Embracing Hydrogen Energy System to Achieve Greener Environment

Adrian Wilson
3 min readJul 15, 2021

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For climate experts, green or renewable hydrogen made from the electrolysis of water powered by solar or wind is indispensable to climate neutrality. It features in all eight of the European Commission’s net zero emissions scenarios for 2050 . In theory, it could do three things: store surplus renewables power when the grid couldn’t absorb it, possibly help decarbonize hard-to-electrify sectors such as long-distance transport and heavy industry, and replace fossil fuels as a zero-carbon raw-material in chemicals and fuel production.

Europe is leading the global revival of an energy carrier, with origins back in World War II. Hydrogen was originally used by the Nazis to produce synthetic fuels from coal. Today, it is back in the market. The International Energy Agency lauded its “vast potential” in a first ever report on hydrogen in June 2019. Bloomberg New Energy Finance said clean hydrogen could help address the toughest third of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. If Europe adopts around 55% emission reduction target for 2030, Germany might have to reduce its heating emissions by half, says Eva Hennig, head of EU energy policy for Thuega, a network of local German utilities. That is impossible with realistic renovation rates and just electricity. You might have to decarbonize gas for heating. Hydrogen is a lifebelt for regions such as the Northern Netherlands, with expertise and infrastructure looking for a new purpose as earthquakes and climate change turn natural gas from boon to bane.

On a clearer apprehension, hydrogen could have had a large and developing addressable market. In fact, nearly 45% of energy-related greenhouse gasses could be decarbonized according to Goldman Sachs Carbonomics. (1) Hydrogen might be the ideal answer to fabricating a clean and green environment! Starting to consider how it might be applicable on a larger scale? Let’s take a closer look at how these other sectors lay the groundwork for clean renewable sources.

Energy systems are evolving to reduce their environmental impact and face the challenges related to climate change, pollution, depletion of resources and developing global population. The future energy system is anticipated to be based on clean and renewable sources, able to provide energy with a low carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. In Europe, local and worldwide agreements pushed the states through low-carbon technologies. The European decarbonization strategy targets approximately 75% of final energy consumption from renewables in 2050. Decarbonization involves electricity supply, thermal energy supply to buildings and industries, and transports. It is known that renewable energy sources production is less constant and predictable than fossil-based, and that an environmentally friendly system based on electricity implies significant challenges in the electric grid management and leads to value inconstancy.

Thus, there is a need for novel technologies allowing energy storage and grid balancing, involving an energy carrier with low shipment deprivation, easy transportation and easy storage. Shedding some light to the said emission controller, these other realms claim that their patented zero-emissions boiler system could potentially help decarbonize roughly $30 billion global commercial and industrial heating industry. (2) Hydrogen boilers could be the next milestone in creating a carbon-free society! Let’s explore a little more to find out jaw-dropping insights.

Decarbonization of the energy economy is nowadays a topical theme, and several pathways are under discussion. Gaseous fuels have a fundamental role for this transition, and the production of low carbon-impact fuels is necessary to deal with this challenge. The generation of renewable hydrogen is a trusted solution since this energy vector could be promptly produced from electricity and injected into the existing natural gas infrastructure, granting storage capacity and easy transportation. This scenario might lead, in the near future, to hydrogen enrichment of natural gas, whose impact on the infrastructures is being actively studied. The effect on end-user devices such as domestic gas boilers, instead, is still little analyzed and tested, but is fundamental to be assessed. Step by step, we could potentially build a friendly and healthier environment by adopting hydrogen energy systems!

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Source 1: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0891-0

Source 2: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2588913320300089

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