Heard about Hydrogen? We're Pretty Sure You Have!

If there was a buzzword in the industry right now it would be hydrogen! Everyone’s talking about hydrogen but nobody really knows much about it!

We are currently in the midst of a climate crisis, we have an over loaded power grid, the cost of energy is soaring, the cost of living is the highest it’s been in 20 years, interest rates are on the rise and it can’t all be blamed on the pandemic.

Short sighted governments and a lack of investment in future fuels has played its part. It’s fair to say, times are somewhat tough.

We are all feeling it in our pockets, whether it’s the electric bill at home, the gas bill or the cost of filling up the car.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, QLD pulled off a magnificent victory over the NSW Blues in the 2022 State of Origin Series!

So, coming back to hydrogen. It is hoped that hydrogen can provide a green renewable energy source and contribute towards the net zero target in 2050.

Hydrogen has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of our planet, provide cleaner forms of energy and in the long run, the more sustainable green energy we have, the cheaper the price will be for consumers.

Hydrogen being used as a fuel gas will fall in the scope of works for gas fitters.

So why hydrogen?

• Hydrogen is the 10^th most abundant element on Earth
• Hydrogen is a flammable, gaseous fuel.
• It can be transported like natural gas
• It burns broadly similar to other flammable gases
• It has the highest energy density by mass of any chemical fuel
• Its non-toxic and non-carcinogenic
• Hydrogen has been used safely industrially for decades
• 50 million tonnes are produced worldwide every year
• It has been safely stored underground since the 1960s
• Hydrogen gas combustion creates no smoke and best of all no carbon.

It maybe a few years off that we start seeing homes in Australia running on 100% hydrogen gas but we will likely see localized areas or suburbs being trialed and tested.

This is already being rolled out in the UK and Europe with a project named H100 in Fife, Scotland.

UK Boiler manufacturers such as Worcester Bosch, Baxi and Ideal have developed and built 100% hydrogen appliances. These super green appliances on show in a hydrogen home running on 100% Hydrogen Gas. This is a real-life house will promote hydrogen gas combustion and create customer awareness.

The house has a Hydronic heating system, a gas stove for cooking and a space heater. These appliances are all running on 100% Hydrogen Gas.

Closer to home, here in Australia, Rinnai have recently announced their 100% Hydrogen continuous flow hot water unit. Other manufacturers will no doubt have appliances in development.

All of the big players are getting involved in Hydrogen so that’s a great sign of things to come.

Our first experience with hydrogen will likely be a mixture with Natural gas. It will be injected into our Natural Gas network creating what is known as a blended gas.

Hydrogen gas would be injected creating a blend of up to 13% into parts of the Natural Gas network.

Quantities above 13% can begin to affect the Wobbe Index of the gas meaning that appliances would need adjustment if higher concentrations of Hydrogen were added.  

Keeping the blend to 13% and below means there would be no adverse effect to existing appliances and consumers would not know the difference.

This would lower the carbon production from these appliances by up to 7%. Not a massive gain but every little helps!

When Type A gas appliances go through the approval process, part of the testing involves combustion with blends of Hydrogen.

Some Type B gas devices may require some alteration as they operate at finely tuned parameters. Combustion analysis and adjustment may therefore be required to ensure efficient combustion on a blended supply.

Hydrogen has other uses such as Fuel Cells. Hydrogen fuel cells are already powering cars made by the likes of Toyota and Hyundai.

There are buses, trains, trucks and even forklift trucks utilizing this energy source. You will soon see garbage trucks around Brisbane powered by hydrogen! Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are a welcomed alternative to petrol and diesel guzzling motors. Airbus and Rolls Royce both have projects to utilize Hydrogen as a viable option for air travel. You may even know that Hydrogen is the fuel of choice for NASA to propel their rockets into space. There are many ways to create hydrogen, some are greener than others.

Currently, most of the worldwide hydrogen production is done by burning fossil fuels. The long-term aim is to produce hydrogen in greener methods that don’t damage the environment. Utilizing renewable energy sources to power hydrogen Electrolyser’s is a green way to do this. Queensland is a very popular choice for hydrogen production, an abundance of space and the beautiful sunshine makes it a great location to harness the energy in the sun to power production.

MPAQ Associate member Pure Hydrogen is a company focused on providing the best energy solutions for hydrogen and clean energy here in Australia. They have multiple projects here in The Sunshine State with the aim to supply hydrogen fuel to Australia and Asia. As this emerging energy source becomes more accepted by the public and the cost of new technology becomes lower, we believe it will be used in a wide range of applications.  

Goldman Sachs have said that Green Hydrogen is “a once in a generation opportunity: We estimate it could give rise to a €10 Trillion (14.8 Trillion AUD) addressable market globally by 2050 for the utilities industry alone” With figures in the trillions being talked about, it’s clear to see why everyone’s talking about hydrogen! Behind the scenes, Industry is developing the framework for hydrogen training.

Once this training package is released, RTO’s (Registered Training Organizations) will develop and deliver courses providing you the skills, knowledge and technical ability to work with hydrogen.

Licensing requirements have not been decided on yet, but we will update MPAQ members once we are notified.   

A Hydrogen Safety Code of Practice has been published by The Petroleum and Gas Inspectorate – Resources Safety & Health Queensland. You can find it at www.rshq.qld.gov.au.

Pure Hydrogen – www.purehydrogen.com.au

UK Hydrogen house and hydrogen appliances - www.hydeploy.co.uk

For more information contact the Technical Team at Master Plumbers Association of QLD on 07 3273 0800 .