United States

Promoting green hydrogen has emerged as a pivotal discourse in the contemporary energy landscape driven by pressing environmental concerns and the quest for sustainable energy solutions. This paper delves into the multifaceted domain of C-Suite issues about green hydrogen encompassing both technological advancements and policy considerations. The question of whether green hydrogen is poised to become the focal point of the upcoming energy race is explored through an extensive analysis of its potential as a clean and versatile energy carrier. The transition from conventional fossil fuels to green hydrogen is considered a fundamental shift in energy paradigms with far-reaching implications for global energy markets. The paper provides a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art green hydrogen technologies including fuel cells photocatalysts photo electrocatalysts and hydrogen panels. In tandem with technological advancements the role of policy and strategy in fostering the development of green hydrogen energy assumes paramount significance. The paper elucidates the critical interplay between government policies market dynamics and corporate strategies in shaping the green hydrogen landscape. It delves into policy mechanisms such as subsidies carbon pricing and renewable energy mandates shedding light on their potential to incentivize the production and adoption of green hydrogen. This paper offers a nuanced exploration of C-Suite issues surrounding green hydrogen painting a comprehensive picture of the technological and policy considerations that underpin its emergence as a transformative energy source. As the global community grapples with the imperatives of climate change mitigation and the pursuit of sustainable energy solutions understanding these issues becomes imperative for executives policymakers and stakeholders alike.

The present study describes the development and application of a model of the national electricity system for the Caribbean dual-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda to investigate the cost optimal mix of solar photovoltaics (PVs) wind and in the most novel contribution concentrating solar power (CSP). These technologies together with battery and hydrogen energy storage can enable the aim of achieving 100% renewable electricity and zero carbon emissions. The motivation for this study was that while most nations in the Caribbean rely largely on diesel fuel or heavy fuel oil for grid electricity generation many countries have renewable resources beyond wind and solar energy. Antigua and Barbuda generates 93% of its electricity from diesel-fueled generators and has set the target of becoming a net-zero nation by 2040 as well as having 86% renewable energy generation in the electricity sector by 2030 but the nation has no hydroelectric or geothermal resources. Thus this study aims to demonstrate that CSP is a renewable energy technology that can help assist Antigua and Barbuda in its transition to a renewable energy electric grid while also decreasing electricity generation costs. The modeled optimal mix of renewable energy technologies presented here was found for Antigua and Barbuda by assessing the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for systems comprising various combinations of energy technologies and storage. Other factors were also considered such as land use and job creation. It was found that 100% renewable electricity systems are viable and significantly less costly than current power systems and that there is no single defined pathway towards a 100% renewable energy grid but several options are available.

Potential carbon neutrality of the global trucking shipping and aviation sectors by 2050 could be achieved by substituting fossil fuels with renewable hydrogen and synthetic fuels. To investigate the economic impact of fuel substitution over time a holistic cost model is developed and applied to three case studies in Norway an early adopter of carbon-neutral freight transport. The model covers the value chains from local electricity and fuel production (hydrogen ammonia Fischer–Tropsch e-fuel) to fuel consumption for long-haul trucking short-sea shipping and mid-haul aviation. The estimates are internally consistent and allow cross-mode and cross-fuel comparisons that set this work apart from previous studies more narrowly focused on a given transport mode or fuel. The model contains 150 techno-economic parameters to identify which components along the value chains drive levelized costs. This paper finds a cost reduction potential for renewable fuels of 41% to 68% until 2050 but carbon-neutral transport will suffer asymmetric cost disadvantages. Fuel substitution is most expensive in short-sea shipping followed by mid-haul aviation and long-haul trucking. Cost developments of electricity direct air capture of carbon vehicle expenses and fuel-related payload losses are significant drivers.

Many initiatives and policies attempt to make our air cleaner by reducing the carbon foot imprint on our planet. Most of the existing and planned initiatives have as their objectives the reduction of carbon dependency and the enhancement of newer or better technologies in the near future. However numerous policies exist for electric vehicles (EVs) and only some policies address specific issues related to fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). The lack of a distinction between the policies for EVs and FCEVs provides obstacles for the advancement of FCEV-related technologies that may otherwise be successful and competitive in the attempt to create a cleaner planet. Unfortunately the lack of this distinction is not always based on intellectual or scientific evidence. Therefore governments may need to introduce clearer policy distinctions in order to directly address FCEV-related challenges that may not pertain to other EVs. Unfortunately lobbyism continues to exist that supports the maintenance of the status quo as new technologies may threaten traditional less sustainable approaches to provide opportunities for a better environment. This lobbyism has partially succeeded in hindering the advancement of new technologies partially because the development of new technologies may reduce profit and business opportunities for traditionalists. However these challenges are slowly overcome as the demand for cleaner air and lower carbon emissions has increased and a stronger movement toward newer and cleaner technologies has gained momentum. This paper will look at policies that have been either implemented or are in the process of being implemented to address the challenge of overcoming traditional obstacles with respect to the automobile industry. The paper reviewed synthesized and discussed policies in the USA Japan and the European Union that helped implement new technologies with a focus on FCEVs for larger mass markets. These regions were the focus of this paper because of their particular challenges. South Korea and China were not included in this discussion as these countries already have equal or even more advanced policies and initiatives in place.

This paper discusses the technical specifications of how U.S. petroleum refineries can reduce facility emissions and shift to produce low-carbon fuels for hard to abate sectors by utilizing existing innovative technologies.

The path to the mitigation of global climate change and global carbon dioxide emissions avoidance leads to the large-scale substitution of fossil fuels for the generation of electricity with renewable energy sources. The transition to renewables necessitates the development of large-scale energy storage systems that will satisfy the hourly demand of the consumers. This paper offers an overview of the energy storage systems that are available to assist with the transition to renewable energy. The systems are classified as mechanical (PHS CAES flywheels springs) electromagnetic (capacitors electric and magnetic fields) electrochemical (batteries including flow batteries) hydrogen and thermal energy storage systems. Emphasis is placed on the magnitude of energy storage each system is able to achieve the thermodynamic characteristics the particular applications the systems are suitable for the pertinent figures of merit and the energy dissipation during the charging and discharging of the systems.

The Japanese government has announced a commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It envisages an important role for hydrogen in the nation’s future energy economy. This paper explores the possibility that a significant source for this hydrogen could be produced by electrolysis fueled by power generated from offshore wind in China. Hydrogen could be delivered to Japan either as liquid or bound to a chemical carrier such as toluene or as a component of ammonia. The paper presents an analysis of factors determining the ultimate cost for this hydrogen including expenses for production storage conversion transport and treatment at the destination. It concludes that the Chinese source could be delivered at a volume and cost consistent with Japan’s idealized future projections.

Effective global decarbonization will require an array of solutions across a portfolio of low-carbon resources. One such solution is developing clean hydrogen. This unique fuel has the potential to minimize climate change impacts helping decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy industry and global transport while also promoting energy security sustainable growth and job creation. The authors estimate suggest that hydrogen needs to grow seven-fold to support the global energy transition eventually accounting for ten percent of total energy consumption by 2050. A scaleup of this magnitude will increase demand for materials such as aluminum copper iridium nickel platinum vanadium and zinc to support hydrogen technologies - renewable electricity technologies and the electrolyzers for renewable hydrogen carbon storage for low-carbon hydrogen or fuel cells using hydrogen to power transport. This report a joint product of the World Bank and the Hydrogen Council examines these three critical areas. Using new data on the material intensities of key technologies the report estimates the amount of critical minerals needed to scale clean hydrogen. In addition it shows how incorporating sustainable practices and policies for mining and processing materials can help minimize environmental impacts. Key among these approaches is the use of recycled materials innovations in design in order to reduce material intensities and adoption of policies from the Climate Smart Mining (CSM) Framework to reduce impacts to greenhouse gas emissions and water footprint.

A global energy shift to a carbon‐neutral society requires clean energy. Hydrogen can accelerate the process of expanding clean and renewable energy sources. However conventional hydrogen compression and storage technology still suffers from inefficiencies high costs and safety concerns. An electrochemical hydrogen compressor (EHC) is a device similar in structure to a water electrolyzer. Its most significant advantage is that it can accomplish hydrogen separation and compression at the same time. With no mechanical motion and low energy consumption the EHC is the key to future hydrogen compression and purification technology breakthroughs. In this study the compression performance efficiency and other related parameters of EHC are investigated through experiments and simulation calculations. The experimental results show that under the same experimental conditions increasing the supply voltage and the pressure in the anode chamber can improve the reaction rate of EHC and balance the pressure difference between the cathode and anode. The presence of residual air in the anode can impede the interaction between hydrogen and the catalyst as well as the proton exchange membrane (PEM) resulting in a decrease in performance. In addition it was found that a single EHC has a better compression ratio and reaction rate than a double EHC. The experimental results were compatible with the theoretical calculations within less than a 7% deviation. Finally the conditions required to reach commercialization were evaluated using the theoretical model.

The impact of ship emission reductions can be maximised by considering climate health and environmental effects simultaneously and using solutions fitting into existing marine engines and infrastructure. Several options available enable selecting optimum solutions for different ships routes and regions. Carbon-neutral fuels including low-carbon and carbon-negative fuels from biogenic or non-biogenic origin (biomass waste renewable hydrogen) could resemble current marine fuels (diesel-type methane and methanol). The carbon-neutrality of fuels depends on their Well-to-Wake (WtW) emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) including carbon dioxide (CO2) methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide emissions (N2O). Additionally non-gaseous black carbon (BC) emissions have high global warming potential (GWP). Exhaust emissions which are harmful to health or the environment need to be equally removed using emission control achieved by fuel engine or exhaust aftertreatment technologies. Harmful emission species include nitrogen oxides (NOx) sulphur oxides (SOx) ammonia (NH3) formaldehyde particle mass (PM) and number emissions (PN). Particles may carry polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals which cause serious adverse health issues. Carbon-neutral fuels are typically sulphur-free enabling negligible SOx emissions and efficient exhaust aftertreatment technologies such as particle filtration. The combinations of carbon-neutral drop-in fuels and efficient emission control technologies would enable (near-)zero-emission shipping and these could be adaptable in the short- to mid-term. Substantial savings in external costs on society caused by ship emissions give arguments for regulations policies and investments needed to support this development.