Hydrogen. Make it from green energy and water. (Not Methane and 800 degC of hydrocarbon heat)

Sept 2024. From my learning over the past 18 months my opinions on the scale of its future use, likely cost and use for energy security have drastically changed.

Hydrogen from both the point of view of Physics and Economics means it will likely only have limited niche applications such as replacing coking coal in steel manufacture and some very specific energy storage needs (where other much cheaper and easier storage systems will prevail).

The pursuit of Hydrogen, particularly by the EU and Japan as a future prime, lead energy technology and energy system strategy is flawed, even fictional.

It can also be framed that the Hydrogen strategies main advocates and indeed beneficiaries of its implementation being the fossil fuel industry itself. (Not any conspiracy, just a simple analysis).

The strategy is also distracting from the pursuit and implementation of easier, cheaper and essentially much more beneficial and existing (or certainly more near existing than hydrogen) solutions, which are based on electrons, (electricity) .

Using clean water and electricity to make hydrogen, electricity to store hydrogen (pressurise / liquify, distribute hydrogen and then turn it back into electricity cannot be, by any rational measure a sound solution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1GCzEuCQcI&t=4187s

Here is a 1hr 25minute you tube (sept 2024) where Michael Liebreich (Cleaning Up channel), talks with Eva Smitd of Germanies DENA organisation. Eva is a fantastic intellect who frames an almost indefensible situation. The interview goes into every technical, economic and political corner. There is it seems a lot of financial and reputational ´´sunk costs´´ investment at stake. Finding a face saving path out for these people may be the real challenge. I also hope Eva can move on to provide input onto more tangible green and sustainable policy areas, (a big win for the planet).

Feb 2023. It's pleasing to see the hydrogen electrolyser installation numbers increasing. We use about 70 million tonnes of the stuff a year around the planet. This interestingly shaped electrolyser shown below is being installed Heroya Norway, (supplied from China). Importantly it is being powered by green electricity. (Full Article Here)

This question, what energy is being used to create Hydrogen, should always be asked.

The present Steam Methane Reformation Method of Hydrogen production is massively polluting. (to give a perspective our politicians can relate to - take all our UK CO2 pollution per year and then double it). 98% of Hydrogen (known as grey/black hydrogen), is presently produced from SMR methods.

And it gets better, or I should say worse because the SMR hydrogen has been made from splitting Methane/ natural gas! So even before the massively polluting SMR process get churning out pollution it has to procure Methane.

Methane dug out from the earth using fossil fuels, transported using fossil fuels, pressurised or liquified using fossil fuel.

Does the methane provision count in the present, already enormous H2 pollution numbers? I do not know. I have researched this and simply cannot find out, but my guess is no.

The article raises an interesting point. The sky high price of natural gas at the moment causing momentum towards electrolysers. Perverse or what? But in the end it is accelerating change to green energy so we´ll take it.

Final note be aware the green washers / energy transition delayer society have created a great wheeze of blue hydrogen, purple hydrogen, tartan coloured hydrogen, any colour you like hydrogen which are depending on carbon capture, carbon credits and the like. These wheezes on colours are almost impossible to measure and just about totally impossible to monitor and verify so don´t get sucked in!

Lets just persuade them to stop burning and using fossil fuels!