Net zero, Russia war driving nascent hydrogen economy

BIRMINGHAM • Mr Kevin Kendall pulls up at the only green hydrogen refuelling station in Birmingham, Britain's second-biggest city, and swiftly fills his sedan with clean gas.

Green hydrogen is in sharp focus as governments seek to slash carbon emissions amid record-high temperatures and to safeguard energy supplies hit by the invasion of Ukraine by oil and gas producer Russia.

But the "hydrogen economy" has not fully kicked into gear, awaiting significant uptake from high-polluting sectors like steel and aviation.

For Mr Kendall, being an early user of green hydrogen means he does not have to queue during his lunchtime trip to what resembles a petrol pump.

"There is very little green hydrogen being produced in Britain," says the chemical engineering professor. "It needs now to move forward."

In Birmingham, central England, it costs about £50 (S$83) to fill Mr Kendall's Toyota Mirai with the green hydrogen that is produced at a plant next to the refuelling station. That is around half the bill for a similar-sized diesel car after the Ukraine war sent fossil fuel prices rocketing.

Despite the price benefit, Britain has only about a dozen hydrogen refuelling stations.

While hydrogen is the most abundant element on Earth, it is locked in water and hydrocarbons such as natural gas, meaning it is difficult to make, according to Mr Kendall's daughter, Ms Michaela Kendall.

Together they founded Adelan, a small-sized business producing box-shaped fuel cells similar to the metal-encased devices used to help power the Toyota Mirai.

Set up 26 years ago, Adelan is the longest-running maker of fuel cells in Britain, which work also with liquefied petroleum gas. The firm also offers a leasing service for the Japanese automaker's hydrogen cars.

"Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the economics of green hydrogen has become increasingly attractive," says Dr Minh Khoi Le, head of hydrogen research at Rystad Energy. "Coupled with many incentives in the second half of 2022 globally, green hydrogen looks to satisfy the trilemma of the energy system: energy security, affordability, and sustainability."

Fallout from the war has caused the European Union to bolster its gas reserves by slashing consumption by 15 per cent.

The bloc is also seeking to significantly increase supplies of green hydrogen, which is made from water via electrolysis and with renewable energy.

This is in contrast to the more available blue hydrogen, which environmentalists oppose as it is produced from natural gas in a process that releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

At Adelan's Birmingham workshop, a quaint brick building surrounded by houses, staff are testing the company's so-called solid oxide fuel cells that are replacing diesel generators.

Overseeing the work is Ms Kendall, who expects hydrogen capacity to really increase, although it will take time. "Hydrocarbons will still be used for the foreseeable future, because the hydrogen economy has not really evolved, it's just at the early stage," she says.

Britain's government says £9 billion of investment is needed "to make hydrogen a cornerstone of the UK's greener future" as it targets net zero carbon emissions by mid-century.

In Birmingham, the plan is for about 10 hydrogen refuelling stations in the next few years following the arrival of 120 hydrogen buses to the city in 2023. Other British cities, including Aberdeen in Scotland, are travelling the same road.

But only Los Angeles has been fairly successful, with 9,000 or so hydrogen vehicles and 40 hydrogen stations, according to Mr Kendall. "That's what we'd like Birmingham to be."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE