HOW GREEN HYDROGEN WILL CREATE A GREEN FUTURE

Why all of a sudden, we are hearing about green hydrogen as the best alternative to other fuels and resources? Though the process of making green hydrogen i.e. Electrolysis has been known to us for the past five decades. Let's put it on the environment consciousness or blue-chip profits, but the increased usage of green materials will help us to achieve lower carbon footprints and a breath of fresh air. But really?

What is this Green hydrogen all about?

Being cheap, clean-burning, and abundant in nature, hydrogen is purported as the fuel of the future, for a long time now.?

Despite hydrogen's disadvantages, however, this future has not yet materialized. There are many problems with using it. It's hard to transport, it brittles metal, and it's 20 times more explosive than petrol. Nevertheless, more and more studies have focused on "green hydrogen" - hydrogen derived from renewable energy sources like solar and wind - as the carbon-free energy source that could help the globe reach net-zero emissions.

Despite being the most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen appears in nature impure, and it must be separated using energy. Most commonly, hydrogen is extracted from water, which consists of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen (thus H2O). Doing this is fairly simple. Heat and chemical reactions can be used to release hydrogen from organic materials, such as fossil fuels. But this is enormously polluting.

Hydrogen can be produced more efficiently and cleaner bypassing strong electrical current through a tank of water and splitting it into its elements. It is known as electrolysis. During the formation of hydrogen molecules (H2), oxygen molecules form pairs with hydrogen molecules. Each one of them can be bottled up (more on that later). The production of hydrogen in this way emits no greenhouse gases if the electricity is generated by renewable sources such as photovoltaics or wind.

Here are the different shades of hydrogen we come across:

• Brown Hydrogen - Produced using coal and the emissions are free-out to the air.
• Grey Hydrogen - Produced from natural gas and again the associated emissions are free-out to the air.
• Blue Hydrogen - Produced from natural gas, but the emissions are apprehended using techniques such as carbon capture and storage.
• Green Hydrogen - Produced from the technique electrolysis (described above) that is powered by renewable sources of energy.

Blue and green hydrogen are the two-key low-CO2 alternatives that could replace carbon-intensive grey hydrogen, which represents 95% of the hydrogen production today. The energy transition and route to net-zero have led to new potential roles for low-CO2 hydrogen, and subsequently huge opportunities for the chemical industry as a consumer and/or producer. - The potential of hydrogen for the chemical industry, Deloitte (2021)

The Future is Green!

Acceptance and wide usage of green materials across industries has waived the flag ‘Green’ that we will have the future ‘Green’. There are lots of green here, but it is necessary because since industrialization we’ve exploited our resources and made the soul of the earth blacker than a racist would ever criticize.

Green steel: Steel Giant of India develops a climate-friendly method of production – The Hindu Business Line

Steel is being produced using a new process that, according to scientists, "results in enormous energy savings" and cuts carbon dioxide emissions and energy use by a fifth in comparison with the conventional blast furnace route.

Here are some drivers for the wave of Green Hydrogen –

1. Low VRE (Variable Renewable Energy) electricity costs.
2. Scaling up of technologies.
3. Beneficial for the power system.
4. Govt. objections for net-zero energy systems.
5. Broader usage of hydrogen.
6. The interest of multiple stake owners.

Moreover, many first-world countries are now collecting a ‘Carbon Tax’ to reduce carbon emissions. A TV reporter said the best line on it, “They have to pay the price for the carbon, why should earth have to pay for it always?”