Hydrogen capture and storage
Hydrogen capture and storage is the new go-to method of reducing emissions, favoured by both the Coalition and Labor, but in the case of the former, not at the expense of coal.[1]
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It can be produced with no emissions when renewable energy is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, or from coal or gas using technology that captures and stores carbon.
Electricity from wind and solar is intermittent – it cannot be produced on demand if the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing. But when renewables are producing electricity, hydrogen can store the energy for days, weeks or even months – much like batteries - then release it when and where it's needed.
Labor's idea was to position Australia as a global leader in the technology, which promises to radically cut global carbon emissions by replacing natural gas, coal, petrol and diesel. The Chief Scientist has described the potential export of solar-produced hydrogen as “shipping sunshine” to the world, and is developing a national hydrogen strategy with the support of the Council of Australian Governments.
A discussion paper says Australia’s abundance of wind, sun and fossil fuels means it is well placed to produce hydrogen at scale, and it has offshore sites suitable for carbon capture and storage for hydrogen produced from coal or gas. A Shorten government would have spent $1.14 billion on a national hydrogen plan, including funding from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
A Coalition government consultation paper says that by 2030, a hydrogen export industry in Australia could be worth up to $1.7 billion and provide around 2,800 direct and indirect jobs.
Japan and South Korea plan to become big hydrogen users, creating a massive export opportunity for Australia. However, nations including Brunei, Norway and Saudi Arabia are also racing to develop the technology.
But the problems are many:
- Australia does not yet have the infrastructure needed to scale up, and hydrogen is still expensive to produce compared with other fuels.
- Hydrogen produced from coal and gas emits greenhouse gas pollution, unless the carbon can be captured and stored. But that technology, known by the acronym CCS, is far from being proven at commercial scale in Australia.
- Producing hydrogen from renewable energy is not without potential environmental problems. Hydrogen emits no greenhouse gases when burned in engines or power
plants, but splitting water by electrolysis to create hydrogen consumes
electricity. For every 1 kilogram of hydrogen produced through
electrolysis – splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen – nine litres of
water is needed. Little is known about how a full-throttle hydrogen
export industry would affect scarce water resources in Australia, the
driest continent on Earth. Clean energy advocates argue that Australia has the space
to build wind and solar power stations to become a green hydrogen export
leader, but the Federal coalition has not ruled out a role for gas and coal.
- Hydrogen is also highly flammable.
- The transition to hydrogen, if it occurs, will not come quickly. Advocates say hydrogen could, in coming decades, rival the scale of Australia's liquefied natural gas sector. Last year Australia became the world's biggest exporter of LNG – 30 years after the first shipments left our shores.
Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy may be found at https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publicwations/australias-national-hydrogen-strategy Alternatives floated to power the production of so-called “green hydrogen” include the tapping of renewable energy sources powered by solar, wind and biomass, and Latrobe Valley brown coal for the production of “brown hydrogen” as part of the “world-first Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) pilot. Key markets such as japan and Korea are said to have signalled a shift towards low-emission hydrogen for the future.
Meanwhile, NSW researchers have come up with a technique using metal alloys capable of storing surplus electricity in the form of hydrogen much more cheaply than lithium batteries to take advantage of the renewables rush. The system uses power to create hydrogen, which is then stored until needed for electricity production via a fuel cell. This solid-state mix can operate in a range of temperatures – such as from minus-10 to 50 degrees – depending on the climate the storage was intended for. The batteries, held within two shipping containers, would aim to store about eight hours' worth of electricity, increasing the prospect that the nearby users could move off the grid entirely. The aim is to develop dozens of such solar farms, backed up with wind and storage, in coming years, he said.
At the same time, NSW is also pursuing large-scale hydrogen production as part of its attempt to tackle the COVID-19 economic crisis, with Newcastle and Port Kembla identified as critical hubs for tens of thousands of new export jobs. Hydrogen is a gas or liquid that can be used to store energy produced from other sources, including renewable energy, meaning that it can be used as a source of portable emissions-free power. Australia, and in particular NSW is said to be one of the most cost-competitive locations in the world to produce hydrogen, according to the NSW Chief Scientist.
[1] This material is an edited summary of two articles by Nicole Hasham which appeared in the SMH on 1 March 2019: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/morrison-government-heralds-the-hydrogen-revolution-20190228-p510yr.html
and July 6-7 2019: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/could-hydrogen-energy-be-australia-s-future-this-village-might-show-us-how-20190705-p524h8.html
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