The Kaleidoscope of Hydrogen Colors
Hydrogen will play a key role in transitioning the world to low carbon economy but with so many types it can be difficult to keep up. This post breaks out the many colors of hydrogen.
Hydrogen is a chemical element that is not found in free form but can be created in a variety of different ways. This can include natural gas, nuclear power, or renewable energy. It’s also important to note that hydrogen as a fuel is clean, meaning the only by-product is water. According to the IEA, the global demand for hydrogen for use as a fuel has tripled since 1975 and reached 70 million tonnes a year in 2018. Last year, we saw an additional 5% increase in demand from 2020 levels mainly driven by the chemical and refining sectors integrating this technology into operations. [1]
While there are many routes one can take to create hydrogen, the level at which they emit GHGs varies. To represent all the types of hydrogen, colors are assigned to help indicate the process in which the hydrogen was created. They range from cool colors like blue and green to warmer colors like pink and yellow. It’s the different process to create hydrogen that can result in a “clean” hydrogen or one that emits GHGs.
As we discuss in this post, there is quite a way to go to make hydrogen energy efficient and affordable. However, across the globe, billions are being directed towards developing projects to make this possible. We look at some of the biggest companies like Exxon and Iberdola developing projects that overcome the challenges facing the industry.
Source: Specta
Green Hydrogen
Green hydrogen is viewed as one of the cleanest hydrogens out on the market today. This is because it is possible to have zero carbon emissions depending on the source of the electricity used. The process to make green hydrogen is centers on a technique called electrolysis – which is the separation of hydrogen and oxygen molecules by adding electrical energy to water.
To make it truly “green”, the energy used for electricity should come from renewable sources like wind or solar and this is key in differentiating it from grey hydrogen. While this sounds straightforward there are a variety of hurdles and challenges green hydrogen faces. The first is the vast amount of water needed in the operations process. Throughout the U.S. and the world, water stress continues to be a critical issue we are facing. Green hydrogen is also expensive to generate as well as transport. Hydrogen is highly flammable and requires a lot of space to store, making transportation even more challenging. [2]
One company that is spearheading the development of green hydrogen is Iberdola. If you haven’t heard of the company, Iberdrola is a massive $34 billion multinational utility company based in Spain. With more than 60 projects in the works, they are becoming the first mover in the space. Projects are located throughout the world including here in the United States, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.[3] Just this year, Iberdola opened the largest green hydrogen plant in Puertollano employing over 1000 employees and emitting zero CO2 emissions. The plant is expected to produce 3,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year and supply clean hydrogen to factories nearby. [4]
Pink Hydrogen
Pink hydrogen is also generated through electrolysis except this process is powered by nuclear. This type of hydrogen can also be referred to as red or purple hydrogen. Pink hydrogen is a little more complicated than green hydrogen as there are serval different ways to create it. For the purpose of this post, we are keeping it high level, but the four main mains include:
Cold electrolysis (only electricity)
Low-temperature steam electrolysis (LTSE) (electricity and heat)
High-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) (both electricity and heat)
High-temperature thermochemical production, (only heat)
This type of hydrogen has the potential to create vast amounts of energy. According to the World Nuclear Association, a single 1,000-megawatt reactor could produce nearly 500 metric tons of hydrogen a day. To put it into relative terms, you would need 13 “green” hydrogen plants to equate to the same amount of energy produced. [5]
Over the last year, we have seen a growing interest in pink hydrogen. Earlier this year, the DOEs Bipartisan Infrastructure Program dedicated $8 billion to clean hydrogen hubs across the United States. Known as H2Hubs, the goal is to create a network of hydrogen producers, consumers, and local connective infrastructure to accelerate the use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier. Nuclear was cited as being one of the ways to produce clean hydrogen alongside other renewable sources like wind and solar. [6]
While there are some challenges to pink hydrogen, like the potential for nuclear waste, it is possible to become the holy grail of low-cost hydrogen. This is because nuclear power plants can leverage waste energy from heat which could help solve issues of efficiency and economics when creating hydrogen. The four different ways to produce hydrogen make this possible.
Blue Hydrogen
Blue hydrogen is natural gas-based hydrogen except with the addition of carbon capture and storage (CCS). This means that blue hydrogen is produced using more traditional methods of creating hydrogen with fossil fuels like steam methane reforming (SMR) of natural gas or coal but with the addition of taking the carbon dioxide emitted and storing it underground. Sounds complicated, right? That’s because it is an extremely capital-intensive process but with the benefit of scale, it could lead to reducing costs. Now CCS isn’t a new concept. Energy companies have been increasingly utilizing this technology to help offset emissions. The process includes applying either a post-combustion carbon capture process or a pre-combustion carbon capture process of an oxy-fuel combustion system to capture the CO2 generated. Once the CO2 is captured, it is chilled into a fluid and can be transported to a storage site. This can be done by pipeline or by vehicles. The last step is locating an appropriate storage site deep underground where it will stay for years to come. [7]
Blue hydrogen is a relatively new concept and due to capital requirements, only a few projects are in development. The most recognized is Exxon’s plan to build a word-scale blue hydrogen plant-based here in the great state of Texas. This development is part of their plan to meet their commitments towards net zero by 2050 and deliver low carbon fuel to Houston-area facilities. According to Exxon, they would produce up to 1 billion cubic feet per day of hydrogen made from natural gas, with approximately 95% of the associated CO2 captured and then safely stored underground. If the project goes through, they would have developed the largest carbon capture and storage project capable of storing 10 million metric tons of CO2 per year which equates to 2 million cars. [8]
Source: Posco
Yellow Hydrogen
Moving along the rainbow of hydrogen colors is yellow. Not surprisingly, yellow hydrogen harnesses the power of solar panels to collect energy from the sun and convert it to electricity. Once the electricity is collected, it is used to power the electrolyzes that split the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen particles. Like the other hydrogens discusses, yellow hydrogen has its own unique set of challenges. This includes end-of-life disposal of solar panels as well as production costs when building the plant. [9]
Grey Hydrogen
The most abundant type is grey hydrogen which accounts for 95% of the hydrogen produced today. In line with its bleak color choice, it is the most environmentally damaging of all the different types of hydrogen. This is because coal and other high-emitting energy sources are used to fuel production. The main industries that use grey hydrogen consist of the industrial chemical sector. They use up to 70 to 80 million tons of grey hydrogen each year! One of the main drivers is that grey hydrogen is the most economical to produce. [10]
Hot Tea
Even with the year winding down, establishing climate-related disclosure remains persistent. This week’s hot tea takes a look at recent regulatory headlines and events that happened this week.
The Federal Reserve Releases Climate Risk Management Proposed Principles for Large Banks
The EU Agrees on Rules Banning Deforestation Linked Products
Sustainability Mover and Shaker
Source: BIC Magazine
A very timely announcement was made by Air Products yesterday that they plan to build the US largest green hydrogen facility in North Texas. The company is partnering with AES Corp to build a $4 billion green hydrogen plant capable of producing over 200 mt/day of green hydrogen using about 1.4 GW of dedicated wind and solar assets. Operations are set to begin in 2027 and the plant is expected to provide zero-carbon hydrogen to the mobility market as well as other industrial companies. The project is expected to create more than 1,300 construction jobs and generate over $500 million in revenue for the state of Texas. [11]
Sources
[1] https://www.iea.org/reports/hydrogen
[2] https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/green-hydrogen-explained
[3] https://www.iberdrola.com/sustainability/green-hydrogen
[5] https://www.boilersource.com/single-post/forget-green-hydrogen-pink-hydrogen-is-heating-up
[7] https://www.rff.org/publications/explainers/carbon-capture-and-storage-101/
[8] https://energyfactor.exxonmobil.com/insights/partners/low-carbon-hydrogen/
[9] https://www.hydrogenfuelnews.com/what-is-yellow-hydrogen/8552843/
[10]http://www.chem4us.be/blue-green-gray-the-colors-of-hydrogen/
[11] https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/topics/energy-price-crisis