Countries have set 2050 as a goal to nullify carbon emission and use alternatives like green hydrogen

The planet is slowly moving towards becoming green again. It is quite funny how people ruined all the natural build-ups of the world for a very long time and at a certain point, they are trying to go back in their own way. However, it might not be too late. People are becoming aware of green revolutions which could take us and the coming generations to live a healthy life without pollution. One of the major terms that stuck everyone’s mind was decarbonising the globe.

Countries have set 2050 as a goal to nullify carbon emission and usage. Some countries like China are far ahead with 2030 as their end data, though the plans are still on the ground at most accounts. To achieve this, decarbonising the production of an element like hydrogen, giving rise to green hydrogen is one of the keys as this is currently responsible for more than 20% of total global carbon emission. Several other countries like Chile, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Germany and Australia are heavily investing in the technology. Remarkably, Saudi Arabia is driving the change. The country is constructing a futuristic city in the desert on the Red Sea called Neom. The US$500 billion city with flying taxis and robotic domestic help will be using green hydrogen on a large scale.

What is green hydrogen?

Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced using an electrolyser, powered by renewable energy such as wind, solar, hydraulic or biomass plant. This technology is based on the generation of hydrogen, a universal, light and highly reactive fuel through a chemical process known as electrolysis. Green hydrogen is made through electrolysis of water which uses an electric current to break water into its component elements of hydrogen and oxygen. If this electricity is obtained from renewable sources, it will stop emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This method of obtaining green hydrogen would save 830 million tonnes of carbon dioxide that are emitted annually when this gas is produced using fossil fuels.

Advantage of green hydrogen

• Green hydrogen doesn’t emit polluting gases either during combustion or during production and is 100% sustainable.
• The storage of hydrogen is comparatively easy. It can be subsequently used for other purposes and at times other than immediately after its production.
• Green hydrogen is versatile. It can be transformed into electricity or synthetic gas and used for domestic, commercial, industrial and mobility purposes.
• Green hydrogen can be mixed with natural gas at ratios of up to 20%. It can travel through the same gas pipes and infrastructure.

Green hydrogen can use the existing infrastructure

Often, a lot of substitute solutions emerge in the oil sector. But most of them go unnoticed after a certain point in time for various reasons. One of the major issues is high-cost. Alternative renewable energy sources are quite expensive and need new infrastructure, which adds up to its price. But green energy can sustain in the existing infrastructure. Because of the way green hydrogen is produced, it is less likely to be used where it is made. Henceforth, it will need to be pressurized and then moved, either through a pipeline, ship or truck using the existing infrastructure.

The future of green hydrogen

It looks like the green hydrogen future is already here. Seven biggest green hydrogen project developers have come together to launch the Green Hydrogen Catapult Initiative in a bid to increase the production of green hydrogen by fiftyfold in the next six years. The initiative aims to cut the cost of green hydrogen to less than US$2 kg, which would help to cut emissions from the carbon-intensive industries.