The renewable hydrogen value chain

The European oil and gas industry aims to become a relevant player in the energy transition. Companies have already embarked on the transformation into multi-energy companies, committed to diversification and the inclusion of new business areas in low-carbon energies and technologies. Stimulus funds to counteract the effects of Covid-19, which will probably translate into major investments in said field, provide an incentive and an additional opportunity to consolidate and deepen its presence in the renewable and other clean energies industry.

In this line, in addition to electricity from renewable sources, another good candidate for diversification is hydrogen. Its advantage is that it can be used, with zero emissions, in nearly all industries that currently depend on fossil fuels, such as heating, transport and industrial processes that require heat at high temperatures. 

Although there are two main options, a multi-energy company can produce clean hydrogen in several ways. One is based on natural gas and the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, such that the "blue hydrogen" thus obtained is practically neutral in terms of carbon emissions.  The other option is to obtain "green hydrogen" from a zero-emission electrolysis process, i.e., separating water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen using an electric current generated by renewable energy. 

The demand for clean hydrogen in Europe is expected to sky-rocket in the coming decades and the large volumes required initially give blue hydrogen a certain advantage over green hydrogen, since methane currently generates nearly 70 million annual tonnes of hydrogen, although without CCS technology. This is a very important detail because if this technology is not ready, the future of "blue hydrogen" will be compromised. By comparison, "green hydrogen" is still in the pilot project phase since its future development requires large amounts of renewable energy and is a more expensive option, although there is every indication that its competitiveness will improve rapidly.

Many argue that the world should not depend on fossil fuels to produce the hydrogen it needs and should focus exclusively on producing "green hydrogen". Perhaps that would be ideal.  However, we must be realistic and understand that the most important thing is to lay the foundations of the hydrogen economy without further delay and that, in this respect, both blue and green hydrogen will be needed in the short and medium term so that both should be the subject of intense research and industrial activity.

Today, hydrogen (H₂) is used as a raw material in the refining, ammonia, and methanol industries, but it can also be used for three other purposes, which are essential for the successful outcome of the energy transition.

One of them is to contribute to decarbonizing mobility through its use in fuel cells or the production of biofuels or synthetic fuels to be used in internal combustion engines. Another application would be to facilitate the storage of excess renewable energy, and the final, to boost decarbonization of the natural gas network where the H₂ would serve as the fuel for heating purposes in industrial and domestic applications.

To make progress toward an H₂ economy, we must boost all links in the value chain, from renewable generation to production and the various applications and final uses. The process would mean, without a doubt, that comprehensive energy companies, also known as multi-energy companies, play a key role with their capability of contributing value simultaneously in each one of those links.

There are two main challenges H₂ could face. The first would be to achieve production processes with a lower carbon footprint than today's and ones that can be applied in all current and future applications without affecting competitiveness. The second would be to find the most efficient transportation, storage, and distribution methods. 

To give an example of H₂'s potential specifically in Spain, it's important to note that green and low-carbon H₂ can be facilitating energy vectors for one of the two low-carbon mobility/transport platforms that we will need: one based on a very efficient combustion engine using low-carbon liquid fuels (the other platform being electric mobility). In this regard, remember that Spain is poised to lead Europe in the first platform as it already has a strong automobile and component industry based on internal combustion technology and the most competitive refining system in Europe. Green H2 can be a key component in the refineries of the future, which will be decarbonized and driven by the principles of the circular economy.

Obviously, to make this happen, we'll need to rely on considerable technological developments and large investments, which our country's industry is ready to commit and could now accelerate with "recovery funds". And let us not forget that it would also be necessary to invoke regulation changes, eliminating obstacles (for example, by regulating net-zero emissions instead of referring to direct emissions, a concept that does not take into account all the emissions that are actually produced and that sets an expiration date for combustion engines), and facilitate competitive prices (for example, that of electricity for the production of green H₂).