Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has accelerated the need to transition to hydrogen, according to Dave Edwards, director and hydrogen advocate at French industrial gas company Air Liquide.

“It’s made us think about our exposure to natural gas and that shifting to alternatives including hydrogen needs to be accelerated,” he tells Hydrogen Economist, adding that there is an increased focus on sources of hydrogen that do not require natural gas as a feedstock.

The additional pressure comes on top of existing drivers for hydrogen demand, including a growing suite of policies and regulations designed to encourage uptake of the fuel.

Edwards cites California as an example of a favourable policy environment. The state has a low-carbon fuel standard and a low-carbon vehicle purchase and sales requirement, as well as goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“California policies are stable and long term, whereas in contrast US federal policy can change from election to election,” he says. “In industry, we need long-term stability to make investments.”

Another major driver for hydrogen demand comes from progressive companies looking at the carbon footprint in their production, business activities or throughout the supply chain—such as delivery fleets or data centres.  

New plant

Air Liquide will soon open a $250mn plant near Las Vegas, Nevada to convert methane from landfills to hydrogen for mobility uses. The hydrogen will be shipped as a cryogenic liquid to markets throughout the western USA. The factory will be able to produce up to 30t/d of liquid hydrogen, enough for some 40,000 fuel-cell vehicles.

“In industry, we need long-term stability to make investments” Edwards, Air Liquide

But more support is still needed for the adoption of fuel-cell heavy-duty trucks if the market is to grow, according to Edwards. Manufacturers currently can manufacture 10-100 such trucks a year, but need to be able to make thousands in order to support market growth. “That hasn’t happened yet,” he says.

Fuel-cell vehicles—and the infrastructure to power them—are still more expensive than their diesel or gasoline equivalents, meaning costs have to come down.  California—which has 12,000 fuel-cell vehicles registered—and Europe are two regions that have managed to make inroads on this.

Europe is a world leader in terms of hydrogen policy, Edwards notes, adding that other progressive regions include South Korea, China and Japan. The UK, the Canadian province of British Columbia and Chile are also developing supportive policies.

But policy environments must support both blue and green hydrogen. “We need all the options,” Edwards says, adding that almost any energy feedstock can be converted to hydrogen.

Reducing costs

Blue hydrogen could cost $1.25/kg by 2030, while green hydrogen could reach $1/kg by 2050, according to non-profit research group Resources for the Future. Green hydrogen can easily become cost-competitive, says Edwards, but not for some time.

The US Department of Energy’s ‘Hydrogen Shot’ initiative, launched in June 2021, seeks to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80pc to $1/kg in a decade.

Air Liquide is partnering with a number of companies in the hydrogen sector. These include Firstelement Fuels in California, which provides retail hydrogen fuelling, and car manufacturer Toyota and electrolyser manufacturer Hydrogenics in Canada.

“The world of hydrogen is changing every day,” says Edwards, noting that use of the fuel is spreading away from niche applications in the refining and fertiliser industries to other uses.

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Author: Ros Davidson