Hydrogen as a source of energy
The “H2 Forum 2022” was held in Berlin on May 4 and 5, in person and at the same time via video conferencing. The theme was single, hydrogen, as a potential source of energy. Surprisingly, because I attended the Aviation Forum 2021 in Hamburg, I also had a prepaid ticket here.
So what was it about?
Blue and gray hydrogen is produced from fossil sources, natural gas or methane. The difference is that in the case of blue hydrogen, the carbon dioxide produced is captured by CCS (carbon capture and storage) technology, in the case of gray hydrogen, the generated CO2 is released into the atmosphere.
Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced by electrolysers by splitting water, where the energy needed for electrolysis has been completely covered by renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar energy, and is considered the only environmentally and climate-neutral way of producing hydrogen.
In the long term, it should replace at least part of current fossil energy consumption (oil, natural gas, coal, etc.). Unlike electricity, hydrogen is a storable secondary energy. In this way, time and space separation of production and consumption can be achieved.
It looks promising. But because green hydrogen has to be produced from renewable energy sources like the sun or wind, there is a small problem. As shown on the map, there is a mismatch between sites suitable for green hydrogen production and sites for its consumption.
So not only will we import coal from Australia, but also green hydrogen? So to be honest, another bubble burst for me.
Perhaps the only hope is that the green hydrogen produced from the core will also be considered green hydrogen, and so hydrogen farms could be established in the vicinity of Dukovany or Temelín.
However, nuclear energy is not yet included in the definition of green hydrogen…………. we still have gray or blue hydrogen, but it does not carry much – it requires natural gas again
May 15, 2022
Jiří Stanislav
