Hydrogen is the most fundamental element on Earth. A single proton and a single electron make up the hydrogen atom. As a result, there is a lot of it, but it doesn't really exist as its own kind of matter. Rather, it is typically paired with other components. It takes a lot of effort to separate hydrogen gas from its companion substances, but the result is a powerful and nearly clean source of energy. It can be used to power engines in fuel cells as a gas.
Electrolysis is a method for extracting hydrogen gas from water. In this process, hydrogen and oxygen atoms are separated by running a high electric current through the water. Because it requires a lot of energy, the electrolysis process is quite expensive.
Steam-methane reforming or steam extraction, which involves separating the hydrogen atoms in methane from the carbon atoms, is another method of extracting hydrogen gas. This is the current method for getting a lot of hydrogen gas. The fact that steam-methane reforming releases a lot of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, which are all ingredients for global warming, is one of its drawbacks.
Disadvantages of Hydrogen Energy:
Although hydrogen energy has many admirable advantages, it is not really the preferred, clean, or inexpensive energy source for the majority of governments and businesses. It is extremely volatile when it is still a gas.
It is risky to use and workaround, despite the fact that its volatility gives it an advantage over other energy sources in terms of completing numerous tasks.
The following are some of the drawbacks of hydrogen energy:
Electrolysis and steam reforming, the two primary methods for obtaining hydrogen, are extremely expensive sources of energy. This is the genuine explanation it's not intensely utilized across the world. The majority of hybrid vehicles today are primarily powered by hydrogen energy.
It will take a lot of research and innovation to find low-cost and environmentally friendly ways to harness this form of energy. Hydrogen energy would only be available to the wealthy up until that point.
Problems with storage Hydrogen's lower density is one of its characteristics. It actually has a much lower density than gasoline.
To guarantee its effectiveness and efficiency as an energy source, it must be compressed into a liquid state and stored in the same manner at lower temperatures. This also explains why hydrogen must always be transported and stored under high pressure, making transportation and widespread use extremely unlikely.
It's not the safest source of energy: Hydrogen's power cannot be overstated. Hydrogen is a highly flammable and volatile substance that frequently makes headlines for its potential dangers, despite the fact that gasoline is slightly more dangerous than hydrogen. Hydrogen lacks the smell of gas, making leak detection nearly impossible. Installing sensors is necessary for detecting leaks.
Difficult to move due to its lightness, transporting hydrogen is a daunting task. Because it is mostly pushed through pipes, oil can be moved safely. Dump trucks are a convenient transportation option for coal. Hydrogen additionally presents difficulties while considering moving it in enormous amounts, which is the reason it's generally shipped in little bunches as it were.
Hydrogen energy is renewable and has little impact on the environment, but separating it from oxygen requires other non-renewable resources like coal, oil, and natural gas. Hydrogen fuel production still requires fossil fuels.
Even though there is a lot of hydrogen available, the cost of harnessing it prevents widespread use. Hydrogen energy cannot feed the population. The world is still dominated by fossil fuel-based energy. In addition, there is no framework in place to guarantee cheap and long-lasting hydrogen energy for everyday car owners in the future.
Even if hydrogen were to become cheap right now, it would take years for it to become the most popular energy source because cars and gas stations would have to be modified to meet the requirements of hydrogen. This would necessitate a significant investment.
It's undeniably true that hydrogen energy is an inexhaustible asset since it's plentifully accessible, and its effects colossally disregarded. However, in order to separate hydrogen from oxygen, hydrogen businesses will actually require other forms of non-renewable energy like fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, and coal. Utilizing hydrogen energy may help us reduce our overreliance on fossil fuels, but eliminating it from the system will be a daunting task.
End-Use of Hydrogen:
Hydrogen can be used for a variety of purposes, but its primary use is as an energy source for heating or electricity supply through combined heat and power units, as well as power for off-grid or remote applications like telecom towers and the automotive industry. Hydrogen-based Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles offer a potential solution for sustainable transportation because they are emission-free, have a longer driving range, and are more efficient than gasoline-based vehicles.
Hydrogen fuel cells are being looked at for use in portable electronic devices like mobile phones and personal computers. Fuel cells have many advantages over battery systems, including a longer lifespan, zero emissions at the point of use, higher efficiency, cleaner fuel (hydrogen), lighter weight, and so on. However, prior to the widespread commercialization of hydrogen, a number of obstacles related to the end-use must be overcome, as will be discussed below.
The need to reduce the weight, volume, and cost of compressed hydrogen gas tanks for fuel cell stacks and automobiles. The fuel cell's efficiency, issues with degradation, durability, resiliency, size, power, and current densities all require improvement.
The absence of systems that monitor the system's performance and health. The fuel cell system is very complicated, especially when it comes to managing temperature and water, cleaning it, and making it humid. Improve the fuel cells' short runtime for portable electronic devices without increasing their size.
The following are the commercialization challenges that apply to all phases:
high system-wide expenses, including capital, operational, maintenance, and operating expenses. The development of the supply chain across all pillars is still in its infancy. Using infrastructure for information and communication, integration with other energy vectors, requirement for compliance with legal and administrative regulations, certification mechanisms, recommendations, and system-specific regulations. Social awareness and user acceptance are low, developing hydrogen technology's after-sales service.
In conclusion, green hydrogen has the potential to decarbonize the energy sector, particularly heating and heavy-duty transportation, which are difficult to reach. Digitalization has made it possible to use hydrogen as one of the most important sources of energy and store it for future use.
