What are the best policies and incentives to promote green hydrogen adoption in different sectors?

This article has identified six key factors that can enable green hydrogen adoption, and I would like to add one more: Technology development and demonstration It is important to invest in developing and demonstrating new green hydrogen technologies. This includes technologies for producing, storing, transporting, and using hydrogen. Here I have listed three areas of hydrogen technology development: 1- Development of more efficient and cost-effective electrolysers for hydrogen production. 2- Development of new hydrogen embrittlement-resistant materials for hydrogen storage tanks and pipelines. 3- Development of more efficient fuel cells for cars.

We've established the Hydrogen safety code of practice, which provides safety requirements for supply of unodourised fuel gas and a consolidated framework on how to comply with safety requirements for hydrogen fuel gas. Topics addressed in the Code include: Hydrogen safety regulation frameworks Approvals for hydrogen gas devices (including fuel cells in vehicles) Gas work licences and authorisations including Training and competencies for hydrogen gas work Hydrogen suppliers and delivery networks Hydrogen fuel stations Odour requirements for fuel gas containing hydrogen Quality requirements for supply of hydrogen fuel Hydrogen in pipelines and gas distribution systems

Another area for consideration is the role of project approval regulators across regional jurisdictions. If one country, or even more specifically a municipality, state or province within a country, creates unnecessary delays or hurdles, project developers will navigate to easier places to deploy their time and energy. It is important for governments to establish a level playing field and cooperate to encourage renewable hydrogen development if it is to become mainstream.

The regulatory framework must include financial framework from the IRS. Investment is at stand still until IRS and Treasury establish their framework.

Hydrogen project often aren't a small or quick decision to make. Some can take years of planning, equipment spec'ing, permitting, and installation. For this reason, certainty in the consistency of a regulatory framework is key. If a region plans to rely on regulatory framework to promote hydrogen adoption, the consistent regulatory framework must be set forth in a clear and promising manor.

A great example of an effective financial incentive for renewable hydrogen investment would be to apply accelerated depreciation, flow through shares and the use of super flow through shares at the development stage. This tool was developed to attract capital to the mining, oil and gas industry in its early days when exploration stage companies faced huge risks and couldn’t attract capital. Today, renewable projects need development-stage capital to scope out projects and get past the feasibility stage. Allowing companies to flow their expenses to equity investors provides an attractive and transparent incentive for investors that is easy for regulators to oversee. It also avoids picking winners and losers in a grant model.

An example would be 45V. Once the treasury and IRS determine credit guidelines the financial incentives will drive investment and innovation to get production costs down.

Financial incentives need to be designed to cover all parts of the hydrogen value chain, starting from RE. The incentives should target both manufacturing as well as commodity production (hydrogen/derivatives in this case) for the entire set of components of the hydrogen value chain. Moreover, financial incentives should also be aimed at the supporting functions needed for the overall sustainability of the hydrogen value chain, some of which include R&D, innovation, skill development.

Mecanismos de incentivo à criação de demanda são essenciais para desenvolver a produção de hidrogênio e sua cadeia de suprimentos. Mas a magnitude dos subsídios necessários é um fator condicionante para definir se o Brasil deveria incentivar projetos de exportação em lugar de servir o mercado doméstico. Além disso, a Lei do Hidrogênio de Baixo Carbono em tramitação no Senado Federal prevê um teor máximo de 4 kgCO2/kg H2, o que poderia limitar as oportunidades de exportação, em função dos limites mais estritos na Europa.

Another opportunity within the hydrogen space to to tap into the distributed generation advantage. Hydrogen can literally be created anywhere there is water. Other forms of energy require transmission and distribution, which adds costs and complexity. Hydrogen can be created on-demand and scaled easily. Market systems could incorporate the reduced distribution costs and associated emissions as an advantage that keeps hydrogen less expensive and a lower overall infrastructure footprint.

To enable cross border trade, market players have started exploring transport vectors and developing pricing mechanisms. Especially in the eastern economy where the need for importing green hydrogen is picking traction.

To increase public awareness and engagement with green hydrogen, it's important to use clear and concise language without using technical terms that may be difficult to understand. Also providing accurate and up-to-date information from credible sources such as government websites or scientific journals will increase trust. It's also essential to be honest and transparent about the challenges of green hydrogen without overselling the technology or making promises that can't be kept.

The level of public awareness and engagement is pivotal in the journey towards green hydrogen adoption. It's important to dispel any misguided fears and misconceptions that may surround hydrogen technology. Education and open communication can play a significant role in helping the public understand the real benefits and challenges, ultimately building trust and paving the way for a more sustainable future.

There are strong misconceptions regarding the safety of hydrogen systems. Collaborating with citizen communities and municipal/regional/national policy makers could raise awareness and clarify any misconceptions that could eventually create serious burdens to a hydrogen project. The safe and successful demonstration of hydrogen systems (such as hydrogen-fuelled vehicles or public transportation means) and the creation of employment opportunities in the region can also improve public awareness and engagement.

The other aspect to public awareness is to create partnerships with community organizations that are affected by green hydrogen projects. This could include public-owned utilities and cooperatives which generally run most energy systems in North America. Another area is to showcase the emissions reduction and environmental benefits of green hydrogen that improve air quality and carbon footprints of local community facilities.

O Brasil tem inegavelmente um imenso potencial para produção de energia renovável a custos muito competitivos. Essa é uma vantagem comparativa fundamental para produzir hidrogênio verde, tanto para o mercado doméstico, como para exportação. Segundo a Agência Internacional de Energia, vai ser necessário produzir 500-600 milhões de toneladas/ano de hidrogênio de baixo carbono, a maior parte a partir de processos eletrolíticos, para descarbonizar setores da indústria e dos transportes. No entanto, a despeito das vantagens comparativas, o custo atual de produção de hidrogênio verde no Brasil seria superior a $6/kg, quando a meta é atingir $1,0-1,5/kg.

It's crucial to establish common technical standards for green hydrogen to ensure its safe and efficient production, transport, and usage. These standards should cover electrolyzers that produce hydrogen, pipelines that transport it, and storage tanks that hold it. Harmonizing these standards across countries and regions will reduce costs and facilitate the development of a global hydrogen market. Sharing global lessons learned is also important for speeding up the adoption of green hydrogen. This includes sharing the best practices for developing and deploying hydrogen projects, as well as discussing the challenges and barriers faced during the process.

International collaborations form a key cog wheel for the smooth functioning of the overall hydrogen ecosystem. The collaborations may be aimed at achieving a combination of any of the objectives mentioned below: 1. Commodity offtake - for short or long term purchase of commodities like green hydrogen and green ammonia. 2. Manufacturing base - for setting up of large scale manufacturing bases for equipment like electrolyser, fuel cell, FCEV, H2ICE etc. 3. Technology sharing/R&D - to set up a joint team for the development of crucial technologies and technology sharing 4. Financing - to help develop large scale hydrogen or ammonia projects aimed at one or multiple parts of the hydrogen ecosystem.

One of the most interesting areas for international collaboration is in energy trading. Many countries with excess renewable energy supplies can partner with countries that are energy importers. An energy importer can invest in wind and solar in an energy surplus nation. The projects are often a long distance from a high demand area making an electrical transmission line uneconomical. Instead, I see the specific opportunity to convert electricity to hydrogen and then to ammonia to increase shipping density and safety. Then, convert the ammonia back to hydrogen at the destination for use in local energy consumption or a pipeline grid to serve consumers. This type of model is currently being commercially explored in many countries today.

A few other areas for international collaboration include: 1. Environmental and geopolitical considerations for the facilitation of the creation of interconnected supply chains. For instance, regions abundant in solar and wind energy can produce surplus hydrogen and export it to high-energy-demand areas acting as a buffer against supply disruptions, offering global energy security benefits, helping mitigate geopolitical tensions surrounding energy resources, and fostering mutually beneficial partnerships. 2. Intellectual synergy on the latest and advanced hydrogen production methodologies (pooling resources, knowledge, and expertise across the nations) to minimize the duplication of efforts while reducing the financial burden.

To succeed in the green hydrogen market, sector-specific strategies need to be adaptable to changing circumstances. This means considering the fluctuating cost of renewable energy, advancements in technology, and changes to regulatory policies. Monitoring and evaluating the progress of sector-specific strategies is also crucial to ensure they achieve the desired outcomes. This process will help identify any gaps or challenges that need to be addressed.

The renewable electricity sector is probably the best candidate to explore hydrogen production. Many projects are feasible from a wind or solar resource perspective but can’t attract investment because of distance to the grid or a poor electricity price, often caused by low subsidies. Those large scale projects are ideal places to consider a hydrogen output instead of a grid tie.

O hidrogênio verde é um vetor energético, produzido através de um processo de eletrólise da água, utilizando a eletricidade vinda de fontes renováveis, como a solar ou a eólica. Durante a eletrólise, a água (H2O) é dividida em hidrogênio (H2) e oxigênio (O2). Nesse processo, o hidrogênio resultante é considerado "verde" quando a eletricidade utilizada é gerada de maneira sustentável, sem a emissão de gases que contribuem para o efeito estufa, como o CO2.