Green hydrogen, also known as GH2 or GH2, is hydrogen that is produced by renewable energy or low-carbon power. Green hydrogen emits significantly less carbon than grey hydrogen, which is made by steam reforming natural gas and accounts for the majority of the hydrogen market.
The amount of green hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water is less than 1% of the total amount of hydrogen produced. Green hydrogen can be used to help limit climate change by decarbonizing hard-to-electrify industries like steel and cement production.
The primary reason for the low utilization of green hydrogen is the high cost of production. Despite this, the hydrogen market is expected to expand, and some estimates indicate that the cost of producing hydrogen will drop from $6 per kilogram in 2015 to around $2 per kilogram by 2025. Major European businesses said they would switch their truck fleets to hydrogen power in 2020.
Green ammonia, the primary component of fertilizer production, can also be produced by blending green hydrogen into existing natural gas pipelines. By 2030, hydrogen industry bodies predict that green ammonia will compete economically with conventionally produced grey ammonia.
Numerous industrial processes make use of hydrogen. Nearly all of the hydrogen used in the country by industry is used to refine petroleum, treat metals, make fertilizer, and process food. Hydrogen is used by petroleum refineries in various countries across the globe to reduce fuel sulphur content.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was one of the first organizations to use hydrogen fuel cells to power the electrical systems on spacecraft. In the 1950s, NASA began using liquid hydrogen as a fuel for rockets.
Hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity. Hydrogen and oxygen atoms are combined in hydrogen fuel cells, which generate electricity. In a battery-like electrochemical cell, hydrogen and oxygen react to produce electricity, water, and a small amount of heat.
There are many different kinds of fuel cells that can be used for a lot of different things. Small fuel cells can power mobile phones and laptop computers, as well as military applications. Large fuel cells are able to supply electricity to electric power grids, to buildings as backup or emergency power, and to locations that are not connected to electric power grids.
There were approximately 166 fuel cell electric power generators with a total capacity of approximately 260 megawatts (MW) in operation at 113 facilities in the United States as of the end of October 2021. With approximately 16 MW of generation capacity, the Bridgeport (Connecticut) Fuel Cell, LLC is the largest single fuel cell.
The generation capacity of the next two largest operating fuel cells is 6 MW. Another five smaller fuel cells make up the Red Lion Energy Centre in Delaware, which has one of them and has a combined 25 MW of electric generation capacity. The hydrogen source for the vast majority of the fuel cells that are currently in operation is pipeline natural gas; however, three of the fuel cells make use of landfill gas and three of the fuel cells make use of biogas derived from wastewater treatment.
The power-to-gas-to-power project implemented by San Diego Gas and Electric will make use of the electric grid to electrolyze hydrogen before utilizing it in a fuel cell to generate electricity. Utilizing hydrogen as a fuel in power plants to generate electricity is gaining popularity. A number of power plants in the United States have announced plans to run their combustion gas turbines on a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas.
The 485 MW Long Ridge Energy Generation Project facility in Ohio is one example. It has a gas-fired combustion turbine that will run on a blend of 95 percent natural gas and 5 percent hydrogen fuel in a gas turbine. The goal is to eventually use 100 percent green hydrogen that is made from renewable resources. Another example is the planned conversion of a coal-fired power plant in Utah by Intermountain Power Agency to a combined-cycle gas-fired plant that would initially use up to 30% hydrogen and ultimately use 100% green hydrogen.
The Energy Policy Act of 1992 considers hydrogen to be an alternative fuel for automobiles. Hydrogen's potential for domestic production, its ability to power fuel cells in zero-emission vehicles (vehicles that do not emit air pollutants, and the fuel cell's potential for high efficiency) have sparked interest in it as an alternative fuel for transportation. A fuel cell may be two to three times more effective than a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine.
Although burning hydrogen produces nitrogen oxide emissions and is less efficient than using it in fuel cells, hydrogen can also be used to power internal combustion engines. In California, where there are public hydrogen fuelling stations, a number of vehicle manufacturers offer light-duty hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for lease or sale. Organizations with access to hydrogen fuelling stations also have limited access to test vehicles.
The number of hydrogen-powered vehicles in use today is constrained by the high cost of fuel cells and the limited availability of hydrogen vehicle fuelling stations. Creation of hydrogen-energized vehicles is restricted in light of the fact that individuals won't buy those vehicles on the off chance that hydrogen refuelling stations are not effectively available, and organizations won't fabricate refuelling stations in the event that they don't have clients with hydrogen-powered vehicles.
There are approximately 48 hydrogen vehicle fuelling stations in the United States, almost all of which are located in California. In order to foster a consumer market for zero-emission fuel cell vehicles, the Clean Transportation Program of the State of California provides assistance for the establishment of publicly accessible hydrogen vehicle fuelling stations throughout the state.
