Hydrogen Report: Infrastructure, supply issues hamper hydrogen use in power generation The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis expects any “hydrogen-capable” gas-fired plants to operate almost completely, if not entirely, using natural gas in the next decade. Kevin Clark 8.6.2024 Share (Image: Delta-EE) Hydrogen is not a viable solution for use in gas turbines and this use is years away from commercial viability, according to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). While electric utilities and developers use terms like “hydrogen-ready” or “hydrogen-capable” in their project plans, IEEFA said this is little more than marketing designed to obscure the challenges of hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines. The biggest obstacles to hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines include building new infrastructure and ramping up supply, according to the Institute in Hydrogen: Not a solution for gas-fired turbines. U.S. utilities and developers have announced myriad of “hydrogen-ready” projects over the last several years, ranging from technology demonstrations to large-scale commercial developments. But IEEFA said for at least the next 10 years, any “hydrogen-capable” gas-fired power plants are going to operate almost completely, if not entirely, using natural gas. The institute said state regulators and potential project investors should scrutinize assertions that hydrogen gas will be widely used in natural gas-fired turbines. Lack of supply IEEFA noted the U.S. produces about 10 million tons of hydrogen every year, nearly all of which is consumed in the petrochemical and fertilizer sectors. Any hydrogen co-firing in the power sector would require a lot of new production, the institute said. Just running the 15 largest natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) plants with hydrogen would require doubling current U.S. production and would replace less than 10% of the electricity now generated annually from natural gas, IEEFA said. The report cited a 2022 demonstration where Long Ridge Energy tested a 5% hydrogen blend at its newly commercialized 485 MW combined-cycle plant in Ohio. While the demonstration was a success, the company told the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) it burned 325,000 cubic feet of hydrogen during the tests, producing 17 megawatt-hours (MWh) of power. IEEFA said the example underscores the enormous amount of hydrogen needed for even a small level of blending and the challenges of scaling even larger. According to EIA, the company has not used any hydrogen in the Long Ridge turbine since the 2022 demonstration. Lack of pipeline infrastructure The institute noted that no pipeline network exists to distribute the fuel to hydrogen-capable gas turbines being proposed in the U.S. IEEFA also said building such a network would take years and cost billions of dollars, and the time and effort required for this buildout would slow the transition from fossil fuels. While the U.S. has a sprawling natural gas pipeline network, with approximately 305,000 miles of inter- and intrastate transmission lines, there are only roughly 1,600 miles of hydrogen-dedicated pipelines in the U.S. Virtually all the existing infrastructure is concentrated in Texas and Louisiana, where there is petrochemical and other industry activity. Blending hydrogen into existing pipelines has been proposed as a possible alternative, but IEEFA said the latest research has raised more questions than answers about the technical and safety implications of introducing hydrogen into the system. In short, blending hydrogen into pipelines would weaken the steel, IEEFA said, potentially leading to cracks, leaks and complete failure. Read the full report here. Related Articles Report: Transparency, standards needed for U.S. clean hydrogen to take off California first state to get federal funds for hydrogen energy hub to help replace fossil fuels Rolls-Royce leads development of hydrogen engine for stationary power generation Wärtsilä announces 100% hydrogen-ready engine power plant