Even intelligent left fantasists know hydrogen is an expensive dream at present technology .
An August 18 article in a peer-reviewed journal called Energy Science & Engineering, with the title “A review of challenges with using the natural gas system for hydrogen.” (Paul Martin) Martin is currently with Spitfire Research, Inc., which in turn states that it specializes in “consulting for a decarbonized future.” Mr. Martin then identifies several of his co-authors on the paper as a “team of people at the Environmental Defense Fund.” IN short a “greenie”.
The gist of the paper is that the existing natural gas infrastructure of storage facilities, pipelines and power plants absolutely cannot be repurposed for use by hydrogen; and indeed, there does not exist any practical way to transport and combust hydrogen safely on a large scale. And the effort to even try would be wildly costly. I’ll just give examples of some pithy quotes from the paper:
Pipeline deterioration and cracking: “Recent, extensive testing of typical pipeline materials in Europe demonstrates both acceleration of fatigue cracking and reduction in fracture toughness when hydrogen is used, but the impacts vary widely depending on the material.36 Welds and their heat-affected zones, as well as manufacturing or fabrication defects in the pipe increase vulnerability by serving as crack initiation sites.37”
“Blending” hydrogen into natural gas is not a solution: “Even with small percentage admixtures of molecular hydrogen in high pressure natural gas pipes made of high-yield strength carbon steels it is expected that considerable acceleration of fatigue cracking, by as much as 30-fold, will occur with fracture resistance of the piping material reduced by as much as 50%.34”
Lower volumetric energy density of hydrogen means that pipelines and storage facilities would need to be tripled in size to transport the same energy content: “Switching the gas system to pure H2, with an energy density per unit volume roughly one-third that of a typical pipeline gas; therefore, would result in a reduction in “line pack” storage to one-third of the present value if storage pressure and volume are kept constant (Figure 5).49 If pipeline design pressures must be de-rated to accommodate the added risks associated with hydrogen to the pipeline materials of construction (as discussed in Section 3.2), a further reduction in the line pack would be expected.”
Existing consumer appliances that use natural gas are unsuitable for hydrogen: “H2 is also more explosive, ignitable, burns hotter, and the flame is faster with lower visibility than CH4; these characteristics yield higher safety risks. The significant differences in properties between typical natural gas mixtures and H2, therefore, necessitate changes in the design of burners and burner management systems to achieve comparative levels of safety, which must then be certified (Figure 6).17, 67”.
Even with new consumer infrastructure, hydrogen would be much more dangerous for consumers than natural gas: “A quantitative risk assessment (QRA) was carried out in advance of a planned trial of pure H2 in a residential gas distribution system in the UK.18 The report concluded that even if the homes were fitted with appliances designed and certified for use with H2, the risk of damage and injury due to fires and explosions would increase in frequency and severity.”
Conclusion: “Overall, while repurposing the natural gas system for use with hydrogen may, at first, seem appealing, the limited practicality, risks, and data gaps strongly suggest that like-for-like gas substitution provides limited benefits for increased risks, even if major technical and economic hurdles are overcome.”
