Demystifying Hydrogen’s Role in the Global Energy Transition with Rhys Vigna | Conversations in Cleantech | Season four, Episode three
Consulting is the unsung hero of the energy transition, as Energy Transition Partner at PA Consulting, Rhys Vigna knows only too well! Rhys started his climb into cleantech working in industry at OCI N.V. before moving into the world of consulting. Working as a consultant has given Rhys a unique opportunity to influence multiple projects and truly impact the industry as a whole.
Although he started his career in a sector far removed from cleantech, he developed a passion for energy and decided to seek upskilling opportunities to take his career into his own hands. Less travelling during COVID provided the perfect opportunity to study for a CFA and postgraduate certificate in energy and finance which allowed him to make the climb into cleantech.
In this key takeaways article, Rhys gives an overview of the position of the hydrogen industry today and how he expects it to evolve in the coming years, whilst analysing his journey to energy transition in the hopes of inspiring more talented people to enter the industry.
Want to hear more from Rhys? Listen to his full episode here.
How have you found moving to the consultancy side of energy transition?
It is certainly a different world from the one I was used to. It’s stimulating to work on such a diverse range of projects and problems that I have specialist knowledge on and an understanding around.
One of the main reasons that brought me to energy transition, when I relocated to the UK and found myself at OCI, was that I do believe in climate change and I was seeking an environmentally oriented role. Given the infancy of the markets developing green hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives, I decided that I could have more impact working at a consultancy firm, where I can help many projects to fruition and push the sector forward.
Whilst I was having an impactful role working at OCI, who are first movers and doing many fantastic things, I was very aware we were still restricted due to the market’s infancy and so much more needed to happen on a broader scale. I am very excited to be working and contributing to the energy transition market as a consultant.
What steps have you taken to take your career into your own hands?
Just before COVID, I started thinking about transitioning out of my role with Glencore and I wanted to open myself up to the maximum amount of opportunities I could. I completed a CFA in a rather condensed period which was a little overwhelming but I managed it.
During COVID, I found myself having to spend much less time travelling and I took complete advantage of that. I started a postgraduate certificate in energy and finance and this enabled me to go and apply for different roles in the sectors I was looking to transition into.
Life tends to get in the way of plans and dreams but you have to prioritise the important things in your life and develop a long-term perspective. I always think you have to make room for things in life which are important to you.
At this time, my wife and I were considering starting a family and I wanted to leave Canada and find a base for us elsewhere. I took the opportunity to complete the CFA and then COVID provided me with another opportunity to undertake a second phase of study. Always take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.
Could you explain more about hydrogen and how it is contributing to the energy transition?
I think it needs to be said that electrification is the best solution in most cases but it is not the solution in all cases, it is not a silver bullet. There are those harder-to-abate or harder-to-electrify sectors where we need to find other creative, clean solutions.
Hydrogen is a great candidate because it has a tremendous amount of energy which can be consumed in a very clean way. However it does have negative aspects - it is a very low-density chemical which means from a volumetric perspective, the energy-to-volume ratio is rather low. This is one of the reasons we look to hydrogen derivatives i.e. you combine the hydrogen molecule with another molecule to change the composition. This makes it easier to transport and makes it a lot more viable.
A number of the technologies have been around for a long time, we just haven’t needed to use hydrogen in the way that we use it today and we’re trying to develop new technologies to overcome those issues. For example, hydrogen has been produced for hundreds of years, using steam methane reformers or other methods of turning methane into a hydrogen product. This is a very cost-effective method however it is highly carbon intensive. The challenge now is to produce hydrogen with low carbon intensity.
Technology does exist to convert electricity and water into hydrogen and oxygen, in other words, green hydrogen. However, it is rather costly and you are sacrificing some of the new renewable electricity generated to make hydrogen.
Methane, with carbon capture, is another option but there are still some associated problems such as there will always be some emissions that go into the air. These are just some of the problems on the front end we’re trying to solve. However, there are also several problems on the backend.
How do you transport hydrogen? If you are transporting it as a derivative, how do you reconvert it back to hydrogen? Or how do you use it in the derivative form? These are things we are trying to develop solutions for. It has probably only been the last two years we’ve really focused on trying to solve these problems. If you look at how far mobile phones have come from their original models, I do not doubt that hydrogen will be able to make that same progress.
Where do you expect the industry to be in the next three to five years?
The sector is so exciting to work in right now because of the flux and changes that are happening all around us but that also makes it quite hard to predict, even what the near future will look like.
Hopefully, we’re going to see more projects gain financing and start to progress. The markets are starting to show glimpses of trading and moving towards a liquid model. Hopefully, we see more governments adopting more proactive and aggressive policies to encourage investment. We had one region in the EU doing all the pedalling but about 12 months ago the US has jumped in.
Someone told me a great quote the other day, “the US often arrives late to the party, but when they come, they bring the beer,” and they have definitely done that in this instance. The challenge to other countries is to come and match this because right now all the investment is going stateside.
In Japan and Korea, we’re expecting some policies to be announced over the next 12 to 18 months which should have a positive impact on the demand side.
I am positive and I believe we will see some progress. One thing I know for sure is what is true now, will not be true in 12 months.
Enjoyed this article? Listen to the full podcast here, and connect with Rhys on LinkedIn.