By Kimberly Ramkhalawan
January 20, 2023
To put into context the Green Hydrogen Energy potential the Caribbean possesses let’s just say it meets the requirements of generating electricity for home and to export beyond the archipelago of islands which makes up the region.
Its this vast amount of renewable energy which is already on the cards for use in nations like Dominica and Trinidad and Tobago, that Kenesjay and NewGen Energy Limited, Founder and Managing Director, Philip Julien sought to put into perspective during the Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator’s AskCCSA series on Thursday, alongside its CEO, Racquel Moses.
To give an idea what Green Hydrogen is, it is defined as the extraction of Hydrogen molecules from water, H2O, when electricity is used to pass through it to separate the hydrogen molecules from the oxygen. And if the electricity that is used for the electrolysis process is derived from wind or solar, he says you have created a green energy value chain for the generation of hydrogen, with no Carbon Dioxide generated at all.
In pointing to the place of reference to where Green Hydrogen all started in the region, Julien describes Trinidad and Tobago as currently being a hybrid economy, disguised in natural gas.
Going back to Trinidad and Tobago’s roaring days where it consumed an average of 2.2M tonnes of Hydrogen per year, and with its existing infrastructure for its methanol plants at its Point Lisas Industrial Estate, critical for the production of Ammonia, is Hydrogen, which is extracted from Natural Gas. But with the decline of its natural gas sector, it means there is less available hydrogen available, a deficit number put at approximately 400,000 tonnes per year of hydrogen.
Just how vital this is, Julien cites the importance of Methanol, used in the production of ammonia, which is used for fertilizer for the growing of crops needed to feed the world. Putting this long term industry into a macro economic perspective, he illustrates the sale of ammonia from Trinidad which goes to foreign places far as Japan perhaps, where they now extract the Hydrogen for its own generation of environmentally friendly power, instead of using something harmful to the environment like coal. However, the generation of this type of Hydrogen based energy is not often a feasible option to all countries due to their geographic location may not be able to use the solar and wind to offset their use of hydrogen, sun and wind being intermittent sources of energy.
Dominica’s development of its Geothermal sector is premised on generating 1300MW when it only consumes about 22MW per day, the equivalent of what a cruise ship uses, while Trinidad and Tobago is in dire need of such hydrogen, creating an opportunity for economical benefits for Dominica as well.
With over 680 hydrogen projects currently ongoing around the world, Julien says capitalizing on this in the region within this timeframe is critical is comparable to having its own moonshot experience. And despite not all islands having the capacity to build their own ammonia and methanol plants to utilize the excess generated, underground sea cables now make it feasible to send to countries like Trinidad and Tobago, home to several of these large plants well established.
For countries like Trinidad, it means providing employment opportunities that were dwindling with the shutdown of its oil refinery and sale of its methanol plants that were unable to get natural gas.
To put into perspective the quantity of this kind of energy that could be harnessed and used throughout the Caribbean, there is the potential to have an excess of renewable geothermal energy. Countries such Dominica can produce quantities in value of 1.4GW, while St.Kitts and Nevis can have an excess of 1GW. Such surplus in supply potential can reach a demand potential in Trinidad, amounting to 20 to 25 percent production of ammonia in Point Lisas. All of which can have a mass impact on a country’s GDP.
When asked if this had the potential to rival other industries within the region, Julien says in terms of math, if Trinidad’s Point Lisas industrial estate contributes X amount to its GDP, the addition or fulfillment of this green hydrogen gap directly can be estimated at 1.2X or 1.4X indirectly without considering the job creation and spin off industries along with downstream products. Julien describes it as moving the needle materially.
Philip Julien shared his experience from having studied chemical engineering and working for global company Worley Parsons. However, after spending time on Trinidad and Tobago’s Energy Chamber’s Renewable Energy subcommittee, re-invigored him to pursue this as a business concept which has taken off in the last three years. In 2021, his work with the Dominican government was officially signed onto during COP26 at Glasgow, with their mandate to fulfill their green mission and value proposition for its development.
Looking at efforts by the big oil and gas players in the region to decarbonize their productions, Shell and bpTT have embarked on renewable energy to offset their footprint, with the largest solar farms in the English-speaking Caribbean said to be on the way in Trinidad in the near future.
Julien’s NewGen Project has also partnered with Hydrogene De France, HDF, a geothermal energy French firm, for the conversion of power, to hydrogen which is converted to ammonia, which utilizes waste heat emitted from existing gas turbines, and without any natural gas can generate atleast 100MW of certifiable low carbon electricity.
Geothermal energy the earth generates infinite heat and arising from that is very high temperature steam, you use the heat from the steam to generates the turning of the turbines to generate electricity.
According to Julien, as a region, “addressing this differently involves looking at it as an economic business turning point through the supply and demand in accelerating investment in an environmentally conscious region, while creating an economic impact on the bottom line.” He adds that for the Caribbean its truly about attracting the right investment in making this a sustainable business case without the transport being an issue.
With reference to terms of legislation in ensuring use of this type of energy is normalised across the region, Julien cites a “green hydrogen road map that was published by the Trinidad and Tobago state enterprise National Energy, as being a great source for the government to create policies and legislation”.
He remains hopeful that there is a plan to utilize this study and the inputs from the government of Trinidad and Tobago to actively canonize and put things in place to create an enabling environment.
And while this may not be the same across the region, in Dominica where his presence is known, Julien attributes the proactive leadership of the government to make their country green economy based is apparent for all to see, very much in the action to create the legislation facilitating geothermal facility development. He adds that its clients in EU markets where enacted legislation ensures that products sent to them from foreign markets are in line with being green in nature or its decarbonized levels, allowing for either a premium or penalty price to be paid.
The NewGen-HDFTT project was signed on in November 2022, with the plan outlined to utilize a combination of solar and energy-efficient power sources to generate carbon-free hydrogen targeted at meeting about 20 per cent of the hydrogen requirements of an ammonia plant located in Point Lisas.