Global trend is toward carbon neutrality, hydrogen, as a zero-emission clean energy, has become an energy hub supporting key industries in the future and a key medium for gathering renewable energy, thermal energy and public utilities.

So that VERDE HYDROGEN containerized electrolyzer is designed to produce high quality hydrogen, to play the important role in hydrogen economy and contribute to the expansion of future hydrogen technical ecosystem.

Hydrogen Discover

Robert Boyle described in 1671 the reaction between iron filings and dilutes acids, which resulted in the production of hydrogen gas. In 1766, Henry Cavendish was the first to recognize hydrogen gas as a discrete substance, naming the gas from a metal-acid reaction “inflammable air”.

In 2019, hydrogen’s share of global energy use was 4%; by 2050, this figure is predicted to climb to 18%, making it difficult to believe that a society based on a hydrogen economy will emerge immediately. This 4.5-fold increase will result in the creation of 30 million new jobs and the avoidance of 6 gega tons of carbon emissions (equal to North America’s annual emissions), resulting in a $2.5 trillion yearly return.

Type of hydrogen

Green Hydrogen

Green Hydrogen is defined as hydrogen produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity. This is a very different pathway compared to both grey and blue.

Grey Hydrogen

Grey Hydrogen is traditionally produced from methane (CH4), split with steam into CO2 – the main culprit for climate change – and H2, hydrogen. Grey hydrogen has increasingly been produced also from coal, with significantly higher CO2 emissions per unit of hydrogen produced so much that is often called brown or black hydrogen instead of grey. It is produced at industrial scale today, with associated emissions comparable to the combined emissions of UK and Indonesia. It has no energy transition value, quite the opposite.

Blue Hydrogen

Blue Hydrogen follows the same process as grey, with the additional technologies necessary to capture the CO2 produced when hydrogen is split from methane (or from coal) and store it for long term. It is not one color but rather a very broad gradation, as not 100% of the CO2 produced can be captured, and not all means of storing it are equally effective in the long term. The main point is that capturing large part of the CO2, the climate impact of hydrogen production can be reduced significantly.

Hydrogen as an Energy Source:

1-Natural gas

Mostly methane, makes up most of the world’s hydrogen production, about 70%, and 95% of the total in the United States; Being the most widespread, efficient and cost-effective method, as well as having the advantage of taking advantage of the existing gas infrastructure.

Hydrogen is produced through steam reforming of methane, which involves heating the gas to high temperatures in the presence of steam and a catalyst; this causes methane molecules to break down and form carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

This method produces between 9 and 12 tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of hydrogen produced, which is known here as grey hydrogen, according to the report.

Currently, new technologies may reduce these emissions through carbon capture and storage, and carbon can be removed from steam methane reforming using heat from nuclear reactors instead of fossil fuels.

Another new method is the reconstitution of methane through plastic waste to produce hydrogen. A recent study by Nature Catalysis showed a simplified process for extracting more than 97 % of the mass of hydrogen from plastics, according to the report.

2-Biomass

Gasification, or gasification, is a somewhat less sophisticated technology for producing hydrogen using any carbon source or biomass.

This involves using a high-temperature gasifier to convert the source into a gas, which then reacts with steam to separate the hydrogen.

This method has proven to be very interesting for governments. Because of its ability to reduce the carbon intensity of hydrogen production; The US Department of Energy expects biomass gasification to be deployed in the near term, according to the report.

Liquids derived from biomass, such as ethanol and bio-oil, can be used to produce hydrogen, with the advantage of being easier to transport than solid biomass feedstock.

3-Water

Hydrogen production from electrolysis – the splitting of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen – is the way the world is betting on in order to remove carbon, especially since most of these projects depend on renewable energy, which produces green hydrogen, which does not contain carbon emissions.

Despite this, electrolysis technology is still expensive and ineffective at the present time, but the cost shows a significant decline with policies supporting the energy transition, according to the report.

According to the International Energy Forum, there are other long-term technical methods for extracting hydrogen from water, but it will require more work to improve and market them, most notably the thermal chemical cracking of water molecules through high temperatures.

Photo electrochemical water splitting is a promising method that uses sunlight and semiconductors to extract hydrogen from water molecules.

In addition, hydrogen can be produced through biological photo cracking of water molecules, such as green algae that consume water and produce hydrogen, under certain conditions. You can also think of it as an electricity multiplier – with some water and less electricity, you can generate more electricity or heat. It is also widely available.

Current Status of Hydrogen Market

Most hydrogen is used in the petrochemical industry to split heavy oils into lighter petroleum products or make ammonia for fertilizers. According to BNEF, the majority (90%) is manufactured close to its site of use, owing to enormous amounts necessary for consumption and high transportation costs. Most of the hydrogen produced is “gray”. According to the IEA, slightly over half is made at specialized facilities. The remaining 41% is made as a by-product of other chemical processes (usually in petrochemical plants and refineries).

The global hydrogen demand at the end of 2021 grew nearly 5% compared to the previous year. It also offers two different policies: the stated policies scenario (STEP) and the announced pledges scenario (APS). The first represents current policy settings. According to the STEPS projection, the demand for hydrogen might increase to 115 million tons by 2030.

Most of this expansion would come from conventional usage, with little demand (less than 2 Mt) for novel applications or the further substitution of fossil-based hydrogen in traditional uses. The second scenario expects that all international climate agreements, including Nationally Determined Contributions and longer-term net zero objectives.

Hydrogen demand by sector and by region, 2019–2030.

Globally, Hydrogen’s produced rate is 120 tons per year, mostly it is produce from fossil gas and coal, which together account for 95% of global production, according to the 2021 Global Hydrogen Supply Report issued by the International Renewable Energy Agency. In 2020, more than 60% of the $150 billion global hydrogen market was used in the ammonia production process, followed by oil refining and methanol production. Hydrogen has already found several commercial uses as a fuel source, including in passenger cars, buses and even space shuttles. It is expected that by 2050 the value of that market will reach $600 billion, and will be used mainly in the energy, industry, transportation, chemistry and construction sectors.

Advantages of Green Hydrogen

Green Hydrogen does not emit polluting gases, either during combustion or production.
Green Hydrogen can be stored, and this allows it to be used later for other purposes and at times other than its direct production.
Versatile, as it can be converted into electricity or synthetic gas and used for commercial or industrial purposes.

Green Hydrogen Defect

Storage: one of the main drawbacks of hydrogen fuel is its difficulty in storage, as the procedures for transporting and storing hydrogen are more difficult and complex than for fossil fuels, and due to the lack of a storage and distribution system for hydrogen fuel currently prevailing, this represents a major practical drawback.
The Higher Unit Cost of energy than hydrogen fuel cells: it is much higher than other energy sources, including solar panels. This may change as technology advances, but currently this cost is a major barrier to the widespread use of hydrogen despite its high efficiency. This cost also affects other costs more, such as the price of hydrogen-fueled vehicles, making widespread adoption difficult at a time like this.
Infrastructure: Since fossil fuels have been in use for decades, the infrastructure for this source of energy is already in place. As for hydrogen fuel cell technology, new infrastructure will be required to support these applications.
Highly flammable: Hydrogen is a highly flammable fuel source, which raises concerns about the safety and security of its use as a fuel. Where hydrogen gas burns in air in concentrations ranging from 4 to 75%.

Green Hydrogen Challenges

The main challenge of green hydrogen is the short supply of the large electrolysers required to produce hydrogen, and the abundant supply of renewable electricity continues to come at a very high price.

The second challenge facing the production of green hydrogen is the method of delivering it to the beneficiaries, as the storage and transportation of flammable gas requires a large area and steel pipes that may not be effective in transporting it. For this reason, transporting large quantities of hydrogen will require pipelines with special specifications.

Environmentally friendly uses of green hydrogen

It can be burned to generate heat, and thus can be fed into a fuel cell to generate electricity.
Electric cars and trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Container ships powered by liquid hydrogen.
Green steel refineries that burn hydrogen as a heat source instead of coal.
Hydrogen-powered turbines that can generate electricity during times of peak demand to help stabilize the power grid.
An alternative to natural gas for cooking and heating in homes.
Green hydrogen helps balance electricity supply and demand.

Reference

https://news.climate.columbia.edu
https://verdehydrogen.com
International Energy Agency Global Hydrogen Review 2021