Hydrogen efforts must move forward so carbon intensity can fall – energy experts

Hydrogen producers should make fuel without too much concern about its carbon intensity because the greater the amount on the market, the more lower-carbon energy projects will develop, energy experts said.

The experts represented organizations from around the world such as the MOL Group and Alberta Innovates Corp. at an oil and gas industry conference. They said energy companies should increase the amount of hydrogen to support current global demand, experiment with new uses, and convert fossil fuel users to hydrogen. New technologies and processes will be created to deal with the carbon, they said.

The experts spoke on a Sept. 18 panel at the World Petroleum Congress in Calgary, Alberta.

The pace of change in a region will be dictated by the amount of resources in the area and the number of hydrogen users nearby, said Bryan Helfenbaum, associate vice president for clean energy resources at Alberta Innovates, a public-private consortium that supports research and the growth of business in the province. On the sidelines of the conference, Helfenbaum said large petrochemical centers such as Calgary and Houston are natural candidates for hydrogen expansion because hydrogen is already being used as an additive to create refined oil and gas products.

Another area for growth and experimentation among oil and gas producers is carbon, Helfenbaum said. "What are we going to do with all this solid carbon that we produce?" he asked. "I am not sure that's been quite figured out just yet, but certainly that represents a significant opportunity to reduce our carbon."

Hydrogen is often categorized by colors linked to the method of production and the related carbon intensity. "The Chinese proverb says that it doesn't matter what color the cat [is], as long as it catches the mouse," said Csaba Zsótér, the senior vice president for downstream fuels for Hungary's MOL Group. "I think it makes sense in this context as well because the target is not to define the perfect color, the target is to have enhanced decarbonization."

Helfenbaum was of a similar mind. "I don't like the colors," he said. "Rather, let's talk carbon intensity."

Another panelist pointed to Japan, which lacks oil and gas resources, as an example of a country that has made hydrogen a national priority. Japan's quest for alternative energy sources picked up in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, although the country has recently restarted nuclear power plants. Momoyo Yuki, the head of research and analysis in the strategic planning department of Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd., said the company has turned to Africa, prospecting for large pockets of "natural hydrogen" already in the ground.

"We have collected a few samples from the multiple areas that we think maybe have potential," Yuki said, and test samples have indicated traces of hydrogen.

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