Hong Kong Environment Chief Looks to Hydrogen to Counter Air Pollution

30 October 2005

The Standard. Hong Kong’s Secretary for Environment Works and Transport, Dr. Sarah Liao, countered criticism that not enough is being done to battle rising air pollution by pointing to the long-term promise of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

The Secretary has been vocal in her support for a hydrogen solution for a number of years (earlier speech).

Answering charges that not enough is being done to battle rising air pollution, Sarah Liao said Friday natural gas as a fuel source is impractical and foreign countries are gradually overcoming many technological issues for hydrogen use, such as developing tanks that can safely store hydrogen.

The big question now, she said, is infrastructure. “We need to better prepare ourselves by developing suitable infrastructure, including finding the right places to store hydrogen tanks and gas filling stations,” she said.

[...] Liao dismissed calls for introducing natural gas as a vehicle fuel, saying the government will have problems in finding locations for filling stations.

The government has spent HK$1.2 billion (US$155 million) on LPG retrofits for taxis and other vehicles while introducing ultra low-sulfur diesel to reduce emissions from diesel vehicles.

According to an Audit Commission report in April, Hong Kong’s air is among the worst in the developed world. The delta’s rapid industrial development has been the leading cause of pollution, with about 80% of air pollutants in Hong Kong coming from the mainland.

Democrat Martin Lee said pollution has reached an intolerable level.

“Earlier I went to The Peak and I still saw thick smog clouding Hong Kong. Secretary Liao has explained that it was due to an increase of diesel vehicles in Guangdong. This is an unacceptable excuse,” Lee said. ”I think what Hong Kong people want are concrete results, not excuses.”

Dr. Liao’s stance against natural gas seems to run counter to China’s growing development of natural gas as a fuel, both for vehicles and industrial and heating purposes. The DOE’s EIA projects that China’s current use of natural gas (approximately 3% of total energy consumption, will double by 2010.

In May 2004, some 50 scientists from the US DOE and China’s Ministry of Science and Technology along with government officials and business people met at a workshop to envision the potential role of hydrogen in China’s energy future. In addition to noting the opportunity for rapid hydrogen uptake in China, the workshop also concluded:

However, significant investment in hydrogen energy development is needed, because the technologies of today are not competitive from cost and performance standpoints. The public, and decision makers in government and industry, are not generally aware of hydrogen as a potential energy carrier in China, and for progress to be made, they will need more information and education about the relative merits of the hydrogen economy. Nevertheless, with impressive technical and business capabilities in hydrogen technologies and markets, China is well-positioned to play a lead role in hydrogen energy development internationally.

[...] China will rely on conventional fossil, nuclear, and renewable energy resources to play important roles in China’s economy, until the point where hydrogen is the most competitive form of energy available. This point will not be reached until at least 2050, and maybe well beyond that, unless significant technical and economic breakthroughs are achieved.

[...] China’s transition to the hydrogen economy will be accomplished in stages. During the initial research, development, and demonstration stage substantial government support and international collaboration will be needed. Public transportation is the most promising initial market for hydrogen technologies and will be the focus of initial demonstrations and studies. The second stage, market entry, will involve use of hydrogen technologies in more markets, including stationary systems in rural areas, leading to the point where hydrogen makes up about 1% of the overall energy market. The final stage, where the hydrogen economy emerges, will be driven by market forces and will occur when hydrogen energy is the most competitive form of energy available.

That seems unlikely to address the needs of Hong Kong in the short-, or even medium-, term.

Resources:

• Workshop on China’s Hydrogen Vision