June 14, 2021 • Paul Rodden • Season: 2021 • Episode: 20
Welcome to The Hydrogen Podcast!
In episode 020, Hydrogen takes center stage in Spain’s energy transition policy. Russia is partnering with some Western companies for their hydrogen development. A huge green Hydrogen deal is signed in California by a new startup. Monolith has a nice new investor. Total is getting into the taxi game, and how some large gas producers are trying to stay relevant in this hydrogen economy. All of this on today’s hydrogen podcast.
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Transcript:
Hydrogen takes center stage in Spain’s energy transition policy. Russia is partnering with some Western companies for their hydrogen development. A huge green offtake deal is signed in California by a new startup. Monolith has a nice new investor. Total is getting into the taxi game, and how some large gas producers are trying to stay relevant in this hydrogen economy. 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 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 The hydrogen podcast.
Spain has now released a new energy transition policy with a 2050 objective for National Climate neutrality, calling for renewables to provide 100% of electricity and 97% of the total energy mix. With the energy policies centered on massive deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency, electrification, and renewable hydrogen. This according to EnergyGlobal.com. The report also notes that following a downturn in renewables from 2013 to 2018, investments started picking back up in 2019, which is now continuing to help Spain progress towards its 2030 targets. That also means that the renewable energy mix in Spain grew from 33% in 2010, to 44% in 2020. And it’s also important to keep in mind that this is a transition plan in that Spain’s energy mix is still heavily influenced by hydrocarbons. And it’s also important to note that the country has still emphasized the importance of ensuring that adjust transition to a more renewable based mix doesn’t completely leave behind the hydrocarbon and mining industries.
And now Russia is making waves in the hydrogen space as they’re looking to begin development of hydrogen projects based on nuclear, natural gas and renewable energy. According to the deputy energy minister Pavel Sorokin, we are confident that Russia may well become a pioneer in the field of clean hydrogen, with a share of around 20% of the world’s supply of hydrogen, including green hydrogen. The ministry also said that Russia is planning to create a working group on developing clean hydrogen projects in Russia with Australia’s Fortescue future industries, along with talking hydrogen development, with representatives from Vestas, and Equinor, with all these discussions taking place during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 3.
According to s&p Platts, officials from other Western countries with long standing involvement in the Russian energy sector, have already expressed interest in joining hydrogen projects in Russia. That includes BP and Total. And along with this comes Russia’s hydrogen energy strategy, which includes exports of up to 7 million tons per year by 2035 and 33 million tons of year by 2050. So very interesting then that Russia is really stepping up their game when it comes to hydrogen. And now another RNG project come out of the states In an article from recharge news SGH2Energy agrees to sell 3850 tons a year of greener than green quote unquote carbon negative hydrogen, two refueling stations across Southern California. And what’s interesting about SGH2 is their claim to production cost per kilogram of hydrogen. SGH2 is claiming a negative carbon impact during their process and a production cost of $2 per kilogram.
If that number is correct. That is stunning, as that really does become equivalent to gray hydrogen, and it’s in SGH2 proprietary technology that this is achieved. According to recharge news, The key to SGH2’s process, which has been developed over a 20 year period is the use of plasma torches to produce temperatures of up to 4000 degrees Celsius, with the intense heat reducing all solids to gases, leaving not even ash behind. Oxygen enriched air is then injected into a catalyst bed chamber heated by four plasma torches. When the solid waste feedstock is added to it, it immediately disintegrates into a mixture of gases, about 90% of which is a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The remaining 10% of gases including other elements, such as chlorine and sulfur are filtered out using gas scrubbers. Then the hydrogen and carbon monoxide are then separated. The carbon monoxide is then burned to generate electricity for the process producing carbon dioxide that co2 is then captured and then used or stored, reducing the process of carbon intensity even further. And now SGH2 is claiming that this deal with Southern California is the first and only long term green hydrogen offtake agreement thus far globally.
That being said, this project still has a lot of questions remaining, including many of the economics thrown in the project. But what I do find very interesting about this project, and SGH2, also, is that they’re targeting biomass as their feedstock. And this is the third company I’ve come across in a week with that feedstock as their primary source of hydrogen. This is also the third different technology I’ve heard in a week, that states that it will either be carbon negative or carbon neutral through its process. And while I think it’s still too soon to speculate over which process is the best one, I look forward to seeing all of these processes get off the ground, start cleaning up landfills, generating hydrogen and determine which technology really is the best one.
And speaking of companies that are making super clean hydrogen, I’d like to mention Monolith again. Now, I had mentioned Monolith a few weeks back and discuss their turquoise hydrogen process of creating hydrogen, with the byproduct being carbon black. Well, they now have a new strategic partner, The SK Group. Now at the time of this recording numbers were not given but as a strategic partner and leading investor, SK is now also securing a seat on the Monolith board of directors. And what’s also interesting in this round of capital raise is that Nextera, which is the largest power generation and renewable energy development company in the US, also participated, and according to GreenCarCongress.com, SK, which is producing a strategy to foster the hydrogen business in various ways, such as diversifying hydrogen production methods, expanding demand development, and preoccupying the global market is adding the turquoise hydrogen portfolio to the hydrogen business value chain. SK hydrogen business roadmap aims to establish a clean hydrogen production system with a scale of 280,000 tons by 2025.
And as a side note, SK has also secured a 10% stake in Plug Power, making it the largest shareholder for that company and Total out of France is also making some very interesting investments, as they take a 20% stake in a hydrogen fuel cell taxi fleet and refueling station network. According to s&pGlobal.com, Total has purchased a 20% stake in hydrogen taxi fleet and fueling station owner Hysetco in France, the company said may 26, further diversifying its energy transition portfolio. Hysetco owns around 700 taxis in Paris, the majority of what your diesel, the company plans to gradually transition its fleet to become 100% hydrogen fuel cell powered, according to the Total Chairman CEO, Patrick Pouyanne. This acquisition is a concrete commitment and an acceleration for total and hydrogen mobility after investing in the new believe network of charge points for electric vehicles Total is contributing to position Paris as a showcase for new carbon neutral urban mobility for businesses and consumers.
And lastly, an article from Bloomberg. Racing for hydrogen how gas giants are vying to stay relevant. BP, synoptek, Equinor and Royal Dutch Shell are among the producers looking to hydrogen to help secure demand that otherwise may falter as decarbonisation speeds up. They want to utilize existing pipelines, storage tankers and fuel supply to make blue hydrogen. And what I would really like to focus in on this article are the announced blue hydrogen projects and their start dates, all of which are in Europe. Starting off is the Acorn project in the UK, with an estimated completion date of 2024, with the two investment companies being Shell and Pale Blue Dot Energy. Next is the Magnum h2M project in the Netherlands, with an estimated completion date of 2025 and backed by Equinor, Vattenfall and Gas Uni.
Next is the high demo plant in Norway with an estimated completion date also in 2025. This one also sponsored by Equinor. Next is the H tomorrow steel project in Germany, with an estimated completion date of 2027 fully operational by 2030. An estimated size between 1.4 and 2.7 gigawatts and also sponsored by Equinor, as well as open grid Europe and Thyssen Krupp. Lastly is the T side project in the UK with an estimated size of one gigawatt. Now this article does not list a completion date, but I would estimate a start date of around 2027. This project is sponsored by BP and so if you are Looking to move natural gas around and convert it to hydrogen in Northern Europe… These are the projects to look at. Alright, that’s it for me everyone. If you have any questions or comments about today’s episode, come visit my website at thehydrogenpodcast.com and leave a question or comment. I would 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 did 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.
