Green hydrogen promotes the worldwide transition to net zero emissions economies and sustainable energy. Global momentum fulfills the longstanding possibility of hydrogen as a solution for clean energy. Now is the time to tap into the potential of hydrogen’s role in approaching critical energy challenges.
The success of electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies shows that technological innovation and policy have the power to create clean energy industries worldwide. Green hydrogen is an option for storing renewable energy with hydrogen-based fuels to transport energy from renewables across long distances to energy-requiring regions thousands of miles away from abundant energy resources.
Green energy is a feature of some UN Climate Conference, COP26 emission reduction pledges meant to de-carbonize heavy industry, aviation, shipping, and long-haul freight. Industry and governments acknowledge the importance of hydrogen as a net zero economy pillar.
Fostering Transition
The United Nation’s Green Hydrogen Catapult initiative announced it is nearly doubling the goal of 25 gigawatts, set in 2022 to 45 by 2027, to reduce costs. The European Commission adopted legislative proposals meant to de-carbonize the gas market in the EU by fostering the assimilation of low-carbon and renewable gases, such as hydrogen, and ensure energy preservation for all European citizens.
The United Arab Emirates raises ambition about a new hydrogen strategy to hold 25 percent of the worldwide low-carbon market by 2030. Japan announced its intention to invest $3.4 million to accelerate research, development, and promotion of the use of hydrogen over the next decade.
‘Grey,’ ‘blue,’ and ‘green’ describe hydrogen technologies. They refer to the hydrogen produced by different methods. Hydrogen emits grey, blue, green, and sometimes pink, yellow, or turquoise water when burned. Only green hydrogen is produced climate-neutral, making it critical to reaching net zero by 2050.
Reasons Hydrogen Is a Promising Fuel
Hydrogen produces no harmful emissions. A fuel cell reacts with oxygen electro-chemically to produce water, heat, and electricity, not carbon dioxide. Hydrogen is a possible low-carbon solution in steel-making, shipping, and long-haul trucking.
Hydrogen fuel cells are energy efficient. Vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells use electric motors and consume 50 percent less fuel. It takes approximately three minutes to refuel a hydrogen cell. Toyota broke a world record by driving 1003 kilometers on a single hydrogen fill.
Compactly storing it is a challenge. It needs a low-temperature or high-pressure tank. A hydrogen fuel cell is low-maintenance and quiet. Hydrogen fuel doesn’t burn, which makes it nearly noise-free. The fuel cell requires service about every one to three years.
The conventional transport industry releases 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and toxic pollutants, such as fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. Air pollution is the cause of 8.7 million deaths each year, which is 20 percent of all deaths.
Estonia introduced the first autonomous hydrogen bus for the last mile of a long journey. The six-seat bus takes two minutes to refuel, after which it runs for six to seven hours. Uplink launched a challenge to come up with sources of innovative solutions for cleaner energy.
Green Hydrogen Technologies
Hydrogen is the smallest and simplest element. Regardless of the production method, it is a carbon-free molecule. When produced by using electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen, the hydrogen is green. Methane spilt with steam into carbon dioxide and hydrogen produces grey hydrogen, which is the culprit of climate change.
Hydrogen produced from coal has significantly higher carbon dioxide emissions per unit. It is sometimes black or brown rather than grey. The associated emissions of grey hydrogen are comparable to that of Indonesia and the UK. It has no transition energy value.
Using steam to split methane of coal with the additional technologies needed to capture the carbon dioxide produces a broad gradation of color. Capturing 100 percent of the carbon dioxide is not possible. All means of storing it are less effective in the long run. Of most importance is capturing a large part of carbon dioxide, which significantly reduces the impact of hydrogen production on climate.
Technologies holding a promise of capturing 90 to 95 percent of carbon dioxide and having adequate long-term storage of it deserve a color of their own, referred to as turquoise hydrogen. Methane pyrolysis is still in the pilot phase, while green hydrogen rapidly scales up based on two technologies: electrolysis and renewable power, particularly from the sun and wind.
Renewable power is the cheapest electricity source in most regions and countries. Green hydrogen production must increase, and the cost decrease over the next ten to 20 years. Unlike Carbon Capture and Storage, electrolysis is available from multiple international suppliers.
Green Hydrogen Solutions
Green hydrogen is an essential piece of energy transition. First, we must accelerate renewable electricity deployment to decarbonize the power systems that exist and accelerate energy sector electrification to take advantage of low-cost renewable electricity.
Finally, we decarbonize sectors challenging to electrify, such as aviation, shipping, and heavy industry, through green hydrogen. Today, we produce significant amounts of grey hydrogen, which is high in carbon dioxide and methane emissions. A priority is to start de-carbonizing the existing demand for hydrogen.
An example is the replacement of natural gas ammonia with green ammonia. No business wants to invest in a costly and complex carbon capture system and geological storage of carbon dioxide until blue hydrogen replaces grey without emitting carbon dioxide.
Once the framework includes low-carbon blue, green, or turquoise hydrogen competing with grey hydrogen, the questions are whether or not to invest in a carbon capture system, if there is a risk of abandoned assets, and how soon green hydrogen will become cheaper than blue.
Green energy projects are on track to reduce the electrolyzer cost by 50 percent before 2030. Large projects are located in areas with the best renewable resources, leading to competitive green hydrogen sustainability available in the next five to ten years.