Green hydrogen study highlights strategies for offshore production

Because the U.S. faces vital challenges in scaling up manufacturing of hydrogen in cost-effective and environmentally pleasant methods, a brand new Cornell examine outlines methods to satisfy as much as 75% of the nation’s future hydrogen demand by harnessing offshore wind power.

The demand for hydrogen is anticipated to develop considerably within the coming many years, with manufacturing from renewable power sources corresponding to offshore wind turbinesreasonably than fossil fuels, being important for hydrogen to be thought of “green.” Nevertheless, it might take 0.96 terawatts of offshore wind capability to provide 75% of the nation’s serviceable consumption potential of hydrogen, based on the Cornell examine published within the journal Vitality & Environmental Science.

Putting in that a lot capability would require the U.S. to drastically enhance its use of offshore wind power, going from utilizing simply 1% of its technical useful resource potential to over 22%, stated Fengqi You, the Roxanne E. and Michael J. Zak Professor in Vitality Methods Engineering, who co-authored the examine with graduate scholar Rishi Kaashyap Balaji.

“This is a massive increase in offshore wind energy production, but pursuing this approach would not just provide an opportunity for the U.S. to spur growth in an important energy sector, but also circumvent potential land and water use challenges from developing large-scale renewable energy infrastructure domestically,” stated Fengqi You, who can also be a senior college fellow on the Cornell Atkinson Middle for Sustainability.

The examine takes a complete method to analyzing the financial and environmental impacts of offshore wind-based hydrogen manufacturing by using an optimization framework, life cycle evaluation, and multi-scale spatial evaluation. It examines two supply strategies—liquefied and compressed gaseous hydrogen—whereas incorporating wind pace information and state-level hydrogen demand, amongst many different parameters.

“A key finding is that transporting compressed gaseous hydrogen via pipelines offers clear economic and environmental advantages over shipping liquefied hydrogen,” Balaji stated.

“The cost and energy needed to liquefy hydrogen to -253 degrees Celsius make the liquefied hydrogen route very expensive. However, this method still warrants consideration, as building extensive pipeline infrastructure could prove to be a monumental challenge.”

The examine additionally conceptualizes ‘offshore hydrogen hubs’—states clustered into geographic areas that broadly align with the U.S. Division of Vitality’s Regional Clear Hydrogen Hubs program introduced in 2023. The hubs comprise the mandatory infrastructure for manufacturing, storage and end-use of fresh hydrogen, optimizing facility location and bringing cost savings as much as 30% by way of shared infrastructure, based on You.

“The East Coast emerges as a prime region of interest for offshore wind-based green hydrogen production because of high wind speeds, significant regional demand, abundant surplus potential and promising prospects for establishing export-oriented facilities to serve net-importers of hydrogen in European markets,” You stated.

Utilizing the examine’s optimum pathways, producing hydrogen offshore may value between $2.50 and $7.00 per kilogram, with greenhouse gasoline emissions effectively beneath the 4 kilogram carbon-dioxide-equivalent benchmark. This qualifies inexperienced hydrogen for manufacturing tax credit underneath the Inflation Discount Act, additional growing its market competitiveness, stated You.

“Additional supportive policies, such as carbon pricing mechanisms, will be crucial,” You added. “The century-old Jones Act, for example, complicates offshore projects by requiring domestically constructed and crewed ships, yet as of 2020, no U.S.-flagged ships could perform tasks like assembling turbines at sea. Our work discusses the importance of flexible policies to address these practical challenges to the industry’s growth.”