H2Tech sat down with Deepak Bawa, Director of Project Development–LNG and Hydrogen Projects for New Fortress Energy, to discuss the roles of blue and green H2 in the energy transition, as well as how blue H2 both complements and competes with the natural gas midstream sector.
Is hydrogen the fuel of the future? This most-abundant element in the universe has, for many years, played a key role in the international space program and in more down-to-earth applications for refinery upgrading and chemicals production, such as methanol and ammonia.
Hydrogen, more specifically green H2, is being used increasingly across the world for a wide range of industrial applications. In the U.S., forecasters predict that H2 from low-carbon sources could supply roughly 14% of the country’s energy needs by 2050, including hard-to-electrify sectors now dependent on natural gas, such as high-heat industrial processes and manufacturing fertilizer.
Meeting net carbon-neutral targets by 2050 requires new clean energy sources. Hydrogen can be produced as a zero-carbon fuel and will be a major contributor to meeting this objective.
Welcome to the inaugural issue of H2Tech! Designed as a working technical journal for engineers and business professionals involved in fuel, industrial and chemical applications for hydrogen, H2Tech keeps readers abreast of new developments in this fast-growing sector.
Hydrogen is recognized as playing a crucial role in global net-zero carbon targets, through its potential use in vehicles and in domestic heating. This is because H2 contains no carbon, so when used in a fuel cell or combustion engine its only product is water vapor. However, due to the low abundance of elemental H2 in the earth’s atmosphere, H2 must be first produced before it can be used as a fuel.
As part of the EU’s Strategy for Energy System Integration under the European Green Deal, low-carbon H2 is being promoted as a solution for those sectors where electrification is difficult.
Hydrogen is being contemplated or implemented as an alternative fuel in several parts of the world. Creating a large-scale infrastructure for H2 fuels requires an objective assessment of the associated risks. Such an assessment requires consideration of the probability of ignition of potential releases in a variety of storage, loading and fueling situations.
The air quality indexes (AQIs) and particulate matter (PM) concentrations in many fast-developing countries and regions are climbing to high levels that are considered extremely hazardous to public health and the environment.
