What is the Role of Hydrogen in Energy Transition?

• Published Date: May 27, 2024

The Potential of Clean Hydrogen in Energy Transition

Hydrogen has the potential to speed up the energy transition in a significant way. The clean hydrogen produced through the use of renewable energy or low-emissions generation processes is often praised as a possible revolutionary solution. It allows the green production of industrial goods, and it also allows the reduction of carbon footprint in shipping and aviation. 

Moreover, hydrogen can be utilized as a substitute for fossil fuels, such as natural gas or coal, or in producing ammonia, which is an important component of synthetic fertilizers.

Understanding Hydrogen: The Basics

Hydrogen is the clean alternative for methane, otherwise called natural gas. It is the most abundant chemical element, with around 75% of the mass of the universe. Hydrogen is present on Earth in vast numbers in water, plants, animals, and humans. However, while it is present in almost all molecules in living things, it’s very rare as a gas – below one part per million by volume. 

Different resources can be exploited in order to produce hydrogen, such as nuclear power, natural gas, biogas, or renewable power including wind and solar. 

Hydrogen’s Production Approaches

Grey Hydrogen: Grey hydrogen is the most widespread form and is produced from natural gas or methane with a steam reforming process. In case you are wondering, this method produces just a smaller number of emissions compared to brown or black hydrogen.

Blue Hydrogen: Hydrogen is marked blue whenever the carbon produced from steam reforming is captured and stored underground using industrial carbon capture and storage. This being the case, blue hydrogen is sometimes known as carbon neutral since the released emissions are not poured into the atmosphere.

Green Hydrogen: Green hydrogen otherwise known as clean hydrogen is produced via clean energy from excess renewable energy sources like wind and solar energy to split water into one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms during the electrolysis process. 

Renewables cannot always provide the necessary energy throughout the day, and green hydrogen generation can assist in utilizing the surplus produced during peak cycles. Currently, it contributes around 0.1% to the total hydrogen production, but this will increase as the cost of renewable energy drops fast.

Understanding the Applications of Hydrogen in the Energy Sector

Industrial Procedures

Hydrogen plays a major role in a number of industrial procedures like refining as well as ammonia production. Switching to green hydrogen which is generated by renewable sources can help industries to decrease their carbon footprint, assuring the emphasis on worldwide sustainability goals and introducing environmentally friendly practices within the business.

Transportation

Hydrogen can contribute to the transport sector through fuel cell technology for electric cars. Unlike the emission of petrol-fueled cars, only water vapor and heat are being emitted through the fuel cells, contributing to a cleaner atmosphere. Such technology is the major factor in decreasing air pollution and curbing climate change at the same time.

Energy Storage

One of the fundamental aspects of hydrogen in energy storage is the energy transition towards a renewable power-based grid. Surplus energy arising from intermittent resources, for example – wind and solar, can be utilized to generate hydrogen with the electrolysis process. The hydrogen resulting from this process can then be stored, and later, when the electricity demand is high, it can be converted back to electricity.

Power Generation

The flexibility of hydrogen spreads to power generation, where it can be employed as a fuel in power plants via fuel cells or combustion. This ensures a dependable and sustainable power source, which is particularly important when incorporated with renewable sources. Hydrogen helps in smoothing the issue of intermittency, given its ability to enhance the stability of the grid as well as sustainability.

Advantages of Hydrogen in the Energy Transition:

Energy Security

Hydrogen promotes energy security through diversification of the energy mix and also helps cut dependence on fossil fuel imports. Nations with ample renewable sources can harness them to create green hydrogen locally, protecting themselves from geopolitical uncertainties and reducing vulnerability to unstable fossil fuel costs on the global market.

Decarbonization

Hydrogen is of paramount importance in decarbonization primarily through green hydrogen, which is produced with the help of renewable energy sources and thus emits no carbon during the process. Blue hydrogen, with the aid of carbon capture and storage (CCS), provides an avenue for addressing the carbon footprints of industries, offering an important step towards attaining sustainability goals.

Job Creation and Economic Growth

0Investing in the hydrogen sector presents a catalyst for economic development as well as job creation. The hydrogen value chain which ranges from R&D to creation, supply chains, and infrastructure, provides thousands of openings for employment. It not only enables economic resilience but also adapts to sustainable development goals, which helps ensure sustainable development in the long term.

Challenges & Barriers:

Infrastructure

An extensive hydrogen infrastructure is an important requirement for its acceptance. This requires the creation of factories, distribution systems, and gas (filling) stations for vehicles. Funding for such infrastructure is essential to overcome the hesitancy to accept hydrogen technologies.

Cost

Currently, green hydrogen production is more costly compared to that of blue or grey ones. The adoption of green hydrogen as a viable option will come through a reduction in the cost of production with technological innovations, helpful government rules, and economies of scale.

Policy Support & Collaboration

Overcoming the barriers to hydrogen adoption requires robust policy support as well as international collaboration. Governments take the lead in creating favorable conditions that attract R&D investments by promoting an enabling advantageous regulatory environment and cultivating public-private partnerships to boost innovation.

In Ending

Hydrogen can bring huge opportunities for the transition of the energy sector towards a clean and sustainable future. Its advantageousness in terms of climate mitigation from transportation, different industrial uses, and energy storage are a key factor making it an important contributor to the global battle against carbon emissions and climate crisis.

Although the problems remain, the joint endeavors of industries, the research community, and governments are the key factors for boosting the ongoing energy transformation. Hydrogen power not only helps break our dependence on fossil fuels but also makes our energy systems more sustainable, both now and for the future of this planet.