Hydrogen

Hydrogen is a fuel that’s rapidly becoming a mainstream alternative to fossil fuels. Hydrogen fuel cells are now powering buses and next generation cars. And given how many homes and businesses rely on natural gas networks for heating and cooking, the possible shift to hydrogen could accelerate decarbonisation. As part of a systems-wide approach, hydrogen can help increase resilience, improve efficiency and decarbonise energy.  
 
We’re partnering with clients worldwide from governments and energy networks to investors to spur adoption of hydrogen, exploring opportunities for generation and supply from natural green hydrogen derived from renewable energy sources, to blue hydrogen created from natural gas. We work across industries, supporting clients throughout projects – from initial strategy development to engineering design for infrastructure.  

Hydrogen – a multidisciplinary challenge

To create exactly the right team for each project, we draw on expertise from our specialists around the world – blending technical know-how and analytical rigour to reduce risk and drive commercial and social value. We’re supporting governments across the Asia Pacific region to explore their hydrogen markets and establish future market strategies.

Creating effective hydrogen networks from scratch can be daunting. Fortunately, our work with clients across Asia has shown how existing infrastructure and supply chains for fuels such as LNG can be repurposed to create a robust hydrogen network. There is also a huge opportunity for offshore wind developers to generate green hydrogen from their renewable energy. We’re working in this space with clients in Australia, undertaking studies for developers. This requires considerable technical capability, something that our unique blend of expertise brings to clients around the world.  

Integrating systems

Hydrogen will be an integral part of future energy systems, powering not only homes and industries but also land and sea transport using green hydrogen – using renewable energy to source the hydrogen. From developing business cases to understanding the risks and safety of hydrogen, we’re working with clients to integrate hydrogen power into energy systems.

We are part of a supply chain consortium working to deliver a production-ready and safety certified hydrogen powered train for Transport Scotland. The goal is to establish that hydrogen can be safely and effectively used as a sustainable alternative to diesel trains when electrification would be more difficult, or is less economically viable.

Preparing for the widespread use of hydrogen is an immense systems integration challenge. How, for example, can you convert a nation’s natural gas network to hydrogen safely and without disruption? We’ve employed data and digital systems to help energy network owners assess their readiness for hydrogen and plan future-proof networks.  

Cross-industry collaboration

Investors will only commit to large-scale production of hydrogen when demand is clear and an effective supply chain is in place. Market stimulation through policy development, trials and consumer engagement will all be key to establishing a successful market and infrastructure for this new fuel.

Collaboration will be essential so we are working with leading industry bodies, such as the World Energy Council to develop industry best practice approaches to enable and promote the uptake of hydrogen. As part of our partnerships, we also share knowledge across the industry to support the latest research and policy development.