Hubs are a key part of the development of a hydrogen economy, according to a panel hosted by Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

Hydrogen hubs, sometimes known as clusters, help companies share risk and infrastructure, as well as encouraging them to develop partnerships and more easily match supply with demand, the panellists noted.

Once networks of hubs are established, they can act as the building blocks for a nationwide—and ultimately global—hydrogen economy, according to Leslie Biddle, senior adviser at the US Department of Energy.

“We are really looking to develop specific areas where the hydrogen economy would begin” Biddle, DoE

“In the US, we have a large geographic area, and so we are really looking to develop specific areas where the hydrogen economy would begin. And then [afterwards] look at developing the connective tissue between those different markets,” she says.

Many hubs are also often co-located with distribution centres, which can have demand from hydrogen-operated forklifts as well as trucking fleets, helping build the demand case Biddle notes.

The US 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill provides $8bn for the development of hubs, with successful applicants for the funding to be announced later this year.

Chicken-and-egg problem

The three main advantages of the hub system are cost reductions through shared infrastructure, matching supply with demand, and creating a pull for talent and investment, according to Andreas Bieringer, vice-president of hydrogen business development at Abu Dhabi state energy company Adnoc.

“If you have hubs, they will attract the right people we need to… get things moving to accelerate the projects we want to do,” he says. “We need… firms that have developed large scale, multibillion dollar investments with multiple stakeholders that can work in complex joint venture structures.”

Adnoc has a goal to develop 1mn t/yr of green hydrogen production by 2030 and has collaborative projects underway in Egypt, Azerbaijan, the UK and the Netherlands as well as at home in Abu Dhabi.

“This is something we cannot do alone. And the hubs play a good role in this, because ultimately we need partners,” Bieringer adds.

Hubs can help mitigate the need for long-term offtake agreements by getting supply up and running with small amounts of demand than can then trigger investments in greater levels of supply, he notes.

Circular economy

Hubs can also help foster the development of circular economy principles, which are vital not just in maximising the efficiency of a project but also for building a sound investment proposition, according to Gert-Jan Nieuwenhuizen, managing director of the Port of Amsterdam.

“The core principle of the circular economy is that the waste of one company can be the feedstock to to another company, which can apply to hydrogen hubs,” he says.

“One example is the production of [sustainable aviation fuel: SAF] from green hydrogen and biogenic CO₂ left over from other processes.”

The SAF e-fuel project is a partnership between airport operator Royal Schiphol Group, technology developer SkyNRG and airline KLM, and will see SAF piped to Schiphol airport through an existing kerosene pipeline from 2027.

The Port of Amsterdam is also trialling the re-use of diesel storage tanks for hydrogen in the form of liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs). The port has signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an LOHC dehydrogenation plant with a release capacity of up to 100–500t/d hydrogen.

Decarbonising heavy industry

The hub model also dovetails with a second goal of US policy, which is decarbonising heavy industry, according to Biddle.

“As well as the $8bn going into hubs, we have an incremental $6.3bn going into the hard-to-abate sectors,” she says. “When you have the ability to co-locate hydrogen and green steel or hydrogen and green cement, then you are by nature addressing some of the transportation issues associated with the fuel.”

Hydrogen is harder than natural gas to transport because its high volumetric density means it requires compression, liquefaction or attachment to an LOHC carrier for transport.

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Author: Tom Young