The Hydrogen Revolution

Published on: March 26th, 2021

Seventy countries have now signed up to a net-zero emissions target by 2050 as part of the Paris Agreement. Some countries have gone further. RIP the internal combustion engine. Targets cannot be met by relying on EVs alone where the carbon footprint of manufacture is huge. No, Hydrogen will form a part of the route to clean energy. Without government subsidy, it would be a pipedream. Enter C21st Industrial Policy. The spigot of government subsidy is turning into a deluge, offering Hydrogen a route to viability.

Comments

  • GM
    Guillermo M.
    27 March 2021 @ 00:14
    3 0
    On this, I would suggest to read the last Quarterly Report of Goehring & Rozencwajg, "Ignoring Energy Transition Realities", dated 02/11/2021. It is very interesting.
    • HM
      Harry M. | Real Vision
      27 March 2021 @ 11:58
      0 0
      Thanks for the recommendation. I have recently started reading their materials.
  • MS
    Michael S.
    27 March 2021 @ 03:46
    1 1
    The true cost of wind and or solar generated electricity is considerably higher than that produced using either coal or gas....and it is likely to stay that way for a very long time. Strip out the subsidies, then amortise the plant over its effective life time and then calculate the cost per Kwhr based on the true percentage of the day, on average, that the plant is actually generating electricity.
    • HM
      Harry M. | Real Vision
      27 March 2021 @ 12:04
      1 0
      Absolutely, but the computation has to be done to include the capital costs of the coal or gas facility as well, rather than treating it as a sunk cost. And thats without adding in the rather topical external costs.
  • JG
    Johan G.
    28 March 2021 @ 12:39
    4 0
    Some 'fun facts'. A few years ago I did a comparison between the Toyota Mirai and a Tesla Mosel S. The claim from hydrogen enthusiasts was that '6kg of hydrogen gives the same range as a 600kg battery'. Well, to store the hydrogen you need a nylon tank with a pressure of 700bar. The tank weighs in at 90 kg. The tank is located under the back seat of the Mirai.(feel safe?) To make electricity you need a fuel cell that weighs in at 150 kg. To control the hydrogen you need complex control systems, double wall piping, valves, pressure reduction system and so on. This takes up a lot of valuable space, so your space for passengers and baggage is severely reduced. End result: the Mirai has a weight of 1850Kg and the Tesla weighs 2250 kg, but the Tesla is a much bigger car and has much better internal space. You can recharge the Tesla at home, but need a special hydrogen filling station to refill your Mirai. The energy density of hydrogen is overrated. In order to succeed we need to either convert the hydrogen to some other fuel, such as ammonia or synthetic methane/methanol/jet fuel or find ways to store and transport it which are not available today. Space X use methane as a propellant, not hydrogen, and for good reasons. Piping hydrogen long distance in gas form is not a good idea. The energy loss is formidable, and the use of existing natural gas pipelines is not viable. Hydrogen behaves differently from natural gas. The solutions are there, but not always those one think of as most obvious.
    • AM
      Andrei M.
      29 March 2021 @ 16:44
      0 0
      typo - sorry hydron -> hydrogen
    • AM
      Andrei M.
      29 March 2021 @ 16:42
      1 0
      https://wiener-motorensymposium.at/en/ ... expect announcements along these lines for heavy duty hydrogen direct injected hydron engines.
    • AM
      Andrei M.
      29 March 2021 @ 16:36
      0 0
      Fully agree, fuel cells ar not going to be the way of the future. I have places some bets that ICEs that burn hydrogen are. Several companies have developed these already. Way cheaper and more efficient that fuel cells and they can use existing manufacturing facilities. Cummins has license rights one already. It produces the massive power needed in locomotives, transport trucks and ships. Basically these are diesel engines with a totally redesigned injectors. Cars, we'll see. I am not so sure about them yet. If they can get the safer hydrogen gels to work with the hydrogen ICE - then probably.
    • HM
      Harry M. | Real Vision
      28 March 2021 @ 19:04
      3 0
      All tough to dispute with the exception of the viability of existing natural gas pipelines. I was on the phone with a gentleman who invested in a company which lined pipelines. The process they developed used a "pig" to spray the lining. But the bottom line on this is that without massive investment in green electricity (suitably defined) then driving a Tesla does not help reduce carbon emissions at all. If anything it creates more emissions, because we need to make batteries and we need to generate electricity. We hope there is a path dependent route to sustainably generating electricity, but as Julian notes, that will necessarily involve addressing the intermittency problem. So we need some way of addressing intermittency. There are others excluding hydrogen. But at this point in time hydrogen ticks a lot of boxes, which may explain the substantial official sector buy in. Of course, the official sector may be completely wrong. In which case Europeans will be able to complain about the Eur 550bn mistake their leaders made in 2020.