Dedicated clean hydrogen production will likely have a limited role in decarbonizing the energy sector, according to a report by the Clean Air Task Force (CATF).

The Clean Air Task Force analyzed the potential for clean hydrogen use in the energy sector and found that dedicated production and use of clean hydrogen is, in many cases, a costly and inefficient decarbonization strategy. Meanwhile, using electrolytic hydrogen as a storage fuel to offset excess clean electricity could have some applications, but alternative strategies that minimize the need for long-term storage, such as deploying clean, continuous generation such as geothermal or nuclear, would likely be more cost-effective.

“Interest in using hydrogen to decarbonize energy systems has grown rapidly, especially as a perceived ‘clean’ replacement for gas-fired power plants,” he said. Ghassan Wakim, Director of Hydrogen Technologies at CATF“The superficial logic is simple: replace a polluting fuel with one that does not emit carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, the inefficiencies of hydrogen production mean that it either amplifies upstream natural gas emissions or diverts clean electricity that could directly decarbonize the grid. After a realistic assessment of clean hydrogen’s potential role in decarbonizing the power sector, the report concludes that clean hydrogen should be prioritized for decarbonizing heavy transport and industry, rather than electricity generation.”

Report, Hydrogen in the Energy Sector: Limited Prospects in a Decarbonized Electricity Gridexamines critical feasibility issues related to producing and using clean hydrogen to generate electricity locally. Key findings from the report include:

• To enable the future use of hydrogen in the energy sector, significant investments in storage and transmission infrastructure are likely to be necessary.

• Electrolytic hydrogen produced from dedicated renewable energy sources represents a compromise: instead of producing hydrogen, these renewable energy sources could decarbonize the grid; therefore, electrolytic hydrogen could delay grid decarbonization unless the grid is already completely decarbonized.

• When a power plant burns hydrogen produced from natural gas with carbon capture, the plant’s overall emissions are reduced by 20% to 73% compared to a plant without the reduction. This range reflects the impact of emissions upstream of the natural gas supply chain. While burning hydrogen does not result in carbon dioxide emissions from the plant stack, the carbon dioxide and methane associated with producing and transporting natural gas to produce hydrogen are significant.

• Electrolytic hydrogen generated from surplus electricity in a largely decarbonized grid could play a role in balancing the grid as a form of long-term energy storage (LDES). However, where possible, an evidence-based approach should examine the entire energy system, evaluate alternatives, and optimize for cost, reliability, community impact, and land-use needs. This could reduce hydrogen consumption by identifying opportunities for cleaner, more consistent energy resources, avoiding inefficient hydrogen storage deployment.

• The average cost of electrolytic hydrogen storage exceeds that of other options such as pumped-storage hydro (PSH) and battery storage, although the latter option is largely limited to a few hours of storage.

• The life-cycle carbon emission reduction cost of excess clean electricity generated from hydrogen electrolysis is estimated at $360 per ton of CO₂while hydrogen from natural gas and carbon capture is estimated at $450 per ton of CO₂to me.

The report also presents a number of recommendations for decarbonising the energy sector, including:

• Assessing the impact of decarbonising the energy sector on the overall system costs and on the utility tariffs that retail, commercial and industrial customers will ultimately have to pay.

• An evidence-based approach to investigate the benefits and costs of using hydrogen for long-term energy storage in the context of a largely decarbonised grid and to assess alternative strategies to minimise the need for LDES using clean, solid technologies such as geothermal, nuclear and carbon capture

Read the report here for a detailed description of the research methods and findings. To learn more about CATF’s work in this area, review our home page.

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Press ContactT

Steve Reyes, Communications Manager, CATF, (email protected)+1 562-916-6463

About the Clean Air Team

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) is a global nonprofit organization that works to protect against the worst impacts of climate change by catalyzing the rapid development and deployment of low-carbon energy and other climate-saving technologies. With more than 25 years of internationally recognized climate policy experience and a strong commitment to exploring all potential solutions, CATF is a pragmatic, nonideological advocacy group with the bold ideas needed to solve climate change. CATF has offices in Boston, Washington, D.C., and Brussels, and its staff works virtually around the world. Visit catf.us to follow @cleanaircatf.