘Plausible–Traded’ envisages power and power fuel exports given hydrogen and high-voltage direct-current transmission advances reflected by public and private sector plans to leverage rich natural resources for national and intercontinental exchanges. ‘Possible–Zero’ envisages the application of carbon removal and nuclear technologies in response to the escalating challenge of deep decarbonisation. The Australian critical minerals strategy signals adaptations of high-emission industries to shifting energy resource values. These visions contribute a flexible accessible framework for diverse stakeholders to discuss uncertain energy systems changes and consider issues from new perspectives. Appraisal of preferred futures allows stakeholders to recognise observed changes as positive or negative and may lead to new planning aspirations.