PR Management in Hydrogen Explosions: Lessons from Three Hydrogen Explosions in Korea.

[NNadir]

I make no secret of my contention that selling hydrogen is just an exercise in greenwashing fossil fuels, that is PR, public relations.

Because hydrogen gas is unsuitable as a consumer fuel being dangerous, as accidents with trained hydrogen handlers demonstrate, PR is an important in selling the lie that it can be safely handled. I note that the occurrence, all over the world, of hydrogen accidents, takes place when hydrogen "energy" - useful energy, exergy, is destroyed in making hydrogen - is trivial, as it has been for half a century of hydrogen hype.

The article I'll discuss in this post is this one: Youhyun Lee, Min Hyuk Cho, Min Chul Lee, Young Jin Kim, Evaluating hydrogen risk management policy PR: Lessons learned from three hydrogen accidents in South Korea, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Volume 48, Issue 63, 2023, Pages 24536-24547.

The International Journal of Hydrogen Energy has continuously in print since 1976, this without a hydrogen nirvana ever breaking out.

The article begins with reiterating that so called "renewable energy" will make hydrogen green, although so called "renewable energy" itself remains a trivial form of energy that has done nothing to address the extreme climate conditions we now endure.

From the bullshit introduction in the text:

Even after witnessing the global pandemic and energy crisis induced by the Russia-Ukraine war, the aims of cleaner and greener energy are increasing to meet carbon neutrality targets [[1], [2], [3], [4]]. To achieve carbon neutrality, the transition to green energy is essential [1,5]. Here, green renewable energy, such as solar and wind, is highly dependent on the climate and has regional variations [6]. However, hydrogen—an energy carrier—is an alternative that can compensate for these limitations of renewable energy; it has various advantages and cannot only respond to decarbonization and global warming but also contributes to energy security by increasing energy self-sufficiency [7] when combined with oxygen in a fuel cell or combustion engine (see Table 3, Table 4, Table 5, Table 6, Table 7, Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3).

Every sentence it his paragraph is tiresome wishful thinking. Hydrogen is overwhelmingly made on this planet by the steam reformation of dangerous fossil fuels at a loss in the original energy content of the dangerous fossil fuel in question. There is no rational plan to meet carbon targets, none, zero, zilch.

A graphic in the paper shows the three hydrogen accidents in Korea, and their dates and locations, that have to be sold with "don't worry, be happy" rhetoric to minimize the seriousness of the accidents:



The caption:

Fig. 1. Cases of domestic hydrogen safety accidents.

I note that the eight people killed in the Gangneung Hydrogen Tank Explosion - they were killed instantly - is more people than were killed by radiation leaks at Fukushima.

The article text continues:

In the case of South Korea, since the previous government, renewable energy has been actively pursued with an emphasis on the hydrogen economy [[8], [9], [10], [11]]. The roadmap for revitalizing the hydrogen economy was announced in 2019 b y the Moon Jae-in administration, and the basic plan for a hydrogen transition was announced in 2021. As the new government of Yoon Seok-Yeol came to power in 2022, there were concerns that policy interest in hydrogen energy might decrease. However, the new government also promised to invest in hydrogen in various fields, and fostering the hydrogen industry was presented as a national task (MOTIE, 2022)...

...but...but...but...

...However, one of the biggest factors hindering the vitalization of Korea's hydrogen industry and economy is the low rate of policy acceptance by the general public [8,12] Over the past four years, three large and several small hydrogen safety accidents have occurred in Korea. These hydrogen safety incidents were communicated to the public through the media, sometimes not transparently, not promptly, and only partially, leading to a remarkably low acceptance of hydrogen energy. There are precedents of hydrogen-related accidents not only in Korea but also in Norway [[13], [14], [15]], and as the use of hydrogen energy and industrial development are activated worldwide, concerns about hydrogen safety are becoming graver [16]
.
In particular, in a situation where the central government of each country, including South Korea, is implementing strong hydrogen economy leadership, hydrogen risk management policy PR is the most important. A positive hydrogen risk management policy PR will play a pivotal role in improving the acceptance of hydrogen energy as a whole [17]...

Yeah, right, "PR is important," especially if you're selling rebranding fossil fuels as "hydrogen."

Let's be clear on something, the whole "hydrogen economy" fantasy has always been PR, shown here and elsewhere with slick dishonest videos with high production values and zero intellectual integrity.

The article notes that concern is not limited to Korea, but exists elsewhere:

...However, one of the biggest factors hindering the vitalization of Korea's hydrogen industry and economy is the low rate of policy acceptance by the general public [8,12] Over the past four years, three large and several small hydrogen safety accidents have occurred in Korea. These hydrogen safety incidents were communicated to the public through the media, sometimes not transparently, not promptly, and only partially, leading to a remarkably low acceptance of hydrogen energy. There are precedents of hydrogen-related accidents not only in Korea but also in Norway [[13], [14], [15]], and as the use of hydrogen energy and industrial development are activated worldwide, concerns about hydrogen safety are becoming graver [16].

In particular, in a situation where the central government of each country, including South Korea, is implementing strong hydrogen economy leadership, hydrogen risk management policy PR is the most important. A positive hydrogen risk management policy PR will play a pivotal role in improving the acceptance of hydrogen energy as a whole [17]...

The rest of the article consists of suggestions on how to bullshit the public that hydrogen is safe, not that any amount of bullshit can do so. It does include some brief comment on the reality of hydrogen risks:

...Hydrogen has some technical limitations in production, distribution, and safety compared to conventional energy carriers; it has a low energy density, there is limited distribution and delivery, and it is highly flammable...

...but don't worry, be happy...

...Even with these limitations, hydrogen is still a promising energy carrier and has the potential to meet carbon neutrality targets [39,40]; thus, policy PR on this should be discussed more in our society. There tends to be more apprehension about hydrogen-related facilities, as hydrogen leakage accidents or hydrogen explosions can sometimes occur [26,41,42]...

Don't worry, be happy.

A Giant Climate Lie: When they're selling hydrogen, what they're really selling is fossil fuels.

Oh. I forgot. We always need a graphic, don't we? I like this one:



The caption:

Figure 1. Global current sources of H2 production (a), and H2 consumption sectors (b).

Progress on Catalyst Development for the Steam Reforming of Biomass and Waste Plastics Pyrolysis Volatiles: A Review Laura Santamaria, Gartzen Lopez, Enara Fernandez, Maria Cortazar, Aitor Arregi, Martin Olazar, and Javier Bilbao, Energy & Fuels 2021 35 (21), 17051-17084]

Have a nice weekend in the waning days of US democracy and sanity.