Hydrogen production from natural gas can be made almost entirely carbon-free using a technique called pyrolysis, say German industry executives who have called on the European Union to support the technology\u2019s development on a commercial scale.<\/p>\n
While the European Commission reckons electricity will form the \u201cbackbone\u201d of Europe\u2019s low-carbon energy system in 2050, it still has a lot of catching up to do. Only 20% of Europe\u2019s energy needs are currently met by electricity, with renewable sources making just 7% of final EU energy consumption, according to the IEA.<\/p>\n
And although wind and solar power are growing fast, low-carbon gases such as hydrogen \u201ccan fill the electrification gap\u201d by covering the needs of heavy industries, said Timm Kehler from Zukunft ERDGAS, an initiative from the German natural gas industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a limit to electrification,\u201d Kehler warned, saying hydrogen from natural gas \u201ccan offer decarbonisation at very low cost\u201d for industrial sectors like steelmaking, cement and chemicals, which cannot be electrified.<\/p>\n
Swedish steel boss: \u2018Our pilot plant will only emit water vapour\u2019<\/p>\n
A new pilot facility under construction in northern Sweden will produce steel using hydrogen from renewable electricity. The only emissions will be water vapour, explains the CEO of Hybrit, the company behind the process, which seeks to revolutionise steelmaking.<\/p>\n
Nearly all hydrogen used in Europe today comes from natural gas obtained from a process called steam methane reforming. But while that process is cost-competitive, it also releases CO2 unless it is coupled with costly carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to bury the emissions underground.<\/p>\n
An environmentally-friendly way of producing hydrogen is via water electrolysis, which uses renewable electricity as the energy source to split the water molecule. The downside is the high cost of electrolysers and the energy losses when converting electricity into hydrogen.<\/p>\n
Now, researchers say they have developed an alternative route, called pyrolysis, which they claim addresses cost issues because it doesn\u2019t rely on CCS to mitigate carbon emissions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it possible to use hydrocarbons without producing CO2? When I asked this question 3-4 years ago, people thought it was impossible,\u201d said Alberto Ab\u00e1nades from the Polytechnic University of Madrid.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, we can do that,\u201d he told Brussels-based reporters on Friday (21 June).<\/p>\n
Under a tried and tested process called pyrolysis, natural gas is heated up to high temperatures in order to generate hydrogen. And the only residue left is carbon in a solid form \u2013 rather than in the gaseous form which is the main cause of global warming.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe substitute the production of CO2 with the production of carbon,\u201d Ab\u00e1nades explained, saying graphitic carbon is a \u201cvery noble material\u201d used for example in steelmaking or the manufacturing of\u00a0batteries used in electric cars.<\/p>\n
Researcher: 100% renewable energy requires \u2018a lot of green hydrogen\u2019<\/p>\n
The production of so-called green hydrogen from wind and solar electricity is seen as a potential game-changer for the transition to a 100% renewable energy system. But getting there will take some time and some intermediary solutions will be needed, says Daan Peters.<\/p>\n
Hydrogen, \u201cthe key to deep decarbonisation\u201d<\/p>\n
Green hydrogen is a 100% carbon-free source of energy which is widely seen as a central piece of Europe\u2019s future low-carbon energy mix. In a long-term climate and energy strategy for 2050, the European Commission said hydrogen and other low-carbon gases will be essential to cut emissions from industrial sectors which cannot be electrified.<\/p>\n
The question is where the hydrogen comes from, and whether it can be produced in large quantities without emitting greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.<\/p>\n
While \u201cgreen hydrogen\u201d made from renewable electricity is considered clean, \u201cblue hydrogen\u201d made from fossil gas with carbon sequestration is resisted by environmentalists who point to the\u00a0risk of methane slippage during gas drilling operations. \u201cGrey hydrogen,\u201d meanwhile, is considered the dirtiest because it comes from splitting natural gas, a process which releases CO2.<\/p>\n
But hydrogen from pyrolysis has so far not been taken into account in future energy modelling scenarios, Ab\u00e1nades said.<\/p>\n
This task was undertaken recently by P\u00f6yry, a consultancy firm. Their study, published in June, sees hydrogen from natural gas as \u201cthe key to deep decarbonisation\u201d of the economy, providing a practical option in areas like industrial process heat, heavy road transport or waterborne transport, which are difficult or impossible to electrify.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has become increasingly evident that hydrogen will be an integral part of the solution to decarbonise the economy”, Kehler said.\u00a0\u201cWe need a clear target for green gas that includes hydrogen from natural gas, renewable gas from electrolysis as well as biogas,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
EU wary about one-size-fits-all target for \u2018clean gas\u2019<\/p>\n
Setting a target for low-carbon gases such as hydrogen or biomethane is going to be tricky even though the idea is supported by industry, a senior EU official has said, warning against a one-size-fits-all approach.<\/p>\n
Cost remains an issue<\/p>\n
Pyrolysis has key advantages, the P\u00f6yry study says. It is \u201ccheaper and more scalable than electrolysis and overcomes many of the barriers associated with widespread deployment of CCS,\u201d which is necessary for the production of zero-carbon hydrogen from natural gas.<\/p>\n
Ab\u00e1nades said the cost of pyrolysis currently stands around \u20ac2 or \u20ac3 per kilo of hydrogen produced, or \u201ca little bit higher than steam methane reforming,\u201d which is the technique most commonly used to produce \u201cgrey\u201d hydrogen.<\/p>\n
However, pyrolysis becomes cheaper if the costs of CCS are taken into account, Ab\u00e1nades said. And costs are expected to go down further as soon as the technology is deployed on a commercial scale, he added.<\/p>\n
A key downside is that the overall costs of hydrogen pyrolysis are heavily dependent on the price of natural gas, most of which is currently imported in Europe from places like Norway and Russia. In fact, Norway\u2019s Equinor and Russia\u2019s Gazprom are among the supporters of Zukunft ERDGAS, green activists point out, saying this raises questions about the organisation\u2019s motives.<\/p>\n
Environmentalists also warned about the carbon neutrality claims of hydrogen production from pyrolysis, saying what matters most is the actual emissions reductions the technology can bring.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s carbon neutral, we\u2019ll support it,\u201d said one green campaigner. The most important, the source added, is that carbon reductions are properly measured and verified.<\/p>\n
Others are more critical.\u00a0\u201cThe gas industry tries everything it can to paint its old recipes in green and to claim a role in a carbon neutral world,\u201d said Antoine Simon, a campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should however not fool anyone,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u201cThis promotion of different forms of fossil gas-based hydrogen look more like a ploy for the fossil gas industry to buy some time with promises of costly and energy intensive technologies and continue in the meantime their business-as-usual,\u201d Simon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHydrogen certainly does have a role to play in a low-carbon future,\u201d Simon said, \u201cespecially for sectors which cannot be electrified. But considering the current climate crisis, we have only time for no-regret and truly sustainable options such as hydrogen made from green electricity,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n
\u2018No future\u2019 for fossil gas in Europe, Greens insist<\/p>\n
Natural gas of fossil origin has \u201cno future\u201d in Europe, Greens have warned as EU energy ministers prepared to sign a declaration on Tuesday (2 April) promoting \u201csmart gas infrastructure\u201d as part of a low-carbon energy mix for 2050.<\/p>\n
Carbon, a\u00a0critical raw material<\/p>\n
Still, \u201cpyrolysis can be a cost-effective and scalable solution to hydrogen production,\u201d the P\u00f6yry study claims, saying the technology also mitigates the risk that widespread CCS might not be deployed at scale in a sufficiently short timeframe.<\/p>\n
Another upside is the solid carbon that results from the pyrolysis process.<\/p>\n
\u201cGraphitic carbon is considered a critical raw material by the EU,\u201d Ab\u00e1nades pointed out. But while Europe currently consumes 10% of the world\u2019s carbon, it produces only 1% of it, he said, adding that Europe currently imports massive amounts of carbon from China, which represents 70% of the world\u2019s production.<\/p>\n
Graphitic carbon is used in traditional industries such as steelmaking. But it is also used in high-tech industries such as Li-ion battery production, or for producing innovative materials such as graphene, Ab\u00e1nades said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA new economy could come out from the availability of cheap and very pure carbon,\u201d the Spanish researcher said, adding this could bring about a \u201cnew industrial revolution\u201d while making natural gas \u201cpart of the circular economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ab\u00e1nades\u2019s project, called DECARGAS, won the second prize from EIT Raw Materials<\/a>, an EU research and innovation initiative.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Background paper<\/p>\n