Issues surrounding hydrogen’s properties and cost make it difficult to justify as a mass-market solution for domestic heating, according to Suzanne Mattei, Energy Policy Analyst at climate action think tank The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
In the latest episode on 1895, Mattei talks about hydrogen and its uses across sectors, including home heating, in terms of market competitiveness, supply and safety – and notes how it invariably falls short on many key metrics.
“Firstly, it’s really not a carbon solution. It takes about three times as much hydrogen to produce the energy of natural gas. So that becomes a volume, systems management and compression issue. You really have to use a lot of hydrogen if you’re trying to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and hydrogen from natural gas is not clean,” she said.
“The notion that carbon capture will take care of it doesn’t work. It’s very inefficient and it doesn’t meet the goals. There are real difficulties on a commercial scale.”
Hydrogen’s properties present hurdles, too. When you burn hydrogen at high heat, it releases nitrous oxides, and the latest estimates are that they are around 300 times more powerful as greenhouse gases than CO2.
“If we see a big expansion of hydrogen we’re going to see more nitrous oxides, and the problem is that while a lot of methane does break down in the air, nitrous oxides don’t and they’re very persistent. So to say hydrogen burns clean – that’s not true if you’re living in the real world.”
“I hope nothing bad happens but hydrogen leaks. It’s the smallest molecule – and with natural gas, it helps methane to leak. It’s got a higher explosive potential and higher flame temperature and when it’s burning it’s almost not visible. Hydrogen is hard on pipelines, not only on the pipelines themselves but the connections, the gaskets. That makes it more expensive.”
If policymakers do push through hydrogen for home heating, she said bills would almost certainly rise.
“If it’s heating a home, the cost will come down heavily on the individual consumer. Some people can afford utility bills, but a lot of people really can’t, so that’s definitely an issue,” she added.
For people considering hydrogen in their home, they really need to get all the information, said Mattei.
“They can’t rely on what the utility or public relations is telling them. We need much more transparency on what hydrogen can and cannot do. Personally I wouldn’t consider it – it’s just too risky.”
gasworld Content Director Rob Cockerill said while the evidence appears to be stacking up against hydrogen for home heating and domestic uses, it was important to have a “level playing field” when it comes to discussions around hydrogen.
“Hydrogen is a molecule that’s been safely handled for over a century and that often gets lost,” he said. “There is still a perception problem, and more needs to be done around the safety and efficacy of hydrogen.”
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