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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In the race to decarbonize, not everybody sees green when it comes to hydrogen. While the production of "green hydrogen" is attracting a lot of attention in the fight against climate change, Canada is betting on "blue hydrogen" in its drive to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Blue hydrogen is produced from natural gas, and its CO2 emissions are captured and stored. Canada, with its vast natural gas resources in Alberta, is focused on achieving net-zero carbon emissions with the help of blue hydrogen. The hydrogen can be used as fuel for anything from busses and trucks to power plants, as well as by petrochemical plants and refineries.
In contrast, "green hydrogen" is produced by using power from renewable energy sources like the wind and sun to electrolyze water into its hydrogen and oxygen components, with no carbon emissions. It generally is regarded as the cleanest variety of hydrogen.
Last week, Air Products (NYSE:APD) (Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania) and the governments of Canada and Alberta announced a plan to build a net-zero hydrogen energy complex in Edmonton. The plan calls for a C$1.3 billion (US$1.07 billion) hydrogen production and liquefaction facility, which is expected to be brought online in 2024. The complex could be expanded as demand grows for hydrogen.
The initial facility would produce 150 million cubic feet per day, or roughly 300 to 400 metric tons of hydrogen, and would include a 30-metric-ton-per-day hydrogen liquefaction plant, Air Products Chief Executive Officer Seifi Ghasemi said during a conference call with industry analysts. Most of the gas would be moved through the company's existing 55-kilometer Alberta Heartland hydrogen pipeline to industrial customers.
Click on the image at right for an Air Products schematic of the hydrogen facility.
However, Air Products' said its hydrogen business in Alberta has room to grow, and eventually could reach more than 1,500 metric tons of production per day and achieve more than 3 million metric tons per year of CO2 capture. The company currently operates three hydrogen production facilities in Alberta, with a combined capacity of 300 million cubic feet per day, Ghasemi said.
The "blue, but better" facility would utilize an auto-thermal reformer (ATR) hydrogen production unit and feature operations capable of capturing 95% of the CO2, which would be stored underground. Hydrogen-fueled electricity would offset the remaining 5% of emissions, making the complex a net-zero emissions facility.
Air Products' existing steam methane reformer hydrogen facilities in Alberta can capture only 50% of their CO2 emissions, Ghasemi said.
Approved by Air Products' Board of Directors, the project still is subject to final completion of agreements contemplated in signed memorandums of understanding between the company and Canadian authorities, Air Products said.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said during a video conference that the project will receive C$15 million (US$12.4 million) from Alberta's Technologies Innovation and Emissions Reduction Fund. Air Products also has applied for financial support from Alberta's Petrochemical Incentive Program. For related information, see July 17, 2020, article - Canada's Alberta Province Working on Grant Program to Entice New Petchem Development.
Air Products also is working on a number of "green hydrogen" projects, including the development of a hydrogen-based ammonia production facility in the Neom development in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The new plant is designed to produce and store 650 tons per day of hydrogen and 1.2 million tons per year of "green" ammonia from electrolysis, using 4 gigawatts of offshore solar and wind energy. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing Database can click here for a detailed report. For more information, see November 12, 2020, article - Air Products Avoids Most COVID-19 Turmoil as Big-Ticket Projects Blossom.
In the U.K., meanwhile, oil and gas major BP plc (NYSE:BP) (London, England) is accelerating its hydrogen production plans by proposing the U.K.'s largest planned blue hydrogen project, H2Teesside. Subscribers can click here for a report on the project's autothermal reformer. For more information, see March 29, 2021, article - BP Proposes U.K.'s Largest "Blue Hydrogen" Project.
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.
Blue hydrogen is produced from natural gas, and its CO2 emissions are captured and stored. Canada, with its vast natural gas resources in Alberta, is focused on achieving net-zero carbon emissions with the help of blue hydrogen. The hydrogen can be used as fuel for anything from busses and trucks to power plants, as well as by petrochemical plants and refineries.
In contrast, "green hydrogen" is produced by using power from renewable energy sources like the wind and sun to electrolyze water into its hydrogen and oxygen components, with no carbon emissions. It generally is regarded as the cleanest variety of hydrogen.
Last week, Air Products (NYSE:APD) (Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania) and the governments of Canada and Alberta announced a plan to build a net-zero hydrogen energy complex in Edmonton. The plan calls for a C$1.3 billion (US$1.07 billion) hydrogen production and liquefaction facility, which is expected to be brought online in 2024. The complex could be expanded as demand grows for hydrogen.
The initial facility would produce 150 million cubic feet per day, or roughly 300 to 400 metric tons of hydrogen, and would include a 30-metric-ton-per-day hydrogen liquefaction plant, Air Products Chief Executive Officer Seifi Ghasemi said during a conference call with industry analysts. Most of the gas would be moved through the company's existing 55-kilometer Alberta Heartland hydrogen pipeline to industrial customers.
However, Air Products' said its hydrogen business in Alberta has room to grow, and eventually could reach more than 1,500 metric tons of production per day and achieve more than 3 million metric tons per year of CO2 capture. The company currently operates three hydrogen production facilities in Alberta, with a combined capacity of 300 million cubic feet per day, Ghasemi said.
The "blue, but better" facility would utilize an auto-thermal reformer (ATR) hydrogen production unit and feature operations capable of capturing 95% of the CO2, which would be stored underground. Hydrogen-fueled electricity would offset the remaining 5% of emissions, making the complex a net-zero emissions facility.
Air Products' existing steam methane reformer hydrogen facilities in Alberta can capture only 50% of their CO2 emissions, Ghasemi said.
Approved by Air Products' Board of Directors, the project still is subject to final completion of agreements contemplated in signed memorandums of understanding between the company and Canadian authorities, Air Products said.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said during a video conference that the project will receive C$15 million (US$12.4 million) from Alberta's Technologies Innovation and Emissions Reduction Fund. Air Products also has applied for financial support from Alberta's Petrochemical Incentive Program. For related information, see July 17, 2020, article - Canada's Alberta Province Working on Grant Program to Entice New Petchem Development.
Air Products also is working on a number of "green hydrogen" projects, including the development of a hydrogen-based ammonia production facility in the Neom development in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The new plant is designed to produce and store 650 tons per day of hydrogen and 1.2 million tons per year of "green" ammonia from electrolysis, using 4 gigawatts of offshore solar and wind energy. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing Database can click here for a detailed report. For more information, see November 12, 2020, article - Air Products Avoids Most COVID-19 Turmoil as Big-Ticket Projects Blossom.
In the U.K., meanwhile, oil and gas major BP plc (NYSE:BP) (London, England) is accelerating its hydrogen production plans by proposing the U.K.'s largest planned blue hydrogen project, H2Teesside. Subscribers can click here for a report on the project's autothermal reformer. For more information, see March 29, 2021, article - BP Proposes U.K.'s Largest "Blue Hydrogen" Project.
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.
