據美國鉆井網站2022年10月18日報道，美國石油學會(API)進行的一項研究發現，從天然氣中提取的氫氣可以顯著減少美國的二氧化碳排放。  

API表示，到2050年，使用碳捕獲技術從天然氣中生產的氫氣，以及通過電力和其他能源生產提取的氫氣，平均每年可額外減少1.8億噸溫室氣體的排放，到2050年，根據每減少一噸溫室氣體的排放統一提供氫氣獎勵，累計可節省超過4500億美元。

API負責公司政策的副總裁艾倫·帕迪利亞表示：“我們的行業致力于推進低碳氫氣等創新技術，這對整個經濟領域減少溫室氣體排放至關重要。”“與政策制定者合作，鼓勵所有形式的低碳氫，并通過兩黨基礎設施法下的項目加速氫氣生產，我們可以減少二氧化碳排放，同時確保美國消費者能夠獲得他們所需的可靠能源。”

API對研究結果的分析表明，統一鼓勵利用天然氣、電力和其他能源生產氫氣，對于實現美國能源部在最近發布的《國家清潔氫戰略和路線圖》中提出的到2050年前生產5000萬噸清潔氫氣的目標至關重要。

該報告聲稱，如果每噸減排的激勵措施都是相同的，那么到2050年前，美國氫氣市場的規模可能是不平等對待減排時的3倍。到2050年，氫氣市場可能占最終用途能源總消費的15%。 

通過統一的激勵措施產生的更大的氫氣經濟，到2050年，美國平均每年可以減少1.83億噸的溫室氣體排放，而不是通過不均衡的激勵措施來利用低成本的選擇，比如利用碳捕獲從天然氣中生產氫氣。API表示，鼓勵所有氫氣生產相當于每年減少超過3800萬輛汽車的排放。  

此外，在研究期間，統一的激勵措施可以使減少每噸碳排放的成本平均每年減少12%，到2050年累計節省超過4500億美元。 

研究發現，關鍵的氫氣基礎設施，如氫氣儲存設施、氫氣輸送管道和當地氫氣分配系統，將需要釋放氫氣的潛力，為顯著減少溫室氣體排放作出貢獻。到2050年前，氫氣基礎設施項目的資本投資可能超過4000億美元，其中包括長達6.7萬英里的氫氣輸送管道、50萬英里的客戶支線管道和當地分配公司管道/服務線的建設，以及560萬億英熱單位的地下氫氣儲存能力。

李峻 編譯自 油價網

原文如下：

Hydrogen From Natural Gas Key For U.S. Emissions Reduction

An American Petroleum Institute (API) study found that hydrogen produced from natural gas could significantly decrease U.S. emissions.

The API said that hydrogen produced from natural gas with carbon capture and produced from electricity and other energy sources could eliminate an additional 180 million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on average per year through 2050 and save over $450 billion cumulatively through 2050 when hydrogen incentives are uniformly provided based on a per ton of GHG emissions reduced.

“Our industry is committed to advancing innovative technologies like low-carbon hydrogen, which are crucial to reducing GHG emissions economy-wide,” said API Vice President of Corporate Policy Aaron Padilla. “Working together with policymakers to incentivize all forms of low-carbon hydrogen and accelerate hydrogen production through programs under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we can drive down emissions while ensuring American consumers have access to the reliable energy they need.”

API analysis of the study’s findings shows that uniform incentives for producing hydrogen from natural gas, electricity, and other energy sources are critical to meeting the U.S. Department of Energy goal of 50 million metric tons of clean hydrogen produced by 2050, as laid out in the recently published National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap.

The report claimed that when every ton of emission reductions was incentivized the same, the U.S. hydrogen market could be three times larger by 2050 than when emission reductions are treated unequally. The hydrogen market could be 15% of total end-use energy consumption in 2050 versus 4% of total end-use energy consumption in 2050.

The larger hydrogen economy resulting from uniform incentives could avoid an additional 183 million metric tons of U.S. GHG emissions on average per year through 2050 than if incentives were unevenly implemented by taking advantage of low-cost options, like hydrogen produced from natural gas with carbon capture. Enabling incentives for all hydrogen production is equivalent to eliminating the emissions from more than 38 million cars annually, API said.

Also, uniform incentives could reduce the cost of mitigating a metric ton of carbon by an average of 12% annually over the study period, saving over $450 billion cumulatively through 2050.  

The study found that critical hydrogen infrastructure, like hydrogen storage, pipelines, and local distribution systems, will be required to unleash hydrogen’s potential to contribute to significant GHG emissions reductions. Capital investment in hydrogen infrastructure projects could exceed $400 billion by 2050 and include the construction of 67,000 miles of hydrogen transmission pipeline, 500,000 miles of customer laterals and local distribution company pipeline/service lines, and 560 trillion Btu of hydrogen underground storage capacity.