Connect with us

Published

3 years ago

on

In this article

Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Low-carbon hydrogen isn’t “cost competitive with other energy supplies in most applications and locations” and the situation is unlikely to change unless there’s “significant support to bridge the price gap,” according to the World Energy Council.

Published Tuesday, the analysis – which was put together in collaboration with PwC and the U.S. Electric Power Research Institute – raised the question of where funding for such support would come from, but also pointed to the increasing profile of the sector and the positive effect this could have.

In an announcement accompanying a briefing, the London-based energy organization said “environmental and political drivers” were “sending encouraging signals to the market and prompting growing interest.” Globally, many pilot projects were being developed, built or in operation, it added.

Described by the International Energy Agency as a “versatile energy carrier,” hydrogen has a diverse range of applications and can be deployed in sectors such as industry and transport.

It can be produced in a number of ways. One method includes using electrolysis, with an electric current splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen. If the electricity used in the process comes from a renewable source, such as wind or solar, then some call it green or renewable hydrogen.

Currently, the vast majority of hydrogen generation is based on fossil fuels, and green hydrogen is expensive to produce. Efforts are being made to drive costs down, however.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently launched its Energy Earthshots Initiative and said the first of these would focus on cutting the cost of “clean” hydrogen to $1 per kilogram (2.2 lbs) in a decade. According to the DOE, hydrogen from renewables is priced at around $5 a kilogram today.

For its part, the World Energy Council said some countries were “actively developing bilateral partnerships to help form global hydrogen supply chains and secure clean hydrogen supply.”

“With the appropriate policies and technologies to enable hydrogen scale up, some projections suggest that it could be cost competitive with other solutions as soon as 2030,” it added.

The sector does seem to be at a crossroads, with a number of issues to resolve as it looks to expand. The WEC’s report claimed the hydrogen economy was facing a “chicken and egg problem” related to supply and demand. Both of these, it argued, lacked “secure volumes from the other to help establish the value chain.”

There was also a discussion to be had about the benefit of using colors – including brown, blue, gray and pink, to name a few – to differentiate between various production methods.

“Colour has been used to simplify the conversation about the carbon footprint of hydrogen production,” the WEC’s report said, “but it has become more complex with no universally agreed colours for specific technologies and some disagreement as to which colour matches which supply.”

The debate about color required clarity, “as it could risk prematurely excluding some technological routes that could be more cost and carbon effective,” it said.

Partnerships and projects

While discussions about the future of hydrogen take place, a number of firms are beginning to make plays in the sector.

Just this week, it was announced that SSE Renewables and wind turbine giant Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy had signed a memorandum of understanding centered around exploring opportunities related to the production and delivery of so-called green hydrogen.

In a statement Monday, SSE Renewables said the partnership would involve itself and Siemens Gamesa aiming to “co-locate hydrogen production facilities at two selected onshore wind farms … from which the partners will begin production and delivery of green hydrogen through electrolysis.”

One of the wind farms will be in Scotland, while the other will be located in Ireland. Jim Smith, who is managing director of SSE Renewables, said hydrogen was “rapidly becoming an important and exciting component of the strategy to decarbonise power production, heavy industry and transport, among other sectors.”

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Environment

Daily EV Recap: Tesla’s AI training tile

Published

4 hours ago

on

May 3, 2024

By

Daily EV Recap: Tesla’s AI training tile

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded Monday through Thursday and again on Saturday. Subscribe to our podcast in Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they’re available.

Stories we discuss in this episode (with links)

Why gas bikes just can’t compete with electric motorcycles in the summer

Tesla’s next-gen Dojo AI training tile is in production

The US just proposed 18 GW of new offshore wind sales

There’s a new trend making electric bike batteries safer

Toyota goes large on hydrogen with new US headquarters

Listen & Subscribe:

Share your thoughts!

Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us in Apple Podcasts or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!


Add Electrek to your Google News feed. 

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Daily EV Recap: Tesla’s AI training tile

Stay up to date with the latest content by subscribing to Electrek on Google News.

You’re reading Electrek— experts who break news about Tesla, electric vehicles, and green energy, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow Electrek on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our YouTube channel for the latest reviews.

Continue Reading

Environment

Coterra’s smart pivot to oil from natural gas leads to an excellent first quarter and sweeter outlook

Published

6 hours ago

on

May 2, 2024

By

Coterra's smart pivot to oil from natural gas leads to an excellent first quarter and sweeter outlook

Permian Basin rigs in 2020, when U.S. crude oil production dropped by 3 million a day as Wall Street pressure forced cuts.

Paul Ratje | Afp | Getty Images

Coterra Energy topped Wall Street expectations Thursday with first-quarter results that further proved the Club holding’s nimble production strategy is the right one for shareholders.

Continue Reading

Environment

A fully-electric 10,000 ton container ship has begun service equipped with over 50,000 kWh in batteries

Published

7 hours ago

on

May 2, 2024

By

A fully-electric 10,000 ton container ship has begun service equipped with over 50,000 kWh in batteries

Electric container ship

Chinese state-owned company COSCO Shipping has launched what it calls the “world’s largest” river-to-sea electric container ship. The Green Water 01 is a 10,000-ton+ fully electric vessel that sets a new benchmark in sustainability in the marine logistics industry.

China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, or COSCO for short, is a state-owned multinational conglomerate headquartered in Shanghai specializing in marine transport. Not to be confused with Costco, COSCO Shipping was founded as a subsidiary in 2016 following an approved merger between COSCO and China Shipping.

The COSCO Group is the largest liner carrier in China, transporting hundreds of container vessels daily while also providing ships to Chinese automakers to help them export their electric vehicles to new markets overseas, including Europe.

To adapt to the times, COSCO has developed a massive, fully electric container ship, which has now officially begun service in China.

Electric container ship
Source: COSCO/WeChat/CCTV

COSCO’s electric container ship begins service in China

According to a WeChat post from COSCO Shipping, which features reports from China’s CCTV, the company’s Green Water 01 electric container ship arrived safely and was berthed in the Port of Yangshan by the local maritime safety administration.

The Green Water 01 sails at a total length of 119.8 meters, a molded width of 23.6 meters, a molded depth of 9 meters, a design draft of 5.5 meters, and a maximum speed of 19.4 km/h (12 mph). COSCO Shipping says the Green Water 01 electric container ship presents multiple firsts for the marine industry, including total length, width, container capacity, deadweight tonnage (10,0000 tons), and battery capacity (50,000+ kWh).

Speaking of batteries, the electric container ship is powered by a large-capacity battery combining for over 50,000 kWh. However, COSCO says the number of battery modules can be configured depending on the length of the voyage at sea. For example, additional 20-foot battery boxes offering 1,600 kWh of electricity can be loaded onto the container for extra range.

This ship’s captain, Wang Jun, told CCTV that when the Green Water 01 is equipped with 24 battery boxes, the electric container ship can complete trips that consume 80,000 kWh of energy, equivalent to approximately 15 tons of fuel for a similar journey in a traditional container ship.

COSCO Shipping also shared that the new Green Water 01 can save 3,900 kg (8,600 pounds) of fuel for every 100 nautical miles traveled, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 12.4 tons. Following the successful launch, the Green Water 01 has commenced weekly service between Shanghai and Nanjing.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Daily EV Recap: Tesla’s AI training tile

Continue Reading

Trending