HyLaw or Hydrogen Law: A Regulation for Removal of Legal Barriers to the Deployment of Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Applications

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Introduction

A consensus is fast emerging that hydrogen will play a key role as an energy vector and a pillar in the ongoing energy transition. It promises to accelerate transformative changes across many sectors, most notably energy and transport. This chapter draws together some of the most experienced global energy experts’ insight to provide a timely and insightful perspective on how hydrogen projects may proceed and the sector develops worldwide (Abánades et al., 2013; Abbasi & Abbasi, 2011).

Energy lawyers are accustomed to the emergence of new technologies(Ajanovic, 2008; Alazemi & Andrews, 2015). Nevertheless, each emergent technology’s unique characteristics need to be respected. It would be complacent to think that hydrogen can be treated like natural gas or other energy sources for legal and regulatory frameworks, investment cases, financing structures, operational requirements, revenue stream arrangements, and the panoply of other elements that need to be considered to formulate an effective commercialization model (Andress et al., 2009; Arnason & Sigfusson, 2000).

The term “hydrogen economy” is not new, but the role that hydrogen can, and is expected, to play in the economies of many of the jurisdictions covered in this chapter demonstrates the revitalized ambitions of this subsector. But this chapter also highlights the fact that progress is not equal in all places. An emerging suite of technologies and an immature web of policy and regulatory frameworks in some jurisdictions are developing quickly into a supportive system ready to welcome private sector investment in other countries. What is clear is that the promise of hydrogen developments and uses is rapidly evolving as governments and market players are waking up to its benefits and potential. With many countries committing to having major low-carbon hydrogen projects underway by 2030 and committing to achieving net-zero targets, investors have to take a truly global perspective on the sector (Baker, 1980; Balat, 2008). This chapter sets out the ease (or otherwise) of developing hydrogen projects across the jurisdictions covered – highlighting the status of hydrogen developments in each country; considering the market prospects and opportunities ahead that are key for our clients who are seeking to enter or expand in this sector; what challenges need to be overcome to reach national and international goals and how the national and international specific legislation and regulations in each jurisdiction facilitate this growing sector (Ball & Weeda, 2015).

Environmental Policy

Supranational policies and frameworks helpfully chapter the longer-term direction and developments at national levels. In this case, the supranational commitment is made through the Paris Agreement by 189 countries, representing 97% of global emissions (Barclay, 2006). All of the countries covered in this chapter are signatories to the Paris Agreement (albeit the US has notified the United Nations of its intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement). The Paris Agreement is one of the most ambitious international agreements within the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCC”) (Bargigli et al., 2004). It commits signatories to respond to the threat of climate change by keeping any global temperature rise this century to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and better still, to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above those levels. Since then, several countries have adopted legally binding targets to reach “net-zero” in their greenhouse gas emissions by 2050(Beghi, 1983). Alongside national governments, similar commitments are being made by major businesses and investors, who are also seeking to decarbonize their products and processes (Bertel et al., 2004).

The countries covered in this chapter have or are in the process of creating legal frameworks to support their vision. For many, this vision includes hydrogen playing a key role in achieving their Paris Agreement climate change ambitions and net-zero targets in several sectors, notably transportation, heating, and industry (Bhandari et al., 2014).

Figure 1.

Framework of hydrogen law (HyLaw) (adopted from cms law)

Key Terms in this Chapter

Hydrogen Technologies: Hydrogen technologies are technologies that relate to the production and use of hydrogen. Hydrogen technologies are applicable for many uses. Some hydrogen technologies are carbon neutral and could have a role in preventing climate change and a possible future hydrogen economy. Hydrogen is a chemical widely used in various applications including ammonia production, oil refining and energy. Hydrogen is not a primary energy source, because it is not naturally occurring as a fuel. It is, however, widely regarded as an ideal energy storage medium, due to the ease with which electric power can convert water into its hydrogen and oxygen components through electrolysis and can be converted back to electrical power using a fuel cell. There are a wide number of different types of fuel and electrolysis cells. The potential environmental impact depends primarily on the methods used to generate the hydrogen fuel.

Hydrogen Safety: Hydrogen has one of the widest explosive/ignition mix range with air of all the gases with few exceptions such as acetylene, silane, and ethylene oxide. This means that whatever the mix proportion between air and hydrogen, when ignited in an enclosed space a hydrogen leak will most likely lead to an explosion, not a mere flame. This makes the use of hydrogen particularly dangerous in enclosed areas such as tunnels or underground parking. Pure hydrogen-oxygen flames burn in the ultraviolet color range and are nearly invisible to the naked eye, so a flame detector is needed to detect if a hydrogen leak is burning. Like natural gas, hydrogen is odorless and leaks cannot be detected by smell. This is the reason odorant chemical is injected into the natural gas to deliver the rotten-egg odor. Hydrogen codes and standards are codes and standards for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, stationary fuel cell applications and portable fuel cell applications. There are codes and standards for the safe handling and storage of hydrogen, for example the standard for the installation of stationary fuel cell power systems from the National Fire Protection Association. Codes and standards have repeatedly been identified as a major institutional barrier to deploying hydrogen technologies and developing a hydrogen economy. As of 2019 international standards are needed for the transport, storage and traceability of environmental impact. One of the measures on the roadmap is to implement higher safety standards like early leak detection with hydrogen sensors. The Canadian Hydrogen Safety Program concluded that hydrogen fueling is as safe as, or safer than, compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling. The European Commission has funded the first higher educational program in the world in hydrogen safety engineering at the University of Ulster. It is expected that the general public will be able to use hydrogen technologies in everyday life with at least the same level of safety and comfort as with today’s fossil fuels.

Hylaw: HyLaw stands for Hydrogen Law and removal of legal barriers to the deployment of fuel cells and hydrogen applications. It is a flagship project aimed at boosting the market uptake of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies providing market developers with a clear view of the applicable regulations whilst calling the attention of policy makers on legal barriers to be removed. The project brings together 23 partners from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, the Netherlands and United Kingdom and is coordinated by Hydrogen Europe. The HyLaw partners will first identify the legislation and regulations relevant to fuel cell and hydrogen applications and legal barriers to their commercialisation. They will then provide public authorities with country specific benchmarks and recommendations on how to remove these barriers. HyLaw main outputs will be – • An online and publicly available database compiling legal and administrative processes applicable to hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in 18 countries across Europe; • National policy chapters describing each legal and administrative process, highlighting best practices, legal barriers and providing policy recommendations; • A pan-European policy chapter targeted towards European decision makers; • National and European workshops for dissemination of the findings and convincing public authorities to remove barriers. – HyLaw started in January 2017 and will run until December 2018. The database will be maintained by Hydrogen Europe for minimum three years after the end of the project.

Hydrogen Storage: Hydrogen storage is a term used for any of several methods for storing hydrogen for later use. These methods encompass mechanical approaches such as high pressures and low temperatures, or chemical compounds that release H 2 upon demand. While large amounts of hydrogen is produced, it is mostly consumed at the site of production, notably for the synthesis of ammonia. For many years hydrogen has been stored as compressed gas or cryogenic liquid, and transported as such in cylinders, tubes, and cryogenic tanks for use in industry or as propellant in space programs. Interest in using hydrogen for on-board storage of energy in zero-emissions vehicles is motivating the development of new methods of storage, more adapted to this new application. The overarching challenge is the very low boiling point of H 2 : it boils around 20.268 K (-252.882 °C or -423.188 °F). Achieving such low temperatures requires significant energy.

Hydrogen Production: Hydrogen production is the family of industrial methods for generating hydrogen gas. As of 2020, the majority of hydrogen (~95%) is produced from fossil fuels by steam reforming of natural gas, partial oxidation of methane, and coal gasification. Other methods of hydrogen production include biomass gasification, no CO2 emissions methane pyrolysis, and electrolysis of water. The latter processes, methane pyrolysis as well as water electrolysis can be done directly with any source of electricity, such as solar power. The production of hydrogen plays a key role in any industrialized society, since hydrogen is required for many essential chemical processes. In 2020, roughly 87 million tons of hydrogen was produced worldwide for various uses, such as oil refining, and in the production of ammonia (through the Haber process) and methanol (through reduction of carbon monoxide), and also as a fuel in transportation. The hydrogen generation market was expected to be valued at US$115.25 billion in 2017.

Public Perception of Hydrogen: Public understanding of hydrogen will have a tremendous impact on current as well as future policy initiatives for vehicle as well as portable and stationary applications. Numerous studies have been performed to analyze the public’s current perception and understanding of hydrogen. Most energy producing technologies have an attached combination of positive and negative stigmas and means of understanding by the general public. For example, individuals who are aware of the environmental effects of a possible nuclear meltdown may deem nuclear power as a negative entity. On the contrary, individuals who are aware of the quantities of carbon emissions being reduced by using one less fossil fuel driven power plant may find nuclear power as a positive entity. A combination of scientific understanding with common associated social themes anchored by pre-existing knowledge will have a significant impact on the future hydrogen policy. Many studies have been carried out on the topic of Hydrogen Public Perception and degree of acceptance. The Institute for Social, Cultural and Public Policy Research at the University of Salford, evaluated a variety of survey based studies and performed a critical analysis of these selected findings. The article emphasizes that public perception is largely formed on an overall uneducated or misinformed hydrogen knowledge base. Dr. Miriam Ricci states within the article that “Providing factual information on the whole hydrogen chain, not just applications, and the implications it might have on the lives of citizens it may have is a necessary first step.” This conclusion reached by many other scholars has been implemented in current US Hydrogen Policy through the appropriations of hydrogen demonstration and public outreach funding described in section 808 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Another concern presented by the Institute for Social, Cultural and Public Policy Research at the University of Salford is that of public distrust of government regulatory committees. In a free-association based survey carried out by Fionnguala Sherry-Brennan of the Manchester Architecture Research Centre (MARC) at the University of Manchester, residents from Unst, Shetland, home of a wind-hydrogen electricity system, were asked to describe words that came to mind when thinking about hydrogen. The survey concluded that details regarding the properties of hydrogen were largely unknown with 9.1 percent of the study population associating the word “hydrogen” with “bomb” and 0.6 percent of the study population associating it with the word “safe.” However, there were few safety concerns regarding the use of hydrogen on the island. Concerning a possible hydrogen economy there are safety concerns that need to be addressed, some of which have informed current policy and regulations regarding refueling stations and hydrogen production stations as mentioned earlier in this article.

Hydrogen Economy: The hydrogen economy is an envisioned future in which hydrogen is used as a fuel for heat and hydrogen vehicles, for energy storage, and for long distance transport of energy. In order to phase out fossil fuels and limit global warming, hydrogen can be created from water using intermittent renewal sources such as wind and solar, and its combustion only releases water vapor to the atmosphere. Hydrogen is a powerful fuel, and a frequent component in rocket fuel, but numerous technical challenges prevent the creation of a large-scale hydrogen economy. These include the difficulty of developing long-term storage, pipelines and engine equipment; a relative lack of off-the-shelf engine technology that can currently run safely on hydrogen; safety concerns due to the high reactivity of hydrogen fuel with environmental oxygen in the air; the expense of producing it by electrolysis; and a lack of efficient photochemical water splitting technology. Hydrogen can also be the fuel in a fuel cell, which produces electricity with high efficiency in a process which is the reverse of the electrolysis of water. The hydrogen economy is nevertheless slowly developing as a small part of the low-carbon economy. As of 2019, hydrogen is mainly used as an industrial feedstock, primarily for the production of ammonia and methanol, and in petroleum refining. Although initially hydrogen gas was thought not to occur naturally in convenient reservoirs, it is now demonstrated that this is not the case; a hydrogen system is currently being exploited in the region of Bourakebougou, Mali, producing electricity for the surrounding villages. More discoveries of naturally occurring hydrogen in continental, on-shore geological environments have been made in recent years and open the way to the novel field of natural or native hydrogen, supporting energy transition efforts. As of 2019, almost all (95%) of the world’s 70 million tons of hydrogen consumed yearly in industrial processing are produced by steam methane reforming (SMR) that also releases the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. A possible less-polluting alternative is the newer technology methane pyrolysis, though SMR with carbon capture also has much reduced carbon emissions. Small amounts of hydrogen (5%) are produced by the dedicated production of hydrogen from water, usually as a byproduct of the process of generating chlorine from seawater. As of 2018 there is not enough cheap clean electricity (renewable and nuclear) for this hydrogen to become a significant part of the low-carbon economy, and carbon dioxide is a by-product of the SMR process, but it can be captured and stored. As a more cost-effective alternative to hydrogen economy mainly the methanol economy is discussed.

United States Hydrogen Policy: The principle of a fuel cell was discovered by Christian Friedrich Schönbein in 1838, and the first fuel cell was constructed by Sir William Robert Grove in 1839. The fuel cells made at this time were most similar to today’s phosphoric acid fuel cells. Most hydrogen fuel cells today are of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) type. A PEM converts the chemical energy released during the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen into electrical energy. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 was the first national legislation that called for large-scale hydrogen research. A five-year program was conducted that investigated the production of hydrogen from renewable energy sources and the feasibility of existing natural gas pipelines to carry hydrogen. It also called for the research into hydrogen storage systems for electric vehicles and the development of fuel cells suitable to power an electric motor vehicle.