𝑫𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒚𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒏!
I thought H2 as an energy source is classified in just two colors – Blue and Green.
But I came across an interesting article from Petrofac about 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 different colors H2!
The color code is related to the method for H2 production.
𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗛𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻: Splitting Natural Gas (mostly methane) into H2 and CO2. The process is Steam Methane Reforming (SMR). CO2 is a by-product but captured through CCS.
𝗚𝗿𝗲𝘆 𝗛𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻: This one probably has no future, at least no one wants to talk about it. H2 is produced by SMR (like blue hydrogen), but CO2 is not captured. If I am right, most of the current refineries produce grey H2.
𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻: Splitting water into H2 and O2. The process is electrolysis. The Source of electricity is a combination of renewables like solar and wind.
𝗬𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗛𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻: Similar to Green H2 but the electricity source is only solar (not a combination of other renewables).
𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗛𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻: Again, similar to Green H2 but using nuclear energy for electrolysis.
𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑯2, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑯2 𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆:
What is the net reduction in carbon footprint compared to NG as fuel?
Blue H2 still needs Natural Gas, steam, high temp reactions in addition to the facility of CCS and H2 storage. How does the economics compare?
For Green, Yellow and Pink H2, what is the quality and quantity of water required for electrolysis? For a country like India which is already facing water scarcity, what will be the source of water?
Is electrolysis scalable to large capacities?
𝗜𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘁.
Petrofac’s article: https://www.petrofac.com/media/stories-and-opinion/the-difference-between-green-hydrogen-and-blue-hydrogen/
Paul Martin’s article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/distilled-thoughts-hydrogen-paul-martin
