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White Hydrogen
Context:
As the global energy landscape evolves towards greater sustainability, low-carbon hydrogen is emerging as a crucial component in the decarbonisation strategy.
What is White Hydrogen?
- Also known as natural, gold, or geologic hydrogen.
- It is a naturally occurring form found in the Earth’s crust and produced through continuous geochemical reactions in hard rock.
- It differs from hydrocarbon molecules by being small and light, making it more prone to escaping cap rocks.
Key Highlights:
- Global low-carbon hydrogen demand is projected to reach nearly 200 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) by 2050.
- If pilot projects prove successful and supportive policies are implemented, white hydrogen production could reach up to 17 Mtpa by 2050.
- This would contribute to reducing the reliance on more expensive hydrogen production methods, provided it receives similar levels of subsidy support as green hydrogen.
Advantages:
- Environmental Benefits: Burns cleanly, producing only water, thus avoiding CO2 emissions.
- Economic and Practical Benefits: Potentially cheaper and more efficient than producing hydrogen via steam reforming or electrolysis. It is compatible with existing hydrogen infrastructure and technologies.
Challenges:
- Economic Viability: Not all discovered reserves may be economically viable for extraction.
- Regulatory and Technical Hurdles: Include regulatory issues, high costs, and the depth of drilling required.
Global Interest:
- White hydrogen deposits have been identified in the US, eastern Europe, Russia, Australia, Oman, France, and Mali. The potential reserves could reach tens of billions of tons.
- In Mali, a well initially exploded in 1987 due to high hydrogen concentrations and has been producing 98% hydrogen gas to power a village for over a decade.
- Countries like France and Australia are exploring white hydrogen, with France modifying its mining code to facilitate development, while Germany does not see extraction opportunities.
- Australia is actively involved in exploration and regulation.
Hydrogen is the simplest and most abundant element in the universe. However, on Earth, it rarely exists in its gaseous form and must be extracted from other elements. Hydrogen can be produced from various resources such as fossil fuels, nuclear energy, biomass, and renewable sources, using several different processes. Hydrogen is an invisible gas. So, there is no visible difference between the different types of hydrogen.
India’s Initiatives toward Green Hydrogen:
- National Green Hydrogen Policy, 2022: Produce 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually, cut fossil fuel imports by over ₹1 trillion, and prevent 50 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
- Green Hydrogen Mission: The Mission aims to establish India as a global hub for the production, use, and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives, with a target of producing 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030.
- Components: Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT), Incentives for manufacturing electrolysers and production of green hydrogen. Development of Green Hydrogen Hubs, Facilitating demand creation through exports and domestic utilisation ,Support for infrastructure development etc.