H2Tech - Q4 2021 - 13

EXECUTIVE VIEWPOINT
Digital technology will accelerate
innovation and profit for hydrogen
RON BECK, Senior Industry Marketing Director, Aspen Technology Inc., Boston, Massachusetts
Hydrogen has been in the spotlight for
the past 2 years. In a survey of approximately
340 global companies, conducted
by AspenTech in June 2021, 65% of respondents
said they were planning to invest
in hydrogen in the next 5 years as one
solution to greenhouse gas emissions. On
the scale of large energy projects, that is
really tomorrow or even today. Two thirds
of companies intend to move into H2
!
The only area garnering a higher investment
level is renewables.
Even more startling is the divergence of
RON BECK is Senior Industry Marketing Director
at Aspen Technology Inc., based out of the
Boston area. During his 14 years at AspenTech,
Mr. Beck has been responsible for oil and gas and
engineering and construction industry marketing,
as well as engineering product marketing. He has
over 30 years of experience in providing software
solutions to the process industries and 15 years of
experience in chemical engineering technology
commercialization. He has authored articles on
key industry topics and presented at several
public industry events. He holds a bachelor's
degree from Princeton University in New Jersey.
approaches-there is no consensus. With
respect to what leading carbon mitigation
expert Robert Socolow, of Princeton University,
calls the " color wars, " 56% of companies
are planning a move into green H2
49% into blue H2
,
, and 25% in the established
approach of gray H2. (Note: Some
are planning multiple initiatives, which is
why percentages add up to over 100%).
The sustainable investment community
is pushing the " green " approach (largely
H2
synthesis with electrolysis fueled exclusively
by renewable energy), while many
energy pragmatists, including regulators in
Europe, are pushing a " blue " approach (H2
from known reforming processes, with retrofitted
carbon capture of flue gases).
Having spoken to executives at leading
global players over the past 18 months,
what I have learned is that one should
think of H2
as a time-to-market, scaling
and economic innovation game. The
most astute players see a market that is
available to win, from a low-cost and nonfriction
scaling point of view.
Several barriers are preventing speedy
adoption, but digital technology is a magic
bullet to help overcome these obstacles.
With the amount of capital being released
to fuel the growth of the H2
economy, the
smartest players are seeing that combining
innovation brainpower, project execution
capability and industrial AI-fueled
digital technology can be the ticket to
growth and market share.
Maximize H2 investments with digital
technology. Turning H2
investments into
economic successes is not without challenges.
Digital technologies will be instrumental
in surmounting these challenges:
* De-risking the H2
a system. What makes H2
economy as
so
exciting-but also full of risk-is
that it requires an end-to-end
systems view. This includes
producing green or blue H2
,
powering H2 production through
end
renewables, carbon capture, H2
storage and transport, and H2
use. Individual companies are
pursuing each part, but it needs
to be scaled up and succeed as
a system. Strong alliances and
joint ventures are needed, but
more important is a quantitative
approach to solving the weak points
in the system. Systemwide, end-toend
risk modeling is a crucial digital
technology to unlock the answer
to where the most intellectual and
financial capital should be applied.
* Improving the economics of the
renewable power to H2
electrolysis
system. Today, the electrolysis
technology itself has been proved
out, but the economics need much
improvement. Rigorous and AIassisted
models, combined with
economic models, are important.
They can accelerate and multiply
the efforts of technology innovators
to reach new levels of economic and
technical breakthrough in looking
at renewables, power storage
and H2
synthesis as one system
that is subject to the stochastic
H2Tech | Q4 2021 13
H2Tech - Q4 2021

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