Green hydrogen raises hope
China is critical to clean energy that helps advance the drive toward sustainable future
In the World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023 report, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) called for enhanced global ambition in renewables deployment — enabled by renewable energy, clean hydrogen, and sustainable biomass solutions — and for countries to seize all opportunities to stay on the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 C pathway, as the window for doing so is rapidly closing amid record temperatures.
At COP28 climate summit late last year, more than 130 countries signed a pledge to triple their renewable power capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030. This is an ambitious, unprecedented, and important step on the way to achieving 1.5 C.
But to meet the target, in addition to infrastructure, laws and regulations, technological breakthroughs, market mechanisms and capacity building, we should factor in the adverse impacts of increasingly frequent extreme weather events caused by climate change on the global energy transition.
Energy facility shutdowns caused by water shortages have made frequent headlines in the wake of intensifying climate change, the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and the growing uncertainties in precipitation. Meanwhile, as the post-pandemic recovery continues, the global energy demand has been climbing. That, combined with other challenges from the food crisis and the urbanization process, has intensified the conflict between water resources and energy needs.
Take clean hydrogen as an example. With clean hydrogen emerging as a key component in reducing emissions in “hard-to-abate” sectors such as steel-making and the chemical industry, interest in it has been growing exponentially around the world in recent years.
Despite this, decision-makers, investors, technicians, and other people involved in the industry should be deeply aware of the fact that water availability is a critical factor for any hydrogen energy production facility. Currently, many hydrogen production projects are located in water-stressed regions of the world. For example, 99 percent of India’s existing and planned green and blue hydrogen capacity is likely to be under extremely water-stressed conditions by 2040.
Renewables-based green hydrogen is the most water-efficient clean hydrogen production technology, according to a report titled “Water for Hydrogen Production” coauthored by IRENA and Bluerisk. Developing green hydrogen by leaps and bounds and taking water conditions as a critical production factor in all stages of project planning in a timely and accurate manner will help ensure a balance between meeting energy needs and conserving water resources.
IRENA forecasts that in the 1.5 C scenario, global hydrogen production could increase six-fold by 2050, compared with today, among which 94 percent of hydrogen could be green hydrogen.
As a leader in accelerating the global energy transition, China is critical in the development of green hydrogen and the transition process.
Currently, around 63 percent of hydrogen produced in China is brown hydrogen, which is both carbon-intensive and water-intensive, and a large part of that is located in the Yellow River Basin, a region where the water-energy relationship is intense in the long run. By switching from brown hydrogen to green hydrogen, hydrogen production in the Yellow River Basin could grow by 11 percent by 2030, and at the same time involve 28 percent less water withdrawal and 20 percent less water consumption.
The Yellow River Protection Law, which came into effect in 2023, says water resources are a decisive factor for population planning, city development, land development, and industrial growth. It provides guidelines for the green and lowcarbon transition of regional energy industries.
Although China is taking the lead in some green hydrogen production technologies and improving relevant policies, the nation, faced with many challenges in this regard, is in dire need of a multi-pronged approach.
To start with, China could advance technological innovation and leverage economies of scale to lower production costs. Second, relevant policies and mechanisms must play a bigger role in the process, particularly in emissions-intensive industries to create stable and long-term demand for green hydrogen. Furthermore, there needs to be a strategic allocation of resources. Against the backdrop of limited resources and time, we need to prioritize sectors with larger carbon footprints to deliver more immediate results.
Luo Tianyi is a director at Bluerisk. Emanuele Bianco is a program officer of the Knowledge, Policy and Finance Centre at the International Renewable Energy Agency. The authors contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.