Simplifying complexity in the hydrogen economy
January 6, 2022
Why hydrogen?
Hydrogen is an odourless, invisible gas with a colourful future. It is likely to play a significant part in the future of the physical transportation of power and as an environmentally friendly fuel to power transport. On a weight for weigh basis, the energy density of hydrogen is many times that of gasoline, diesel, or Li batteries.
However hydrogen is also highly combustible, and it’s highly probable that systems producing, distributing or using hydrogen, will need to comply with stringent codes and standards around safety and explosion prevention.
Many governments are rolling out long term hydrogen strategies, aiming at decarbonising a significant proportion of their energy use over the coming decades. Follow these links to 3 examples: USA, Europe Union & UK.
Where does Expo fit in?
As these plans are beginning to be realised, new infrastructure and supply chains are emerging. While some hydrogen will directly replace natural gas in existing infrastructure – for instance combustion in gas fired power stations, or in domestic hot water heating systems, a significant proportion will be used in applications for the first time – for instance road vehicle refuelling.
To drive these new applications, new end-users, manufacturers and OEMs will become involved in generating, moving, or using hydrogen – some with little or no previous experience with hazardous areas. That’s why specialist companies, such as Expo Technologies, are becoming increasingly involved. Our 60+ years of hazardous area know-how, developed from supporting hydrocarbon industries, directly maps to the hydrogen supply chain.
Expo has already worked on a number of projects across the vehicle refuelling sector – you can read some recent case studies here:
- H2 compression for filling stations
- H2 quality analysis for filling stations
- Ensuring safety for H2 dispensing systems
Other useful resources – external links
Hydrogen – Responsing to a dynamic environment. Herbert Smith Freehills LLC: https://www.herbertsmithfreehills.com/latest-thinking/hydrogen
Hydrogen Europe https://hydrogeneurope.eu/
The future of hydrogen – IEA.org: https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-hydrogen
The Hydrogen Council: https://hydrogencouncil.com/en/
Scottish Hydrogen Fuel Cell Association: http://www.shfca.org.uk/
What does a hydrogen refueling station look like? https://hydrogen-central.com/what-hydrogen-refueling-station-look-like/
How does a hydrogen filling station work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soC2YlGULNU
US Dept. of Energy: H2 strategy
European Union: H2 strategy
UK: H2 strategy