Why Hydrogen is the Energy of the Future

In the quest to reduce mankind’s dependence on harmful fossil fuels, there are several renewable energy sources that could emerge as the world’s primary energy producer in the future. Nuclear, hydro, and biofuels generated 16.9% of the world’s energy supply in 2019 and other technologies including wind, solar, and wave power accounting for an additional 2.2%. Renewable sources are projected to see increased usage in the coming years, but it remains to be seen which of these sources will catch on the most.

     Renewable energy sources include:

Wave Energy is truly renewable and gives off no emissions, but it can only be installed in a limited number of locations, and it generates an inconsistent supply of energy.

Solar Energy is renewable, gives off no emissions and can be very flexibility in location but it generates inconsistent amounts of energy.

Geothermal Energy is a renewable source and generates consistent, predictable amounts of energy but there are limited potential global locations, and a geothermal plant has an expensive upfront cost.

Biomass Energy is a renewable energy source, but it releases harmful emissions.

Wind Energy is a renewable and clean source, but power generation rates will vary.

Hydroelectric Energy is renewable and very efficient, but it is also expensive to install and can have adverse effects on wildlife.

Nuclear Energy has huge amounts of energy generation potential with relatively low cost, but the process is hazardous and not truly renewable because of the Earth’s limited supply of uranium (United Nations, 2022).

Many of the most favorable energy sources in the list above have a similar disadvantage: they generate an inconsistent and hard to predict amount of energy. This could cause problems for an electricity grid that has no patience for the whims of nature. The two front running solutions for storing renewable energy for times of high demand and low generation are lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen. Lithium-ion batteries are currently used the most often, but this solution has some negative environmental impact of its own; these batteries can be ecologically damaging both in production and disposal.

Storing renewably generated energy as hydrogen through electrolysis has some benefits over lithium-ion battery storage. Hydrogen has a higher energy density and can be stored for longer periods of time. This increased potential storage time could have some major benefits at the grid scale if much of our energy is produced by sources that feature and off season or a low production period. A solar panel in the Northern Hemisphere will generate 65% of its annual energy between March 21^st and September 21^st, with the other half of the year accounting for just 35% of generated energy. This presents a significant need for long term storage should solar panel usage continue to grow (Solar, 2019).

Hydrogen as an energy source will become more const-competitive once the hydrogen market grows enough to enjoy economies of scale. Luckily, powering the grid is not the only viable use case for green hydrogen, many experts believe hydrogen will play a major role in decarbonizing two extremely carbon intensive sectors, steel production and shipping. DNV, an international authority on ocean shipping, states that “green hydrogen from electrolysis will be the main long-term solution for decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors”. The green steel industry generates 1 trillion dollars annually and significant green hydrogen involvement in this industry would go a long way in pushing the hydrogen industry toward target demand volumes. Because of expected increases in hydrogen usage by these sectors, the green hydrogen market will expand from $1 billion today to $30 billion in 2030 (Silverstein, 2024).

     Other sectors with a high potential for significant hydrogen adoption include:

Transportation: Hydrogen can be used to fuel busses and other forms of public transport, and some locations such as Japan have already begun implementing these technologies. Hydrogen can also be used as a viable power source for freight trucks, trains, and even aviation.

Power Generation: Hydrogen can be used as a long-term energy storage medium, and it can also be added to coal and gas-based operations to reduce their emissions.

Heating: Hydrogen can be used in place of natural gas to heat domestic and commercial buildings without replacing existing natural gas infrastructure.

Industry: Beyond steel production, hydrogen can be used in refining petrol, treating metals, and producing a wide range of chemicals (How blue and green hydrogen can help solve the climate crisis, 2024).

Many automotive industry leaders are very optimistic about the potential for hydrogen as the primary fuel for future passenger vehicles. Akio Toyoda, chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation said that he believes “the share of battery cars [will] peak at 30%, with hydrogen and internal combustion engines making up the rest” and Oliver Zipse, chairman of the board of directors at BMW, believes that “hydrogen is the missing piece in the jigsaw when it comes to emission-free mobility” (Jolly, 2024).

At the same time that experts are lauding the potential for hydrogen in passenger cars, enthusiasm for EV’s has been declining. The US’s $7.5 billion plan to construct thousands of EV charging stations around the country has resulted in fewer than 10 installations in over 3 years. Experts are beginning to believe that hydrogen vehicles will be able to fill the role that EV’s have been failing to satisfy once the hydrogen economy achieves the targeted cost efficiencies of scale. Chris Martin, the Group Lead of Technical, Safety, and Regulatory PR for Honda explains that Honda’s current hydrogen focus is “more about growing the overall hydrogen economy. Ultimately, we do see FCEV as a bigger part of personal transportation later, but we need to grow the hydrogen economy to a point where it can already be in place to support the consumers and the regular drivers” (Perez, 2024).

The world is making considerable progress in growing the hydrogen economy. China aims to get one million fuel-cell vehicles on its roads by 2029, and by 2023 it will have invested more than $17 billion in hydrogen.  Professor Emmanouil Kakaras, SVP Head of Energy Solution and New Products at Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe, explains that “[hydrogen producers] need to secure big consumers, like steel mills. Only then we can build the infrastructure for our hydrogen economy” (WIRED Consulting, 2019)

Increased scale propped up by growing demand will surely bring a lower cost per kilogram of hydrogen, but so will more efficient electrolyzer systems. That’s where ACS comes in, give us a call today to find out how we can work with you to create the perfect components to maximize the efficiency of your electrolyzer or fuel cell system.