Government backing needed for hydrogen and carbon capture to succeed - ABS

Hydrogen and carbon capture are important elements to achieve a net-zero target, but the path to creating a value chain is steep and costly and requires government involvement, says the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

PHOTO: ABS head Christopher J. Wiernicki in a keynote speech to open the American Hydrogen Forum. ABS

Even though hydrogen and carbon capture are different in nature they do have several crossovers in fuel technology. The road to shipping decarbonisation could be achieved by combining both in the value chain, says ABS.

As an example, carbon capture removes carbon dioxide from the air by using direct air capture technology which is still under the refinement stage.

Carbon captured through this technology can be combined with green hydrogen to produce net-zero synthetic fuels such as green LNG and green methanol, says ABS chairman and chief executive Christopher J. Wiernicki.

He stresses that regulations and standards need to catch up with technological advancements to ensure safety in the whole process.

The environmental impact of carbon value chains can be measured and verified through deploying carbon accounting standards and greenhouse gas inventory tools, Wiernicki goes on to say.