Hydrogen - Fuel Of The Future?

HYDROGEN is the future, As fascinating and surprising as it sounds, this might just be true!

To have a good understanding of how it might happen. Scroll till the end and let’s begin from the very basics.

What Is Hydrogen?

Hydrogen is a clean fuel that produces just water when burned in a fuel cell. Hydrogen can be made from a range of domestic sources, including natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. These characteristics make it a desirable fuel for transportation as well as electricity production.

History Of Hydrogen Fuel

Following World War I, practical interest in hydrogen as a fuel rose throughout Europe, fueled in part by a desire for energy self-sufficiency. The Second World War accelerated the search for hydrogen fuel. Trucks, buses, submarines, and internal combustion engines were all converted to hydrogen.

Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Hydrogen fuel cells have a much higher energy storage density than lithium-ion batteries, giving electric vehicles a significant range advantage while also being lighter and taking up less space. Hydrogen-powered vehicles can also be refueled in a matter of minutes, but battery-powered vehicles must wait for the battery to charge.

The availability and clean generation of hydrogen, as well as the use of hydrogen as a power source, are the technical hurdles that hydrogen fuel cell electric cars face.

Sustainability

Hydrogen can be stored as natural gas, biomass, or other gases in caves, storage tanks, or distribution networks for later use. No changes to safety rules are required when combining H2 with natural gas up to 20%. With small changes, higher values could be reached.

These examples are based on the long-term resources that will be required for the energy transition, and they are real-life examples of successful business models with a long-term vision of growth and sustainability.

Green Hydrogen

Green hydrogen is created by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen with the use of renewable electricity. In comparison to both grey and blue, this is a totally distinct path. Green hydrogen has the potential to be a key enabler in the global transition to sustainable energy and net-zero-emission economies.

The use of green hydrogen in the energy transition is critical. It is not the next logical step because we must first accelerate the implementation of renewable electricity to decarbonize current power systems, then electrify the energy sector to take advantage of low-cost renewable electricity, before finally using green hydrogen to decarbonize sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as heavy industry, shipping, and aviation.

Future of Hydrogen

Hydrogen may be produced by a variety of fuels, including renewables, nuclear, natural gas, coal, and oil. It's similar to liquefied natural gas in that it may be carried as a gas through pipes or as a liquid through ships (LNG). It can be converted into electricity and methane, which can be used to powerhouses and feed the food sector.

Hydrogen has the potential to help renewables contribute even more. It has the potential to aid with fluctuating renewable energy output, such as solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind, whose availability does not always meet demand.

Clean hydrogen is being heralded as the EU's future fuel, with promises of abundant carbon-free electricity by 2030. However, things are changing quickly, with new hydrogen demonstration projects being launched on a daily basis. Countries are developing plans to develop green hydrogen markets. Across the whole hydrogen value chain, start-ups and researchers are working.

While green hydrogen will reduce pollution, it will still face a number of challenges, the most pressing of which is how to properly store it. While hydrogen is less poisonous and more easily diffused than natural gas, it has a wider range of flammable concentrations in the air and lower ignition energy than petrol or natural gas, making it easier to ignite.

Conclusion

Well, since the future is entirely uncertain, one can never know what might happen but one thing is for sure if not definitely there are high chances of hydrogen becoming the future!