Deloitte collaborates with Duke's EDGE center

There’s a great deal of current enthusiasm about the prospects for hydrogen—especially when it comes to reducing emissions across the global economy—and it’s easy to see why. Hydrogen is clean, energy-dense, and available, and it could complement other renewable energy sources. But why the surge in interest now when hydrogen has been used in many applications for decades? And what are the very real challenges involved in integrating hydrogen into the United States and the global economy and infrastructure?

Hydrogen has the potential to play a much larger role in the US energy mix as we move toward a lower-carbon future, and promising areas for increased use of hydrogen are in industrial applications and heavy transportation. A key requirement for the growth of hydrogen is efficient, safe, and cost-effective transport from producer to end user.

This article explores the current extent of US hydrogen and natural gas pipeline infrastructure and provides a perspective on the technical, regulatory, safety, and economic factors that are likely to influence the pace and approach to expanding US hydrogen transmission capacity. It also considers the role that midstream companies may play in expanding hydrogen pipeline capacity and looks at key factors they may consider as they weigh investments in hydrogen.