According to a recent survey, hydrogen’s capability is seen in various sectors of recyclable energy technologies. The IEA refers to this as the integration technology. It plays a vital role in the energy system, contributing concurrently to decarbonization in different ways. As a result, this would make clean power sources the most effective and overall system growth flexibility. The low cost of recyclable energy is what makes large production of carbon-hydrogen extra viable. All these combined factors have facilitated the growth of various projects across the world, where there were more project announcements last year.
A shifting emphasis
The real present global generation of low-carbon hydrogen is a small amount. However, there is rampant growth on various fronts, and many new pilots and commercial projects emerging with unparalleled momentum up to this year. Many suggest that businesses and governments will provide markets for clean hydrogen.
The majority of the experts have noted move on emphasis. Until very recently, only the transport sector has been the focal point for clean hydrogen, which led to the development of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) as well as hydrogen refuelling stations. IEA has said that the FCEV market has expanded gradually in Japan, China, and Korea. It also says that at the closing of 2019, globally, 470 hydrogen refuelling stations were in operation, which is a rise of over 20% from 2018.
However, the area of operation is extending beyond the transport sector. Companies in collaboration with governments are jointly working to ramp up green hydrogen in crucial high-end technologies and low-carbon generation.
There is the planning of major projects for industrial applications, huge electrolysis, and deployment of gas grids to transport hydrogen for various purposes. One can get a comprehensive report of low-carbon hydrogen projects in the IEA’s Hydrogen Projects Database. These include all commissioned projects, those in planning, and those in construction globally over the past 20 years.
North European nexus
The shifting emphasis is vividly viewed in Northern Europe, where you can find large concentrations of projects. Renewable energy will be used in powering electrolysers for the purpose of generating hydrogen for various industries. There are other projects whose main target is on heat and power for northern districts. The most crucial applications are carbon capture, large scale electrolysis, utilization as well as storage.
Other countries that are leading in the production of hydrogen electrolysers from decarbonized electricity are French and Germany.
