DOE crafting policies for hydrogen integration

The Department of Energy (DOE) is in the process of crafting policy framework and guidelines on the integration of “green hydrogen” in the country’s energy mix, according to Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla.

“For emerging technologies, we are actively considering hydrogen and its derivates, as promising and cleaner alternative energy carriers for the country as outlined in the Philippine Energy Plan 2020 – 2040,” said Lotilla.

And given the fact that hydrogen is also a catalyst for ammonia production, the energy department is in parallel unlocking the potential of that energy solution – primarily on its co-firing capability with coal plants to reduce their carbon emissions.

“There is also ongoing interest in the co-firing of ammonia with existing coal-fired power plants. With this, the DOE is in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for the establishment of a fuel cell research and development and testing facility,” the energy chief noted.

While ammonia can already be transported, its cost proposition hamstrings targeted rollout into markets at this point.

Hydrogen and ammonia are among the emerging technologies being experimented on by various energy markets. These new technologies are also being lined up as transformative solutions to the global goal of decarbonization.

“It is our hope that all our efforts, whether they are domestic or national, regional and international, will cross-pollinate outcomes that will ensure energy security and sustainability in the future,” Lotilla stressed.

By the same token, the high cost of hydrogen is perceived as a major drawback for this technology to achieve commercial debut in markets; although there are already viable potential for its application on heavy road transport systems, as well as in some  industries – primarily in the provision of high temperature process heat and as a carbon-neutral feedstock to the chemical industry.

Part of the game-changing prospect for hydrogen is on its ‘energy storage’ form, which will then help in balancing the capacity fluctuations of intermittent renewable energy (RE) technologies – particularly for wind and solar installations.

Apart from cost, the policy and regulatory toolboxes that will prop the development of a robust hydrogen infrastructure must similarly address other major concerns – ranging from the incentives to be extended to investors for hydrogen production; then through the value chain of storage and transportation, as well as issues on safety, distribution, scalability and competition with other technologies.

As emphasized by experts, hydrogen has low energy density, which means it requires large volume of space to store it, and it can be difficult to transport. It needs to be compressed or liquefied to be transported, but that can be very expensive and that will also require specialized infrastructure.

On safety concerns, hydrogen is highly flammable and can be explosive if it leaks or ignites, hence, this requires the enforcement of rigid safety measures during production, transportation, and storage.

— Myrna M. Velasco