China Plays The Green Hydrogen Card While Others Fold

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The global green hydrogen industry has barely gotten off the ground and several high-profile players have already quit the scene. High costs have discouraged potential offtakers, dampening interest in the idea of extracting hydrogen from renewable resources instead of simply squeezing it from natural gas or coal. However, China did not get the memo…

China’s Excellent Green Hydrogen Adventure

Three weeks ago, S&P Global took note of a new hydrogen report posted by China’s National Energy Administration. Although China continues to produce a prodigious amount of hydrogen from from fossil resources, the nation’s green hydrogen footprint is growing into a market force to be reckoned with.

“China now accounts for 50% of global green hydrogen production capacity,” S&P summarized. The strong showing suggests that competition from Chinese producers is one reason why diversified energy stakeholders in the US and elsewhere have rolled back their plans for renewable H2, to concentrate on their traditional business.

Further wracking nerves among green H2 producers in other regions is China’s pursuit of patents. Earlier this month the Asia-Pacific news organization Recessary was among those taking note of an analysis by the Japanese firm Astamuse, indicating that China has been scrambling to file renewable hydrogen patents at a furious pace since 2020, when the nation announced its carbon targets.

“The large number of patents has driven down the cost of hydrogen production equipment in China to just a quarter of that in Europe,” Recessary noted, referring to electrolyzer systems powered by renewable energy, which deploy electricity and a catalyst to push hydrogen gas from water (see more green H2 background here).

Scaling Up Green Hydrogen For Green Ammonia

Rounding out the news from China, last week the firm Envision Energy announced that the global testing and inspection firm Bureau Veritas has certified its forthcoming 500-megawatt Chifeng facility in Inner Mongolai for industrial-scale renewable ammonia, to be produced with green hydrogen. The facility began limited production last year and is on track to reach full volume this September.

Although much attention has been paid to the role of green hydrogen as a fuel for fuel cell vehicles of various sorts, hydrogen is also an industrial input with a firm grip on the ammonia fertilizer field, and that is where another opportunity lies. Last week Envision reached an agreement with the leading Japanese infrastructure and commodities trading firm Marubeni, indicating that the demand for green ammonia can support industrial scale electrolyzer systems.

“The project uses Envision’s advanced electrolyzer technology, powered by wind and solar, to produce 300,000 tons of green ammonia annually, making it one of the world’s first and largest commercial projects of its kind,” Envision explained.

“It is a testament to how innovation and sustainability can go hand-in-hand – from our advanced electrolyzer technology to the use of 100% renewable power, we’re redefining what’s possible in green hydrogen and ammonia production,” emphasized Envision VP Frank Yu in a press statement.

Meanwhile, Over Here In The USA …

The US is one of those other regions where green hydrogen producers are getting a case of the yips, though not particularly on account of forthcoming competition from China. Instead, the call is coming from inside the house.

Just a few years ago, hydrogen stakeholders were anticipating a bonanza of federal and investor support through the new $7 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program. Launched during the Biden administration, the initiative was supposed to stimulate and diversify hydrogen production across the US. The program included space for natural gas extraction as required by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but much of the emphasis was on renewable hydrogen, including biomass resources as well as water electrolysis.

Trump put the program on ice after taking office, except for the natural gas end of things. Shocker!

Still, outside of the program some green hydrogen projects have wriggled through. Earlier this year, for example, the startup TalusAg launched a green ammonia venture in Iowa, featuring a reproduceable business model aimed at producing ammonia fertilizer locally for rural markets.

The E-Fuels Solution: Follow The Money … To Texas

The emerging e-fuels (aka electrofuels) industry is another source of support for the global green hydrogen market. E-fuels stakeholders began drifting into Texas several years ago, lured by copious wind and solar resources along with access to seaports and inland energy infrastructure.

The e-fuels industry leverages green hydrogen and captured carbon to produce synthetic, drop-in replacements for liquid fuels, with SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) being a priority target.

The California startup Infinium was among the first to foray into Texas. The company’s Project Pathfinder e-fuels operation is already up and running in Corpus Christie, and neither competition from China nor the frowning face of the Trump administration has stopped it from moving forward with plans for a second facility.

On May 19 the company dropped word that construction has begun on Project Roadrunner in Texas, near the city of Pecos. The venture was publicized after Infinium closed on financing from A-listers Brookfield Asset Management and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst.

“The site is expected to become the world’s largest eFuels production facility when operational, producing 23,000 tonnes per year (7.6 million gallons) of sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) and other eFuel products,” Infinium enthused.

Infinium already has offtake relationships with American Airlines here in the US, and with the UK firm IAG, which owns British Airways, Aer Lingus. IAG has already agreed to import its eSAF to the UK.

“Commercial agreements for the project—including feedstock, vendor and offtake contracts — have been structured and de-risked to attract the infrastructure capital and debt required for the continued scaling of the eFuels market,” Infinium emphasized.

If all goes according to plan, production will begin in 2027, with power supplied from a nearby wind farm under the umbrella of NextEra Energy Resources. Infinium also anticipates that the system will overproduce hydrogen, enabling it to pursue additional offtake agreements for green hydrogen as well complete e-fuels.

Green Hydrogen: The Electrolyzer Factor

Infinium has tapped the Massachusetts firm Electric Hydrogen to supply its turnkey “HYPRPlant” electrolyzer system to produce the green hydrogen for Project Roadrunner. According to Electric Hydrogen, the pre-assembled solution can cut the installed cost of green hydrogen by up to 60%, compared to conventional electrolyzers systems. Electric Hydrogen also pre-tests the system before shipping it out, relieving producers from on-site troubleshooting.

In March, Electric Hydrogen announced that its electrolyzer system will be manufactured by the Texas firm Titan Production Equipment. Regardless of global trends, the firm is confident that opportunities persist here on its home turf and in Europe as well.

“The partnership with Titan illustrates how growth in the hydrogen industry creates opportunities for expansion of energy businesses and jobs in Texas,” Electric Hydrogen noted in a press statement.

Perhaps they are on to something. Despite President Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” energy policy, longtime oil and gas stakeholders have been casting around for new business in the clean energy field, and Titan is a good example. The company traces its roots as a manufacturer of oil and gas process equipment back to the 1920’s, and now it is applying that know-how to electrolysis systems.

Photo (cropped): Despite an abrupt shift in federal energy policy the US green hydrogen industry is not dead yet — but China already has an edge on production capacity (courtesy of Envision).