ORF America’s Energy and Climate Program hosted a panel of experts from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the World Bank, and Energy Futures Initiative to discuss regional perspectives on hydrogen deployment. The discussion explored the international dimensions of hydrogen, including its geo-economics, policy, and techno-economics and its role in the energy transition. The panelists stressed the hydrogen industry’s anticipated growth like that of the LNG industry as well as hydrogen’s role in the energy transition, especially in hard to decarbonize sectors. They explained how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act in the United States, and the National Green Hydrogen in India will accelerate each industry's growth. Panelists also explored a number of challenges the global hydrogen industry will face as it matures. One challenge identified by the participants is transporting hydrogen, given that it is significantly less dense than liquified gas and requires yet-to-be built infrastructure. A second is lowering the risk of hydrogen projects sufficiently to attract capital and access to capital in developing countries, which already pay a risk premium for investment. A third is technology sharing across countries that balances protecting domestic competitiveness and promoting the industry's growth globally. Panelists predicted that as the hydrogen industry matures, costs will decrease with economies of scale, capital will be easier to access, and markets will find solutions to both technical and hydrogen use-case questions. In India specifically, panelists discussed trade-offs between using that power directly for electricity or for producing green hydrogen. Panelists concluded that domestically produced green hydrogen can increase Indian energy security and that U.S. investments in hydrogen research and development (R&D) will benefit India and the rest of the world with sufficient international technical cooperation
Featuring
Dr. Kenneth R. Vincent, Director of the Office of Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Hiroyuki Suzuki, Chief Representative, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)
Richard (Rick) W. Westerdale II, P.E., Executive Director, Energy Futures Initiative (EFI)
Thomas Kerr, Lead Climate Specialist, South Asia, The World Bank Group
Moderator: Shayak Sengupta, Fellow in Energy & Climate, ORF America
