The concept of green hydrogen is not new, but despite being the most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen has only been used in science, engineering and technology in its gaseous H2 form since the 18th century. As a constituent part of water, there would be no oceans and therefore no life on Earth without it. Fast forward, and it is being used in a range of industries for the manufacture of chemical products, including methanol and ammonia, the energy source for transportation and the fuel for heavy industries. Almost all hydrogen used in industry today is synthetic, manufactured through water electrolysis, which we’ ll address in this article, or steammethane reforming. The technologies available to do this have, until recently, relied on fossil-fuelderived electricity. However, significant inroads have been made to produce green hydrogen, which is created by splitting water into hydrogen( H2) and oxygen( O2). For it to take the name‘ green’ it must use an electric current that comes from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar or hydro. In light of the drive towards a fossil-free future that aligns with the current global energy transition, and all consumer, government and industry association targets, companies are taking renewed notice of green hydrogen. It is growing and will continue to grow long-term as technologies and infrastructure come into play that can make the most of it. A host of industries will use it to decarbonise their manufacturing processes, including steel and cement. In addition, the growing battery and energy storage industries will benefit. Overall, there is a chance to make significant gains in industries with green hydrogen, but those companies at the forefront cannot reduce their emissions alone. More can be expected from global technology leaders like ABB, who have highly
HYDROGEN
Powering up process industries to meet global energy transition demands
Hydrogen is used in a range of applications, from the manufacture of chemical products to an energy source for transportation and as a fuel for heavy industries.
By Ralph Burgener, Business Unit Manager, High Power Rectifiers,
ABB Process Industries
The use of hydrogen and green hydrogen has current and future uses for emissions reduction in heavy industries. Image ABB complementary technologies already installed at customer sites or are available to be packaged and engineered to suit specific outcomes. It takes automation, electrification, and digital solutions to ensure that the likes of cement and steel can be produced in leaner and cleaner ways.
Evolving electrolysers
The industries mentioned so far, cement and steel, can be expanded to include mobility: trucks, buses, railways and ships. But we will focus on the former two, which together contribute more than 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions annually, according to a range of sources including Climate Group. There are long-term ambitions for these industries to be fully decarbonised, but this is no mean feat, particularly in the face of the current geopolitical environment and supply chain bottlenecks seen globally. Some companies are indeed rolling back mega projects that were intended to bring green hydrogen to markets fast. However, the technologies that exist today will be crucial to help meet 2030, 2035 and 2050 targets, and dovetail with incoming technologies. Where we do see progress today is in the development of electrolyser technologies, an evolution that will be a springboard to commercial green hydrogen production at scale, potentially transported between continents and used in the biggest carbon emissions emitting industries. Infrastructure is required everywhere, from the Americas and Europe to the Middle East and Africa, Asia and Australia. But existing heavy industries are already familiar with using some of the equipment and modular energy carrier and storage systems. There is talk at our company about technologies and components including electrical control and protection to assure grid connection, motors to power pumps and compressors to handle the storage of hydrogen, and sensors to monitor and measure parameters such as flow
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