Water for Fuel
Hydrogen: the simplest element in the world and most common substance in the universe, named “hydro-gène” to mean “water producer”.
Hydrogen also happens to be a versatile element that can act as a fuel or produce electricity, emission-free.
NASA consumes the most hydrogen in the world, using liquid hydrogen as rocket fuel since the 1950s (EIA).
Usually, when something is good enough for NASA it’s good enough for ubiquitous use.
Producing Usable Hydrogen
Hydrogen doesn’t exist naturally on Earth by itself; it combines with other elements such as in water molecules — H2O. Most hydrogen is procured today using natural gas to separate it from other elements. But there is another way that causes no pollution.
Electricity can be applied to water to reform it into its component parts of hydrogen and oxygen through a process called electrolysis.
This process of electrolysis gets much more interesting when combined with renewable energy. Imagine a giant solar array or wind farm providing the electricity necessary to create hydrogen.
That would be a win-win: zero carbon emissions to produce the electricity plus zero carbon emissions when using the hydrogen.
Fuel Cells
The reverse of electrolysis — combining hydrogen and oxygen instead of separating them — results in fuel cell technology that can generate heat and electricity. You can think of it as a battery that produces water as a byproduct.
Because renewable energy sources like solar and wind are intermittent, they can be used when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing to store energy in the form of hydrogen for fuel cells. Alternatively, that hydrogen can be transported to where it is needed via natural gas pipelines for which the infrastructure already exists.
Hydrogen’s Sustainable Uses
Electricity Generation — As mentioned, hydrogen can make use of the excess renewable energy when there is a surplus. It can also be transported using existing infrastructure across far distances, such as deserts that house huge solar farms, to urban centers.
Transportation — The promise of hydrogen for mobility would allow for completely emission-free vehicles:
Heat — Heating does not garner the same level importance when discussing a clean future compared to electricity generation and transportation. But that must change.
According to The Economist, “Britain uses more energy for heating than for generating electricity or running its transport system.”
Natural gas is the main fuel used for heating in many places. We could replace that natural gas with hydrogen in a relatively simple manner compared to the complexity of using electricity for heating.
Hydrogen power remains a renewable energy on the fringe, not yet gaining sufficient adoption to reach a tipping point. But with its numerous unique benefits, hydrogen may end up playing a big part in the clean future by delivering water for fuel.
ACT ON CLIMATE
Are you looking to go electric this year? Or maybe you’ve considered sliding into an EV in the future. There are many new electric and hybrid models hitting the market. Here are a couple articles to help you decide the right electric vehicle for you:
