⑨GEPINTELLIGENCEDRIVESINNOVATIONTHE RISE Of THEHYDROGEN ECONOMYAN OPPORTUNITY FOROIL GAs COMPANIES9GEPTHE RISE OF THE HYDROGEN ECONOMY:AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OIL GAS COMPANIESOver the past three decades,hydrogen has madeHowever,2022 also saw an unprecedented momentumslow but steady strides toward becoming a feasibleof hydrogen consumption in the transportation industry,alternative to traditional fuel.Its relevance andwith demand totaling 48 thousand tons,a 60%increasedemand have grown substantially,fueled by theover 20212.The majority of this hydrogen was used byneed for more clean energy to meet ambitioustrucks and buses.The number of heavy-duty hydrogensustainability targets.trucks plugged into the logistics framework increasedsixfold in 2022 compared to 2021.While the push for eco-friendly energy has been acatalyst for alternative fuels,the Russia-Ukraine warAs hydrogen makes further headway into the energy andhas been an eye-opener for global energy markets'.transportation ecosystem,the need to bolster its entireThe energy crisis resulting from dependence onsupply chain increases-from the production of blueRussian oil and natural gas has been a stark reminderor green hydrogen to transmission across continents,of the need to decrease dependence on fossil fuelsutilization as a fuel and reusable storage.Oil and gasand diversify fuels and their sources.companies are in pole position to drive the creation ofthe hydrogen economy and supply chain of the future:Hydrogen can diversify today's energy mix,with theadditional advantage of helping achieve sustainabilityOil and gas companies regularly produce hydrogengoals using blue and green hydrogen,which areas a by-product of the fracking process,during whichcleaner forms of the fuel.carbon dioxide is also generated and expelled into theatmosphere.This by-product is known as gray hydrogen.In 2022,the global demand for hydrogen reacheda new high of 113 million tons,accounting for 2.8%Carbon capture and utilization systems(CCUSs)willof final global energy consumption2.Much of thehelp remove much of the carbon dioxide from theincrease in demand came from traditional hydrogenproduction process to produce cleaner "blue"hydrogen.users,such as petroleum refining and chemicalDeveloping and implementing such CCUS solutions inproduction.existing oil plants is a necessary step for oil companiesto produce clean hydrogen for the future.Gray HydrogenBlue HydrogenGreen HydrogenElectricityNaturalHydrogenNaturalWaterHydrogenGasGasHydrogenUndergroundStorageFig.1:The Colors of Hydrogen