SEPTEMBER 202219CXO INSIGHTSCOMMITTED TO DEVELOPING THE HYDROGEN PROJECTS OF TODAY AND TOMORROW By Vincent Designolle, Hydrogen Cluster Director, VallourecAlready well established in industrial uses, hydrogen is now angling to conquer hard-to-decarbonize sectors like heavy transport and energy-intensive industries. To ensure its success, infrastructure at a large scale will be needed to support hydrogen's growth--a gargantuan undertaking that Vallourec is well placed to support, with solutions for large-scale underground storage, pipeline transportation, high-pressure stationary storage, and distribution in refueling stations.To support the emergence of these applications, specific challenges linked to the very nature of the hydrogen molecule need to be tackled. This calls for the adaptation of solutions already validated for other markets, such as oil and gas equivalent applications. With existing standards not fully applicable, it is necessary to devise new testing and qualification protocols and prepare the normative environment of tomorrow, thus helping all stakeholders on the market. Moreover, low-carbon hydrogen still needs to improve its cost-competitiveness versus carbon-emitting alternatives. This is of crucial value to the market and encourages us to enhance the cost-efficiency of our solutions.Overcoming Hydrogen's ChallengesHydrogen comes with specific challenges due to its physical and chemical properties. It has very low energy density per unit of volume, meaning it takes up a lot of space Vincent Designolle
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