Coal-based liquid hydrogen pivotal for green energy? The experts doubt it
A world-first shipment of liquid hydrogen from Australia was declared momentous – a pivotal moment as the world clambers for clean liquid fuels to bring global greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
Prime minister Scott Morrison said the consignment – loaded on to a purpose-built Japanese ship at the Port of Hastings in Victoria – marked the beginning of a new clean energy export industry for Australia.
Despite the celebratory fanfare and two government ministers at the port for a photo-op, the reality is something different.
Experts say the climate credentials of the technology being used to produce the hydrogen – using brown coal – are highly questionable.
“The project’s current configuration is not clean. In fact, it is incredibly dirty,” said Kobad Bhavnagri, head of industrial decarbonisation at Bloomberg NEF.
So what is actually happening?
The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project is a $500m pilot that launched in 2018. The Australian government has given $57m to the project so far.
This week the Suiso Frontier will depart Victoria with the first load of super-cooled liquid hydrogen ever to be transported by sea.
Temperature Check asked how much hydrogen was loaded, but HESC didn’t respond. A fact sheet has said the pilot phase would produce up to three tonnes (global demand for hydrogen is currently about 90 million tonnes).
Energy minister Angus Taylor said the shipment demonstrated the project could be “a major source of clean energy”.
Both the government and HESC said a commercial phase of the project would produce 225,000 tonnes of “carbon neutral” hydrogen a year.
Even if the project backers decide to move to a commercial phase (and that is a huge if), studies show hydrogen produced using the same method would be
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