Lateral hydrogen transport

Hydrogen transport costs are in the range of 1 to 4 ct/kWh, with a downward trend in later periods due to the economies of scale achieved by large scale pipeline transport. 

Climax A process for making sodium sulfate from sulfuric acid and sodium chloride. Sulfuric acid is sprayed onto a hot fluidized bed of sodium chloride. The products are granular sodium sulfate and hydrogen chloride gas. Invented in 1967 by C. K. Curtis later developed and commercialized by C. W. Cannon at the Climax Chemical Company at Midland, NM, in the 1970s. Midland was a favorable location because of the proximity of mineral salt and sulfur from petroleum and the availability of cheap transport of the product from the site. French Patent 1,549,938. 

Today s rapidly increasing activities on hydrogen focus mostly on vehicle applications and less on stationary applications. For fuel cells, stationary applications are also relevant, but natural gas will be the dominant fuel here. The dominance of the transport sector is also reflected in the hydrogen roadmaps developed, among others, in the EU, the USA, Japan, or at an international level. Whereas in the beginning, onsite or decentralised production options based on fossil fuels or electricity are seen as the major option for hydrogen production, later on central production options will dominate the market. Here, several options could play a role, from coal, with carbon capture and sequestration, through natural gas and renewables (wind, biomass) to nuclear. A C02-free or lean vision can be identified in every roadmap. The cost... 

The trailer transport of compressed hydrogen is - because of the low energy density of gaseous hydrogen - only an economic alternative for the distribution of small quantities and short distances (such as during the early phase of hydrogen penetration) and can, therefore, be excluded as an option for the area-wide implementation of a supply infrastructure in a later phase. 

The fossil hydrogen production option dominates during the first two decades while the infrastructure is being developed, and also in later periods if only economic criteria are applied initially on the basis of natural gas, later with increasing gas prices more and more on the basis of coal (where available). Carbon capture and storage will be critical for these pathways, if hydrogen is to contribute to an overall C02 reduction in the transport sector. The production mix between gas and coal is highly sensitive to the ratio of feedstock prices a switch occurs at a gas coal price ratio of about 2.5. 

Positive impacts of hydrogen vehicles can be expected in impacts of climate changes, local emissions and noise. These impacts will be discussed in detail in the following sections. However, some new problems could be identified by the introduction of hydrogen as a fuel in the transport sector, which will be treated later on in this chapter. 

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