Green hydrogen

Its main applications are likely to be in heavy industry (e.g. high temperature processes alongside electricity, feedstock for production of green ammonia and organic chemicals, as direct reduction steelmaking), long-haul transport (e.g. shipping, aviation and to a lesser extent heavy goods vehicles), and long-term energy storage.

[15] There is potential for green hydrogen to play a significant role in decarbonising energy systems where there are challenges and limitations to replacing fossil fuels with direct use of electricity.

[24][better source needed] Green methanol is a liquid fuel that is produced from combining carbon dioxide and hydrogen (CO2 + 3 H2 → CH3OH + H2O) under pressure and heat with catalysts.

[26] Ethanol plants in the midwest are a good place for pure carbon capture to combine with hydrogen to make green methanol, with abundant wind and nuclear energy in Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois.

[44] As of 2021, the green hydrogen investment pipeline was estimated at 121 gigawatts of electrolyser capacity across 136 projects in planning and development phases, totaling over $500 billion.

[47] In 2020, the Australian government fast-tracked approval for the world's largest planned renewable energy export facility in the Pilbara region.

In 2021, energy companies announced plans to construct a "hydrogen valley" in New South Wales at a cost of $2 billion to replace the region's coal industry.

[48] As of July 2022, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) had invested $88 million in 35 hydrogen projects ranging from university research and development to first-of-a-kind demonstrations.

The Australian company Fortescue Metals Group has plans to install a green hydrogen plant near the port of Pecém, in Ceará, with an initial forecast of starting operations in 2022.

In the same year, the Federal University of Santa Catarina announced a partnership with the German Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, for the production of H2V.

On November 20, 2023, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced support for the production of 10 GW of hydrogen and subsequently ammonia in the state of Piauí.

[61] As part of preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympics a hydrogen electrolyser, described as the "world's largest" began operations to fuel vehicles used at the games.

[62] Egypt has opened the door to $40 billion of investment in green hydrogen and renewable technology by signing seven memoranda of understanding with international developers in the fields.

[72] The 10 billion dollar project involves the construction of wind farms and photovoltaic plants with a total capacity of 7 (GW) to produce.

[75] Lisbon based energy company Galp Energia announced plans to construct an electrolyser to power its refinery by 2025.

[76] In 2021, Saudi Arabia, as a part of the NEOM project, announced an investment of $5bn to build a green hydrogen-based ammonia plant, which would start production in 2025.

[79] In 2021, in collaboration with Expo 2020 Dubai, a pilot project was launched which is the first "industrial scale", solar-driven green hydrogen facility in the Middle East and North Africa.

[81] In March 2021, a proposal emerged to use offshore wind in Scotland to power converted oil and gas rigs into a "green hydrogen hub" which would supply fuel to local distilleries.

[86] The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,[87] which became law in November 2021, allocated $9.5 billion to green hydrogen initiatives.

[90] In 2020, SGH2 Energy Global announced plans to use plastic and paper via plasma gasification to produce green hydrogen near Los Angeles.

[91] In 2021 then New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced a $290 million investment to construct a green hydrogen fuel production facility.

[92] State authorities backed plans for developing fuel cells to be used in trucks and research on blending hydrogen into the gas grid.

[95] The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 established a 10-year production tax credit, which includes a $3.00/kg subsidy for green hydrogen.

[96] In October 2023, Siemens announced that it had successfully performed the first test of an industrial turbine powered by 100 per cent green hydrogen generated by a 1 megawatt electrolyser.

In 2021, the British government published its policy document, a "Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution," which included investing to create 5 GW of low carbon hydrogen by 2030.

A BEIS consultation in 2022 suggested that grid blending would only have a "limited and temporary" role due to an expected reduction in the use of natural gas.

Japan published a preliminary road map that called for hydrogen and related fuels to supply 10% of the power for electricity generation as well as a significant portion of the energy for uses such as shipping and steel manufacture by 2050.

[108] Morocco, Tunisia,[109] Egypt[110] and Namibia have proposed plans to include green hydrogen as a part of their climate change agenda.

[114] Six European Union member states: Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, requested hydrogen funding be backed by legislation.

[120] In the European Union, certified 'renewable' hydrogen, defined as produced from non-biological feedstocks, requires an emission reduction of at least 70% below the fossil fuel it is intended to replace.