API Highlights Economic and Environmental Benefits of Low-Carbon Hydrogen

New Analysis Advocates for Hydrogen from Natural Gas

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has shed light on the significant advantages of low-carbon hydrogen produced from natural gas in a new study. Conducted by ICF, the analysis underscores the potential to cut an average of 180 million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually through 2050 while generating over $450 billion (€412 billion) in savings, provided that hydrogen production is uniformly incentivized based on GHG emissions reduction.

Uniform Incentives Key to Expanding Hydrogen Market

Aaron Padilla, API’s Vice President of Corporate Policy, emphasized the industry’s dedication to pioneering technologies like low-carbon hydrogen for broad-scale GHG emission reductions. The study aligns with the U.S. Department of Energy’s goal of producing 50 MMT of clean hydrogen by 2050, advocating for equal incentives across all hydrogen production methods as essential for realizing this ambition.

Study Highlights

• Market Growth: Uniform incentives could triple the size of the US hydrogen market by 2050, potentially accounting for 15% of total end-use energy consumption.
• Increased GHG Emission Reductions: A more extensive hydrogen economy, spurred by equal incentives, could avoid an extra 183 million metric tons of GHG emissions in the US annually through 2050, equivalent to the emissions from over 38 million cars each year.
• Cost Efficiency: The study suggests that uniform incentives could lower the cost of mitigating carbon emissions by 12% annually over the study period, cumulatively saving more than $450 billion by 2050.

Infrastructure Investment Critical

The report also highlights the necessity of significant capital investment in hydrogen infrastructure, including storage, pipelines, and distribution systems, to fully leverage hydrogen’s potential for GHG emission reduction. This investment could surpass $400 billion (€367 billion) by 2050, encompassing the construction of extensive pipeline networks and storage capacities.

API’s Role and Commitment

Representing a key segment of America’s natural gas and oil industry, API plays a crucial role in supporting over 11 million US jobs. Through its commitment to API Energy Excellence®, the organization fosters technological innovation and transparent reporting to enhance environmental safety and efficiency. As a standards-setting body since 1919, API has developed over 800 standards aimed at operational, environmental safety, and sustainability improvements.