Collaboration key to hydrogen prospects
COLLABORATION between the public and private sectors will be vital to unlocking the potential of the hydrogen sector, GE’S Jeff Goldmeer says, with the US government’s $Us8bn ($11.7bn) commitment potentially unlocking up to $Us16bn when matched with private funds.
Mr Goldmeer, who is a keynote speaker at the Sydney Energy Forum – an event being hosted by the International Energy Agency on Tuesday – is a gas turbine expert and GE “thought leader” on decarbonisation and emergent technologies.
He said hydrogen was currently facing the “chicken and egg” problem of matching supply with demand, but gas turbines, which can be shipped hydrogen-ready or ready to take a partial hydrogen feed, should be thought of as an existing customer base.
“You know, people call it a gas turbine, but what it really is is a device that converts chemical energy into electric energy,’’ Mr Goldmeer said.
“And so you can do that with natural gas, you can do that with hydrogen or biofuels.
“Folks need to understand that … don’t think of a gas turbine as a static asset. It’s this tool, right? You could do much more with it.
“We’re not talking about waiting for the scientific invention – that technology is here already. Whether we’re talking carbon capture, we’re talking hydrogen, we have those technologies already. I want to make sure everyone walking out the door (at the conference) understands that.’’
GE has more than 100 gas turbines running on some mix of hydrogen globally, with the blend ranging from 5 to 100 per cent.
Mr Goldmeer said the hydrogen push in the US was well under way, with the Energy Department last month signing off on the H2hubs program, which aims to create networks of producers, consumers and connective infrastructure to accelerate the use of the fuel.
Locally, South Australia has committed to build a $593m hydrogen power plant near Whyalla, while AGL Energy has teamed up with companies include Japanese gas giant Osaka Gas and South Korean construction company SK Ecoplant to investigate the possibility of building a hydrogen hub at Torrens Island.