Green hydrogen…a major investment for the transition to clean energy
Green hydrogen…a major investment for the transition to clean energy
The term “Green Hydrogen” has been frequently heard in our ears lately. What does it mean? What does it mean? How is it produced? Simply put, green hydrogen is elemental hydrogen that is produced in an environmentally friendly way, so it is called green.
The currently common method for producing green hydrogen is to electrolyze water molecules, where each water molecule consists of an oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms. When water is analyzed, hydrogen is produced in addition to oxygen gas, and it is an environmentally friendly method compared to traditional methods that extract hydrogen from natural gas.
The elementHydrogen is already used in many industries and applications, such as the cement industry, the steel industry and others, so if we make the hydrogen industry green, it will positively impact a large number of other industries. One of the other vital areas of using hydrogen isenergy generationby burning it with oxygen, which gives large amounts of energy up to three times that of fossil fuels, but without any carbon emissions.
Green hydrogen is produced using electricity generated from renewable energy sources. These sources provide the electricity needed for the water electrolysis process, which divides water molecules into their primary elements (hydrogen and oxygen). This method is currently seen as one of the promising solutions to help in Meeting global energy demand while contributing to achieving climate action goals.
Green hydrogen between the present and the future
Demand for hydrogen reached an estimated “87 million” metric tons (MT) in 2020, and this rate is expected to grow to “500-680 million” metric tons by 2050. From 2020 to 2021, it reached The value of the hydrogen production market __EG_PH_14 is $130 billion, and it is expected to grow at a rate of up to 9.2% annually until 2030.
But there is a problem: more than 95% of current hydrogen production depends onfossil fuels, and very little of it can truly be described as “green,” as figures indicate that 6% of the world’s natural gas and 2% of the world’s coal are consumed for production purposes. Hydrogen for various industries.
However, greenhydrogen production technologiesare experiencing a renewed wave of global interest; This is because the potential uses of hydrogen are expanding across multiple sectors, including power generation, manufacturing processes in industries such as steelmaking, cement production, fuel cells for electric vehicles, heavy transportation, green ammonia production for fertilizers, cleaning and refrigeration products, and other uses.
Furthermore, falling renewable energy prices, combined with lower costs of electrolyzers (used in analyzing water molecules) and increased efficiency, have led to Due to technological improvements, the commercial viability of producing green hydrogen has increased.
Between green fuels and fossil fuels
According to Bloomberg New Energy Research, if these costs continue to fall, green hydrogen could be produced for “$0.70 to $1.60 per kilogram” in most parts of the world by 2050, a price competitive with natural gas. On the other hand, the Norwegian company NEL, the world’s largest producer and manufacturer of electrolyzers, expects that green hydrogen production cost parity (or even superiority) with fossil fuels can be achieved as early as 2025.
Given this significant growth in demand, the amount of input energy required (“22,000 terawatt-hours” of green electricity to produce “500 million” tons of green hydrogen annually), and the comparisons between the hydrogen value chain and the fossil fuel value chain, the numbers indicate that the green hydrogen industry must attract investments because it carries Many advantages, whether economic or environmental.
However, to date, only a few green hydrogen projects have been successfully introduced to the market at a global level, as most green hydrogen projects whether under construction or operation are still in the non-commercial production stage, with a limited capacity of the electrolyzers in use (typically less than 50 MW). While some of the proposed plants have a capacity of “100 MW or more,” they are still small compared to fossil fuel options. In addition, green hydrogen projects present other characteristics and risks that challenge traditional project financing, including research and development, storage mechanisms, and transportation methods to end users, among other challenges.
Combining renewable energy and the hydrogen industry
At a recent meeting of the Advisory Board of the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF), panelists agreed that mixing public and private capital can makehydrogen projects bankable and commercially viable, but there are some factors that need to be taken into account.
One way these projects can succeed is by identifying the locations of renewable energy production facilities. Hydrogen production facilities will be built next to it or near it. So that the process of integrating renewable energy and hydrogen factories is better possible. Perhaps one of the most prominent examples of this is the approach taken in Portolano, Spain, as it is home to both a 100-megawatt solar farm as well as the largest facility in Europe to produce environmentally friendly hydrogen for industrial use.
Governments also need to create policy and regulatory frameworks that stimulateinvestment in green hydrogen. On the other hand, governments need to build capacity and receive technical and technical assistance, especially in emerging markets and developing economies, where these elements represent a fundamental pillar. To develop and adopt the green hydrogen industry.
Moreover, there is a need for a globally agreed definition of green hydrogen, and ways to ensure and certify the institutions producing it. It is also important to point out that the need to help workers develop the skills they need for this emerging industry is crucial, especially in light of The global agenda for a just transition to clean energy.
