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Released October 09, 2020 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--On Tuesday, offices of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy issued a statement of intent (SOI) to collaborate on gathering and analyzing information on hydrogen production, with a particular eye on renewable, or green, hydrogen.
"This partnership will help address key hydrogen (research and development) areas, pave the way for at-scale hydrogen demonstrations, and foster new national, regional and worldwide hydrogen value chains," said Daniel Simmons, assistant secretary of the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), in a press release.
Green hydrogen is produced by using electricity from renewable sources, such as wind or solar power, to split water into its hydrogen and oxygen components. As such, it is seen as a nearly carbon-free method of producing fuel and is part of the Power-to-X concept of converting surplus electricity into other, storable forms of power, or even chemicals and other products.
Britt Burt, Industrial Info's Vice President of Research for the Power Industry, said Power-to-X emerged eight to 10 years ago.
Power-to-X appears to have originated in Germany, Burt said. "They looked at so much wind power; they looked at ways to use that power when demand was low. When you don't have demand for electricity, what do you do with it?"
Hydrogen can be used for many things, such as in motor vehicles, along with chemical, refining and fuel processes; and even for power generation gas turbines.
"This is something we are really seeing catch fire around the world," Britt said, with no pun intended. In order to deal with climate change, many countries have set low- or no-carbon emissions targets, green hydrogen could fill some of the related demand niches.
Industrial Info is tracking $25.6 billion worth of Power-to-X hydrogen projects across the globe, with the potential of big investments in Australia, Europe and Saudi Arabia.
Click on the image at right for a graph showing Power-to-X project activity by world region.
However, the U.S. has yet to jump on the green hydrogen bandwagon, with just one planned project being tracked by Industrial Info. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
One of the hurdles for the development of green hydrogen in the U.S. is the cost. Electrolysis to produce hydrogen from water is expensive, and in the U.S., green hydrogen faces steep competition from cheap natural gas as a fuel source, Burt said. Still, green hydrogen is under consideration as a fuel in a few U.S. power plant projects. The cost to produce green hydrogen is expected to come down in the next five to 10 years, Burt said, adding: "How much it will come down my crystal ball doesn't see."
Still, in places like Japan and Europe, where natural gas is more costly, Power-to-X hydrogen could be more popular, he said. Another potential hurdle is public opposition. "People want renewable energy, but they don't want it in their back yard," Burt said, who added public concerns will remain until the safety of the process is proven.
On the global stage, Australia takes the prize in terms of renewable hydrogen investments, amounting to $14 billion. Asian Renewable Energy Hub (Perth, Australia) is developing the $10 billion Pilbara Hydrogen Plant in Western Australia. The facility would produce hydrogen by utilizing 12,000 megawatts of electricity from wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels. According to the developers, the hydrogen products will find markets in Australia and overseas, such as Japan and Korea. The project is planned to kick off construction in mid-2025, with completion by the end of 2027. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
In Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Air Products (NYSE:APD) (Allentown, Pennsylvania), in partnership with NEOM Energy and ACWA Power International (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), has announced plans to build a $5 billion power-to-gas plant at the kingdom's planned NEOM mega-city to convert four gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind energy into hydrogen and then ammonia for global industries and consumers. Air Products said it will use the hydrogen to produce ammonia, which would be shipped around the world, then to be dissociated to produce hydrogen as a transportation fuel.
Construction of the NEOM project is planned to start in fourth-quarter 2022, with completion in late 2025. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report and September 15, 2020, article - Air Products: Confident in Stability, Looking to Growth Projects.
Hydrogen is a colorless gas, but in the brave new world of low-carbon emissions, it has taken on a virtual coat of many colors, depending on how it is produced.
In addition to green hydrogen, there's blue hydrogen, which is made from natural gas. The carbon dioxide that comes from this process is captured and stored. The government of Alberta, Canada, recently announced it will look to its vast natural gas reserves to produce hydrogen for export, according to EnergyNow Media.
And then there's grey hydrogen, which is produced from fossil fuels such as oil and coal, which emit carbon dioxide, and thus is considered the least desirable from a climate change perspective.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
"This partnership will help address key hydrogen (research and development) areas, pave the way for at-scale hydrogen demonstrations, and foster new national, regional and worldwide hydrogen value chains," said Daniel Simmons, assistant secretary of the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), in a press release.
Green hydrogen is produced by using electricity from renewable sources, such as wind or solar power, to split water into its hydrogen and oxygen components. As such, it is seen as a nearly carbon-free method of producing fuel and is part of the Power-to-X concept of converting surplus electricity into other, storable forms of power, or even chemicals and other products.
Britt Burt, Industrial Info's Vice President of Research for the Power Industry, said Power-to-X emerged eight to 10 years ago.
Power-to-X appears to have originated in Germany, Burt said. "They looked at so much wind power; they looked at ways to use that power when demand was low. When you don't have demand for electricity, what do you do with it?"
Hydrogen can be used for many things, such as in motor vehicles, along with chemical, refining and fuel processes; and even for power generation gas turbines.
"This is something we are really seeing catch fire around the world," Britt said, with no pun intended. In order to deal with climate change, many countries have set low- or no-carbon emissions targets, green hydrogen could fill some of the related demand niches.
Industrial Info is tracking $25.6 billion worth of Power-to-X hydrogen projects across the globe, with the potential of big investments in Australia, Europe and Saudi Arabia.
However, the U.S. has yet to jump on the green hydrogen bandwagon, with just one planned project being tracked by Industrial Info. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
One of the hurdles for the development of green hydrogen in the U.S. is the cost. Electrolysis to produce hydrogen from water is expensive, and in the U.S., green hydrogen faces steep competition from cheap natural gas as a fuel source, Burt said. Still, green hydrogen is under consideration as a fuel in a few U.S. power plant projects. The cost to produce green hydrogen is expected to come down in the next five to 10 years, Burt said, adding: "How much it will come down my crystal ball doesn't see."
Still, in places like Japan and Europe, where natural gas is more costly, Power-to-X hydrogen could be more popular, he said. Another potential hurdle is public opposition. "People want renewable energy, but they don't want it in their back yard," Burt said, who added public concerns will remain until the safety of the process is proven.
On the global stage, Australia takes the prize in terms of renewable hydrogen investments, amounting to $14 billion. Asian Renewable Energy Hub (Perth, Australia) is developing the $10 billion Pilbara Hydrogen Plant in Western Australia. The facility would produce hydrogen by utilizing 12,000 megawatts of electricity from wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels. According to the developers, the hydrogen products will find markets in Australia and overseas, such as Japan and Korea. The project is planned to kick off construction in mid-2025, with completion by the end of 2027. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
In Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Air Products (NYSE:APD) (Allentown, Pennsylvania), in partnership with NEOM Energy and ACWA Power International (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), has announced plans to build a $5 billion power-to-gas plant at the kingdom's planned NEOM mega-city to convert four gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind energy into hydrogen and then ammonia for global industries and consumers. Air Products said it will use the hydrogen to produce ammonia, which would be shipped around the world, then to be dissociated to produce hydrogen as a transportation fuel.
Construction of the NEOM project is planned to start in fourth-quarter 2022, with completion in late 2025. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report and September 15, 2020, article - Air Products: Confident in Stability, Looking to Growth Projects.
Hydrogen is a colorless gas, but in the brave new world of low-carbon emissions, it has taken on a virtual coat of many colors, depending on how it is produced.
In addition to green hydrogen, there's blue hydrogen, which is made from natural gas. The carbon dioxide that comes from this process is captured and stored. The government of Alberta, Canada, recently announced it will look to its vast natural gas reserves to produce hydrogen for export, according to EnergyNow Media.
And then there's grey hydrogen, which is produced from fossil fuels such as oil and coal, which emit carbon dioxide, and thus is considered the least desirable from a climate change perspective.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
