It’s long been used in industry for everything from refining petroleum to treating metals to processing foods, but in recent years hydrogen has been hailed as a key fuel source that could reduce—or even end—the world’s dependence on fossil fuels.

For all its promise, though, the reality is that hydrogen is not a silver bullet when it comes to climate change.

While there is little doubt that hydrogen will play a key role in global decarbonisation efforts, to understand how and why, it’s important to first start with what’s been called the “long tail” model of climate change solutions.

According to that model, renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal and even nuclear power, in the form of small modular reactors, can generate enough power to satisfy most of the demand for green energy.

Where hydrogen will be most critical is in reducing or eliminating emissions from some of the hardest-to-abate industries, such as steel production, long-distance transportation and shipping and aviation.

Decarbonising industry

For an example of how hydrogen can help decarbonise industry, take steel production. Today, steel production generates significant carbon emissions due to the use of coke—typically derived from coal—to both create high heat and to chemically reduce iron ore into raw iron, which is later used to make steel.

By replacing coke with hydrogen, producers can achieve the same result. Using arc furnaces—which can be powered with renewable electricity—hydrogen both provides the heat needed for the process and chemically reduces ore to create iron. The result is steel produced without the need for carbon-based feedstocks or the emissions that come with them.

In recent years, hydrogen’s potential role in decarbonisation has driven a worldwide explosion in projects, with nearly 1,500—representing more than $2t in investment—proposed in just the last two-and-a-half years, according to Global Energy Infrastructure.
Demand for hydrogen is expected to see similar increases. According to the International

Demand for hydrogen could increase six-fold, to as much as 650mt/yr, by 2050

Renewable Energy Agency, demand could increase six-fold, to as much as 650mt/yr, by 2050, while other studies suggest the value of the hydrogen market could increase from about $160b today to $640b by 2030 and more than $1.4t in 2050.

During a recent panel discussion on the hydrogen economy at key industry event ADIPEC, the agreement among government and business leaders was clear: scaling the hydrogen economy to meet those demands will require effort and focus on many levels, as well as unprecedented global cooperation.

The time for us to act on hydrogen technology is now, and if we hope to achieve success, digitalisation will play a critical role in those efforts.

Modelling and simulation tools, optimisation software, reliability analyses—all will be critical to de-risking hydrogen projects, ensuring that projects that go forward are based on the best possible plans in terms of safety, sustainability and profitability.

Technology innovations

Technology will also be a critical factor in the economics of hydrogen. By enabling efficient hydrogen production, advanced process controls and optimisation will help reduce the green premium for industry and drive increased adoption of hydrogen-based technologies and processes.

Digitalisation will also allow companies to improve the safety and reliability of hydrogen systems through the use of asset performance management tools and other maintenance solutions. By monitoring for potential leaks in both above- and below-ground hydrogen storage facilities, digital tools can make such systems ­significantly safer, resulting in better outcomes in general.

Hydrogen, however, does not come without challenges, one of which is related to cost. The electrolysers used to produce green hydrogen depend on extremely rare and precious metals, such as iridium, ruthenium and platinum, making them expensive to build, particularly at scale.
Beyond cost, though, there are significant safety issues associated with hydrogen, which—unlike gasoline—is explosive when ignited. Those risks must be considered at all stages of the hydrogen value chain, from production to storage to transport and distribution.

Beyond helping to decarbonise some of the hardest-to-abate parts of the economy, hydrogen may also be key in helping unlock the success of other technologies, particularly renewable energy generation.

While wind and solar today make up nearly a third of all electricity generation around the world, their intermittent nature represents a challenge. When the sun shines or the wind blows, renewable systems can often generate enough power to push the grid over capacity. Today, the solution is to redirect some of that energy into batteries, which are later discharged back into the grid.

Though effective for short-term power storage, such battery systems aren’t particularly efficient when it comes to longer-term storage. If utility companies instead used that excess electricity to power electrolysers, the hydrogen they produce could be stored almost indefinitely, and be used to generate power as needed.

It’s clear today that there is no singular solution, no one technology or approach that can solve the challenge of climate change on its own. There are many pathways the world can take as we work to meet sustainability targets, and those will likely be different in different parts of the world and in different industries. But what’s also clear is that hydrogen will be an indispensable part of that future, and we must begin working today to help make it a reality.

Rasha Hasaneen is the chief sustainability officer at AspenTech.

This article was published as part of PE Outlook 2024, which is available for subscribers here. Non-subscribers can purchase a copy of the digital edition here.

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Author: Rasha Hasaneen