Sam McDermott M.Eng., P.Eng., Technical Manager – Renewable Hydrogen, is part of the Business Development team at Enbridge Gas Inc., helping in the development of its hydrogen framework which includes delivery of a blend of hydrogen and natural gas to reduce the carbon footprint of natural gas.
1. Just to get to the basics, what makes hydrogen a clean energy alternative?
It comes down to how it’s made. Power-to-Gas (PtG) is a process in which electrical energy is converted to hydrogen through the electrolysis or splitting of water (H2O) into its basic components of hydrogen and oxygen. If only renewable sources of electricity are used, the hydrogen produced is called renewable. If hydrogen is produced from a mix of renewables and/ or other sources with a high percentage of the carbon captured (greater than 90 or 95 percent), it’s considered low carbon, or termed blue hydrogen. Most of today’s hydrogen is created using steam methane reforming (SMR), a process that separates the hydrogen molecule fom the carbon molecule of methane (CH4). The industry is vigorously working on ways to achieve carbon capture rates greater than 90 and 95 percent.
2. What are the advantages of hydrogen fuel?
Hydrogen is a non carbon energy carrier and produces no green house gasses. If used in a fuel cell, the only by-product is water. It is a versatile energy carrier like electricity. Hydrogen can be used to store electricity, and it can be turned back into electricity. Hydrogen is also used in a myriad of applications such as fertilizer manufacturing, food processing, methanol production, electronics manufacturing and transportation.
3. How much hydrogen can be blended with natural gas to make it a practical energy source?
It depends on factors such as infrastructure vintage, the type of pipe and fittings used, the end use applications, and the policies in place to enable its acceptance, all of which affect blend percentages. You may hear of a blend of 18% or 20% for existing pipes, but the fact remains each gas system is different and must be evaluated on its own merits.
4. How is Enbridge getting into hydrogen production?
In 2018, Enbridge, with project partner Cummins Inc., (formerly Hydrogenics) opened North America’s first utility-scale PtG facility in Markham, Ontario. It converts electrical energy into hydrogen and was primarily used to help the IESO balance the electrical grid during system demand fluctuations. As of 2021, some of the hydrogen from the plant is being blended into the natural gas system as a pilot project to understand the efficacy of reducing carbon in the gas grid. The pilot will run for five years to provide 3,600 customers in the Markham area and insight into blending.
Also, Enbridge subsidiary Gazifere announced in February, with project partner Evolugen (a Brookfield company), plans to operate a 20-MW electrolyzer plant in Gatineau, QC by 2025. Serving about 40,000 customers, the plant will produce renewable hydrogen with the intent of injecting this hydrogen into Gazifere’s natural gas distribution network.
5. What are the next steps to move to a scaled-up use of hydrogen?
As identified in the Canadian Hydrogen Strategy, one of the main elements for the adaptation of hydrogen is de-risking of early developments via incentives such as a price on carbon, seed funding and the rapid development of harmonized codes and standards for the industry in Ontario, in Canada and the world. There is also an urgent need to have enabling policies to drive demand and bring down the cost through scale and innovation. Training and public education through awareness campaigns are vital enablers to move the industry forward and enable public acceptance. Society wants to change its energy reliance but paying for it generates pause. Unlike wind and solar, which took 20 years to realize the price points we see and enjoy today, climate change will not wait.
