Separating Hype from Hydrogen

Bit of a long read, but not a technical slog, looking at the economic state of hydrogen. Focused on Europe because the EU has programs with stated costs and goals. Part one is the supply side, and two the demand side.

Liebreich: Separating Hype from Hydrogen – Part One: The Supply Side | BloombergNEF
Liebreich: Separating Hype from Hydrogen – Part Two: The Demand Side | BloombergNEF

It looks like green hydrogen will become competitive with our current grey production by 2050. With carbon capture blue hydrogen in perhaps a decade.

Which is good news for moving away from fossil fuels for hydrogen in the uses that we already have for it. Moving into uses where we currently don't use hydrogen will be tougher, as green electricity will be a strong competitor. And those areas aren't just cars and transportation.

Everyone knows what a difference a heat pump can mean for a EV car. They were available for homes long before cars, and they have just gotten better at working in colder climates. Industrial heat pumps can get temperatures up to 160C, and they may reach 280C in the future. So electricity for efficient heat is going to work in a lot of places.

Hydrogen could work for grid storage for areas which see extended periods of lowered renewable production, like solar during the monsoon season.

The articles cover more.

 

Hydrogen is an industrial feedstock. Not one with many applications, but that could change as we move away from fossil fuels.

The big one is ammonia though. Which was used to grow the food you eat.