The Next Energy Pipe Dream: Hydrogen in Natural Gas Pipelines

A critical milestone in the path to a net zero carbon future is known as the ‘20% hydrogen’ goal. As hydrogen is the only clean burning fuel with zero carbon emissions that can be blended with existing fuel for combustion with minimal change to existing combustion infrastructure. 20% refers to the blending of hydrogen with natural gas to reduce overall carbon emissions. The idea is simple: running turbines, or other natural gas processes, with blended hydrogen, can reduce emissions enough to earn us the time to develop new, pure-hydrogen technologies and meet the world’s energy needs and sustainability goals.

The United States, along with International Energy Agency (IEA), is aggressively pursuing the goal of achieving a net zero carbon emission by 2050. Yet, carbon emissions from energy production and industrial processes still account for nearly 36GTon of CO₂ as of 2021 (Figure 1) – and emissions levels have shown no signs of slowing down. The 20% H₂ blend milestone – and the extra time it earns us – is critical as we advance towards technologies capable of generating ‘green hydrogen’ and processes that run on clean-burning hydrogen alone.

More than 90% of all CO­₂ emitted comes from fossil fuel-based energy use (coal, natural gas, and oil). To decarbonize, we cannot wait for a single silver bullet but must leverage innovations that can be deployed now while we further develop net zero fuels and processes. Hydrogen (H₂) is considered the primary candidate for the eventual replacement of existing carbon-based fuel but blending it with today’s gas streams yields immediate benefits.