NETL Director Brian Anderson joined U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Fossil Energy & Carbon Management Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jennifer Wilcox and NETL Research & Innovation Center Director Bryan Morreale in facilitating an exchange of ideas to leverage the nation’s fossil energy industries in creating clean hydrogen for decarbonization of the nation’s economy.

NETL and the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) jointly hosted a virtual workshop from Sept. 27-28 titled “Enabling an Accelerated and Affordable Clean Hydrogen Future - Fossil Energy Sector’s Role.” The goal of this event was to gather and share ideas on how to validate and advance the role of the fossil energy sector as an economic means to rapidly deploy hydrogen pathways to decarbonized energy systems. Though there have been many hydrogen-themed conferences and workshops recently, the NETL-GTI event was unique in its focus on the fossil energy sector and in its goal of fostering dialog among the participants to accelerate deployment of hydrogen.

The first day of the workshop focused on the big picture of the hydrogen economy, including timelines, scale and deployment scenarios across the fossil energy sector, while the second day highlighted collaborative solutions and partnerships needed to overcome challenges faced by stakeholders throughout the hydrogen value chain.

Participants in the workshop included the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, Wyoming Energy Authority, Mitsubishi Power, British Petroleum, Duke Energy Corporation and Southern Company along with other industry and DOE representatives.

Wilcox and Anderson delivered welcoming addresses for the workshop on the first and second days, respectively. Morreale delivered a keynote address emphasizing the role of public-private partnerships in taking new technologies from the laboratory floor to the factory floor as commercialized products deployed on a large scale. NETL researchers also participated in “Challenges for Hydrogen and CO₂ Pipelines & Storage,” a panel discussion that examined the challenges and solutions for moving and storing carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

“This workshop combined two of the most prominent research areas at NETL —making hydrogen from our country’s abundant natural resources and carbon capture and storage to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions,” Anderson said. “By having so many representatives from so many entities coming together, events like the hydrogen workshop are perfect for sharing our research with potential users while discovering the latest in best practices and critical research needs. The participation of the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Wilcox speaks to the importance of the workshop. Only by working together can we realize a decarbonized economy that meets the needs of people and the planet.”

Hydrogen has held the interest of scientists as a source of energy since the 1800s due to its abundance and high energy per unit mass. Most of the hydrogen in nature exists as water or bonded in organic compounds; however, its high vapor pressure means significant compression is required to take advantage of the energy density.

While the application of hydrogen as an energy source results in zero emissions, the production of hydrogen primarily relies on steam methane reforming which is energy intensive and releases CO₂ to the atmosphere. To address this, NETL is researching hydrogen production with carbon capture and storage, as well as hydrogen delivery and storage, with ongoing activities in fuel cell development, manufacturing, systems analysis and integration, safety, standards and education. Of particular interest to NETL is the direct conversion of methane into solid carbon and hydrogen gas.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By leveraging its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.