Hydrogen
Overview
Hydrogen is an increasingly important piece in the decarbonisation puzzle. Industrial players are seeking ways to take carbon emissions out of their hydrogen production processes, while green hydrogen producers see the gas as a viable outright alternative to hydrocarbons.
Future production routes range from methane reformation with carbon capture to pyrolysis, waste gasification and electrolysis, powered by renewable energy or fossil fuels. Combinations of processes and energy being used to produce hydrogen presents existing users of industrial heat and key chemicals a challenging landscape to navigate.
The Argus Hydrogen and Future Fuels service has been designed to provide industrial power, chemicals and energy users with crucial information to help them make well informed decisions. It covers the upstream for projects, midstream for transportation and storage, and downstream for ammonia and methanol. It also covers the latest technological developments and policy news on hydrogen from across the globe.
Latest hydrogen news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global hydrogen industry.
IEA raises Australian renewable power capacity forecast
IEA raises Australian renewable power capacity forecast
Sydney, 9 October (Argus) — Australia is expected to add more than 52GW of renewable power capacity over 2024-30, with 57pc of the country's electricity generation coming from renewable sources in 2030, Paris-based energy watchdog the IEA announced today. The forecast revision in the IEA's Renewables 2024 report released on 9 October is 2pc higher than the 2023 estimate, it said, although the previous annual report included forecasts up to 2028, with a 49pc renewable share expected for that year. The country's share of renewables in 2023 was around 34pc, according to the IEA. Australia is expected to add around 52.2GW of new capacity between 2024-30 under the IEA's main case scenario, led by utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) at 18.6GW, onshore wind at 15.3GW and distributed solar PV at 13.8GW. Hydropower capacity additions are forecast to reach 2.3GW over that period, while renewables dedicated to hydrogen production total 2.2GW. The IEA expects additions to gradually rise in the coming years, from 5.4GW in 2024 and 5.5GW in 2025 to 6GW in 2026, 6.9GW in 2027 and 8GW in 2028. Additions would peak in 2029 at 11.5GW and fall back to 9GW in 2030. Australia is targeting an 82pc share of renewable sources in nationwide electricity generation by 2030, with the federal government expanding its Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) and launching the first major 6GW tender in May . Tenders will run every six months until 2026-27 for a total of 32GW, consisting of 23GW of renewables — solar, wind and hydro — and 9GW of dispatchable capacity such as pumped hydro and grid-scale batteries, all to be in operation by 2030. Apart from the CIS scheme, corporate demand for renewable energy — mostly through power purchase agreements — and continued growth in distributed solar PV will contribute to the increase in renewable capacity in Australia, stated the IEA. Challenges for utility-scale additions include curtailment, which remains high because of grid constraints, and lengthy connection wait times, the IEA said, although new rules could ease these delays. "Should some or all of these issues be addressed, our accelerated case indicates that growth could be nearly 20pc higher," it said, noting that new renewable capacity could reach nearly 63GW over 2024-30 in that instance. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
ThyssenKrupp Steel weighs decarbonisation plans
ThyssenKrupp Steel weighs decarbonisation plans
London, 7 October (Argus) — German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe is evaluating its decarbonisation plans, partly as a result of increased costs. The steelmaker may scrap its plans to build a direct-reduced iron (DRI) plant in Duisburg, a participant close to the company told Argus last week. "The situation is currently being reviewed. We currently assume that the direct reduction plant can be implemented under the given framework conditions," a Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe spokesperson said. Potential cost increases for the planned DRI plant have no impact on the confirmed federal and state subsidies, the steelmaker said. The European Commission earlier this year approved Germany's plan to allocate up to €2bn to Thyssenkrupp for its decarbonisation efforts in Duisburg. Specifically, the breakdown indicated Thyssenkrupp would receive a direct grant of €550mn to build a DRI plant and two melting units expected to commence operation by 2026 in Duisburg. Abandonment of the project would most certainly mean the forfeiture of the €550mn provided by the German government. Europe currently faces a competitiveness issue when it comes to decarbonisation, given that electricity costs on the continent are estimated to be 2-3 times higher than in Asia and the US, ArcelorMittal's head of governmental affairs and decarbonisation, Stephane Tondo, said at an industry event last month. Gas prices are also higher, and DRI is typically fed with gas. With electricity making up 60-80pc of the cost to produce hydrogen , this could cause issues for ThyssenKrupp and other steelmakers that plan to decarbonise in the EU. Green hydrogen will be too expensive in the EU, head of ArcelorMittal Flat Carbon Europe Geert Van Poelvoorde has said. And geographically speaking, Germany finds itself in a disadvantageous position compared with the peripheries of Europe that benefit from a greater availability of wind and solar energy sources. Fellow German steelmakers Salzgitter and SHS have yet to announce any changes to their own decarbonisation plans, which involve the construction of DRI assets. By Carlo Da Cas Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil launches call for funding low-carbon H2 projects
Brazil launches call for funding low-carbon H2 projects
London, 7 October (Argus) — Brazil's energy ministry has launched a call for expressions of interest for low-carbon and renewable hydrogen projects to be considered for funding under Brazil's potential share of the $1bn under the industrial decarbonisation programme, led by Washington-based Climate Investment Fund (CIF). The funding scheme was announced on Friday . An initial statement by Brazil's energy ministry suggested that the $1bn amount would be for hubs in Brazil alone, but the ministry has clarified that the programme will be open to projects all over the world, mainly developing countries. CIF is backed by the World Bank. Projects should be at commercial scale and can embrace a variety of low-carbon production pathways and technologies, including carbon capture use and storage (CCUS) and ethanol reforming. The call closes on 2 November and selected projects will be announced by Brazil's energy ministry on 6 December. Brazil can then submit its project portfolio to CIF until 17 January. Each chosen country could receive between $125mn to $250mn for its projects, the ministry said. By Pamela Machado Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
UK confirms $28.5bn funding for two CCS, H2 clusters
UK confirms $28.5bn funding for two CCS, H2 clusters
Hamburg, 4 October (Argus) — The UK government has finalised a commitment to provide £21.7bn ($28.5bn) over the next 25 years to two planned clusters for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and connected projects, including for hydrogen production. The government has reached "commercial agreement with industry" for development of the clusters, it said today. The funding will go to the HyNet cluster in northwest England and the East Coast cluster in England's northeastern Humber and Teesside regions. The two projects were selected as "Track 1" priority clusters in 2021 and could together store some 650mn t of CO2. They could attract £8bn of private investment, the government said today. "The allocation of funding marks the launch of the UK's CCS industry," according to Italy's integrated Eni, which leads the development of HyNet's CO2 transport and storage system. Eni in February gave a start date of 2027 for HyNet. The East Coast cluster is led by the Northern Endurance Partnership, a joint venture between BP, TotalEnergies and Norwegian state-controlled Equinor. A range of projects will connect to the two hubs to transport and permanently sequester the carbon. These will include hydrogen production projects and supporting infrastructure. HyNet will involve projects developed by EET Hydrogen , a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Essar, which is planning to bring a 350MW plant for hydrogen production from natural gas with CCS online by 2027 and another 700MW facility by 2028. The hydrogen will be partly used at EET Hydrogen's sister company EET Fuels at its 195,000 b/d Stanlow refinery but some will also be delivered to industrial consumers in the area. The HyNet cluster includes plans for 125km of new pipelines to transport hydrogen. The East Coast cluster involves Equinor's [600MW H2H Saltend] project and BP's 160,000 t/yr H2Teesside venture . German utility Uniper's 720MW Humber H2ub (Blue) project, UK-based Kellas Midstream's 1GW H2NorthEast plant and a retrofit facility from BOC , which is part of industrial gas firm Linde, could also connect to the cluster for CO2 storage. All the projects are due to enter into operation before the end of this decade. The funding confirmation for the CCS hubs "is a vital step forward, catapulting hydrogen towards long-term certainty we need in the UK", industry body the Hydrogen Energy Association's chief executive Celia Greaves said. The previous government last year picked two "Track 2" carbon capture clusters that are scheduled to start operations by 2030 — the Acorn facility in Scotland and the Viking project in northeast England. By Stefan Krumpelmann Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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Explore our hydrogen and related products
Real time access to trusted cost benchmarks, critical market data and analytics, in-depth analysis, and the latest market news. Argus Hydrogen and Future Fuels service is relied upon by intensive users of energy, governments, banks, regulators, exchanges and many other organisations as source of reliable and unique insights into the global hydrogen sector.
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