Renewable Hydrogen for Sustainability
Is Hydrogen a Truly Renewable Energy Source
As the world races towards a more sustainable future, Renewable Hydrogen has taken centre stage as a clean energy alternative to burning traditional fossil fuels. It is therefore becoming a cornerstone of the energy transition offering a path to a cleaner more sustainable future since it can be stored and does not generate any polluting emissions by itself.
Hydrogen is the simplest and most abundant chemical element on the planet, and is estimated to contribute to about 75% of the mass of the universe. It is an invisible, tasteless, colourless lightweight gas that has the potential to be converted into a non-polluting, zero-emission, renewable energy source.
Hydrogen is the first chemical element within the periodic table having an atomic number of 1.008. But you will never find it alone in its pure form. But instead you find it bonded to other atoms such as oxygen forming water molecules, or carbon forming organic compounds, such as plants, animals and of course, humans.
What is Renewable Hydrogen?
Renewable hydrogen is hydrogen gas derived from water and is created using a process called electrolysis which uses renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen atoms
While touted as a clean fuel that emits only water when burned, hydrogen has attracted the attention of many industries seeking solutions to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and the fight climate change. But is hydrogen renewable, and can it truly be considered a renewable resource.
Types of Hydrogen as a Fuel
To fully understand renewable hydrogen, it’s important to first grasp the different ways hydrogen can be produced. Hydrogen is not a primary energy source like sunlight or wind. Instead, it must be extracted from compounds such as water (H2O) or carbon based fossil fuels. The method of extraction has a profound impact on how “clean” or renewable the resulting hydrogen is.
Renewable Hydrogen, often referred to as green hydrogen, is produced through a process called “electrolysis”. This involves splitting apart water molecules (H2O) into their individual component parts of Hydrogen and Oxygen by using an electric current.
However, the electrolysis process of hydrogen production is not without its limitations since a considerable amount of electricity and clean water is required to produce suitable amount hydrogen.
But when this electricity comes from a renewable source, such as solar, off-shore wind, or hydropower, the resulting hydrogen can be considered renewable. This form of hydrogen offers a clean, sustainable energy option because it relies on naturally replenished energy sources which emit zero carbon during production.
Unfortunately not all hydrogen gas is created equal. Most of the hydrogen gas produced today is made through a process know as: steam methane reforming of natural gas. This process does emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. The steam-reforming method produces a gas called “grey hydrogen”, which by definition is not renewable. Since it relies on using fossil fuel gas that contributes to global warming and climate change.
A slightly cleaner sustainable hydrogen called blue hydrogen, involves capturing and storing the carbon emissions (CCS) created from the steam methane reforming process. The idea behind blue hydrogen is that by the capturing and storing of the carbon dioxide generated during the hydrogen production process, it becomes a lower-emission alternative to grey hydrogen. In theory, this allows the hydrogen gas to be produced using the existing natural gas infrastructure while reducing its environmental footprint.
Blue Hydrogen vs. Green Hydrogen
While blue hydrogen offers a lower-carbon and reduced emissions alternative to grey hydrogen, it does not match green hydrogen in terms of sustainability. Green hydrogen, produced via electrolysis powered by 100% renewable electricity, generates no direct emissions and no dependence on fossil fuels. Therefore, by design, green hydrogen is a much cleaner and more sustainable hydrogen extraction solution.
That said, green hydrogen is more expensive to produce than grey hydrogen and less widely available due to the high costs of renewable electricity and the electrolyser infrastructure. Therefore, blue hydrogen with its lower cost and existing production base, may serve as a practical interim solution while the world changes towards a net-zero emissions and a sustainable energy future as it shifts towards producing a more green, renewable hydrogen gas.
Green Hydrogen Production
Is Hydrogen Energy Renewable by Nature?
To understand whether hydrogen energy is renewable, we must differentiate between the hydrogen element itself and the energy systems we need to build around it. Since hydrogen is typically found bonded together with other elements, like in water or hydrocarbons, which means we must use another energy source to extract it.
Hydrogen energy refers to the energy we get out of it when it is used as a fuel, either through combustion or in fuel cells that convert it directly into electricity. Therefore, the renewability of hydrogen energy depends entirely on how the hydrogen is produced in the first place.
When hydrogen is made using renewable electricity in the electrolysis of water, it forms part of a renewable energy system. But when it is produced from fossil fuels, it cannot be classified as a renewable energy. This makes the production of hydrogen gas unique compared to other renewable sources. Wind and solar power are inherently renewable because they rely directly on natural phenomena.
But since hydrogen is an “energy carrier”, and not an energy source. This makes its sustainability conditional. That is, while renewable hydrogen can be produced, it is not inherently renewable in the way that wind or solar energy is.
So, is hydrogen a renewable resource or not? Generally, renewable resources are defined as those that can naturally replenish themselves on a human time scale, like solar, wind, or biomass. Hydrogen, in its pure molecular form (H2), does not exist on its own in nature in any usable quantities and must therefore be manufactured.
Then the obvious conclusion is that hydrogen itself is not a renewable resource. Instead, it is a manufactured product. With its renewability determined by the inputs used in its extraction. If clean water and renewable electricity are used, then the hydrogen produced (green hydrogen) is renewable. However, if fossil fuels are the energy source, then the resulting hydrogen is not renewable (grey hydrogen) with its production contributing to environmental degradation.
Hydrogen as Part of the Renewable Energy Ecosystem
When produced sustainably, hydrogen can serve as a crucial part of the renewable energy ecosystem by acting as an energy storage medium. It can offer a way to store energy from intermittent renewable sources, such as solar and wind, which are unable to produce power 24/7. Thus during periods of excess renewable generation, any surplus electricity could be used to create renewable hydrogen through the electrolysis process. The green hydrogen produced could then be stored in tanks and later converted back into electricity.
However, if renewable green hydrogen production is to be sustainable for the long term, then the energy storage industry will have to evolve hand-in-hand with the electrolysis industry to increase investment in hydrogen infrastructure, and projects around the world.
The Future of Renewable Hydrogen Energy
The development of renewable hydrogen is being promoted in various projects around the world. While the concept of hydrogen renewable energy is promising, significant challenges still remain. The current cost of green hydrogen is still higher than that of hydrogen made from fossil fuels which is largely due to the price of renewable electricity and the expense of building electrolysers.
Currently, the demand for hydrogen is largely driven by the fertiliser and refining industries. However, electricity generation, aviation, heavy-machinery and transportation, along with the development of the hydrogen combustion engine can unlock the full potential of hydrogen as a renewable energy fuel as the cost of producing renewable hydrogen falls. There are already cars available today that can run on hydrogen fuel cells.
Also, relying on fossil fuels to heat our homes and buildings is no longer becoming a viable option if we are to reach our goal of net zero carbon emissions of the future. Natural gas (principally methane) accounts for most of the fuel used for heating and cooking in our homes. Which as we know, produces greenhouse gas emissions when burned.
Thus, sustainable hydrogen is now being considered as an ideal alternative to fossil fuel combustion and there is an increasing interest between different manufacturers that green hydrogen could be used in almost every sector that today depends on burning fossil fuels. However, there are still many hurdles to overcome in unlocking the full potential of hydrogen as a renewable energy fuel.
Renewable Hydrogen Summary
We have seen here that Renewable Hydrogen Energy is a serious alternative to burning fossil fuels and could represent a cleaner way to power our world. Green hydrogen can be part of a renewable energy future, but only if it is produced using renewable and sustainable energy sources.
While hydrogen itself is not a fully renewable energy resource, it can be extracted through electrolysis equipment powered by solar, wind, or hydroelectricity, producing renewable hydrogen. Then while green hydrogen holds immense promise as a clean, flexible, and scalable energy solution that can complement other renewables. The benefits of using green hydrogen as a fuel can be summarised as follows:
Benefits Associated with Green Hydrogen
- It’s a clean energy source: The only waste or by-product it generates when used is water.
- Classed as a renewable energy: It is generated using natural resources that are not exhausted.
- Can be stored: Green hydrogen can be compressed and stored in suitable tanks for a long time.
- It is transportable: As compressed hydrogen is lighter and easier to handle than other fuels.
But despite all of these green hydrogen advantages, it is still not part of our renewable energy mix due to the costs of electrolysis technologies and renewable energy sources mentioned above.
So while renewable hydrogen promises a lot and undoubtedly represents one of the most interesting guarantees for the decarbonisation of the planet. The answer to “is hydrogen renewable?” is not a simple “Yes” or “No” answer. Clearly, it is only renewable if the process and energy used in its production is also renewable.
Then the real focus now is on how we choose to produce and use hydrogen the various colours of hydrogen available. But by investing in renewable hydrogen technologies and infrastructure today, we can take a significant step towards a more sustainable and low-carbon energy future where green hydrogen is one of the many pieces of the energy transition puzzle.
To learn more about renewable hydrogen and how hydrogen can be used for transportation and the infrastructure to heating and electricity, eliminate fossil fuel combustion. Then order your copy of this excellent book: The Hydrogen Revolution: A Blueprint for the Future of Clean Energy today direct from Amazon and understand more about how the use of non-polluting, zero-emission hydrogen as fuel could become the cornerstone of a new energy economy.
Please Speak up!
We hope this Renewable Hydrogen Tutorial was useful and informative for you. Are you ready to share your thoughts
and experience with us and many others. Your comments are always welcome, just post them in the section below.
P.S. Don't forget to like, rate, and share this Alternative Energy Tutorials post. Thank you for using our website.