Sarah Kimpton: Hydrogen’s evolving role in the energy mix – An interview with Hydrogen Central
Sarah Kimpton is vice president and low carbon lead, UK and Ireland, Energy Systems at DNV. She has over 30 years’ experience working as a consultant on projects focused on switching hard-to-decarbonize sectors, particularly natural gas, to hydrogen. DNV, an independent assurance and risk management provider, advances safety and sustainable performance, sets industry standards and inspires solutions through its broad experience and deep expertise.
How significant a role do you expect hydrogen to play in the future energy mix and the decarbonization of the oil and gas industry?
With pressure increasing on governments and businesses across the globe to achieve emissions reduction targets, hydrogen is expected to play a key role in a clean energy future. DNV’s Hydrogen Forecast to 2050 report revealed that more than half of senior energy professionals surveyed believe that hydrogen will become a significant part of the energy mix by 2030. In addition, we have also seen several hydrogen-centric pilots evolving into concrete commitments with many full-scale projects being launched in recent months.
However, DNV’s analysis has shown that if hydrogen uptake maintains its current trajectory, it will fall two-thirds short of the 15% global energy share by 2050 requirement for hydrogen established by the Paris Agreement.
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Hydrogen produced today is largely grey, black, and brown; born of fossil fuels. As carbon prices rise, the oil and gas industry can lead the charge in the decarbonization process. The transition in this sector from grey, black, and brown hydrogen to its low-carbon forms, such as green and blue hydrogen, in oil refining, ammonia production, and other industrial market segments, could help to increase demand and scale hydrogen’s ecosystem.
What steps are required to facilitate the greater adoption of hydrogen as an energy carrier?
There are a variety of factors that impact the scale-up of hydrogen as an energy carrier and if these can be overcome, low-carbon hydrogen has the potential to become an important pillar of the energy transition. Looking at the infrastructure and operational processes related to hydrogen production, including safety, are key steps to ensuring widespread uptake of hydrogen as a fuel source.
DNV is currently working on set and check requirements for safe and reliable design, construction, and use of hydrogen, alongside delivering risk studies and developing cross-industry regulatory documentation. The use of hydrogen as an energy carrier will also be reliant on the adoption of hydrogen derivatives and hydrogen-based synthetic fuels in circumstances where it is not suitable to use pure hydrogen. Marine vessels, for example, may find it more convenient to use green ammonia as a fuel rather than liquid or compressed hydrogen, while the aviation industry is investigating the use of synthetic fuels which are low carbon but have similar combustion and storage properties to their fossil-based equivalents.
What role will hydrogen play as a transition fuel and in terms of energy security?
As industries further rely on the environmental credentials of hydrogen, its position in the transition fuels mix could be set to grow. The affordability, availability and safety of hydrogen must also be balanced with its green credentials when looking at its strategic viability as an energy carrier. For it to be a success, its advantages when compared to other alternative fuel sources must be made clear.
Looking at low-carbon hydrogen in terms of energy security, it could be set to play a substantial role as part of an energy-secure future through integrating hydrogen with existing gas systems or as an energy carrier for medium and long-term energy storage.
Will changes to the energy grid be necessary to accommodate hydrogen?
While changes to the energy grid will be necessary, alterations that are currently being made are well positioned for repurposing with hydrogen. Looking at the UK, ageing iron pipelines in the gas distribution network are being replaced with polyethylene pipes, which are already suitable for hydrogen. After installation, they will have a lifespan of around 80 to 100 years and will be ideally suited to continue to deliver natural gas and then hydrogen to people’s homes.
However, the gas transmission system at higher pressure tiers is constructed from steel and more information is required to determine whether these assets are compatible with hydrogen. It’s also important to consider whether it is possible to repurpose other parts of the system such as valves, compressors, and measurement equipment.
DNV is working with National Grid to address some of these issues by taking decommissioned assets from the National Transmission System and using them to build a test loop at Spadeadam, DNV’s research and testing facility. As a first step, natural gas/hydrogen blends will be run through the test loop at concentrations of up to 20% hydrogen. If these tests are successful, flows of 100% hydrogen will be tested to verify compatibility and safety.
To what extent will hydrogen be used for the decarbonization of the manufacturing and transport sectors?
Hydrogen is set to scale in the manufacturing sector in leading regions from the early 2030s according to DNV’s Global Energy Transition Outlook report. The report also highlighted that hydrogen derivatives, such as ammonia, e-methanol, and other e-fuels, will begin scaling within the heavy transport sector in the late 2030s. While DNV estimates that maritime vessels powered by pure hydrogen and ammonia could be on the water within eight years – with three hydrogen vessels currently on order – the lack of design guidance is complicating the building process. As part of efforts to rectify this, DNV is currently supporting The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) in assessing the potential safety-related barriers to widescale adoption of hydrogen in the transportation sector.
What more can be done to encourage the adoption of hydrogen in hard to decarbonize sectors?
Some sectors will certainly have more to consider than others when looking at decarbonization, but the number of hydrogen initiatives in hard-to-abate sectors is growing rapidly worldwide. The difficulty within these sectors is that very few projects reach a final investment decision and fail to come to fruition. As hydrogen becomes more widespread, sectors with a more complex decarbonization journey will follow suit and more of these projects will receive the green light to begin operations.
Ensuring safety will also encourage hydrogen adoption, with relevant stakeholders undertaking pilot projects and employing a risk-based approach using safety modelling and experiments to eliminate risk.
What safety measures must be considered with the increasing adoption of hydrogen produced energy?
As hydrogen is now an essential tool in the decarbonization arsenal we must not allow safety to become the chink in the armour that halts rollout. DNV is leading work to ensure that safety remains paramount at hydrogen facilities and is on par with, or surpasses, safety standards at natural gas facilities. The standardization of safety standards across the energy industry will be key to the success of a future hydrogen industry.
Another essential component when considering safety is the implementation of up-to-date policies and regulations. These must address safety gaps that are found in operational procedures and will reassure the market that hydrogen is a safe energy option.
What is being done to increase market confidence as hydrogen begins to play a larger role in the energy mix?
DNV’s new joint industry project will enhance the standardization of reliable, safe, and cost-efficient hydrogen production systems that use renewable energy-powered electrolysis; this will increase confidence by reducing risks and uncertainties.
Governments are also in an excellent position to increase market confidence by incorporating hydrogen into strategies, policy, and planning. Many governments across the globe have established hydrogen targets and budgets which can catalyze interest in hydrogen projects and scale uptake towards meeting future climate objectives between 2030 and 2050.
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