Confronting climate change

Takashi Goto, Vice President of Strategy, NTT Research, Japan, considers how existing pipelines can transform the global adoption of hydrogen energy.

n February, Pew Research published an alarming finding: federal action addressing climate change fell to the 14th highest-rated (out of 18) policy priorities among polled US adults. Only 42% of respondents felt dealing with climate change “should be a top priority for the president and Congress to address this year.”

But the threats posed by climate change continue to grow, and now is not the time to de-emphasise our climate priorities in favour of issues some might deem more pressing. Rather, now is the time to invest resources in the most creative and innovative technologies that will help us mitigate this existential threat.

One of those innovations rests entirely on advancing the capabilities of our future global pipeline infrastructure.

Conversations around renewable or cleaner energy sources often centre on a handful of solutions – wind, solar, water and tidal, geothermal or nuclear power. Yet, another vital alternative is too commonly overlooked despite its place at the very beginning of our periodic table: hydrogen.

Hydrogen is too often absent from conversations about the global transition to cleaner energy sources; fortunately, we’re beginning to see that change. In September, a coalition of 20 countries agreed to increase their output of low-emission hydrogen 90-fold by 2030.

In 2021, research published by Qatar University scientists in Frontiers in Sustainability noted that “Low carbon hydrogen can be an excellent source of clean energy, which can combat global climate change and poor air quality.” Additionally, the research stated that a hydrogen-based economy could decarbonise sectors “including transportation, shipping, global energy markets and industrial sectors.”

If properly adopted, hydrogen can be expected to meet the world’s ever-growing demand for electricity and heat. It is particularly difficult to reduce carbon consumption when heating buildings running on conventional energy sources, so it is believed that substituting hydrogen as an alternative energy source will greatly contribute to reduced carbon usage. In the future, hydrogen may even become renewable as it can be produced by

Figure 1. Example of existing pipeline infrastructure that could be used for the transportation of hydrogen.

reforming from fossil fuels, using byproducts from chemical plants or through the electrolysis of water.

Yet, hydrogen energy is by no means a panacea. Energy experts rightly highlight the drawbacks and obstacles to the wide-scale implementation of hydrogen as a clean energy source, especially regarding its transmission. Under the typical model of building hydrogen-transmission-specific pipelines, energy companies must contend with high land acquisition and construction costs, long building times and the potentiality of creating new environmental dangers through leaks or spills.

The research published in Frontiers in Sustainability fairly states, “...there are still some barriers to the realisation of a hydrogenbased economy, which includes large-scale hydrogen production cost, infrastructure investments, bulk storage, transport and distribution, safety consideration, and matching supply-demand uncertainties.”

Hydrogen gas: the potential The question then becomes, how do we safely implement the global adoption of this high-potential cleaner energy source while overcoming very real barriers to its transportation and economic viability?

The solution lies in rethinking the transportation methodology completely, moving beyond the impulse to tear up existing pipeline infrastructure or blindly build entirely new pipelines, but exploring instead how to transport hydrogen gas through the realisation of a new transportation model, placing a hydrogen-capable transportation pipeline into existing piping infrastructure.

That model is the long-term vision of a new study implemented by NTT Anode Energy Corporation (in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and Toyota Tsusho Co., Ltd.) in August 2022. NTT Anode Energy is a Japan-based company focused on leveraging the information communications and DC-power-supply technologies of the NTT Group to develop smarter energy solutions for business applications.

Under this double-piping model, a hydrogen pipeline made of stainless steel will be placed into existing pipes, also known as ‘sheath pipes’, made of either polyethylene or steel. This study, the next step in the proof-of-concept process for transportation of hydrogen through existing communication pipelines, communication tunnels, and water and sewage systems, begins with the manufacturing of a mock piping system on which various trials can be conducted. During these trials, hydrogen transportation will initially be tested along a distance of 250 m at an approximate volumetric flowrate of 2300 m3/hr, enough hydrogen supply to power 33 large commercial facilities (like hotels).

These trials are the world’s first attempt to achieve mediumpressure transport of hydrogen gas at room temperature due to the technical feasibility related to safety using a double-pipe system. Ultimately, it aims to measure four key transportation factors with the goal of formulating technical industry standards for future use. Those factors include: ) Onsite investigation standards for hydrogen leakage detection.

) Verification of detection of signs indicating operational abnormalities.

) Establishment of a control sequence to ensure ecological safety.

) The performance evaluation of several hydrogen sensors under real-world conditions.

Fuel for the future Hydrogen is considered generally safe and can be found throughout our everyday lives, including in various types of drinking waters. It also has a wide variety of uses across industries, including semiconductor cleaning, as rocket fuel, as fuel for maglev trains and airplanes, and more recently as a heat and electricity source for automobiles, hotels, and hospitals.

In the future, the ultimate aim is the transportation and effective implementation of green hydrogen, which must be clearly delineated in any conversation about the potentiality of hydrogen as a clean energy source. An expert commentary published by the National Resources Defense Council, for example, notes that hydrogen “is currently produced via a dirty process that relies on fossil gas as feedstock and emits a significant amount of carbon pollution. However, the process can be cleaned up to produce a ‘green’ version using renewable energy and water.”

The NRDC post then states that “Green hydrogen … can help us achieve a 100% renewable energy electricity sector by allowing us to store power for longer periods of time.”

In this study, safety measures will be investigated under the assumption of unsteady conditions, including rupture accidents

Figure 2. Overview of the hydrogen transportation business model.

and natural disasters during pipeline operation. However, it remains important to note that a hydrogen leak will not cause an explosion of its own accord. Spontaneous combustion will occur only if there is an ignition source of 500˚C or higher nearby. Additionally, hydrogen has a lighter specific gravity than city gas and LP gas, and diffuses in the air four times faster than air, oxygen, and nitrogen.

Beyond identifying the safety measures and standards needed for the everyday operation of such hydrogen transportation models, the study will also verify the profitability of such products, providing a cost analysis of the transportation, energy input and overall economic efficiency as compared to alternative means of hydrogen transportation.

Based on the knowledge and data gained through this project, NTT Anode Energy and its collaborators will promote and establish technical studies on safety measures for practical use. In the future, the project will support the supply of hydrogen to urban areas like public and commercial facilities, data centres and communications buildings, as well as for powering fuel-cell vehicles.

Safety considerations While the potential of hydrogen gas is nothing short of transformative, progress in science and technology occurs incrementally; so, too, will the global transition to cleaner, more sustainable and renewable energy sources like hydrogen. However, progress must occur with ecological and operational safety top of mind, while realistically considering the economic principles intrinsic to real-world implementation.

As the NRDC expert commentary concludes, “When handled responsibly, green hydrogen is less dangerous than other flammable fuels that we rely on today. Moving forward, industry and government institutions must build on existing robust safety protocols and continue to make safety a key priority for investment and refinement to ensure that hydrogen becomes part of a clean and thriving economy.” Conclusion The stakes are clear: climate change is causing, and will continue to cause, devastation for our environment, our ecology, and our society. And efforts to cut carbon emissions simply are not happening fast enough. As research shows, carbon emissions reduction needs to increase tenfold to meet goals established in the Paris Agreement.

This new study of hydrogen transportation is the next step in the realisation of a hydrogen-based revolution, proving that innovation is built on the advancements of the past: the pipelines of today will one day be transporting the clean energy of tomorrow, as we look toward a more sustainable future for all.