Thread by @nworbmot

In Oct 2019 @Equinor and @OpenGridEurope presented a feasibility study to produce blue hydrogen in Germany (from natural gas with CCS)

Aims for blue H2 at a cost of 2-3 EUR/kg (50-80 EUR/MWh), competitive at a CO2 price of 50-70 EUR/tCO2

Short thread

open-grid-europe.com/cps/rde/oge-in…

H2morrow would supply industry with H2 in west of Germany (NRW), importing natural gas from Norway.

Uses autothermal reforming (ATR) to produce H2. CO2 is captured, liquified, then shipped on Rhine down to Rotterdam and onwards to Norway, where it will be sequestered offshore.

Aim is to do further technical studies in coming years, and have the project operational by 2030.

ATR, where CH4 is reformed in presence of oxygen and steam, is used instead of regular steam methane reforming (SMR) because of its higher overall efficiency and the higher partial pressure of CO2 (good for capture).

In the overall cost breakdown, fuel costs dominate both costs and uncertainty, but CO2 transport and storage is a big chunk too (shipping long distances rather than using a CO2 pipeline makes it expensive).

The project would convert old low-calorific natural gas (L-gas, phased out anyway) for dedicated H2 transport to industry, and use salt caverns for storage.

Mixing H2 into the natural gas network is poo-pooed because the exact mixture at the final customer cannot be guaranteed.

Reforming cannot happen directly in Norway until cross-border hydrogen pipelines are in place.

Regulation of cross-border CO2 transport for storage requires bilateral treaties since Germany has not yet ratified the relevant amendment to the London Protocol of 1972.

Will it be competitive with green hydrogen produced with electrolysis using renewable power?

By 2030 it will be a close running, according to this paper:

nature.com/articles/s4156…

One should also keep on eye on fugitive CH4 and CO2 emissions, and factor those in.

It's interesting to read the feasibility study to see some of the practical considerations of blue hydrogen and H2 and CO2 infrastructure in general.

As always, interested in your thoughts!

That should read L-gas *pipelines* which will be convert to dedicated H2 pipelines.