Hydrogen Energy

Posted on 10 Jan, 2022

Dr. Sanjeev Majumdar, Manager (IPR & Startup)

Hydrogen Energy

Hydrogen energy involves the use of hydrogen and/or hydrogen-containing compounds to generate energy to be supplied to all practical uses needed with high energy efficiency, overwhelming environmental and social benefits, as well as economic competitiveness.Hydrogen energy is light, storable, energy-dense, and produces no direct emissions of pollutants or greenhouse gases. Hydrogen can be extracted from fossil fuels and biomass, from water, or from a mix of both. Natural gas is currently the primary source of hydrogen production, accounting for around three quarters of the annual global dedicated hydrogen production of around 70 million tonnes.

Demand for hydrogen has been grown more than threefold since 1975 and continues to rise entirely supplied from fossil fuels, with 6% of global natural gas and 2% of global coal going to hydrogen production.

Hydrogen use today is dominated by industry, namely: oil refining, ammonia production, methanol production and steel production.
In transport, the competitiveness of hydrogen fuel cell cars depends on fuel cell costs and refuelling stations while for trucks the priority is to reduce the delivered price of hydrogen. Shipping and aviation have limited low-carbon fuel options available and represent an opportunity for hydrogen-based fuels.
In buildings, hydrogen could be blended into existing natural gas networks, with the highest potential in multifamily and commercial buildings, particularly in dense cities while longer-term prospects could include the direct use of hydrogen in hydrogen boilers or fuel cells. In power generation, hydrogen is one of the leading options for storing renewable energy, and it can be used in gas turbines to increase power system flexibility.

The production cost of hydrogen from natural gas is influenced by a range of technical and economic factors, with gas prices and capital expenditures being the two most important. Fuel costs are the largest cost component, accounting for between 45% and 75% of production costs.

NRDC has recently monitored the project titled " Fuel cell-Solar-battery hybrid electrical energy charging station for retail outlets". It was based on Fuel cell-Solar-Battery Hybrid Intelligent Energy solution for the Retail Outlets owned by Oil Marketing companies to make the retail outlets energy independent of the grid & create an additional income stream by providing clean energy charging points for Electric Vehicles using the existing fuel infrastructure viz. Liquid Fuels & Gaseous Fuels. The aim was to make every Retail Outlet an Independent Power producer & future ready for EV Charging infrastructure.

Hydrogen Energy