Hydrogen: The Fuel of The Future

Every day we are dealing with pollution. Our air is polluted. Our water is polluted. Our land is polluted. Reality check: we need to stop causing this pollution. Yesterday! We are the ones destroying our planet, and it is high time that we take drastic measures to clean up our Earth. Unfortunately, the damage we have already done is so extensive that we can’t bounce back anytime soon, and our only option is to urgently stop any further damage.

One of the major causes of this damage is the fuel we use. It has a high carbon footprint and is made up of non-renewable resources. Long story short, it is not sustainable and dependable. We need to up our game if we want to survive this charade. We need to make a shift to more clean resources. We NEED to CHANGE!

Hydrogen: A Fuel

Hydrogen is considered a fuel of the future. As the economy and the population of the world is expanding, so is the demand for energy. It is expected to keep growing exponentially, in the next thirty years. Can hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and make us shift to a renewable energy source?

Some of the biggest companies of the world like Hyundai, Shell, Toyota, etc. believe in the potential of hydrogen and have funded it massively. They assume that they can build a $2.5 trillion market around it. Corporations are interested in investing in Hydrogen. More than 80 companies have joined an initiative called the Hydrogen Council. In 2017, affiliates invested approx. $1.7 billion in hydrogen and fuel cells.

Is It a Good Idea?

Will people embrace the hydrogen revolution? Or is it overhyped? Scientists have been fascinated by the hydrogen’s potential as a clean fuel. Even after the tragic Hindenburg disaster, NASA has been using hydrogen fuel cells since the late 60s, for their Apollo Missions. Liquid hydrogen was also used as a fuel in other space adventures!

The most common production method of hydrogen today, is the thermal process. It involves creating high temperatures for steam to react with a hydrocarbon fuel to produce hydrogen. Other methods of producing hydrogen are, photobiological, photoelectrochemical, solar thermochemical, etc. Of late, we are trying to shift to electrolysis as our primary method of commercially producing hydrogen as it is a lot cleaner than the thermal processes. Electrolysis enables us to extract hydrogen from water.

So, how do we go from water to fuel? We start by creating or capturing the hydrogen. Although it is the most abundant element, it doesn’t occur naturally without being bonded with other chemicals. To get more hydrogen out of the water, we need pure water and more charge. As pure water is a little hard to get, we usually increase the voltage of the current supplied to it. Recently a group of scientists in China have successfully created an alloy that increases the efficiency of hydrogen production by electrolysis.

What Are its Uses?

Hydrogen can be used to store energy, generate heat, or in the case of automobiles, provide fuel. Over the last few years, fuel cells have gotten smaller, more efficient, and cheaper to make. This is mostly due to a decrease in the use of expensive materials like platinum. Smaller fuel cells can commercially and operationally help heavy, long-haul, goods-carrying trucks. They are already being used in cars, drones, and trains too.

Hydrogen can also be used to charge EVs. The number of hydrogen fuel cars on the road doesn’t even come close to EVs and hybrids. Given that it can be a sustainable fuel to charge the batteries used in these cars, R&D is under process to make hydrogen-fuelled charging tech for EVs and Hybrids widespread. Hydrogen fuel will act as a decarbonised source to charge our carriers.

Obstacles in Taking Hydrogen Mainstream

Safety, infrastructure, and costs are the major roadblocks that prevent hydrogen fuel from going mainstream.

If hydrogen-powered cars are considered to be used at scale, it should not only be safe, but also be perceived as safe by the public, or else they won’t invest in them. Hydrogen has a relatively low ignition temperature and diffuses quickly. Thanks to the fact that hydrogen is lighter than air, it can be cleared using emergency valves, in the event of a fire. Even if it does ignite, it won’t surround the vehicle or passengers in flames. Hydrogen is arguably safer than gasoline, so safety isn’t a huge concern.

While hydrogen fuel cell tech works well in labs and cars, the refuelling stations needed for a sustained fuel supply are deployed only in a few countries in Asia, Europe, and North America. There’s a stark lack of infrastructure to support hydrogen-powered vehicles in the rest of the world. Battery-operated vehicles had a head start because of the pre-existing electricity grid, which is basically the fuel they run on.

Producing hydrogen is still expensive because it is not manufactured at a large scale. The prices are expected to reduce. Still, it comes out more expensive to the consumer than charging an EV.

Even after considering all this, a major energy transition of this scale takes a long time to become the new norm. It took more than 100 years for countries like the US, Germany, or China, to move away from burning wood and primarily rely on coal and other fossil fuels.

What is the Future?

The demand for lithium-ion battery technology is growing faster than lithium can satisfy.

Tesla Model 3’s production rate is slower than its increasing demands. With the growing transportation needs, we need a sustainable solution.

Hydrogen is stored in a fuel tank and flows through a stack of fuel cells where it meets oxygen, and creates electricity that powers the car. Hydrogen fuel cell cars from brands like Toyota and Hyundai, are available in more than 20 countries.

Interestingly, in Auto Expo 2020, Hyundai launched Hyundai Nexo, a car that runs on hydrogen. It promises to produce zero emissions, and even claims to purify the air instead of polluting it. The only exhaust this car emits is water. This fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) will help us make a necessary shift to an eco-friendly vehicle.

In our crusade for a cleaner and better fuel, we might finally have something that can really change the landscape. When the time comes, we should strongly consider switching to hydrogen-based solutions. We must stand and take that step. We must take that initiative. For the place where we live and call our home. Until next time, Happy DeCoding. :)