hydrogen

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Australia’s hydrogen success is tied to energy market policies

    According to South Australia’s Hydrogen Power Plant study, the global demand for hydrogen is projected to reach 650 megatons in 2050, with a potential export market of $300b per year. In this market, Australia is well placed for renewable hydrogen production with a considerable penetration of variable renewable energy (VRE)....

  • Low carbon generation

    Lean, clean, electrolysing machines – how clean is Australia’s hydrogen future?

    The Clean Energy Regulator is currently exploring how to define ‘low-emissions’ hydrogen production through a Guarantee of Origin (GO) scheme for Australia. Such a scheme could set a threshold level for carbon emissions from the production process in order to classify it as being ‘clean’, similar to schemes in operation...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    “Each day looking for new ways to go on”: could a renewable capacity market assist hydrogen turbines?

    The rise of renewables has seen the need for additional firming capacity in order to smooth renewable output and replace coal capacity in the evening peak. The ESB and federal Ministers are currently in discussions regarding the development (or not) of a capacity market for the NEM. Interestingly from the...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Do batteries add viability to electrolysers within the current market?

    Last month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced that there will be a gas shortfall in the east coast market in 2023, not a surprise considering the international gas crisis and high gas prices in Australia. Such events have increased attention towards expanding gas supply or reducing the...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Hydrogen hype: How cheap the hydrogen from electrolysis can be?

    Hydrogen is considered a potential replacement for fossil fuels for energy generation, transport etc. Currently, 96% of hydrogen production originates from fossil fuels through steam reforming and coal gasifications. Only a small fraction (~4%) is produced via electrolysis. The high Capex of the electrolyser is usually referred to as the...

  • Low carbon generation

    Industrial hydrogen demand predicted to grow to 37TWh by 2050

    This week’s ‘Chart of the week’ looks at recent research from Cornwall Insight’s insight paper ­- Industrial decarbonisation key for UK low carbon hydrogen – which shows demand for hydrogen by the industrial sector is predicted to grow significantly. In fact, Cornwall Insight research shows that by 2030 UK industry...

  • Power and gas networks

    Australian Chart of the week | Green hydrogen costs plummet, LNG prices soar

    The ACCC currently calculates the LNG netback price as the price a gas exporter could receive for gas exports excluding the costs to convert and ship the gas. Asian cold weather and supply bottlenecks have driven the February LNG netback price to nearly $20 a gigajoule, more than double the...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Chart of the week | Increasing electricity balancing costs and an increasing System Operator role

    Last week saw the publication of Ofgem's review of GB energy system operation. This makes recommendations that the roles and functions of the electricity and gas system operators need to change in light of net zero. In this week's 'Chart of the week', I wanted to focus on one aspect...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Pixie Chart of the week | Future H2 costs explored by Hydrogen Council

    On 20 January, the Hydrogen Council issued its latest report Path to Hydrogen Competitiveness – a Cost Perspective, published on 20 January. The report compares the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of low-carbon and renewable hydrogen applications against specific low-carbon alternatives. 35 applications across four sectors are compared in the...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Pixie Chart of the week | Under pressure: OGAs role in meeting net zero

    Under growing pressure from the UK’s 2050 Net Zero target, we are beginning to see the release of industry strategies detailing pathways to zero emissions. Among these is the Oil and Gas Authority’s (OGAs) UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) strategy. It surrounds the idea that UKCS oil and gas will remain...

  • Low carbon generation

    Pixie Chart of the week | H2 affordability: electrolyser load factor functions

    The International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) – an intergovernmental organisation – published its latest report in September: Hydrogen: a renewable energy perspective. The report demonstrates that hydrogen production is only commercially viable at higher load factors, as illustrated in our Chart of the Week. It is also measured against the levelised...

  • Low carbon generation

    Pixie Chart of the week | IEA demonstrates a future with hydrogen

    This week's Pixie Chart of the Week demonstrates policies directly supporting hydrogen deployment by target application. It also shows the emphasis being placed on hydrogen-based energy solutions in the transport sector (currently minimal). The International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) latest report The Future of Hydrogen illustrated that the momentum of hydrogen as a fuel is...

  • Heat networks

    Pixie Chart of the week | Hybrid Heat Pumps lead the way for costs in town trial

    In this week's Pixie Chart of the week, we discuss how a recent study by Ramboll, Alternative Heat Solutions Converting A Town to Low Carbon Heating, investigates alternative heat solutions for a typical medium-sized town in the UK – in this case assessing heat demand in Cowdenbeath, Scotland. This study highlights the relative...

  • Heat networks

    Chart of the week | Hybrid hydrogen heating hopes

    In a recent Chart of the week, we discussed developments on blending hydrogen with gas supplies as a means to help lower carbon emissions associated with heating. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) issued its Hydrogen in a Low-Carbon Economy report on 22 November, which set out the latest thinking on the...

  • Heat networks

    Pixie Chart of the week | Hydrogen blending to initiate domestic decarbonisation

    In its latest paper, Fuelling the Future, Policy Exchange has drawn together evidence for hydrogen’s place in the UK. It outlines two high-level issues that have halted industry and the government’s willingness to engage in its application to date. In this week's Pixie Chart of the week, we examine these two issues....