Yassir Ghiyati, Nitesh Bansal, and Mohammed Ilyas, Haldor Topsoe, Denmark, provide a review of the best available blue hydrogen technologies.
C
arbon dioxide (CO2) emissions must be reduced to tackle global warming. Several governments have therefore already adopted relevant regulatory frameworks, such as emission trading schemes or carbon taxation, with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions. As just one example, the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) directive drives CO2 reductions by setting a cap on the total CO2 emission allowance for each company and by reducing this cap figure over time. Companies can sell their surplus quotas of CO2 emission and are thus incentivised to invest in the most efficient technologies
with least CO2 formation and to capture, utilise and/or sequester the formed CO2. Since its introduction in 2005, the EU ETS directive has passed through several phases. It is now in its fourth phase, in which the pace of annual cap reduction is set to increase significantly. The EU commission expects the directive to drive faster adaptation of both ‘blue’ and ‘green’ technologies that are essential for the EU’s journey towards climate neutrality by 2050. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), annual hydrogen production accounts for 830 million t or 3% of global CO2 emissions. As such, there is a need to HYDROCARBON 17
ENGINEERING
August 2021
