Hydrogen's Many Colors

Vera Eckert
Friday, November 19, 2021

Industries including energy, steel, and chemicals are looking to develop large-scale hydrogen applications to help reduce carbon emissions and avert global warming.

Although hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it's very scarce as a gas, and so far most methods of producing gas at scale release large amounts of carbon dioxide.

Hydrogen is colorless, but each form of it has been categorized by a color that reflects its carbon footprint: The ultimate is green hydrogen, extracted using power from renewable energy such as wind or solar.

Here are details about green, grey, blue and turquoise hydrogen:

1. Green hydrogen

Derived from renewable sources which could include offshore wind, powering floating electrolysis plants. Green hydrogen can be stored, piped, or carried by tankers to consumers, for example, to serve hydrogen filling stations. So far it has mostly been produced for experimental projects.

2. Grey hydrogen

Grey hydrogen is extracted from natural gas using steam-methane reforming, currently the standard industry process.

3. Blue hydrogen

Blue hydrogen is produced in the same way as grey hydrogen but with CO2 emissions captured for underground or subsea storage. It's often presented as a transitional approach until green hydrogen output can scale up.

4. Turquoise hydrogen

Also called low-carbon hydrogen, and so far very small scale, this is hydrogen generated from natural gas but using pyrolysis - the gas is passed through molten metal, producing solid carbon as a byproduct with useful applications.

(Reporting by Vera Eckert; Edited by Sara Ledwith)


Categories: Energy Industry News Offshore Wind Activity Hydrogen Decarbonization Carbon Capture

Related Stories

DOF Secures Moorings Hook-Up Job in Asia Pacific

Japan Picks Wood Mackenzie to Assess Trump-Backed Alaska LNG Scheme

PTTEP Greenlights $320M Offshore CCS Project at Arthit Gas Field in Thailand

Keppel, Seatrium in $53M Arbitration Case Over Brazil Corruption Scheme

Subsea7 Secures Work at Black Sea Field off Türkiye

EnQuest Enters Indonesia with Operatorship PSCs for Two Exploration Blocks

Norwegian Oil Investment Will Peak in '25

Cheniere, JERA Ink Long-Term LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement

Inpex Picks FEED Contractors for Abadi LNG Onshore Plant

CIP, ACEN Partner Up for First Large-Scale Offshore Wind Farm in Philippines

Current News

POSH Set to Tow Nguya FLNG from China to Eni’s Congo Field

Chinese Contractor Secures Offshore Oil and Gas ‘Mega Deal’ from QatarEnergy

DOF Secures Moorings Hook-Up Job in Asia Pacific

Saipem Bags $1.5B Contract for Türkiye Largest Offshore Gas Field

Floating Offshore Wind Test Center Planned for Japan

Synergy Marine Group Completes Conversion of LNG Vessel to FSRU

PTTEP Hires McDermott for Deepwater Subsea Job off Malaysia

TotalEnergies Inks 10-Year LNG Supply Deal with South Korea’s KOGAS

Japan Picks Wood Mackenzie to Assess Trump-Backed Alaska LNG Scheme

PTTEP Greenlights $320M Offshore CCS Project at Arthit Gas Field in Thailand

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com