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Building operations are responsible for 28% of annual global CO2 emissions. Pure hydrogen can substitute for methane gas in heating buildings or be blended with natural gas to lower the carbon intensity of the fuel.

The Challenge: There are many engineering challenges to implementation, as the properties of hydrogen are different. Hydrogen burns hotter than natural gas, produces 60% more water vapor, and is more prone to leakage.

The Solution: Individual consumers may find it more efficient to utilize hydrogen as a fuel cell to store quantities of renewable electricity to be used for heating. Other, high-intensity gas users may utilize hydrogen combustion with specialized equipment, such as district energy plants, peaking power plants, and heavy industry requiring high-temperature heat.

As all sectors are looking to meet the rising demand for power, maintain secure and reliable energy supplies, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the conversion of hydrogen into electricity through fuel cells has a wide range of applications.

The Challenge: Hydrogen from electrolyzers can only compete with natural gas if the electricity used to make the hydrogen is 2 to 6 cents/kWh.

The Solution: Hydrogen is becoming more viable as an island microgrid fuel and storage source. Cheaper than diesel, it solves the problem of seasonal or long-term storage that batteries cannot provide and could be the catalyst to full conversion to renewable power generation for remote communities.

Technologies for the utilization of hydrogen for Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) can be split into fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) or hydrogen internal compression engines (H2-ICEs). Both technologies have quicker refueling times and increased range than battery electric vehicles, and are better suited for cold climates. H2-ICEs also have the additional high-power requirements needed for the harsh operating conditions that heavy-duty vehicles like mining trucks are exposed to.

The Challenge: Battery electric vehicles are considerably more energy efficient than hydrogen powered vehicles with energy loss of 20% compared to 35-40% for FCEVs.

The Solution: The creation of hydrogen highways – networks along long-range trucking hubs with focus on the Class 8 and intensive Class 6 applications and ability to capitalize on the quick refueling, lightness and range benefits. Within larger municipalities, development can take the form of centralized hubs to support FCEV fleets across transit and waste management, where frequent stop-and-starts combined with variable loads are proving to be taxing on batteries. By increasing the utilization across these markets, in addition to government subsidies, hydrogen costs could be brought down to parity with diesel.

Hydrogen is a key building block in chemical processes, with 42% of all hydrogen produced being used for ammonia production, and 52% for petrochemicals in different refineries.

The Challenge: Most of the hydrogen produced for the chemical and fertilizer industries is produced through steam-methane reforming as green hydrogen costs remain high.

The Solution: A balanced approach is needed. Moving the market for green hydrogen forward with incentives, regulations and market solutions like premium pricing for green hydrogen products will lower costs and increase new investment. Enhancing current hydrogen production with carbon capture strategies, will ensure the transition will be gradual and less carbon intensive.

Steel is critical to our modern lives, from the cars we drive, to the buildings we work in, to the homes we live in.

The Challenge: Currently the steel industry is among the three biggest producers of carbon dioxide with most steel made in coal-fired blast furnaces (BF).

The Solution: Hydrogen can replace coal and other carbon-based auxiliary reducing agents in the BF process or be used as the sole reducing agent in creating direct reduced iron (DRI). Injecting green or blue hydrogen into the BF route can reduce emissions by 21%, while the DRI process can be fully reliant on hydrogen.

Shipping is the backbone of the global economy, accounting for around 2.7% of global emissions. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set the ambition of reducing the shipping industry’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2050 and large international shipping companies such as Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM, have already committed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner.

The Challenge: Even when compressed or liquified, hydrogen remains too bulky or difficult to handle and store in the quantities required to replace regular marine fuel.

The Solution: An analysis from the ICCT has found that that 43% of current voyages between China and the United States – one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes – could be made using hydrogen without the decreased cargo space or the need to stop more times to refuel. Nearly all the voyages could be powered by hydrogen with only minor changes to fuel capacity or operations. Other solutions include alternative lower-carbon fuels made from hydrogen, like ammonia, methanol and methane that can be manufactured and more easily stored in ship fuel tanks in the quantities required. These chemical compounds can still be burned in existing ship engines if small modifications are made to their design and construction.

While there is potential to power trains with hydrogen using converted combustion engine, current technology focuses on the use of hydrogen fuel cells. Overall lifetime costs of building and operating a hydrogen rail (hydrail) system is equivalent to a conventional overhead electrification system.

The Challenge: Some fear that a derailment or other incident could cause a hydrogen tank car to ignite.

The Solution: Hydrogen is light and does not pool but disperses into the air. In the event of a fire, fuel cell modules are designed to shut down and hybrid battery systems take over to keep the train powered. 

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Hydrogen can be blended to an allowable limit with natural gas, without risks to the integrity, reliability and safety of existing networks, including end-use appliances which are usually the limiting factor. It also represents a unique opportunity to connect hydrogen producers and end users with relatively little significant additional investment in infrastructure.

The Challenge: Hydrogen is also about three times less energy-dense than methane meaning that a 20% mixture of H2 in natural gas would have 86% of the energy of pure natural gas. Based on this decreased energy-by-volume, burning natural gas blended with hydrogen may not have as large of an impact on decarbonization as other strategies.

The Solution: Burning hydrogen blended natural gas may not be the most efficient and long term use case. As the downstream hydrogen fuel market matures and a fixed price for pure hydrogen is set, deploying extraction at key consumption and storage points along the in-place natural gas network will ensure more efficient utilization.

Pipelines are the most economical means of transporting large quantities of hydrogen over long distances.

The Challenge: Hydrogen has very specific properties including low density and high diffusivity.

The Solution: Most of the high and medium pressure natural gas distribution system would need to be totally replaced to handle pure hydrogen. When blended with natural gas, many of these issues can be safely mitigated, without negatively affecting the integrity of the pipe due to hydrogen embrittlement.

Ammonia (NH3) is safe and easier to store and transport because of its low vapor pressure and high boiling point. It can be used directly as a zero-carbon fuel, for energy storage or for transportation of hydrogen. Blue ammonia might offer a quicker and cheaper route to a hydrogen economy as green hydrogen is currently about 3x's more expensive than producing it conventionally.

The Challenge: Extracting pure hydrogen from ammonia is currently costly due to the large energy requirement for cracking and compressing at the consumption end.

The Solution: Until more effective technologies have been commercialized, direct utilization of ammonia in fuel cells or combustion can be deployed in heavy-duty vehicles like those used in aviation, shipping, trucking, and power plants.

Underground Hydrogen Storage (UHS) within salt caverns allows for large quantities of hydrogen to be stored at higher pressures, with lower environmental impacts, longer operating lifetimes, and reduced specific investment costs than above-ground storage.

The Challenge: Hydrogen behaves differently than other gases stored underground, like methane, CO2 and air. The high mobility and permeability of this hydrogen causes a greater risk of migration outside the storage zone, and the low viscosity increases the risk of the formation of unrecoverable zones.

The Solution: Detailed analysis of the geological structures must be combined with solid understanding of the form of the final energy consumed, the methods of energy conversion and the combination between these elements, as these will dictate exactly which type of underground storage should be used. This risk-based approach is essential for achieving the intended results, increasing the desired effects and limiting or preventing the occurrence of undesirable effects, as well as achieving improvement.

As hydrogen has very low density, storage for hydrogen gas requires high pressure tanks while liquid hydrogen storage requires cryogenic temperatures.

The Challenge: Above-ground storage, either as a gas or liquid, entails high investment costs. 

The Solution: Current advances in material science technology are improving the safety and efficiency as well as higher volumetric and gravimetric hydrogen density but there does not exist a perfect hydrogen storage technology. The costs of infrastructure, the costs of energy to operate the facility and the costs of maintenance of the facility, must all be understood when making the decision. 

Cooling gaseous hydrogen to -253 degrees Celsius, liquid hydrogen (LH2) is less than 800 times its gaseous volume, ensures purity, and is very power and energy dense. LH2 also offers advantages for easy conversion into gaseous hydrogen.

The Challenge: Efficiency of hydrogen liquefaction is very low, consuming almost 30–40% of the energy content of hydrogen, in addition to boil-off losses during transportation.

The Solution: Until low-cost, high efficiency, hydrogen liquefiers are developed, several other carbon-based fuels such as methanol (CH3OH), methylcyclohexane (MCH), as well as ammonia (NH3) have been recommended as more technically viable options.

Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) is a pipeline-quality gas that is fully interchangeable with conventional natural gas and thus can be used in natural gas vehicles. RNG can be produced anaerobically from agricultural and agri-food sources, the pyrolysis and gasification of forestry bi-products, and landfill gas collection of municipal solid waste and bio-solids from wastewater.

The Challenge: As RNG is primarily composed of methane, it presents many of the same challenges to non-renewable natural gas like fugitive emissions and CO2 emissions when burned.

The Solution: RNG projects need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis as regards waste reduction benefits, methane emission impact and if the project contributes to the decrease in new construction of non-renewable infrastructure. By combining existing natural gas infrastructure and CCUS technologies, RNG can be an important part of the energy transition and circular economy.

Biomass power uses fuel from organic materials such as scrap lumber, manure or waste materials, to generate energy for electricity production. Other Waste-to-Energy feedstocks include non-recyclable and non-compostable solid waste which contributes to a circular economy.

The Challenge: When anything is burned, it can create emissions and ash.

The Solution: Along with CCUS to capture emissions, various technologies across calcination, graphitization, carburization, controlled oxidation, oxide reduction, purification, pyrolysis, drying, reduction, solid-solid reaction, gas-solid reaction, metalizing, debinding, and waste remediation help to reduce emissions. Biomass power and Waste-to-Energy should be part of a broader sustainable waste management plan that encompasses reducing, reusing and recycling materials.

Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) describes a broad package of solutions to capture and remove CO2, followed by recycling the CO2 for utilization or determining safe and permanent storage options. CCUS will be essential to building a cost-effective pathway for low-carbon hydrogen production.

The Challenge: Technology is advancing but scaling from research and development to commercially successful operations can be costly and energy intensive.

The Solution: Knowledge sharing across regions, sectors and disciplines across the energy value chain is needed on every project. From understanding existing infrastructure, injection well design and delivery, reservoir characterization, process modeling, CO2 transportation or economic reviews, creating flexible teams to fit the specific requirements of a project will dictate its success. The technology learning curve and valuing the benefits of emissions reduction will strengthen the business case for CCUS.

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Producing hydrogen through the electrolysis of water, powered by wind, solar or hydro.

The Challenge: Renewable power is intermittent in nature and is generally higher in power prices relative to other sources of power.

The Solution: Technologies across generation and electrolysis continue to improve and more value is being placed on renewable energy. As more renewable power supply comes online, excess electricity can be directed towards green hydrogen production. Green hydrogen is one of several potential low-carbon fuels that could take the place of today’s hydrocarbons.

Raw natural gas is a combination of gases including methane, ethane and propane, and can be classified as sweet, sour, liquids rich, and liquids lean and must be processed before it can be shipped or sold as sales gas. Natural gas will be a key feedstock to hydrogen production as well as lowering the carbon intensity of existing energy pathways.

The Challenge: Natural gas production is quite competitive with thin margins and additional transportation costs to major centers.

The Solution: Efficient processing requires a deep understanding of the subtle difference in gas composition and then pairing the most cost-effective solution like deep cut or shallow cut plants. By stripping out impurities and meeting all pipeline specifications, gas can be transported with minimal disruption, maximizing its value.

Producing hydrogen from natural gas with a process of steam methane reforming (SMR), while capturing and storing the resulting carbon emissions.

The Challenge: The carbon footprint of hydrogen production via SMR is high. In fact, more carbon is generated in the production of hydrogen via SMR than if you simply burned the methane used to make the hydrogen. In addition, fugitive emissions from natural gas production are a large emitter of potent GHGs.

The Solution: Carbon capture technologies and infrastructure are a game-changer for the energy industry, by sequestering or utilizing the CO2. Fugitive emission management programs combine tracking, monitoring, reporting and repair of infrastructure. Also, technological improvements like specialized blowdown systems capture vented gases and reinject them to be combusted.

Wind and Solar Energy have many advantages as a low-cost and clean energy source.

The Challenge: Intermittent and unpredictable, wind and solar energy is generally generated at-scale in remote areas. During windy and sunny days, renewable energy is sold at unprofitably low prices and some generators are even forced offline to balance the system. 

The Solution: The integration of hydrogen fuel at the energy farms allows flexibility to shift production to best match demand and market factors. An electrolyzer at the turbine or panel could reduce costs and increase flexibility, and hydrogen could be transported relatively cheaply. Coupling hydrogen and power technologies (electrolyzer to storage; storage to fuel cell) benefits the power system as a whole through ancillary services to support stability.

Hydropower utilizes the potential energy of water to generate power and represents the cheapest and most consistent renewable energy source.

The Challenge: Hydropower is generally generated in remote areas as well as large dam projects and are capital and time-intensive to deploy.

The Solution: Run-of-river (ROR) hydropower projects allow for smaller and scalable generation that does not rely on dams. Electrolyzers as well as integrated storage could enhance ROR power by making it possible to ramp power up or down on demand.

Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) is a pipeline-quality gas that is fully interchangeable with conventional natural gas and thus can be used in natural gas vehicles. RNG can be produced anaerobically from agricultural and agri-food sources, the pyrolysis and gasification of forestry byproducts, and landfill gas collection of municipal solid waste and bio-solids from wastewater.

The Challenge: As RNG is primarily composed of methane, it presents many of the same challenges to non-renewable natural gas like fugitive emissions and CO2 emissions when burned.

The Solution: RNG projects need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis as regards waste reduction benefits, methane emission impact and if the project contributes to the decrease in new construction of non-renewable infrastructure. By combining existing natural gas infrastructure and CCUS technologies, RNG can be an important part of the energy transition and circular economy.

Biomass power uses fuel from organic materials such as scrap lumber, manure or waste materials, to generate energy for electricity production. Other Waste-to-Energy feedstocks include non-recyclable and non-compostable solid waste which contributes to a circular economy.

The Challenge: When anything is burned, it can create emissions and ash.

The Solution: Along with CCUS to capture emissions, various technologies across calcination, graphitization, carburization, controlled oxidation, oxide reduction, purification, pyrolysis, drying, reduction, solid-solid reaction, gas-solid reaction, metalizing, debinding, and waste remediation help to reduce emissions. Biomass power and Waste-to-Energy should be part of a broader sustainable waste management plan that encompasses reducing, reusing and recycling materials.

Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) describes a broad package of solutions to capture and remove CO2, followed by recycling the CO2 for utilization or determining safe and permanent storage options. CCUS will be essential to building a cost-effective pathway for low-carbon hydrogen production.

The Challenge: Technology is advancing but scaling from research and development to commercially successful operations can be costly and energy intensive.

The Solution: Knowledge sharing across regions, sectors and disciplines across the energy value chain is needed on every project. From understanding existing infrastructure, injection well design and delivery, reservoir characterization, process modeling, CO2 transportation or economic reviews, creating flexible teams to fit the specific requirements of a project will dictate its success. The technology learning curve and valuing the benefits of emissions reduction will strengthen the business case for CCUS.