Hydrogen storage tanks photographed in Spain on May 19, 2022. Hydrogen has a various vary of functions and will be deployed in a variety of industries.
Angel Garcia | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Hydrogen has an element to play within the U.Ok.’s shift to a net-zero financial system however its function will seemingly be restricted to sure sectors, in accordance to a report from an influential committee of U.Ok. lawmakers.
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee concluded that though hydrogen possessed “several attractive features, most of the evidence we have received was clear that with current technologies, it does not represent a panacea.”
“As the UK looks to transition to a Net Zero economy, hydrogen will likely have specific but limited roles to play across a variety of sectors to decarbonise where other technologies — such as electrification and heat pumps — are not possible, practical, or economic,” the report, which was revealed Monday, mentioned.
Described by the International Energy Agency as a “versatile energy carrier,” hydrogen has a various vary of functions and will be deployed in a variety of industries.
One technique of manufacturing hydrogen makes use of electrolysis, a course of by way of which an electrical present splits water into oxygen and hydrogen.
Some name the ensuing hydrogen “green” or “renewable” if the electrical energy used within the electrolysis course of comes from a renewable supply resembling wind or photo voltaic. The overwhelming majority of hydrogen technology in the present day is predicated on fossil fuels.
Monday’s report sought to mood expectations concerning the function hydrogen may play in slashing emissions and the transition to a net-zero financial system.
“To make a large contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, the production of hydrogen requires significant advances in the economic deployment of CCUS [carbon capture, utilization and storage] and/or the development of a renewable-to-hydrogen capacity,” it mentioned.
“The timing of these is uncertain, and it would be unwise to assume that hydrogen can make a very large contribution to reducing UK greenhouse gas emissions in the short- to medium-term.”
Committee chair Greg Clark mentioned that there have been “significant infrastructure challenges associated with converting our energy networks to use hydrogen and uncertainty about when low-carbon hydrogen can be produced at scale at an economical cost.”
“But there are important applications for hydrogen in particular industries so it can be, in the words of one witness to our inquiry, ‘a big niche’,” Clark added.
Industry group Hydrogen Europe didn’t instantly reply to a CNBC request for remark.
Big plans, huge challenges
Over the previous few years, main economies and companies have regarded to the rising inexperienced hydrogen sector to decarbonize industries integral to trendy life.
During a roundtable dialogue on the COP27 local weather change summit final month, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described inexperienced hydrogen as “one of the most important technologies for a climate-neutral world.”
“Green hydrogen is the key to decarbonizing our economies, especially for hard-to-electrify sectors such as steel production, the chemical industry, heavy shipping and aviation,” Scholz added, earlier than acknowledging {that a} important quantity of labor was wanted for the sector to mature.
“Of course, green hydrogen is still an infant industry, its production is currently too cost-intensive compared to fossil fuels,” he mentioned. “There’s also a ‘chicken and egg’ dilemma of supply and demand where market actors block each other, waiting for the other to move.”
Also showing on the panel was Christian Bruch, CEO of Siemens Energy. “Hydrogen will be indispensable for the decarbonization of … industry,” he mentioned.
“The question is, for us now, how do we get there in a world which is still driven, in terms of business, by hydrocarbons,” he added. “So it requires an extra effort to make green hydrogen projects … work.”