Hydrogen As Energy Storage

Since I arrived in the US, I have been attending energy conferences, mostly focused on energy transition and supply security. When it comes to natural gas, on one hand it is becoming more widely used especially thanks to LNG becoming more and more available in spot market. On the other hand, as it is not seen as green enough, most think it will have to be diminished from use soon. But how will the countries solve the problem for integration of renewable energy to the system?

Today with renewables being intermittent (yes, not all rivers can be controlled, the wind does not always blow, and the sun does not always shine, we all know it but… but what!) there needs to be a form of storage. When I graduated from Electrical and Electronics Engineering department of METU, the main problem was electricity storage. It still is. Despite the years that passed until then, not much has been achieved. Some battery projects at utility scale act as a 2–4-hour solution but how can we assure supply security for a few cloudy and/or windless days?

Hydrogen as a form of energy carrier (or battery if you will) is being promoted as a promising candidate. I need to mention that in during my first months here in Washington DC energy circles I was surprised to hear Turkey’s renewable potential, and the name of Mr. Turhan Nejat Veziroğlu, a hydrogen enthusiast many times.

Like any energy source, battery or carrier hydrogen comes with its own upsides and downsides. Everyone is clear that when produced by renewables it seems like a clean energy source. And when consumed it really does not emit any pollution. On the other hand, everyone knows but almost romantically discards the facts that:

• it is hard to store without leaks, which will create risks,
• it is hard to handle while transferring from one equipment to another,
• it costs a lot on the CAPEX and OPEX to produce, store, and transport,
• it can be injected into pipelines (10%, 20%?) but due to lower energy content to increase the necessary pipeline CAPEX,
• it causes embrittlement in metals it is contained in, including pipelines it will be injected into,
• fuel cells have not become mature enough where fully electric cars are blooming and almost winning the race.

Realistically thinking it will take many years to make hydrogen widely and feasibly available. Subsidies might help new technological innovations, and these might decrease costs but technical difficulties will remain there in the next 10-20 years I believe.

The only case where it makes sense to me is producing hydrogen from excess produced but not dispatchable (economically or technically) electricity at the power generation site and delivering using it on-site as a battery. Still, a low utilization rate will create a huge CAPEX portion in the electricity cost, and it should be covered by a free electricity market pricing mechanism.

As usual engineers and scientists might prove me wrong as they did with solar systems, which decreased in cost significantly in just 10 years’ time. In the meantime, other forms of batteries will emerge but still hydrogen might find a niche place similar to small scale LNG plants which hold US natural gas pipeline systems up and reliable on peak days, even if it is 5 days, 10 days a year.

Those who live until then shall see. Stay enlightened until then.