POWER September 2023 - 28

HYDROGEN
Moving Toward a Hydrogen
Economy-in the U.S. and Beyond
While using low-carbon hydrogen is not a viable economic option in most markets
today, the wheels are set in motion for hydrogen to support the decarbonization of
the world's energy supply. It is a journey that will take time but is necessary if we
want to achieve carbon-neutrality by mid-century. This article provides an outlook
on how the hydrogen economy can be expected to unfold regionally in the U.S. as
well as globally.
Chris Ferraro
T
hough it may not be the golden
age of hydrogen, its time has certainly
come. Just look at the U.S.
There, the Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act, passed in 2021, appropriated
$9.5 billion for clean hydrogen,
while the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
the following year created additional
policies and incentives.
Other countries are also pushing lowcarbon
hydrogen and other clean fuels.
For example, the European Union has
several programs supporting hydrogen,
such as the Clean Hydrogen Partnership
and the European Clean Hydrogen
Alliance. Likewise, China plans to get
50,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the
road by 2035. In addition, China will use
hydrogen for energy storage, electricity
generation, and industry. Overall, there
are 25 countries worldwide that have
launched national hydrogen initiatives.
The Power of the Universe's Most
Abundant Element
What's behind all this is a simple assessment.
First and foremost, green
hydrogen, but also other clean fuels
such as bioethanol, biodiesel, and eammonia,
will be critical success factors
for the energy transition of the world's
economies. They are necessary for decarbonizing
economies that to this day
rely heavily on fossil fuels, and by extension,
are crucial for fighting climate
change. At the same time, hydrogen is
an essential building block for ensuring
the energy security of countries in the
coming years. While hydrogen needs
extensive infrastructure to concentrate
it at high volumes in pure form, it is also
the world's most abundant element and
it is available virtually everywhere.
Generally speaking, though, how will
a hydrogen economy materialize, in the
28
U.S. and elsewhere? And more specifically,
how can we expect green hydrogen
to decarbonize various parts of the economy,
such as transportation, heavy industries,
and especially power generation?
New Gas Turbines Must Be Ready to
Burn Hydrogen
When it comes to the current state of
hydrogen, there is good news. While the
majority of new energy generation is
built using renewables, we will still need
gas power plants to supply dispatchable
energy for the times when the wind
doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine.
However, while gas is a low-carbon fuel,
it is not carbon-free. And so, hydrogen is
a carbon-free alternative to natural gas in
power plants.
To be prepared for that transition,
any new gas power plant requires hydrogen-ready
gas turbines, capable of
burning hydrogen mixes and eventually
100vol% (100% hydrogen by volume)
for emission-free energy generation.
Industrial gas turbines capable of pure
hydrogen operation, such as Siemens
Energy's SGT-800 and SGT-400, are
already " in sight. " In
addition,
frastructure, another hurdle exists-the
permit process is lengthy and difficult in
the U.S. and in other countries.
But that doesn't mean the industry is
idle. On the contrary, pioneering hydrogen
infrastructure is being built virtually
all around the globe. In the U.S., for example,
existing hydrogen infrastructure
will be expanded. This includes building
out six to 10 clean hydrogen hubs, supported
by up to $7 billion from the federal
government. Part of this expansion
includes work on the existing U.S. Gulf
Coast hydrogen network, one of the
largest in the world, spanning approximately
300 miles from Freeport, Texas,
to Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Other existing hydrogen infrastructure
exists, such as in the Chemical Triangle in
the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Others
are in the works, such as H2Benelux
or the Hydrogen Valley in Britain. Governments
around the world are also considering
converting existing natural gas
pipelines for the transport of hydrogen, as
is also the case with liquified natural gas
(LNG) terminals. But key to all these projects
is large H2
original
equipment manufacturers such as
Siemens Energy have also announced
they are working toward making all gas
turbine frames 100% hydrogen-capable
starting in 2030.
Building a Hydrogen Infrastructure
Still, hydrogen-ready gas turbines alone
don't make up an entire hydrogen economy.
What is lacking is infrastructure (Figure
1), and more specifically, production
capacity for hydrogen. Due to this scarcity,
prices are still high. Likewise, sufficient
hydrogen pipelines, transportation
capacity, and storage facilities are lacking
in most places. And where companies
are pushing for building the necessary inwww.powermag.com
fertilizer,
mobility, and power industries.
Infrastructure as an Enabler
One target of this buildup is the heavy
use of fossil fuels for processes that
offtakers such as the steel,
1. Additional hydrogen infrastructure is
needed to fully capitalize on the benefits
of green and blue hydrogen. Courtesy: Siemens
Energy
POWER | September 2023
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POWER September 2023

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