Hydrogen leaks more easily than natural gas alone, since it’s smaller and lighter. The gas company’s original plan called for sending the hydrogen blends to buildings on the north end of campus - including the Mesa Arts Building, a freshman dorm, offices and a food court - to fuel equipment “such as ovens, furnaces, water heaters, dryers and boilers.” But after pushback from students and environmental groups, university leaders recently instructed SoCalGas not to include dorm and dining facilities in the plan. And at six months, it would hit 20% and stay there for one year. But after three months, the blend would be bumped up to 10% hydrogen. Under that level, a study out of UC Riverside said there are few concerns about how the pipeline system and appliances fueled by it would perform. ![]() Initially, the mix would be just 5% hydrogen. The mix then would be delivered to buildings on campus. That hydrogen would be stored in tanks until being injected into a skid, where it would blend with natural gas. SoCalGas hopes to install an electrolyzer at UC Irvine to make hydrogen by shooting an electrical current (powered by the state grid) through water and splitting hydrogen from oxygen. Brouwer’s team has worked with SoCalGas on other projects, and he told me this next test seemed a natural fit. The center is led by Jack Brouwer, an engineering professor at UCI who’s studied hydrogen for 25 years. UC Irvine is home to the National Fuel Cell Research Center, which has been testing hydrogen for years. They argue that any amount of natural gas displaced by hydrogen will lead to lower carbon emissions. So gas companies and state regulators hope to use results from the UC Irvine study, and others in the works, to help develop those hydrogen injection standards. That way, the state could reduce carbon emissions without having to develop a new, dedicated hydrogen gas infrastructure system. The goal was to see how much, if any, hydrogen could be used without causing problems for the pipeline system or appliances. The Public Utilities Commission in 2019 asked California gas companies to help develop standards for safely injecting hydrogen into the statewide natural gas system, including older steel and plastic distribution systems that fuel gas-powered appliances found in homes and smaller commercial facilities. Here are five questions and answers to get you up to speed on how that happened and why you should care. Now UC Irvine is on the front lines of that debate. Beyond limited uses for hard-to-decarbonize sectors, they call hydrogen a risky and costly distraction that simply lets fossil fuel companies extend demand for their products amid heightened pressure to clean up their acts. During the massive CERAWeek conference last week, Houston Chronicle opinion writer Chris Tomlinson called hydrogen the “belle of the ball,” with “low turnout for the oil and gas CEO speeches and the standing-room-only crowds for clean technology entrepreneurs.”īut most environmental groups consider hydrogen a dead end when it comes to climate change. Make them too loose and experts told her emissions will actually get worse in coming years. Make the rules too tough and experts told Pontecorvo the nascent hydrogen industry will be wiped out. ![]() The Inflation Reduction Act dedicates tax credits to encourage development of so-called “green hydrogen.” But what, exactly, is considered “green?” Grist writer Emily Pontecorvo dove into the complicated question and high stakes around that definition.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |