August 16, 2021 • Paul Rodden • Season: 2021 • Episode: 38
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In episode 038, Wood is looking to develop $600 million worth of potential hydrogen projects. And I take issue with an article from the guardian. All of this on today’s hydrogen podcast.
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Transcript:
Wood is looking to develop $600 million worth of potential hydrogen projects. And I take issue with an article from the guardian. All of this on today’s hydrogen podcast.
So the big questions in the energy industry today are, how is hydrogen the primary driving force behind the evolution of energy? Where is capital being deployed for hydrogen projects globally? And where are the best investment opportunities for early adopters who recognize the importance of hydrogen? I will address the critical issues and give you the information you need to deploy capital. Those are the questions will unlock the potential of hydrogen, and this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Paul Rodden, and welcome to podcast.
So what is developing $600 million worth of potential hydrogen projects in the medium term spinning green, blue and biohydrogen this in an article from h2view.com. It’s believed that the projects will further strengthen Woods position as a delivery partner in helping build out the hydrogen economy and supporting clients as they navigate towards a low carbon future. The global consulting and engineering company is securing this aim with several agreements with ADNOC nel hydrogen and becoming a member of the hydrogen Council. Winds work with ADNOC look to deliver pre feed work on a world scale blue ammonia production facility in Abu Dhabi to drive the development of hydrogen in the Middle East. In addition to this, Wood is also entered into a three year engineering framework agreement with nel hydrogen to develop and execute large scale complex green renewable hydrogen projects globally.
The company has also joined the hydrogen council earlier this year helping to solidify its position in the hydrogen market. Andrew Stewart, executive president of strategy and development at wood said hydrogen is a key growth area in our business strategy and we are encouraged by the strong momentum in this market. Team Wood has over 60 years of experience across the value chain from project development support through to proprietary hydrogen technology, modular equipment and engineering, procurement and construction delivery. We have the best engineers in the world with deep domain expertise in this field and continue to invest in our technology to remain industry leading. As the world’s population increases the demand for clean, affordable and reliable energy is unrelenting. Together with our clients, we’re unlocking hydrogen at a pace and an industrial scale as one of the mission critical pathways to a more sustainable future. And now, the article from the Guardian. UK plan to replace fossil gas with blue hydrogen may backfire.
Now I’m going to read this article and I want to give you my thoughts about it afterwards. The government’s plan to replace fossil gas with blue hydrogen to help meet climate targets could backfire after US academics found that it may lead to more emissions than using gas. In some cases, blue hydrogen, which is made from fossil gas could be up to 20% worse for the climate than using gas and homes and heavy industry. Owing to the admissions that escape when gas is extracted from the ground and split to produce hydrogen. The process is a byproduct of carbon dioxide and methane, which fossil fuel companies plan to trap using carbon capture technology. However, even the most advanced schemes cannot capture all the emissions, leaving some to enter the atmosphere and contribute to global heating.
Professors from Cornell and Stanford universities calculated that these fugitive emissions for producing hydrogen could Eclipse those associated with extracting and burning gas when multiplied by the amount of gas required to make an equivalent amount of energy from hydrogen. Robert Howard, a Cornell University professor and co author of the study said the research was the first to be published in a peer reviewed journal to lay bare the significant lifecycle emission intensity of blue hydrogen, the paper which will be published in energy science and engineering, when the blue hydrogen may be a distraction or something that may delay needed action to truly decarbonize the global energy economy. The researchers recommend a focus on green hydrogen, which is made using renewable electricity to extract hydrogen from water leaving the oxygen as a byproduct. He continues saying that this is a warning signal to governments that the only clean hydrogen they should invest public funds in is truly net zero green hydrogen made from wind and solar energy.
A spokesperson for the UK government said hydrogen would be essential for meeting our legally binding commitment to eliminating the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2050 and promised further details in the government’s forthcoming hydrogen strategy, which is expected next month. Independent reports including that from the climate change committee show that a combination of blue and green hydrogen is consistent with reaching net zero, but alongside the strategy we will consult on a new UK standard for low carbon hydrogen production to ensure the technologies we support make a real contribution to our goals. Okay, so why do I take such issue with this article? Well, firstly, I’ve read this study and the assumptions that they use for their modeling.
The first issue that I have is the capture rate that they’re assuming will be associated with the co2. And that’s 85%, which is low, most coming out now or 90 to 95%, with new projects in Italy targeting 98% capture rate. That’s a big difference from 85%. And another source of irritation in this article is the fact that these scientists are targeting the total carbon lifecycle of blue, while ignoring the total carbon lifecycle of green. because keep in mind, to calculate the total carbon lifecycle of green means calculating the total carbon lifecycle of wind and solar materials being produced, transported and installed. And if you’ve heard me talk before on this podcast, you know, I’m not anti green hydrogen, I just think that the turnaround time for green hydrogen to be economical, is much farther away than these scientists are thinking and what they’re also not taking into account, all the technological advancements that are being done right now, across the entire hydrogen spectrum, both in the software side and the material side, all of which are designed to make all technologies more economical, and more environmentally friendly.
And really, what this article seems to be to me is not so much targeting blue hydrogen, as it is targeting hydrocarbons as a source for hydrogen. And so many times in this article, they talk about drilling for hydrocarbons. That’s not the only source. So many new projects coming out right now are looking to use bio methane as the source. And what this article further ignores is that there is another technology out there that can convert hydrocarbons to hydrogen, and that’s turquoise hydrogen, methane pyrolysis. And what’s important to keep in mind about turquoise hydrogen, is that you can use renewable electricity from the grid, take in hydrocarbons make hydrogen and not have any co2 emissions whatsoever.
In fact, under that scenario, it becomes carbon negative, you’re pulling more co2 out of the air than has been put in. And ultimately, what this highlights is the need in this industry, for all the operators to come together to realize that they’re all working towards a better climate future for all of us. And that the future of hydrogen will have many colors associated with it. And also, when this hydrogen is getting stored, it’s not going to be green, or blue or turquoise. It’s all gonna come from all the different sources and just be hydrogen. Alright, that’s it for me, everyone. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about today’s podcast, stop by my website at thehydrogenpodcast.com. And let me know. I would really love to hear from you, especially your take on what I talked about today. Do you agree that blue hydrogen is detrimental? Or do you think that there’s room for all technologies going forward? I’d really love to hear from you. And as always, take care. Stay safe. I’ll talk to you later.
Hey, this is Paul. I hope you liked this podcast. If you didn’t want to hear more. I’d appreciate it if you would either. Subscribe to this channel on YouTube, or connect with your favorite platform through my website at www.thehydrogenpodcast.com. Thanks for listening. I very much appreciate it. Have a great day.
