POWER May 2023 - 29

HYDROGEN
grid supply would likely still be valuable.
The pathways and solutions to enable
cost-effective green hydrogen are
straightforward. The most important is
to use the lowest-cost sources of clean
electricity with the highest capacity factors
possible. This industry depends
acutely on the continued successful deployments
of clean electricity sources.
Furthermore, well-integrated, onsite
2. Advanced Ionics' Symbiotic Electrolysis technology is able to create lower-cost green hydrogen
by tapping into existing process and waste heat sources at industrial facilities. Courtesy:
Advanced Ionics
ergy is needed, or in remote locations.
Finally, the economic impact of green hydrogen
adoption will lead to an increase
in job creation along every step, from
research and development, to installation
of green hydrogen infrastructure,
to heavy industry customers and their
skilled laborers, including:
■ Ongoing production of green hydrogen
through electrolysis requires
skilled workers, such as engineers,
technicians, and operators.
■ Development and installation of green
hydrogen infrastructure, such as
pipelines, storage tanks, and chemical
process reactors, also requires a
skilled workforce.
■ The use of green hydrogen in heavy
industries such as steel, fertilizers,
and chemical production creates new
job opportunities for business and
project development.
■ A corporate-focused adoption of the
green hydrogen industry stimulates
economic growth and new opportunities
for small- and medium-sized
enterprises that support or are developing
new products and contributing
to job creation at various levels.
As green hydrogen producers begin to
see all of these benefits manifest, decarbonizing
hydrogen in many cases starts
through shareholder pressure and business
strategy foresight. For the other
producers and users of hydrogen, upcoming
regulation will force accelerated
decarbonization of their industries.
For example, recent trade agreements
could create a boon for green steel, produced
using green hydrogen direct reduced
iron, or DRI. Recent U.S. legislation
such as the Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act, and Inflation Reduction Act,
also create strong incentives for domestic
manufacturing, industrial decarbonization,
May 2023 | POWER
and the creation of hydrogen hubs that
will help this technology thrive. European
regulations are likely to do the same,
while promoting additional renewables
deployments to supply electrolyzer projects
with clean electricity.
Macro-Level Challenges
While current U.S. legislation incentivizes
certain aspects of hydrogen adoption
and production, macro-level challenges
around hydrogen demand stimulation
and infrastructure generally exist. Hydrogen
is difficult and costly to transport and
hydrogen production using steam electrolyzers
has obvious advantages with
low electricity usage. Lastly, utilizing
electrolyzer technologies (Figure 2) that
leverage simple, large-scale manufacturing
processes, with abundant materials,
will allow the industry to ramp up production
quickly while avoiding supply
chain and geopolitical constraints. These
are the key features that electrolyzer
technology companies are working to address-making
efficient steam electrolyzers
that operate at mild temperatures,
with abundant materials and massively
scalable manufacturing.
The increased focus on decarbonizing
industries and reducing greenhouse gas
emissions, coupled with the declining
cost of renewable energy and electrolysis
technology, will drive the demand
The pathways and solutions to enable costeffective
green hydrogen are straightforward.
The most important is to use the
lowest-cost sources of clean electricity with
the highest capacity factors possible.
store. In most cases, the production and
immediate use of hydrogen at the same
location is most economical, as it avoids
the pitfalls of transport and storage.
Nonetheless, this requires grid transmission
capacity and renewable power
purchase agreements (or similar) to be in
place. It would not be surprising to see
innovations regarding how clean electricity
is supplied to industrial electrolyzer
sites at high capacity factors, similar to
how data centers are working to source
the cleanest electricity possible at relevant
times of the day.
Furthermore, it is likely we'll see many
industrial steel, fertilizer, and chemical
projects in locations with good access
both to markets (ports, rail, pipelines, etc.)
and abundant renewables. These renewables
would feed the electrolyzers directly,
removing the need for 24/7 grid supply,
though some complimentary off-peak
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for green hydrogen. Governments and
private sector stakeholders are also investing
heavily in the development of
hydrogen infrastructure, research and
development, and pilot projects, which
will help accelerate the adoption of
green hydrogen.
Creating green hydrogen at a lower
cost than gray hydrogen will transform
the net-zero targets of governments
and corporations. As a result, the use of
green hydrogen in heavy industries such
as steel, fertilizer, and chemical production
is expected to increase significantly,
contributing heavily to a strong, stable
world economy and sustainable energy
future for our planet. ■
-Chad Mason is CEO of Advanced Ionics,
a company developing electrolyzer technology
and a green hydrogen platform to
support sustainability efforts of industrial
hydrogen producers and users.
29

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POWER May 2023

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