Blue Hydrogen for Transport in the US: The Transition to Green Hydrogen & the Conduit to Keeping Pace with the EU
by Salim Rahemtulla (PowerTap Hydrogen Fueling Corp./Biofuels Digest) As the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) indicates in its Hydrogen Program Plan it published in 2020, “Hydrogen, as a versatile energy carrier and chemical feedstock, offers advantages that unite all of our nation’s energy resources—renewables, nuclear, and fossil fuels—and enables innovations in energy production and end uses that can help decarbonize three of the most energy intensive sectors of our economy: transportation, electricity generation, and manufacturing.” In June 2021, as part of its Energy Earthshots Initiative, the DOE initiated its Hydrogen Shot, an effort intended to advance the hydrogen industry for public and private transport, goods movement, and hydrogen energy storage with the aim of reducing the cost of clean hydrogen by 80% to $1 per 1 kilogram in 1 decade, “1 1 1” in DOE parlance.
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PowerTap Hydrogen Fueling Corp. is working to deploy blue hydrogen for transport in partnership with the Andretti Group, which has over 100 company owned and operated facilities and delivers multi-branded fuel to some 125 independent owner operators. PowerTap is installing on-site steam methane reforming (SMR) production and fueling equipment on Andretti stations and those of other industry players for both cars, including up to Class 8 trucks. PowerTap’s approach is to use a blend of renewable natural gas and fossil fuel natural gas to produce hydrogen with a carbon intensity that will not exceed 0 g CO2e/MJ.
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As of right now, Europe is the world’s leader of the hydrogen economy in terms of future planned installations and government policies that back the industry.
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Lands surrounding the North Sea are ideal for wind turbines which would result in more feasible options to produce green hydrogen.
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DOE recently announced an amount of $52.5 million to financially support 31 projects in relation to green hydrogen technology. The DOE also has a $430 million R&D program under the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) that is targeted towards energy technologies that are too new for investments from the private-sector. READ MORE
Sources used (in addition to those directly referenced in the above):
- https://www.hydrogen4climateaction.eu/2x40gw-initiative
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-energy-hydrogen/europe-pulls-ahead-in-race-for-hydrogen-as-global-project-pipeline-grows-report-idUSKBN2AH0IB
- https://cen.acs.org/environment/Green-hydrogen-projects-ramp-Europe/99/i3
- https://www.brunel.net/en/blog/renewable-energy/3-main-types-of-hydrogen
- https://ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/europe-emerges-as-leader-in-hydrogen-economy.html
- https://grist.org/energy/europe-is-going-all-in-on-hydrogen-power-why-isnt-the-us/
- https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2021/04/us-federal-government-and-the-hydrogen-economy-2021
- https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement
Reclaiming Hydrogen for a Renewable Future: Distinguishing Fossil Fuel Industry Spin from Zero-Emission Solutions (Earthjustice)