A research paper into the best use of hydrogen has suggested that its role in steelmaking should only be considered if it is the most competitive option for decarbonisation, Kallanish notes from the report published in the science journal Nature.
The paper highlights that research has begun to clarify sectors where hydrogen is unlikely to be competitive, such as home heating and light vehicles, and develop areas in which hydrogen has better prospects, such as hydrogen-based green steelmaking.
Available evidence suggests that support for clean hydrogen should be prioritised in unavoidable applications, such as petroleum refining and fertiliser production, and other competitive applications including steelmaking, long-haul heavy transport and long-duration energy storage. It adds that hydrogen strategies should prioritise and support these areas to achieve the greatest impact.
“Hydrogen’s versatility means that it can power many applications; however, clean hydrogen should be strategically deployed in areas where it seems likely to have greatest potential for cost and sustainability benefits compared with alternatives such as direct electrification with clean power sources,” it says.
“In the short term, renewable electricity could achieve greater emissions abatement if used directly to displace fossil fuels in power generation, heating or transport, instead of being used for green hydrogen production. In the longer term, hydrogen could instead facilitate renewables uptake by integrating excess generation into power systems,” it adds.
While the paper sees a rapid transition towards renewable electricity and battery electric vehicles, vital progress is slower in sectors where electrification alone cannot mitigate emissions, particularly in industry, shipping and aviation.
However, other options should be explored first, it notes. Technology-neutral policy designs, such as supporting clean steel or low-emission transport, should be adopted where possible, favouring hydrogen only when it has the potential to become the most competitive decarbonisation option.
It also highlights that while hydrogen holds potential in industry, long-duration energy storage and long-haul transport, its competitiveness depends on large-scale deployment yielding substantial cost reductions.
The paper adds that the climate impact of hydrogen production is uncertain, with production from electrolysis or methane gas with carbon capture potentially increasing system-wide or upstream emissions, alongside water scarcity and persistent organic pollution.
“Future research must resolve these uncertainties, with strategic focus on deploying hydrogen in priority areas where it is most competitive,” it says. It also notes uncertainty over which sectors will see the highest uptake of hydrogen with conflicting assessments of where it is best suited.
Carrie Bone UK
