Hydrogen lobbyist quits, denounces oil companies’ “false claims” on blue hydrogen

The leader of a hydrogen pressure group has resigned, fearing that blue hydrogen made from natural gas could serve as a “lock-in” for fossil fuels.

In recent years, oil and gas companies have touted the purported benefits of hydrogen made from natural gas. Supporters admit that blue hydrogen is not zero carbon, but they argue that its use would help boost demand and infrastructure while the costs of green hydrogen, which is made from renewable energy, are reduced.

The problem, however, is whether blue hydrogen is really low carbon, as its boosters suggest. According to a recent study, blue hydrogen may be worse for the climate than coal. The low carbon claims for blue hydrogen are based on the fact that carbon dioxide must be captured at every step, from the steam reforming process that produces the methane gas to the natural gas generators that provide gas. heat and electricity for the reactions. Not all steps are perfect and between 10 and 40% of carbon dioxide can escape capture depending on the system.

But where blue hydrogen really suffered in the analysis was when leaks from natural gas infrastructure were included in the calculations. Methane, the main component of natural gas, is a powerful greenhouse gas that warms the planet 83 times more than the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. Pipelines are notoriously permeable in some places, and from production to consumption, between 1.5 and 4.3 percent fall through the cracks. At the lower end of that range, blue hydrogen was even worse than burning natural gas due to the additional use of methane throughout the process. As the leakage rate assumptions exceeded 3.5%, the climate impact of blue hydrogen became worse than that of coal.

Last straw

This study was apparently a tipping point for Chris Jackson, who resigned this week as president of the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association. Jackson, who founded a green hydrogen company two years ago, led the industry group for just over a year.

“The energy transition cannot be achieved by a single quick fix, and green hydrogen alone cannot solve all of the world’s challenges,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing his resignation. “But if there may not be a single ‘right’ answer, there are answers that are wrong. “

Jackson goes on to say that blue hydrogen is “at best a costly distraction, and at worst a lockdown for continued fossil fuel use” that would derail the goals the country and the world have set to decarbonize the economy. In particular, he takes issue with the fact that oil and gas companies have asked the UK government for decades of subsidies while claiming that blue hydrogen will be inexpensive to produce. “If the oil companies’ false claims about the cost of blue hydrogen were true, their projects would be profitable by 2030,” he told The Guardian.

“Instead, they are asking taxpayers for billions in grants for the next 25 years. They should tell the government they don’t need it. The fact that they don’t tell you everything you need to know.

Hydrogen blue slips

The UK government has endorsed hydrogen in its plans to decarbonize the UK economy, saying the fuel could reduce the climate impact of heavy industry and long-haul transport. The recently announced plan calls for blue hydrogen to bridge the gap until green hydrogen is commercially viable.

In the United States, the Biden administration also appears to be embracing blue hydrogen. In its infrastructure plan announced in March, the White House called for “investments in 15 carbon-free hydrogen demonstration projects,” which would appear to leave the door open to blue hydrogen. The infrastructure bill currently making its way through Congress calls for the creation of four hydrogen poles, including one that would demonstrate the production of “clean hydrogen” from fossil fuels. In the Senate version of the bill, “clean hydrogen” means that for every kilogram of hydrogen produced, two kilograms of carbon dioxide can result. Ideally, most of it is captured and stored, but the bill does not require a specific amount and only addresses methane leaks from orphaned wells.

The US hydrogen lobbying organization, the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, also supports blue and green hydrogen, collectively calling them “low carbon hydrogen” in a recent report. Ars reached out to the group to ask if he had a position on blue hydrogen, in particular. We will update this article if we hear from them.

In the UK, such hubs are already forming, with Equinor and BP announcing blue hydrogen plants which together would account for nearly half of the government’s 5 GW target of ‘low-to-low’ hydrogen capacity. carbon emission ”.