Compressed hydrogen is likely to be the first form of the fuel to develop supply chains, with those for liquid hydrogen and liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) coming in a second phase, according to a webinar organised by market research firm Power Technology Research (PTR).

Liquid and LOHC technologies are currently expensive, and many end-use applications—including early industry and transport adopters—are likely to initially want hydrogen in compressed form.

“First, you need to develop the hydrogen compression market and then you can move towards the liquid hydrogen market,” says Zeeshan Sami Khan, analyst at PTR.

“They will not develop in parallel, but once you have a compression market then you can move towards a liquid hydrogen market.”

“Once you have a compression market, then you can move towards a liquid hydrogen market” Khan, PTR

Hydrogen compression is the more established technology, but companies such as industrial gases manufacturer Air Liquide are pushing the development of liquid hydrogen supply chains. The firm is developing the largest ever liquefaction plant, which will produce 30t/d of liquid hydrogen targeting mobility markets in California. It is also working with automotive company Faurecia to develop trucks powered by liquid hydrogen.

The liquid form is considered the only option for powering aircraft with hydrogen, and hydrogen infrastructure company GenH2 is working with aerospace company Zeroavia to develop liquid hydrogen technologies for airports.

But the aviation sector is likely to be a relatively small market and will take longer to develop as a demand sector than road transport and industry. Projects in Scotland, Norway and the US are planning to use liquid hydrogen to power ferries, but the fuel is one of a number of options for low-carbon marine transportation.

Meanwhile, German developer Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies has put in place the world’s first LOHC supply chain, but the technology is still some way from being commercialised and widely deployed.

Leading regions

In the midstream, several large-scale infrastructure projects are likely to push compression to become the more established transport technology in the near term, according to PRT. These include the Hydrogen Backbone Initiative and the H2 Med pipeline in Europe and the Wyoming Clean Power Centre in the US.

Increased consumption in refineries for the removal of impurities and contaminants has contributed significantly to demand for compressed hydrogen.

In the transport sector, the rollout of hydrogen refuelling stations is also creating increased demand for the compressed form of the fuel. South Korea plans to install 1,200 hydrogen refuelling stations and produce 6.2mn fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) by 2040. Japan wants to deploy 900 refuelling stations by 2030. And legislation recently passed by the EU mandates the construction of one gaseous hydrogen refuelling station every 200km along the planned Trans-European Transport Network through Europe, as well as one per urban node, by the end of 2030.

Cost

Cost comparisons between the two technologies are hard to make because of multiple variables on electricity prices, relative economies of scale and relative falling cost curves.

A modelling exercise by the US Department of Energy found that a liquid hydrogen supply chain (production, liquefaction, delivery, and dispensing) could theoretically achieve a cost of $14.25/kg at the pump but noted that would require the construction of capital-intensive liquefaction and distribution infrastructure.

The average price of hydrogen at the pump for an FCEV in California was $16.51/kg in 2019, according to the California energy regulator, but prices have since spiked to as high as $21/kg.

However, these costs are likely to come down, according to PTR.

“Emerging compression technologies offer improved efficiency and will reduce overall hydrogen production cost,” said Jannat Wasif, analyst at PTR, although she added that the high purchasing and maintenance cost of hydrogen compressors also had the potential to hamper the growth of the market.

A study by the EU’s joint research centre found the cost of sending compressed hydrogen 2,500km by pipeline was c.€0.75/kg ($0.81/kg) compared with more than €1/kg for shipping liquid hydrogen over the same distance.

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Author: Tom Young