Recently, countries have been in a consensus that green hydrogen will become the main source of renewable energy as major economies are preparing for the changes brought by the post-pandemic world.
Since the 1970s, hydrogen has been purported as a fuel to help power machines, vehicles, and energy plants. At that time, the investments needed to develop an infrastructure to make it available for widespread use was perceived as too costly.
A source details that just last week, the head of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) urged governments to invest in developing green hydrogen as the technology needed in developing the fuel is finally ready.
Green hydrogen — produced by splitting water molecules apart with a renewable-powered electric current — is at a similar stage of development to wind and solar in the mid-2000s.
It has potential in helping steelmaking, cement and heavy trucking go green https://t.co/xAVoEzsVES pic.twitter.com/JzEc5dRZrA
— Bloomberg Opinion (@opinion) May 11, 2020
Countries vouching for green H2
Reportedly, a few countries such as the Netherlands, Australia, and Portugal are already deep into the green hydrogen investment and are already far into their renewable energy development plan.
Due to this, many argue that it is impossible to power a world that has a growing population with electricity alone.
Now, businesses, politicians, and investors are in the talks with the European Union and others to support the development of green hydrogen, and to include it in their post-crisis recovery plans.
EU officials said it is highly plausible for green hydrogen to replace fossil fuels in sectors that lack energy alternatives and that green hydrogen can be used to align with EU’s Green Deal plan, which aims to eradicate emissions in Europe by 2050.
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Green hydrogen is scaling up faster than expected
EU industry chief Thierry Breton details that the idea of putting green hydrogen into the mainstream is gaining more acceptance.
With its clean emissions, green hydrogen has been concluded as a priority area by the European Commission itself, and a fitting element to achieve its Green Deal plan.
As a result, several governments like Portugal, Germany, Britain, Japan, and Australia have hastened their development of hydrogen strategies over the past month. Millions of funding have been set aside by these governments to jump-start their hydrogen projects.
Barriers to developing green H2
As opposed to conclusions arrived at in the 1970s, researchers have now found a way to overcome green hydrogen’s largest challenges.
Salt domes are being used to store hydrogen, solving the challenge of hydrogen’s highly corrosive properties. Costs to developing are starting to be less of an issue as new systems are being discovered with more cost-efficiency.
Electrolyzers, a major cost to developing hydrogen, are more affordable now as its price has gotten 40% cheaper in the last five years.
However, the cost of developing hydrogen would still be more expensive than using fossil fuels. This is why it has been concluded that any serious attempt at large-scale use of green hydrogen will require major investments and funding.
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