Hydrogen – Our Alternative Future Energy

Created By RISC | 2 years ago

Last modified date : 2 years ago

Our clean energy options aren’t yet ready to replace fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases. Here’s why.​

​Solar power, for instance, is limited and needs enough sunlight. Wind power is expensive and needs a lot of space in an area with the right weather. Clean energy will therefore rely on a variety of sources.​

​Hydrogen energy has received a lot of attention as another renewable energy source. Burning hydrogen as fuel has many advantages over other types of renewable energy. But it’s still more expensive and complex than oil refining and has limited infrastructure too. This type of energy is still inconvenient for the public.​

How clean is hydrogen energy? Most current hydrogen production is gray hydrogen, produced from natural gas with greenhouse gas emissions during the manufacturing process. It’s not truly clean energy. Blue hydrogen is also produced with natural gas. Carbon capture, on the other hand, can make blue hydrogen cleaner than gray hydrogen. Green hydrogen is produced without fossil fuels through electrolysis, which uses electrical energy to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, potentially using low-carbon, clean-energy sources such as wind or solar power.​

Green hydrogen energy also has the highest energy density of any fuel. Economies of scale and technological advancement mean there are still production cost, transportation, and infrastructure barriers to distributing hydrogen. But it holds promise as a future clean energy alternative.​

Story by: Woraporn Poonyakanok, Senior Research Engineer at RISC​

References:
https://www.pwc.com/th/en/pwc-thailand-blogs/blog-20210907.html ​
https://www.greennetworkthailand.com/%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%AE%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B5%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%82%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%A7-green-hydrogen/ ​