Transitioning to Green Hydrogen with BARTEC
Hydrogen is enjoying renewed and rapidly growing attention around the world. As the demand for sustainable and clean, new energy solutions grows, green hydrogen is emerging as a powerful player in sustainability, promising to revolutionize the way we produce and consume energy. BARTEC is a trusted partner in the hydrogen value chain offering reliable solutions for productions, transport, storage and application.
What is green hydrogen?
Green hydrogen is also often called renewable hydrogen. Its principal purpose is to help limit global warming, reduce fossil fuel dependence by replacing grey and blue hydrogen, and provide for an expanded set of end-uses in specific economic and industrial sectors and subsectors.
Green hydrogen is considered a great alternative to fossil fuels due to:
- Zero emissions at production when used in fuel cells or burned
- Made using renewable energy
- Energy storage and grid balancing
- Powers hard-to-decarbonize sectors in heavy industry, long-haul trucking, shipping and aviation
- Enhances energy security
- It has versatile applications and can be used as fuel or feedstock in industrial process and easily converts to electricity or synthetic fuels.
Green Hydrogen can be used as a feedstock, a fuel or an energy carrier and storage, and has many possible applications across industry, transport, power, and buildings sectors. Most importantly, it does not emit CO2 and almost no air pollution when used. It thus offers a solution to decarbonize industrial processes and economic sectors where reducing carbon emissions is both urgent and hard to achieve such as heavy industry and long-haul transportation.
By leveraging solar, wind, or hydropower to produce green hydrogen through electrolysis, the environmental footprint of hydrogen production is significantly reduced. Furthermore, green hydrogen can replace fossil fuels in some carbon-intensive industrial processes, such as in the steel or chemical sectors, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and further strengthening global competitiveness for those industries.
It can offer solutions for hard-to-abate parts of the transport system, in addition to what can be achieved through electrification and other renewable and low-carbon fuels. A progressive uptake of green hydrogen solutions can also lead to repurposing or re-using parts of the existing natural gas infrastructure, helping to avoid stranded assets in pipelines.
Dedicating resources and fostering partnerships in hydrogen projects can therefore position companies and businesses to capitalize on the growing demand for clean energy and biofuels.
Different methods of producing hydrogen
There are currently three different types of hydrogen in the world and its production varies.
- Gray Hydrogen
Gray Hydrogen is produced using the traditional method of heating natural gas, where C02 is released into the atmosphere.
- Blue Hydrogen
Blue Hydrogen is produced when the C02 is captured and stored underground.
- Green Hydrogen
Green Hydrogen is produced using electrolysis technology to make the gas from water and renewable sources of electricity which results in what is called green hydrogen, with 02 released into the atmosphere (no C02).
Green hydrogen production
Green hydrogen (GH2) is produced through electrolysis by splitting water molecules into individual elements. (2 H2O ––> 2 H2 + O2). During electrolysis, water (H2O) is split into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2), which means that only hydrogen and oxygen are produced, and as we know oxygen can be safely released into the atmosphere as a by-product. Since electrolysis requires electrical energy generated through renewable energy like wind and solar power, the production of green hydrogen generates almost no greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to electrolysis, hydrogen can also be produced by steam reforming and steam reforming of natural gas of biomethane and pyrolysis of biogenic feedstocks (CH4 + H2O ––> 3 H2 + CO), but green hydrogen is the cleanest way to produce hydrogen with the lowest possible (close to zero) CO2 emissions.
Green hydrogen’s versatility lies in its ability to be produced through various methods, including electrolysis, steam methane reforming, and gasification of biomass. The production methods determine the environmental impact and sustainability of hydrogen, with a growing emphasis on green hydrogen produced using renewable energy sources, which is at the forefront of the shift towards sustainability.
Why hydrogen requires utmost protection?
Achieving a seamless integration of hydrogen into diverse industrial sectors depends on ensuring safety and efficiency throughout the entire value chain. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the world. It is also extremely flammable and builds enormous explosive energies with extremely hot burns and with a flame invisible to the human eye.
The mix of oxygen and hydrogen have the potential to combust even with the slightest spark, a hot surface, or any other ignition source. Given its elevated hazard level, hydrogen falls into the ignition group IIC category, encompassing the most highly combustible gases. Due to these unique properties, hydrogen requires the utmost protection and safe handling. To maintain hydrogen in a controlled environment, only equipment that does not serve as an ignition source or equipment equipped with suitable ATEX measures is permissible within EX zones in the facilities and their vicinity.
Given its unique properties, such as high flammability and low ignition energy, ensuring explosion protection becomes paramount. Its combustion produces intense heat, featuring a flame that is not visible to the human eye. In discussions concerning safety and explosion prevention, concerns and inquiries often emerge regarding hydrogen. In the case of extensive facilities, the implementation of novel explosion protection systems becomes imperative, catering to various applications and BARTEC is proud to offer solutions for explosion protection in the green hydrogen market.
BARTEC as your trusted partner for hydrogen industry
To accompany our customers with technical expertise and the right applications in the best possible way, BARTEC is already positioning itself for this change in the new energy sector. As a facilitator, enabler and trusted partner, BARTEC supports our customers in safe energy production, transport, and industrial consumption of hydrogen. Find here BARTEC’s exact solution for the entire Hydrogen value chain.
Within BARTEC, a cross-functional team is working on thinking through potential customer needs and future applications. The Goal: developing safety solutions that enable our customers to apply their technology within the hydrogen industrial environments and enable safe handling.
Janis Wagner, BARTEC EVP Strategy and Transformation: “We are committed to helping our clients make the transition to new energy sources while ensuring the safe and efficient operation of established technologies and processes. We take a holistic view of market dynamics, mirror them with our own capabilities and clearly define our growth areas.’’
He follows with: ‘’BARTEC is ready for action in the safe realization of hydrogen applications. Most of our products have already been certified for the use of hydrogen for many years. We have the experience with hydrogen applications in the chemical and energy industries and 90 percent of the portfolio is already available for these applications.’’
Furthermore, new product lines for hydrogen transport have been developed, combining measurement technology, product monitoring, and data transmission. This way, we can ensure to our customers that the compressed hydrogen inside can be safely loaded and unloaded.
Most of our products have already been certified for the use of hydrogen for many years. We have the experience with hydrogen applications in the chemical and energy industries and 90 percent of the portfolio is already available for these applications.
Janis Wagner, BARTEC EVP Strategy and Transformation
Marco Bekker, Business Development Manager Hydrogen at BARTEC Netherlands, explains more about BARTEC’s readiness for new energy developments in hazardous areas: ‘’BARTEC’s product portfolio is ready to serve both the already existing “new energy” applications as well as all new or specific upscaled hydrogen applications. This is just based on the fact that hydrogen (or methanol and ammonia) is not a newly invented gas. Hydrogen has been known for more than 250 years, and it is among others used in large-scale petrochemical industries.”
Therefore, BARTEC’s electrical equipment for use in hazardous areas is already classified for use in areas with hydrogen under IECEx and ATEX. Recently, BARTEC has also supported many OEM customers to make their equipment ready to be used with hydrogen, thereby applying years of exification knowledge.
BARTEC’s product portfolio is ready to serve both the already existing “new energy” applications as well as all new or specific upscaled hydrogen applications.
Marco Bekker, BARTEC Business Development Manager
Beyond that, we have product offerings that are specifically designed for or of specific interest for hydrogen application, such as the metering systems for hydrogen truck trailers offered and the trace moisture measurement systems.
Find below BARTEC’s key solutions for hydrogen market.
With its potential to address pressing environmental concerns and serving as a catalyst for a clean energy transition, green hydrogen is poised to shape the future. As technological advancements and international collaborations accelerate, the world is on the cusp of a hydrogen revolution, ushering in an era where this versatile gas becomes a cornerstone of a sustainable and resilient energy landscape and BARTEC is proud to be one of the key players in the hydrogen market for explosion protection industry with which we are contributing to a safe transition to new energy sources.