1/23/22, 2:27 AM Is Hydrogen Just Oil And Gas Greenwashed?

Jul 31, 2021, 05:00am EDT | 6,400 views

Is Hydrogen Just Oil And Gas

Greenwashed?
James Morris Contributor
Sustainability Follow
I write about the rapidly growing world of electric vehicles

Listen to article 8 minutes

The debate over the position of hydrogen in the new energy revolution
has come to the fore again thanks to Japan’s hosting of the Olympic
Games. The Olympic buses run on hydrogen, and even the Olympic
Cauldron is a hydrogen flame. But rather than showcasing how green this
miracle new fuel is, it has highlighted its many problems.

In the perfect hydrogen scenario, wind farms, solar panels, ebbing tides,
waves and other intermittent renewable energy sources would be filling
tanks with hydrogen whenever they can, to be used later when needed.
It’s a valid argument when renewable energy is abundant because it can
be much more variable than a fossil fuel or nuclear power plant that can
be spun up when needed. But, in reality, this is not how the vast majority
of hydrogen is produced.

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The Tokyo 2020 Olympic cauldron is hydrogen powered, but it's not as zero-emissions as it seems.
... [+] GETTY IMAGES

Currently, around 95% of hydrogen production is what is called “grey”,

including that being used at the Tokyo Olympics. It is made by reacting
natural gas with high-temperature steam. This is the cheapest way to
manufacture hydrogen but produces loads of CO2. In fact, it has been
calculated that producing 1kg of hydrogen by this method will generate
9.3kg of CO2, which is actually more than the 9.1kg of CO2 produced by
burning a gallon of gasoline, usually considered to have a similar energy
value. Taking Toyota’s original Mirai as the benchmark, 1kg of hydrogen
can provide about 60 miles of range. That equates to around 97g of CO2
per km, which is good but hardly zero emissions. It’s about the same as
that produced by a Toyota Yaris hybrid.

Hydrogen evangelists will counter this by claiming that “in the future”
renewables will take over, and in the interim, we have carbon capture
producing “blue” hydrogen. But currently the amount of blue hydrogen
being produced is infinitesimal (less than 1%) and well below
expectations. It’s also highly problematic technology that remains
unproven. In fact, Chevron recently admitted its failure at Australia’s only
carbon capture and storage facility in Gorgon. Instead of storing 4 million
tonnes of CO2 a year, it has managed to store 5 million tonnes in total
since the project started in 2009.

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Carbon capture doesn't really work very well yet, despite the bold theories about it. GETTY

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Of course, you should consider the “well to wheel” emissions of each

vehicle type and how much greenhouse gases are produced in
manufacturing as well. There is no denying that battery-electric vehicles
do create more emissions during production than conventional cars,
particularly the batteries, at least for now while manufacturers look for
ways to reduce this factor. Electricity supplies also vary greatly in CO2
emissions. But fossil fuel manufacturers have overstated this differential
grossly, most famously in the “#AstonGate” controversy in the UK, which
deliberately twisted a worst case scenario in an attempt to make fossil fuel
cars somehow appear greener than BEVs.

More recent and comprehensive research by the International Council on

Clean Transportation has shown that over their lifespan, BEVs produce
far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than internal combustion, even in
regions with highly polluting electricity grid energy sources such as China
and India. This report also makes it clear that no car with an internal
combustion engine, even a hybrid, will be sufficient to meet the goals of
the Paris Agreement for greenhouse gas reduction. In other words,
companies promoting “self-charging hybrids” over BEVs are  threatening
environmental disaster almost as much as those promoting traditional
internal combustion without hybrid drivetrains.

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Fuel cell cars could be a solution too. The International Council on Clean
Transportation reports gives these as much potential to achieve Paris
Agreement goals as BEVs. The problem is that their development is far
behind BEVs, with FCEV prices much higher than equivalent BEVs, and
the refuelling networks worse than electric charging networks were a
decade ago. Even in Japan, the poster child of H2, those Olympic
hydrogen buses have proven to be five times as expensive to buy and
much less convenient to refuel than diesel buses. The fuel cost is also 2.6
times higher – and that is with grey hydrogen. Properly environmental
green hydrogen is even more expensive.

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The bz4X concept looks great, but hides how Toyota is otherwise trying to delay and resist the ...
[+] XINHUA NEWS AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES

So what is the pro-hydrogen lobby really all about? Clearly, Toyota has
invested heavily in this technology and wants to get its money’s worth,
particularly as its BEV strategy is so far behind the competition. The bZ4X
looks great, and Toyota is even mooting ground-breaking solid state
batteries. But let’s judge the bZ4X when we see it in production. The
company is clearly trying to delay BEVs, as the New York Times reported
recently, in an attempt not to lose market share now that Tesla has taken
its crown as the most valuable car company in the world.

But this isn’t just a battle between car manufacturers. The fact is, while
the visible discussions revolve around battery-electric versus fuel cell-
electric vehicles, there is a much deeper conflict going on between energy
businesses. If we all stop using fossil fuel vehicles we fill up at the local
gas station and switch to BEVs that we charge at home, that’s a big
problem for oil and gas companies with huge consumer fuel supply lines
that haven’t invested in electrical infrastructure, and a big win for energy
supply companies. Since 95% of current hydrogen is produced from fossil
fuel, conversely its adoption would maintain the status quo for the oil and
gas companies.

It’s no surprise, therefore, that disruptive new energy companies like the
UK’s Octopus Energy are also developing electric car leasing such as its
Octopus EV and charging consortiums such as its Octopus Electric Juice,
both of which help promote BEV ownership. They complement the
electricity supply business perfectly. This is another area where the
“convenience” of hydrogen shows itself to be a myth. Sure, you can fill
your car up in five minutes (that is, if you can find an H2 station at all).
But how is that more convenient than leaving your house with a “full
tank” in your BEV that you charged at home, every single day?

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Battery-electric vehicles could make gas stations obsolete, which is a problem if your business ...
[+] AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

This is clearly a massive problem for oil and gas companies with a fuel
delivery system based around forecourt destinations. In fact, while the
climate emergency is an existential threat for human life as we know it,
even planetary life, it’s also a disruptive opportunity for new business. It’s
a chance for less polluting green energy suppliers to take over from dirty
oil and gas that regularly causes environmental disasters like Deepwater
Horizon. It’s a chance for new car companies like Tesla and smaller
players such as Kia-Hyundai to win market share from decades-old
incumbent automotive giants like Toyota.

Calling hydrogen oil and gas greenwashed is hyperbolic, and if you’ve read
this far, please forgive the use of this phrase to get your attention. There
are some clear places where hydrogen will be essential, such as cement
and steel production. It could also come into its own if and when we get to
a stage where renewable electricity production is abundant. But, for now,
many of the companies pushing hydrogen aren’t doing so to save the
planet. They’re doing so to save their business models in a time of
extreme transition towards greener technologies and e-mobility. If we are
to solve the climate crisis, we need to take their propaganda with a pinch
of salt and opt for solutions that can actually deliver the emissions
reductions we need in time.

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James Morris Follow

I am the editor of independent electric vehicle website WhichEV. I have over 25

years’ experience as a technology journalist and a life-long love of cars, so having
the two come together has been a dream come true. I... Read More

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