September 26, 2022 • Paul Rodden • Season: 2022 • Episode: 151
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Welcome to The Hydrogen Podcast!
In episode 151, Our friends over to Infinity Fuel Cells and Hydrogen announced a new target market. Seven Midwest US states band together for hydrogen, and The Hydrogen Council has a new report out. I’ll go over all of this on today’s hydrogen podcast.
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Paul Rodden
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Transcript:
Our friends over to Infinity Fuel Cells and Hydrogen announced a new target market. Seven Midwest US states band together for hydrogen, and The Hydrogen Council has a new report out. I’ll go over 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’s 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 that 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.
In a press release on September 21, our friends over at Infiniti fuel cell and hydrogen are investigating new commercial and government markets for Unmanned Underwater Vehicle air independent hydrogen fuel cell power systems. Infinity fuel cell and hydrogen Inc. reveal that it is actively exploring new markets for its air independent non flow through hydrogen fuel cells and the unmanned underwater vehicle market. Infinity has been developing technology for this market with funding from the US Office of Naval Research for several years. This is the next logical step to developing a commercial product. In addition to military applications, UUVs are used extensively for commercial applications such as oil and gas exploration, underwater infrastructure inspection, scientific research, and even underwater salvage. The successful 2021 discovery of the Antarctic site of Robert Shackleton’s 1915 endurance shipwreck was carried out with the help of an unmanned underwater vehicle. The primary advantage of the hydrogen fuel cell power in larger UUVs is the ability to extend underwater time to weeks or even months.
Infinity is working on one design that will enable such vehicles to run missions up to 70 days long. This eliminates the major expense of tender boats required to frequently resurface and refuel UUVs powered by more conventional methods. And a quote from the Infiniti CEO Bill Smith, a dock launched UUV powered by infinities patented air independent hydrogen fuel cell has the potential to save its commercial sponsor hundreds of 1000s of dollars on a single mission, potentially paying for itself on its first use. He continues to say that they are uniquely positioned to capture this market. Now the company was founded in 2002. And it is a market leader in the design and manufacture of air independent, zero gravity electrochemical systems, including fuel cell systems for space and underwater applications. Infinity is also developing electrolysis technologies that can generate hydrogen and oxygen directly at 2000 psi and above.
Okay, so an interesting announcement, as Infiniti fuel cell and hydrogen discusses a new commercial market that they’re going to be going after. Now, we’ve had Bill Smith on the show before, and he and his company have been in hydrogen for decades. So when they identify a new commercial opportunity, you can bet that it’s legitimate. And when they say that they’re primed to take on underwater air independent fuel cell solutions, they’re talking the truth. They’ve been doing this technology for the government for a long time, so they know exactly how it works. Next, in a press release on September 20, Seven Midwestern states are teaming up to accelerate the development of hydrogen as a clean energy alternative for automobiles and factories that rely largely on climate warming hydrocarbons. This in a statement from the governors of the states.
The partnership includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin, whose economies are dominated by agriculture and heavy industry such as steel and automobile manufacturing. And a quote from Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan governor, the Midwest will continue leading the future of mobility and energy innovation and has enormous potential for transformative hydrogen investments. Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless gas that already powers some cars, trucks, buses and trains. But a shortage of fueling stations limits their appeal. Some environmentalists are skeptical because most commercially produced hydrogen in the US comes from natural gas, which emits greenhouse gas pollutants, carbon dioxide and methane. Now, I just want to pull back for a second, as that’s a bit of a misleading statement that well yes, those can be byproducts of traditional steam methane reforming, but there are other ways
is deriving hydrogen from natural gas that don’t have those byproducts. But back to the press release, but hydrogen can be derived using electric currents from wind, solar or other means to produce a few if any emissions contributing to global warming. Such clean hydrogen releases only water is a byproduct when it’s used in a fuel cell. In a quote from Wisconsin governor Tony Evers, we don’t have to choose between clean energy and clean air and creating good paying jobs and a strong economy we can do both. The federal infrastructure law enacted last year included $8 billion for the US Department of Energy to fund regional hubs that would step up clean hydrogen production and distribution. climate legislation the President Joe Biden signed last month offers a tax credit intended to make clean hydrogen more competitive.
Those measures quote made it almost certain that clean hydrogen development will become a major alternative for producing energy both in the Midwest and nationally. This is according to a quote from Zachary Kolodin Michigan’s chief infrastructure officer states in the Rocky Mountains and the deep south announced regional associations earlier this year. Another was proposed for the Los Angeles Basin in California. The Midwestern hydrogen coalition hasn’t committed to joint pursuit of federal funding, although smaller groups of states or industries might seek grants. Instead, the seven state partnership will focus on boosting development markets, supply chains, and a workforce for clean hydrogen does according to a joint statement. It will take advantage of assets such as the region’s pipelines and tanks for distributing and storing ammonia, which consists largely of hydrogen and is a key ingredient in fertilizer. Hydrogen could quote, help us in the use of hydrocarbons. And it could be especially helpful for industry, which is the hardest to decarbonize. This is a quote from Charlotte Jamison, chief policy officer with the Michigan Environmental Council. Again, she says, but not all hydrogen is clean. Midwest states should focus on hydrogen made from renewables and should not use their coalition to delay moving our power systems to renewable energy and electrifying our buildings and transportation.
We should have the solutions and the momentum to do that now. Okay, so an interesting coalition of states looking to set up a pretty large hydrogen hub, and the fact that they’re looking at renewable energy and electrolyzing water to get there hydrogen really isn’t that much of a surprise, as only one of those states has a decent amount of natural gas, that being Ohio. And so it’s going to be interesting to see if this coalition does decide to go for some of that $8 million in federal grant money. I’m also interested to see which part of the hydrogen infrastructure they decide to focus on first, will it be hydrogen generation, infrastructure, transportation, or will they focus more on industry, but all things said, I believe their first point of interest will be industry. And lastly, in a press release on September 20, new hydrogen projects achieve record numbers globally, with even greater urgency for final investment decisions to attain netzero. The urgency to ramp up investment in industrial scale hydrogen energy projects is greater than ever.
It says a new report published today, September 20, by the hydrogen Council, developed in collaboration with a global consultancy McKinsey and Company. The report hydrogen insights 2022 highlights 680 large scale hydrogen project proposals have been announced, totaling $240 Billion US and direct investment between now and 2030, an increase of 50% since November of 2021. Alone, with this substantial uptake in hydrogen energy project announcements. The next step by industry, investors and governments is to quickly ramp up FIDs in order to jumpstart project construction and operations as quickly as possible. And a quote from Yoshinori Kanehana, Chairman of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Co-Chair of the Hydrogen Council said, With the growing concerns around energy security, it is clear our economies need hydrogen, but on the ground deployment is not moving fast enough and needs to accelerate to realize the benefits of hydrogen. This report proposes a series of priority actions for both policymakers and industry to overcome the challenges and accelerate large scale hydrogen deployment.
In addition, he says the report helps us understand the current state of the global hydrogen economy by highlighting what’s really happening in terms of deployment, financing and investment, as well as offering predictions for the future. And in a quote from Tom linebarger, executive chairman and chairman of the board of Cummins, Inc, and co chair of the hydrogen council said, climate change is the existential crisis of our time. And it will require businesses and governments working together to address it. And we must do more now. To move to a zero emissions future, we must have multiple solutions available for our customers who require vastly different applications around the world and hydrogen will play a critically important role. Now capturing the maximum climate value of hydrogen to deliver the 2050 net zero carbon emissions target requires a tripling of investments in hydrogen projects by 2030, up to 700 billion equivalent to an additional $460 Billion US this according to the report. The Council report goes on to note that the 2030 Hydrogen investment figure is equivalent to less than 15% of investment committed to upstream oil and gas over the past decade to meet the planet’s commitment to positively impact climate change.
The study makes it clear that a rapid increase in hydrogen project investment and on the ground deployment is required. joint action by the public and private sectors is urgently needed to move forward from project proposals to F IDs. Okay, so a very interesting report by the hydrogen Council. And it’s really amazing to see that increase of 50% of projects announced since November of 2021. And there is something important to note, and that is that as of now 22 billion US dollars, or 10% of proposed investments have reached fid are under construction, or are already operational. And while it sounds like a lot is yet to be done, which is true, it’s amazing to look back over the last couple of years, and appreciate just how far we’ve come.
Alright, that’s it for me, everyone. If you have a second, I would really appreciate it. If you could leave a good review on whatever platform it is that you listen to Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google, whatever it is, that would be a tremendous help to the show. And as always, if you ever have any feedback, you’re always welcome to email me directly at info@thehydrogenpodcast.com. 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 and 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 very much. Appreciate it. Have a great day.
