• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
  FEATURED
13 Canadian Fossils Linked to Massive Losses in Western Wildfires May 27, 2023
‘Remarkable Rebuke’: 130 U.S, EU Legislators Ask UN to Ditch Fossil CEO as COP 28 Chair May 23, 2023
Ontario Overrules Cities to Push Gas Plant Expansions May 23, 2023
Climate Concerns Drive Job Choices for 40% of Workers Under 40 May 23, 2023
PEROVSKITES: Qcells Plans First Production Line for ‘Miracle’ Solar Cell May 23, 2023
Next
Prev

Don’t Let Fossil-Derived Hydrogen Undermine New Federal Strategy, Climate Hawks Urge

December 4, 2020
Reading time: 4 minutes
Primary Author: Compiled by The Energy Mix staff

anita_starzycka/Pixabay

anita_starzycka/Pixabay

3
SHARES
 

The Canadian government has a chance to tap into renewably-produced hydrogen as a way to decarbonize key sectors of the economy, but not if it allows that potential to be “undermined by a focus on fossil fuel-derived hydrogen,” a list of 27 environmental organizations and other non-profits warned last week in a letter to Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan and three of his cabinet colleagues.

“Only renewable hydrogen is truly emissions-free, and as such, renewable hydrogen aligns with the deep decarbonization required to tackle climate change,” the groups state. “However, the oil and gas sector is pushing for governments to invest in fossil fuel-derived hydrogen as a way to search for a new market for their products as the world transitions away from fossil fuels,” with one government official citing hydrogen as a possible “net-zero moonshot” for the fossil sector.

  • The climate news you need. Subscribe now to our engaging new weekly digest.
  • You’ll receive exclusive, never-before-seen-content, distilled and delivered to your inbox every weekend.
  • The Weekender: Succinct, solutions-focused, and designed with the discerning reader in mind.
Subscribe

That kind of talk, along with the latest draft executive summary of the upcoming federal hydrogen strategy, have the groups “deeply concerned that the government is caving to the demands of the industry rather than identifying what is in the Canadian economy’s best interest,” even as European planners identify renewable hydrogen as the “only sustainable hydrogen source,” the letter states.

[Disclosure: Energy Mix Productions was one of the 27 organizations that signed on to the letter to O’Regan.]

“The federal government has been working on a hydrogen strategy for three years, following in the footsteps of dozens of countries in Europe and Asia as it eyes the fuel source to help Canada get to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” the Globe and Mail reports in a November 30 dispatch. “That strategy was due for release in the summer, but Ottawa now says it will likely be released this coming month.”

Hydrogen fuel “is enjoying unprecedented global momentum,” the Globe adds. “Countries have spent or earmarked billions of dollars to accelerate hydrogen technologies, and Canada’s federal government is expected to attach funding to its own plan.”

But the most visible provincial strategy to date comes from Alberta, where a 26-page plan from the Jason Kenney government pitches hydrogen, plastics recycling, and even geothermal energy as elements of an economic diversification strategy that leans heavily on natural gas to create tens of thousands of jobs and reboot the province’s sagging economy. (The Mix took a deep dive into the shortcomings of that plan when it was released in early October.)

In the letter to O’Regan, the groups said funding for so-called “blue” hydrogen derived from natural gas would constitute a new fossil fuel subsidy. “To the extent that any public resources are available for hydrogen development, they should be reserved for renewable hydrogen for the hardest-to-decarbonize sectors that do not have viable decarbonization alternatives,” the letter states. “Canada should not be providing any form of financial support for the development of fossil fuel-derived hydrogen.”

While the federal strategy takes shape, and worries about fossil-derived hydrogen continue to percolate, recent studies suggest the technology won’t be cost-competitive for another decade. A mid-November analysis by S&P Global Ratings concluded that green hydrogen “would require a 50% decrease in renewable energy costs and a 30 to 50% reduction in the cost of electrolysis” to be economically viable, Utility Dive reported November 30, the same day the Globe reported on the letter to O’Regan.

“Achieving this, the analysts believe, would require aggressive government policies and a power mix comprised of at least 70 to 80% renewable energy,” the industry newsletter adds. “As this is unlikely to occur before 2030 [in the United States], large-scale adoption of hydrogen to heat buildings and generate power is likely decades out.”

For the trifecta of November 30 news stories on hydrogen, Greentech Media looked at the technical hurdles utilities will face as they try to integrate the fuel with their current operations. The story describes early efforts to blend hydrogen with fossil gas at concentrations of 20% or less, but still points to formidable challenges with engineering, energy density, and supplies.

“Can carbon-free hydrogen augment, or even replace, the fossil natural gas running through pipelines to fuel furnaces, boilers, stoves, and other building applications today?” asks veteran reporter Jeff St. John. “Or will the effort get bogged down in challenges related to pipeline safety and upgrade costs, loss of energy density, the long-term cost discrepancies compared to electrifying natural gas-fired heat and appliances in buildings, or the pressure to direct green hydrogen to hard-to-decarbonize sectors?”

Greentech points to hydrogen embrittlement—the ability of the small hydrogen molecule to “weaken metal or polyethylene pipes and increase leakage risks, particularly in high-pressure pipes”—as an obvious pitfall. “Hydrogen can attack the metal structure under certain circumstances, certain pressures, certain concentrations,” said Antony Green, hydrogen project director at National Grid UK. “That’s an area the materials scientists are trying to tackle.”

Hydrogen also “burns very differently” than fossil gas, said Jussi Heikkinen, Americas director of growth and development for Finland’s Wärtsilä Energy, which Greentech says is investing in 100% hydrogen engines.

“It burns almost as an explosion,” Heikkinen said. “It’s a blast, and then it’s done,” a feature that efficiently converts gas to heat, but comes with its own safety and engineering challenges.

The net result is that “when you go beyond 25% hydrogen in the fuel, in most places in the world, you’re no longer able to use the same equipment,” he said. “Electronics, for example, must be explosion-proof,” and “there should be no sparks, because hydrogen ignites with almost any air-to-fuel ratio.”

On top of that, with hydrogen offering about one-third the energy density of fossil gas, switching fuels would reduce the amount of useful energy a pipeline can deliver.

Greentech has more on the pros, cons, and competitive challenges of a shift to green hydrogen.



in Canada, Climate & Society, Community Climate Finance, Ending Emissions, Energy / Carbon Pricing & Economics, Fossil Fuels, Hydropower, Jurisdictions, Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy, Sub-National Governments

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

Martin Davis/Facebook
Carbon Levels & Measurement

13 Canadian Fossils Linked to Massive Losses in Western Wildfires

May 27, 2023
26
FMSC/Flickr
Finance & Investment

Waive Debt to Unlock Urgently Needed Adaptation Funds, Researchers Urge

May 27, 2023
13
Arctic Circle/flickr
COP Conferences

‘Remarkable Rebuke’: 130 U.S, EU Legislators Ask UN to Ditch Fossil CEO as COP 28 Chair

May 23, 2023
370

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

François GOGLINS/wikimedia commons

Corrosion Problem Shutters Half of France’s Nuclear Reactors

August 2, 2022
3.7k
Arctic Circle/flickr

‘Remarkable Rebuke’: 130 U.S, EU Legislators Ask UN to Ditch Fossil CEO as COP 28 Chair

May 23, 2023
370
Martin Davis/Facebook

13 Canadian Fossils Linked to Massive Losses in Western Wildfires

May 27, 2023
26
Inspiration 4 Photos/flickr

Cooling Upper Atmosphere Has Scientists ‘Very Worried’

May 23, 2023
233
University of Oxford Press Office/flickr

PEROVSKITES: Qcells Plans First Production Line for ‘Miracle’ Solar Cell

May 23, 2023
400
Jon Sullivan/flickr

Ontario Overrules Cities to Push Gas Plant Expansions

May 23, 2023
851

Recent Posts

FMSC/Flickr

Waive Debt to Unlock Urgently Needed Adaptation Funds, Researchers Urge

May 27, 2023
13
Andrés Nieto Porras/wikimedia commons

‘Carbon Neutral’, ‘Net-Zero’ Claims Face Global Greenwash Crackdown

May 23, 2023
196
Activités culturelles UdeM/Flickr

Climate Concerns Drive Job Choices for 40% of Workers Under 40

May 23, 2023
155
peellden/Wikimedia Commons

Scientists Sound Alarm on Methane Emissions, Habitat Hazards at U.S. Hydro Dams

May 23, 2023
148
nakashi/flickr

Tokyo Residents Rally to Protect Trees, Stop Skyscrapers in Iconic Urban Park

May 21, 2023
477
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/unrecognizable-from-the-original-design-suburban-renovations-disprove-cookie-cutter-stereotype

Embrace Suburbs, Exurbs in Climate Planning, Researchers Urge Cities

May 21, 2023
47
Next Post
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shanghaiairpollutionsunset.jpg

Global Death Toll from Heat Emergencies, Air Pollution Shows Need for Climate Action, Health Professionals Say

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}