Green Hydrogen from sea water – a key to greening heavy industry
For decades, solar and wind energy systems have been visible signs that the transition to a green economy is progressing.
But if we want to reduce - and eventually eliminate - carbon dioxide emissions, we need to find a "clean" way not only to generate electricity, but also to drive hard-to-reduce heavy industries such as steel and cement and fertilizer production. Hydrogen seems to be the most suitable for this, not extracted from fossil fuels, but using solar and wind energy, which operate an electrolyzer that separates hydrogen from water molecules and produces zero-emission "green hydrogen". The only waste product of the process is oxygen, which can safely escape into the atmosphere. When hydrogen is used, for example in steel production, water is produced again, completing the cycle. This technology has been known for a long time, but it requires a huge amount of fresh water, which is increasingly in short supply in many parts of the world.
It seems that Chinese researchers have found the solution to convert seawater directly into hydrogen! Crucially, their method appears to be “efficient, size-flexible and scalable” and does not bring “significant increases” in operating costs compared to freshwater resolution.
The above solution requires further R+D, but we also risk that green hydrogen can completely replace fossil fuels. However, this will require huge investments. In order to produce 4 Gt of green hydrogen per year by 2050, we urgently need to deploy a wide range of solar and wind installations capable of powering numerous electrolysers that will convert vast amounts of seawater into the zero-emission fuel of the future.
Source: The key to greening heavy industry - The Japan Times
