New opportunities for green hydrogen driven by lower costs of green electricity

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New opportunities for green hydrogen driven by lower costs of green electricity. Author/Source: Modern Coal Chemical Industry. Date: April 6, 2023. Clicks: 35. On March 29, the second day of the Boao Forum for Asia, new energy was one of the key topics of focus at the forum, with several sub-forums dedicated to this subject included in the agenda. At a sub-forum titled “Global Green Energy and Green Hydrogen Supply Chains,” participants believed that, as the cost of green electricity decreases, green hydrogen will become one of the main sources of renewable energy in the future. The reduction in electricity costs is one of the factors driving the rapid development of the hydrogen industry. Gao Jifan, chairman of Trina Solar Corporation, believes that after decades of development, new energy sources – primarily photovoltaic power, but also wind energy – have seen their costs drop rapidly thanks to technological advances. For example, the cost of photovoltaic power generation is now one-twentieth of what it was 20 years ago; the cost of generating electricity this way is even lower than that of hydroelectric or thermal power. Thanks to technological advancements, the cost of photovoltaic power generation could drop to less than half that of traditional energy sources by 2030. Gao Jifan said that the demand for energy will continue to grow in the future. A large-scale smart grid based on digital technology can create a new type of energy system that integrates power generation, storage, transmission and distribution, as well as energy consumption. The cost of clean energy in such a system is already lower than that of traditional energy sources. In his view, the transformation of the energy sector, along with the integration of green energy practices and sustainable industrial development, can not only drive energy transition but also promote rapid economic growth. The cost of green electricity has decreased, and this reduction provides opportunities for the development of green hydrogen. Jason Willoby, CEO of CWP Clean Energy, believes that power generation is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions. Among the world’s top 50 economies, on average 70% of electricity production comes from traditional fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas, while only 30% comes from renewable energy sources. Zhou Fugui, chairman of Sany Heavy Energy Co., Ltd., said that hydrogen energy should be the ultimate solution for carbon neutrality. “Hydrogen has two properties. On one hand, it serves as an energy source and a power source; on the other hand, its more significant role is as a raw material. Therefore, hydrogen produced from green electricity can replace traditional fossil fuels as a raw material. ” Replacing traditional petrochemical feedstocks with green hydrogen requires reducing the cost of green hydrogen, as well as the cost of green electricity. A energy system that uses green electricity to produce green hydrogen is currently being established. Gao Jifan said that green hydrogen is first produced by electrolyzing water. To reduce the cost of green hydrogen, it is necessary to have low electricity costs, and the electricity used should come from renewable sources rather than coal-powered plants; therefore, photovoltaic and wind energy are needed to generate electricity that can be used to produce green hydrogen. If electricity generated from coal-powered plants is used to produce hydrogen, then it remains gray hydrogen. However, green hydrogen requires a stable source of power generation. Wind and solar power are inexpensive in western regions, but they are only available for a few hours per day; therefore, it is necessary to combine them with energy storage systems in order to create a more stable and cost-effective energy ecosystem. Zhou Fugui said, “Sany Company manufactures wind power generation equipment, and it also builds wind power stations.” First, wind power is used to generate electricity; this electricity is then utilized to produce hydrogen, which can subsequently be converted into ammonia or methanol. At present, the cost of generating electricity from wind power has dropped to 0.1 yuan per kilowatt-hour. Under such conditions, the cost of producing hydrogen using green energy remains within a critical range – below 2 dollars per kilogram – which enables green hydrogen to compete with traditional fossil fuels and promotes its widespread use. ” Challenge: Although the cost of green electricity continues to decline, the development of green hydrogen as a renewable energy source is still affected by other factors, such as storage and transportation, as well as institutional and policy considerations. Zhou Fugui believes that the foremost challenge is the storage and transportation of green electricity. “Many green hydrogen production projects have been approved in regions such as Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang in China; once these projects come online, they will be able to compete with gray hydrogen in terms of cost advantages. Of course, the storage and transportation of the green electricity produced by these projects will be a challenge. ” Andrew Forrest, founder and chairman of FMG Group, also believes that renewable energy must be available in a continuous supply, but solar and wind power both have the characteristic of producing electricity intermittently; therefore, long-distance storage and transportation methods for green electricity are necessary. Beyond the technical challenges, Zhou Fugui explained that hydrogen production falls under the chemical industry, and hydrogen is also considered a hazardous substance. Therefore, chemical parks that produce hydrogen still need some **improvements in standards and policies regarding approval processes and other procedures.