16 COLUMN
@ green | September-October , 2022
Race to net zero emissions by 2050
LAL ‘ S CHAT
BY G . LALCHAND
Malaysia is again playing its part in this endeavour
POST COP ( Conference of the Parties ) 26 in Glasgow in November 2021 , the global community has realised the need to strictly comply with COP 26 ’ s decarbonisation aspirations to avoid a “ Climate Armageddon ”, as current trends for decarbonisation efforts are far from the desired levels .
The consensus from COP 26 was that the global temperature rise might be between 2.4oC to 2.7oC if the decarbonisation efforts are not significantly enhanced during the current critical decade ( the decade of no return ?).
While the decision to “ phase down , instead of phase out ” coal fired power generation systems globally is an essential strategy , it is not enough in itself to satisfy the magnitude of decarbonisation needed .
This has not been helped by the diverse impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic that devastated many countries around the globe .
Moreover , the sudden surge of industrial activity as countries worked their way out of the mandatory lockdowns has exacerbated the carbon emission situation .
Unfortunately , some of the larger emission producers ( such as China , India and Indonesia ), also high coal producing countries , are expanding their coal-fired power generating capacities to satisfy their economic development aspirations .
Consequently , they have also said categorically that they need more time to reach their NZE-2050 goals , going as far as 2065 and 2070 .
An important environmentally attractive option that has gained almost universal backing has been the global pursuit to consider accelerated use of hydrogen ( H2 ) as a bridging strategy .
There have been many fora on promoting the use of H2 as the “ silver bullet ” to help the human race to achieve its aspirations in the race to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 .
Though costly to produce , hydrogen is not a “ clean energy option , “ it is a versatile and valuable commodity with many uses in industrial processes where it may be a significant component or a small but critical component .”
However , the production of H2 faces several constraints , not least being the cost and sources of this energy carrier .
Malaysia has been a front runner in this philosophy through intensive and extensive R & D initiatives primarily through UKM ( Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia ) from the 1990s .
These initiatives have included R & D successes in Fuel Cell developments through its “ Institut Sel Fuel ”.
So how is H2 produced now ? The box below shows that the bulk of H2 is not of the green variety .
Green hydrogen has been hailed as a clean energy source for the future . But the gas itself is invisible – so why are so many colourful descriptions used when referring to it ?
It all comes down to the way it is produced . Hydrogen emits only water when burned . But creating it can be carbon intensive .
So various ways to lessen this impact have been developed – and scientists assign colours to the different types to distinguish between them .
Depending on production methods , hydrogen can be grey , blue or green – and sometimes even pink , yellow or turquoise – although naming conventions can vary across countries and over time .
But green hydrogen is the only type produced in a climate-neutral manner , meaning it could play a vital role in global efforts to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050 .
Source : Ember ] s Global Electricity Review 2022 , IEA Net Zero by 2050 report
In fact , H2 has been classified in a rainbow of colours from Grey , Brown , Blue to Green H2 , with the bulk of current production being the grey version , which is output from fossil fuels such as natural gas or produced using fossil fuel generated energy , especially when it is needed for its various industrial purposes .
Some of the higher capacity uses of H2 are the production of hydrochloric acid and methanol , hydrogenation of fats and oils , reduction of metallic ores , and in liquid form for cryogenics and study of superconductivity , etc .
For these uses , the cost and the source of the hydrogen are not hurdles as it forms a critical component for the industry concerned .
Though costly to produce , hydrogen is not a “ clean energy option , “ it is a versatile and valuable commodity with many uses in industrial processes where it may be a significant component or a small but critical component .
However , its use in the transport sector is severely constrained by its production cost , except for the grey H2 which is extracted from natural gas . In this respect , it is in direct competition against BEVs ( Battery EVs ), as shown in the chart below , which was presented at an IGEM 2019 .
In addition , its use for electricity generation as an energy carrier for long-term