According to the Hydrogen Council, for the sector to advance, investment support of $70 billion must be made by 2030; the council also stated that the cost to produce and distribute Hydrogen from clean energy sources is expected to fall by as much as 50% over the next decade.
Reactions produce most Hydrogen via coal and natural gases, considered “grey hydrogen,” which does not limit CO2 emissions. The Hydrogen sector aims to produce Hydrogen from low-carbon energy sources expanding its use into the transportation and power generation sectors.
Benoît Potier, chief executive of Air Liquide and co-chair of the Hydrogen Council, commented: 2020 marks the beginning of a new era for energy: as the potential for Hydrogen to become part of our global energy system becomes a reality, we can expect fewer emissions and improved security and flexibility.
A clean energy future with Hydrogen is closer than we think because the industry has been working hard on addressing key technical challenges.
Two main factors add to green Hydrogen’s favor. One is that the cost of renewables and green energy continues to fall; the other is that the urgency to reduce greenhouse gas levels is gaining more attention and action under the Paris climate agreement.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) notes that Hydrogen from renewable energy is technically viable today, the price of which will one day be on par with “grey hydrogen” made from coal and natural gas.
To produce green, hydrogen energy produced from solar panels may need to be stored in a battery before using an electrolyzer that creates pure hydrogen gas. The Hydrogen is then stored in a cylinder or tank before it’s transferred into a fuel cell which then uses the Hydrogen to create clean electricity with 0 emissions.
Emanuel Taibi, head of Power Sector Transformation Strategies for IRENA’s Innovation and Technology Center, commented:
What we see as an opportunity is to scale up to reduce the cost of electrolyzers. It is still small-scale and handmade. If we can industrialize those, we can increase the scale 5-to-10 times.
It is believed that progress will be gradual with the cost of electrolyzers to halve in 2040. During this time, it is believed that the price of renewable energy will continue to fall, creating a compound effect that will make green Hydrogen economical and prevalent.
