[ applications ]
The three pillars under the IRA
Under Section 45V of the IRA , three pillars form the framework for green hydrogen to qualify for tax credits : the power generation would be time coincident , from new resources , and regionally connected ( Federal Register , 2023 ). These requirements are intended to assure that low CI electric power is not diverted from existing customers to green hydrogen applications , yielding zero net environmental benefit . Achieving the lowest GHG score and maximum benefit under the IRA requires low CI electric power . The power will need to have a CI below 8 g CO 2
e / kWh ยน in order to achieve the IRA threshold of 0.45 kg CO 2 e / kg of H 2
, which is feasible with renewable or nuclear power . In the case of fossil fuel generation , the CI is well above 400 g
CO 2
e / kWh ; so even a small fraction of fossil power would exclude hydrogen from achieving the lowest IRA threshold value . The Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) mandates that hydrogen eligible for 45V credits must not be used inefficiently while supporting emerging applications ( IRS , 2023 ).
The IRA guidance in Section 45V is sector and technology agnostic even though end use applications have different impacts on overall CI displacement . Natural gas-based pathways with CO 2 capture ( blue hydrogen ) could potentially qualify for credits under Section 45V . However , the three pillars will also apply to renewable power used to operate autothermal reformers . Proposed limitations on the IRA could also impact the incentive value for hydrogen projects at oil refineries ( Martin , 2024 ). While reducing emissions from oil refineries will displace current hydrogen production emissions , continuing to refine crude oil is also an indirect impact of clean production .
Figure 2 shows a range of potential green hydrogen applications and some of the displaced products . Several new applications have additional environmental benefits due to displacing more emissions or advancing technology in new sectors . For example , expanding renewable diesel facilities
Fig . 2 . Green hydrogen has potential for use in many industrial applications .
will rely on new sources of natural gas-based hydrogen or the use of renewable naphtha , which could otherwise be used as a chemical feedstock to produce low GHG materials . eFuels , such as methanol-to-jet ( MTJ ) or Fischer Tropsch fuels derived from green hydrogen and waste CO 2
, provide an opportunity to decarbonize the aviation sector . Ammonia is a key component to agriculture and it has a relatively high carbon intensity . The use of hydrogen in fuel cell vehicles will result in zeroemission transportation and displace twice the amount of diesel energy in trucking applications .
An additional benefit of the production of green hydrogen is the co-product oxygen . The oxygen co-product from electrolyzers or air separation units could be integrated with biomass gasification . This integration implies a potential synergy where the oxygen can be utilized to contribute to more sustainable industrial practices . Green hydrogen used as a boiler fuel could reduce the GHG footprint of industrial processes and even reduce the carbon intensity of natural gas-intensive fuels such as corn ethanol .
Hydrogen Tech World | Issue 17 | August 2024 27