Researchers from the Future Energy Exports Cooperative Research Centre (FEnEx CRC) have conducted a study concluding that liquefied natural gas (LNG) and its infrastructure could serve as an accelerator for the global hydrogen economy.
Researchers made the finding in a peer-reviewed study published in the prestigious International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. Speaking at the Australian Hydrogen Research Conference in Canberra, FEnEx CRC CEO Professor Eric May said the study has demonstrated that a viable and cost-effective hydrogen export business from Australia to Japan could be achieved rapidly by harnessing the expertise and infrastructure of the established LNG sector.
Professor May said LNG is a source of vital energy throughout Asia and the world, however, it is much less recognized for its potential to accelerate the development of commercial-scale hydrogen. “Right now the world is working to reach Net Zero by 2050 and there is no doubt that hydrogen can play a critical role as we look for low carbon sources of energy,” he said.
“The cost-effective production and delivery of ‘green’ hydrogen developed from renewable sources is an ultimate goal but at present we have a number of significant technical and cost barriers that need to be solved before this is viable.
“Our researchers show that using LNG and existing technologies can quickly establish a supply chain to deliver what is often termed ‘blue’ hydrogen to Japan from Australia within the cost target set by the Government of Japan (GOJ) and at a CO2 emission intensity well below proposed targets,” May said.
The paper explored how hydrogen could be produced from shipped LNG to Japan at a cost of 2.3USD/kg which met the 2030 GOJ target of 3USD/kg. The paper also outlined that by using existing carbon, capture and storage (CCS) technologies, LNG-produced hydrogen could meet emission intensity targets for hydrogen.
“What we can see is that a complete hydrogen supply chain entailing LNG exports to Japan, its conversion into hydrogen and then liquefying and repatriating by-product CO2 to Australia for sequestration or utilization is financially and technically achievable,” Professor May said.
Professor May said a major benefit of developing an LNG-based hydrogen export supply chain meant that the world could start to break down the barriers for hydrogen adoption and also allow researchers and companies to “learn from doing”.
He said he hoped the paper would stimulate discussion across governments and industry on using LNG as a viable hydrogen export option until other hydrogen supply chain options (such as liquid hydrogen or ammonia) become competitive.
He also believed the paper should accelerate discussion about how CCS should be considered as a vital tool in the energy transition.
Professor May said the ground-breaking study was the result of an enormous amount of research collaboration by scientists and engineers at the University of Western Australia and Curtin University team which included Saif Al Ghafri, Caitlin Revell, Mauricio Di Lorenzo, Gongkui Xiao, Craig E. Buckley and Michael Johns.
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