A hydrogen lobbying group leader has resigned amid concerns that blue hydrogen made of natural gas could be used as a lock-in to fossil fuels.
In recent years, oil and gas companies have been touting hydrogen made from natural gas' purported benefits. Blue hydrogen may not be carbon-free, but supporters admit it. They argue that using blue hydrogen would increase demand and infrastructure, while green hydrogen costs, which are made from renewable energy, would be lower.
The question is, however, whether blue hydrogen is really low in carbon as its promoters claim. A recent study found that blue hydrogen is more harmful to the environment than coal. Blue hydrogen's low carbon claims hinge on the fact that carbon dioxide must be captured at each step of the process. This includes the steam reformation that converts methane into gas and the natural gas generators that heat and provide power to the reactions. There are a few steps that can be skipped, but between 1040 and 1140 percent of carbon dioxide can escape capture depending on how the system works.
Blue hydrogen was really hurt by the inclusion of natural gas infrastructure leakage in the calculations. The primary component of natural gas is methane. This greenhouse gas has a powerful effect on the planet and can warm it 83 times faster than carbon dioxide. Gas pipelines can leak in places. From production to consumption, 1.54.3 percent of gas pipelines fall through the cracks. Blue hydrogen, despite being at the lower end of this range, was still more dangerous than natural gas due to the increased methane used throughout the process. Blue hydrogen's climate impact was worse than that of coal as the leakage rates assumed rose to more than 3.5 percent.
Last straw
This study proved to be a turning point for Chris Jackson who, this week, resigned as chair of UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association. Jackson, who established a green hydrogen company in 2012, was the head of the industry group for just over a year.
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He stated that the energy transition is not possible with one solution and that green hydrogen alone will not solve all of the world's problems. There is no single right answer. However, there are many wrong answers.
Jackson continued by stating that blue hydrogen is, at best, an expensive distraction and at worst, a lock-in to continue using fossil fuels which would derail the goals the country and the rest of the world have set in regard to decarbonizing their economy. Jackson is particularly critical of the fact that oil companies and other energy companies have sought decades of UK government subsidies, while also claiming blue hydrogen would be cheap to produce. According to him, if the oil companies' false claims about the cost of blue hydrogen were true, then their projects would be profitable by 2030.
Instead, they are asking taxpayers to provide billions of dollars in subsidies over the next 25-years. They should inform the government that they don't need it. They don't tell you all you need to know.
Blue hydrogen hand-outs
The UK government supports hydrogen in its efforts to decarbonize Britain's economy. It believes that the fuel can reduce the impact of heavy industry and long haul transportation on the environment. Blue hydrogen will be used to bridge the gap between green and blue hydrogen.
The US Biden administration seems to be open to blue hydrogen. The White House announced its March infrastructure plan, calling for investments in 15 demonstration projects for decarbonized hydrogen. This would seem to open the door for blue hydrogen. In the infrastructure bill, currently advancing through Congress, four hydrogen hubs are proposed. One would allow for demonstrations of the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels. Clean hydrogen is defined in the Senate bill as two kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilogram of hydrogen. It is ideal that most of the hydrogen would be captured and stored. However, the bill does not require any specific amount and only addresses methane gas leaks from abandoned wells.
The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association in the USA, a lobbying group for hydrogen, supports both green and blue hydrogen. In a recent report, they collectively call them low-carbon hydrogen. Ars reached out to the group in an attempt to find out their position on blue hydrogen. We will update this article if they respond.
These hubs are already being formed in the UK with Equinor and BP announcing the construction of blue hydrogen plants, which together would account for nearly half the 5 GW of low carbon hydrogen capacity that the UK government has targeted.
