Dr. Jeffrey Goldmeer, Global Hydrogen Value Chain Leader,
GE Vernova
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Dr. Jeffrey Goldmeer, is the Global Hydrogen Value Chain Leader at GE Vernova. GE Vernova is the GE Energy portfolio of businesses which is being spun out in April 2024. Jeff has been at GE for 23 years and for the last five has focused on decarbonization and especially hydrogen. He now covers the entire hydrogen value chain. Jeff comes from a family of teachers.
"I wouldn’t say I’m the black sheep, but there are many more teachers in the family… I see a responsibility of … helping to groom and grow the next generation as it was done for me. " - Jeff Goldmeer
He sees part of his role as communicating the facts of climate change and energy transition and what is possible and what is not. He emphasizes the importance of doing so via detailed analysis, facts, and statistics rather than opinions.
"There are no simple answers, so we’ve got be there as a trusted source of knowledge and information for folks around the world. " - Jeff Goldmeer
Energy transition isn’t just about the generation assets but also the electric grid, potentially the most complicated system humanity has ever built. Jeff notes that the electrical grid was designed to exactly match electricity production to consumption at a point in time. The system derives stability from inertia, meaning the turbines tend to continue to spin at the same rate and resist temporary disruptions. But we can’t rely on inertia as we move to solar and other non-rotating forms of production.
" We have to make sure that as we shift, we're not just gaining this lower carbon intensity, but are we capturing all the critical requirements of the grid with these new systems, inertia being just one of them. " - Jeff Goldmeer
Jeff is excited about the ability of hydrogen to store and allow the transport of substantial amounts energy. This benefits heavy-duty applications such as trucks, ships and remotely located industrial facilities. However, we must create hydrogen by breaking down another molecule, such as water or methane. Also, hydrogen becomes liquid only at very low temperatures. Both consume a lot of energy, but ammonia can help with liquification for transport.
“One of the simplest molecules that contains hydrogen … is ammonia ... there are ships today that move liquid ammonia around the world. We move … about 15 million tons a year " - Jeff Goldmeer
Ultimately, the utility of hydrogen may be less about technology and more about infrastructure investment and cost. The U.S. already has 1,600 miles of pipeline that transport hydrogen, and gas turbines have been burning hydrogen for 50 years. One GE installation has been burning hydrogen for over 100,000 hours of operation. However, significant investment is required in pipeline infrastructure. On cost, programs like the Department of Energy hydrogen hubs are seeking to lower costs via large-scale production. Subsidies will likely be required to make hydrogen competitive with fossil fuel sources.
“If you look back 20 odd years … the wind business as we know it today looked nothing like it did in 2000… We now think about the wind business as just this massive entity providing huge amounts of carbon-free power to the world… if we have sustained policy… I think the world in 2040 or 2045 could look dramatically different than it does today." - Jeff Goldmeer