Industrial Decarbonisation: Made in the UK by Hydrogen

Posted by BOC

Authored by Brian Pickering, Head of Bulk Sales Applications and Business Development, BOC UK & Ireland

In the UK, it is widely recognised that heavy industry is a significant emitter given its reliance on fossil fuels for high-temperature processes and as a feedstock. The making of steel, glass, cement, and the likes accounts for 16% of the country’s annual greenhouse gas emissions – making it the third highest emitting sector.

Commercially, now more than ever, the case for industrial decarbonisation has strengthened. Large emitters are finding that their compliance costs are dramatically increasing, with no end in sight. At the close of 2023, the UK Government announced the expansion of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), to ensure highly traded, carbon intensive products from overseas in the iron, steel, aluminium, fertiliser, hydrogen, ceramics, glass and cement sectors face a comparable carbon price to those produced domestically. In essence, the cost of emissions from coal, oil and gas will only increase from now on, increasing the incentive to move to a fuel for net zero. And despite possible initial concerns around the upfront cost of implementing the necessary changes required to decarbonise, industry simply will no longer be able to afford inaction.

Innovation in decarbonising technologies for hard-to-abate industrial processes will be critical if the world is to reach Net Zero, and if individual companies are to reduce the costs of carbon emissions. There are both long term solutions with hydrogen fuel switching, as well as short term, complementary, low-risk strategies utilising oxygen to optimise processes and increase fuel efficiency.

Hydrogen represents one of the most viable solutions to decarbonising many of the hard-to-abate industrial processes that are facing numerous technical and commercial barriers, such as steelmaking and cement production. Unlike fossil fuels, when hydrogen is burned to create heat, it only releases water. It also provides the highest amount of energy per kg vs alternative fuels.

Demonstrating the viability of hydrogen in decarbonising industrial processes is exactly what BOC has undertaken as part of the Government’s Industrial Fuel Switching (IFS) Competition. Under this scheme, we have partnered with a number of producers across a range of hard-to-abate sectors, to provide engineering expertise and supply hydrogen, including to those in glass, manufacturing, home and personal care product production, cement and lime production.

We supplied over 200 high-pressure hydrogen tube trailers with a capacity of 228 Bar, accompanied by a specialised pressure reduction system that regulated the pressure to a functional 10 Bar. The trials explored two approaches: using 100% hydrogen as a fuel and blending hydrogen with natural gas. The results were encouraging, demonstrating that it is possible to use hydrogen in place of fossil fuels for cement production without compromising the integrity of the process. The switch to hydrogen away from fossil fuels did not result in any loss of process performance, including combustion efficiency, conditions were stable and Nitrous Oxide increases were in line with predictions. The trials showed that crucial aspects of production, such as temperature and process control, as well as the quality of the final product, remained unaffected by the change in fuel.

One of the most significant outcomes of this project was achieving the world’s first glass production, heating to around 1,600 degrees without the use of fossil fuels. This milestone is a clear indication that with the right technology, optimisation steps, approach and safety expertise, it's possible to reduce the carbon footprint of industrial processes substantially, as the float glass furnace accounted for the majority of the company’s overall carbon emissions.

The success of the IFS Phase 1 demonstrations is a promising step towards reducing carbon emissions in industrial settings. By showing that industries with high emissions can adopt cleaner energy sources without compromising production quality or efficiency, we are contributing to the broader effort to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Having demonstrated the feasibility of hydrogen as a low-carbon alternative in the previous round of the competition, BOC will continue its role as the preferred hydrogen supplier to a further number of projects in Phase 2, to be completed in 2024, expanding scope to a broader range of industries looking to decarbonise high temperature industrial processes. In addition to supplying hydrogen, BOC will provide gas pressure control technology for the range of industrial processes selected, which include facilities recycling aluminium, and sites producing clay products, and cereals across the UK.

So, we’ve proved that it can be done, so why aren’t industries jumping to implement hydrogen now? Two issues: cost and supply - both of which are set to be addressed in the coming years. With the target set, HAR 1 funding allocated and HAR 2 underway, the production of electrolytic and CCUS enabled hydrogen will rise to match demand within industry and other hard-to-abate sectors. In a similar vein as renewables, this will become a cost-efficient option as well.

But while these pilot demonstrations run, and hydrogen capacity increases to meet demand and target, there is a role that oxygen can play in the immediate term as to mitigate carbon compliance costs. The industrial use of oxygen can be a low-risk strategy, and our recommended first step towards reducing carbon emissions. The industrial use of oxygen in high temperature manufacturing process increases fuel efficiency, which in turn reduces carbon emissions. While complying with environmental standards, the use of oxygen has numerous financial benefits as well – it reduces the amount of natural gas needed, reduces carbon emissions and the associated costs thereof, and lastly it has a positive effect on furnace refractory life and furnace aging characteristics.

Amidst a myriad of driving factors, it is evident that industry can no longer ignore the compelling financial incentives for decarbonisation. Net Zero strategies are complex, especially for hard-to-abate industrial sectors that traditionally rely on high-carbon processes. Here, hydrogen (and oxygen in the shorter term) has the potential to act as a cornerstone for decarbonisation, and in line with the great success of IFS Phase 1, this cannot be underestimated.

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