Unlocking Potential: Clean Hydrogen Pipelines and the Value Chain
October 23, 2024As energy demand grows, public officials and energy developers are focused on meeting this need with clean energy sources, including clean hydrogen. The Biden administration has committed to expanding this new sector of the energy industry to provide baseload power to energy-intensive industries. As part of this effort, $7 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act has been allocated to fund clean hydrogen hubs across the country.1 Constructing hydrogen pipelines will play a crucial role in the global energy transition, necessitating discussions from regulatory, developer, and policy perspectives. The Cleantech Summit on March 24-25, 2025 will host a panel on building clean hydrogen pipelines moderated by Chris Psihoules who brings his perspective as “molecule” Attorney at Norton Rose Fulbright.
Moderator Chris Psihoules
I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris about his experience in energy regulatory law and the promising future of hydrogen pipelines. His career started at the New Jersey’s Attorney General’s Office where he provided legal counsel to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. He then moved to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as a trial attorney litigating contested matters before the FERC. He now is a Senior Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright going on five years working in project finance and energy regulatory matters. Focusing on natural gas, renewable natural gas (RNG), hydrogen (H2), liquified natural gas (LNG), and carbon capture projects. His primary focus is on energy projects and regulatory issues, with a significant portion of his work dedicated to natural gas initiatives involving either renewable natural gas (RNG) or clean hydrogen.
Value Chain
Chris will lead this panel which focuses on the clean hydrogen value chain; production, transmission, and end-use. When producing green hydrogen (the cleanest form), the production involves splitting water molecules (to get the hydrogen molecule) through a process called electrolysis. Chris noted that we’re already experiencing disruptions in the value chain at this stage. Elecrtolyzers are the units used to split water molecules to produce hydrogen, the electrolyzer capacity as of February 2024 is less than 3 GW a fraction of the thousand-plus GW needed for the global energy transition2. This lack of critical minerals stunts the deployment of clean hydrogen.
Clean hydrogen transmission, or the movement of hydrogen, is the second aspect of the value chain where pipelines become essential. As mentioned earlier, the Inflation Reduction Act allocated $7 billion from the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish hydrogen production hubs. Chris expects hydrogen pipeline development to be similar to that of our natural gas infrastructure. However, missing from hydrogen pipeline development is regulatory certainty. Without regulatory certainty, hydrogen pipeline developers are less prone to begin construction.
The final link in the clean hydrogen supply chain is end-use, the application of hydrogen to energy-intensive sectors. The demand for clean hydrogen should come from industries that are difficult to decarbonize, including fertilizers, cement, aviation, and data centers, to name a few. At least in our lifetime, Chris does not foresee clean hydrogen completely replacing natural gas. Instead, end-use clean hydrogen will help meet the energy demands of industrial applications.
As clean hydrogen pipelines are developed, they will be vital for addressing the energy demands of industrial sectors while supporting the broader transition to a sustainable energy future. The discussions at the Cleantech Summit 2025 will provide valuable insights into the regulatory and practical considerations necessary to advance this critical infrastructure. I look forward to hearing Chris Psihoules share his insights and experiences, fostering meaningful and engaging discussions about the emerging clean hydrogen market.
About the Author
This article was written by Cleo Carter, an IE Cleantech Corner intern.