The Nigerian LNG Limited (NLNG) will be considering diversifying into hydrogen production as part of its long-term strategy if the right conditions, including financing and infrastructure, are in place, Phillip Mshelbilaays, the company’s chief executive has said.
Mshelbila, CEO/MD of NLNG during a panel session at the 28th edition of the World Gas Conference, on Friday, in the Republic of Korea, said there was no immediate plans to diversify into hydrogen but the company was taking a long-term view of the new energy resource.
“We have been exploring for example the use of hydrogen in our own plant as fuel, but we realise that in order to do that, we have to change out valves, gaskets, all kinds of things, to contain methane molecule but the hydrogen molecule, being much smaller will need new systems,” said Mshelbila.
This entails huge costs for financing new delivery systems or upgrading existing infrastructure, as part of the company’s long-term plan when better technologies would enable cost-effective solutions.
“Currently, hydrogen is best used in situ (where it is produced)” because existing infrastructure makes it difficult to transport it,” Mshelbila said.
Hydrogen development on a commercial scale faces daunting challenges. In liquid form, hydrogen needs to be stored in tanks at minus 253 degrees Celsius—just 20 degrees above absolute zero—to avoid evaporation. LNG, often described as a super-chilled fuel, only needs to be cooled to minus 162 degrees Celsius for shipping and storage
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The required infrastructure for hydrogen delivery includes pipelines, liquefaction plants, trucks, storage facilities, compressors, and dispensers involved in the process of delivering fuel.
However, as more serious investments go into these new energy forms, and they are able to scale, the company will consider it as part of a long-term strategy, Mshelbila added.
In some Western and Asian countries, research is growing to scale hydrogen production. Patent filings for hydrogen production technologies have increased on average by 18 percent each year since 2005, says a joint study published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the European Patent Office (EPO).
Massive investments for research and development into the various forms of hydrogen production – grey, blue and green is growing.
In February, the first shipment of liquefied hydrogen left Australia for the Japanese port of Kobe. To achieve the feat, Australia and Japan committed $351 million to create a hydrogen supply chain. This includes the construction of the world’s first purpose-built liquefied hydrogen carrier called the ‘Suiso Frontier’.
A report from IRENA lists six leaders in developing policy initiatives, technology and export facilities to promote clean hydrogen value chains – all of which are needed if the world is to decarbonise sectors like steelmaking, shipping and road haulage.
China consumes and produces more hydrogen than any other country – its current annual usage is more than 24 million tonnes.
The European Union as a block is heavily focused on emissions-free green hydrogen, with a target to install 40 gigawatts of renewable hydrogen electrolyzer capacity by 2030 and green hydrogen capacity target of 2.7 gigawatts by 2025.
Indian policymakers are considering legislation requiring oil refineries and fertiliser plants to use a minimum quota of green hydrogen in their industrial processes.
Japan developed the first of its kind national hydrogen strategy in 2017 and the government has invested about $670m in 2020 in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. It has set mobility targets of 800,000 FCEVs and 900 hydrogen refuelling stations by 2030.
In 2021, South Korea passed the Economic Promotion and Safety Control of Hydrogen Act, the world’s first law aimed at promoting hydrogen vehicles, charging stations and fuel cells and plans for hydrogen to provide 10 percent of the energy needs of its cities, counties and towns by 2030.
The United States is the world’s second-biggest producer and consumer of hydrogen after China, accounting for 13 percent of global demand, says iRENA. When the government passed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, it contained a $9.5 billion budget to boost clean hydrogen development.
African countries such as Morocco and Namibia are emerging as exporters of emissions-free green hydrogen and oil exporters like Australia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are looking to clean hydrogen to help diversify their economies, IRENA says.
