176. Hydrogen Use Cases for the Power Industry

Hydrogen is becoming increasingly important to the electric power generation industry for several reasons. One is that hydrogen offers a promising pathway to decarbonize the power sector. When used in fuel cells or burned for electricity generation, hydrogen produces only water vapor as a byproduct, making it a zero-emission energy source. This is crucial for meeting global climate change mitigation goals and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power generation. Hydrogen also provides a potential energy storage solution, which is critical for integrating solar and wind energy into the power grid. These renewable resources are intermittent—sometimes they produce more energy than is needed by the grid, while at other times, they may completely go away. Hydrogen can be produced through electrolysis during periods of excess renewable energy production, then stored and used to generate electricity when needed. This helps address the challenge of matching energy supply with demand. Hydrogen is a flexible and versatile fuel that can be used in fuel cells, gas turbines, or internal combustion engines. It can also be blended with natural gas to accommodate existing equipment limitations. The wide range of options make hydrogen a great backup fuel for microgrids and other systems that require excellent reliability. “We’ve actually seen quite a bit of interest in that,” Tim Lebrecht, industry manager for Energy Transition and the Chemicals Process Industries with Air Products, said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. Lebrecht noted that hydrogen can be a primary use in microgrids, or used as a source of backup or supplement. “Think of a peaking unit that as temperature goes up during the day, your pricing for power could also be going up,” Lebrecht explained. “At a point, hydrogen may be a peak shave–type situation, where you then maximize the power from the grid, but then you’re using hydrogen as a supplement during that time period.” Another hydrogen use case revolves around data centers. “Data centers, specifically, have been really interested in: ‘How do we use hydrogen as a backup type material?’ ” Lebrecht said. Air Products is the world’s leading supplier of hydrogen with more than 65 years of experience in hydrogen production, storage, distribution, and dispensing. Lebrecht noted that his team regularly works with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs); engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) companies; and other firms to collaborate on solutions involving hydrogen. “We’ve got a great history,” he said. “My team has a great amount of experience.”