Green hydrogen is the future

It can provide a link between growing and sustainable electricity generation

By Tej Singh Kardam

The world is undergoing a transition to clean, low carbon sources of energy at an unprecedented pace and scale. New technologies are required to replace fossil fuels to move towards a net carbon-neutral economy at the earliest. Keeping ahead of the technology curve is a matter of strategic importance for all countries, especially India, which will be one of the world’s largest markets for these technologies in the decades to come.

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India needs to position itself at the technology frontier to maximise the benefits of the energy transition — to be technology maker, not technology taker. One such area is technologies related to the production, transportation, storage and use of low carbon hydrogen. Hydrogen is an alternative fuel that has a very high energy content by weight. It’s locked up in enormous quantities in water, hydrocarbons and other organic matter.

Hydrogen energy has considerable potential for aiding the process of energy transition from hydrocarbons to renewables. It is the most abundantly available element on the earth, and commercially viable hydrogen can be produced from hydrocarbons, including natural gas, oil and coal through processes like steam methane reforming, partial oxidation and coal gasification, as well as from renewables like water, sunlight and wind through electrolysis.

Four Categories

Since it can be produced from multiple processes and energy sources, hydrogen can be classified into four categories:

• Grey Hydrogen: Produced from natural gas, it is the most common method of production of hydrogen today. It produces carbon dioxide as a by-product.

• Black/Brown Hydrogen: The oldest method of producing hydrogen. It involves transforming coal into gas. The hydrogen produced is called brown if lignite coal is used and black if bituminous coal is used in the process. It’s a highly polluting process as both carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are released into the atmosphere.

• Blue Hydrogen: Produced from hydrocarbons where emissions generated are captured and stored. They are stored underground by industrial carbon capture storage, hence considered a better alternative.

• Green Hydrogen: Is produced from renewable energy sources like solar and wind. The use of solar energy to produce hydrogen can be conducted in two processes; water electrolysis using solar-generated electricity and solar water splitting. Green hydrogen is most suitable for a fully sustainable energy transition.

The global demand for hydrogen today is around 70 mt per annum, which is utilised in the refining and production of ammonia, a base material for urea, and in chemical and petrochemical sectors. The demand will multiply many times by 2050 and will be driven by cost reduction in technologies as well as the growing imperative to decarbonise the energy system and consequently for greater use across transport, industry and power.

Viable Option

Green Hydrogen can provide a link between growing and sustainable electricity generation. It is a viable option for renewable energy mix since photovoltaic and wind electricity costs have decreased, many components in the hydrogen value chain have already been deployed on small scale and now require investment scale-up for commercialisation. Electrolysers used to produce green hydrogen can be designed as flexible resources that can quickly ramp up or down to compensate for fluctuations in variable renewable production.

As of now, 120 countries have announced net zero emissions goals. They will certainly require cutting emissions in the ‘hard-to-abate’ sectors, where green hydrogen can play an important role. The countries with large renewable resources could derive major economic benefits by becoming net exporters of green hydrogen.

A growing number of countries are pledging to reach net zero by 2050 to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C. All the major economies in the world are strategising around green hydrogen. India has taken multiple steps towards meeting its Paris climate change (COP-21) commitments and is exponentially increasing renewable energy capacity. It has already achieved emissions reduction of 28% over 2005 levels, against the target of 35% by 2030 committed in its Nationally Determined Contributions. The country is anticipating that 80-85% of its electricity demand will be met from renewable sources by 2050.

On August 15, the Prime Minister announced the launch of the National Hydrogen Mission, which aims to cut carbon emissions and increase the use of renewable sources of energy. The broad objective of the mission is to scale up green hydrogen production and utilisation and to align India’s efforts with global best practices in technology, policy and regulations; to make India a green hydrogen hub towards clean energy transition and to become energy independent before 2050.

Technology Matters

At present, green hydrogen technologies are still at a stage of emergence, whereby markets are still developing and manufacturers are engaged in experimentalist learning. The costs of hydrogen production from renewable energy sources are higher than fossil fuels based hydrogen. It is, however, possible that these costs could reach parity in future with green hydrogen undercutting grey hydrogen in favourable regions. This is made more possible in India, where renewable electricity tariffs are already among the lowest in the world and the supply of natural gas is limited and costly. India would require international financial support and transfer of technology to make renewable energy sources fuel the country’s economy.

India may collaborate with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, especially Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman, which have invested significantly in developing hydrogen. To emerge as an exporter and global hub for green hydrogen, India needs to compete with producers across Australia, South America and the Middle East that have more solar irradiance, though we have a huge landmass.

Jules Verne (1876), said, “I believe that water will one day be employed as fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen which constitute it, used singly or together will furnish an inexhaustible source of heat and light of the intensity of which coal is not capable.. water will be coal for the future.” Time has come to use water as a future energy source from renewables. India has taken initiative to become a global hub for the production and export of green hydrogen, which will also help solve the country’s twin problems – energy security and decarbonisation of the economy.

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