The truth about hydrogen

Summary

The video explores hydrogen as a potential clean fuel for various transportation sectors and industries, highlighting its benefits and challenges. It discusses the production methods, including gray, blue, and green hydrogen, and their environmental impacts. The script also touches on the efficiency and future prospects of hydrogen as an energy source, emphasizing the need for further development and investment to meet climate goals.

Takeaways

• 🚗 Hydrogen is being touted as a 'magic fuel' that can power various modes of transportation and even be used in steel production, with water being its only byproduct.
• 🌟 Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and is typically found in compounds like water, but can be isolated through processes like electrolysis.
• 🔋 Hydrogen can be used in fuel cells, similar to batteries, to generate electricity with minimal environmental impact, producing only heat and water as byproducts.
• 🏭 Despite its potential, hydrogen has not been widely adopted as a fuel due to the ease and cost-effectiveness of burning fossil fuels.
• 🌱 The push towards net zero emissions is driving interest in hydrogen as a cleaner alternative in sectors like steel production and heavy transport.
• 🏳️‍🌈 Hydrogen production methods vary, with 'gray hydrogen' being the most common but also the most polluting, derived from fossil fuels.
• 💧 'Blue hydrogen' is produced from fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage, but it has been criticized for its large greenhouse gas footprint and inefficiencies.
• 🌿 'Green hydrogen' is produced using renewable energy sources and is considered the cleanest form, although it is currently more expensive and less common.
• 📈 The cost of green hydrogen is expected to decrease as technology advances and renewable energy prices continue to fall, making it more competitive by 2030.
• 🚛 Hydrogen's low energy density compared to fossil fuels presents challenges in storage and efficiency, making it less suitable for some applications like passenger cars.
• 🌐 The future of hydrogen hinges on balancing its use with other energy sources and technologies, and its success depends on demonstrating real-world applications and production in the coming years.

Q & A

What is the main topic discussed in the script?

The main topic discussed in the script is hydrogen, its potential as a clean fuel, and the various ways it can be used and produced.

Why is hydrogen considered a 'magic fuel'?

Hydrogen is considered a 'magic fuel' because it can power various modes of transportation and even be used in industrial processes like steel production. Its primary byproduct when consumed is water, making it environmentally friendly.

What is the basic process of obtaining pure hydrogen?

The basic process of obtaining pure hydrogen is electrolysis, where water is split into hydrogen and oxygen by passing an electric current through a solution, often aided by a substance like baking soda to improve conductivity.

How can hydrogen be used to unlock energy?

Hydrogen can be used to unlock energy in two main ways: by burning it directly due to its flammability, or by using it in fuel cells, which react hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity.

What is the significance of the fuel cell invention in the 1800s?

The significance of the fuel cell invention in the 1800s is that it demonstrated the potential of hydrogen as a clean energy source early on, although it did not become widely adopted due to the ease and cost-effectiveness of burning fossil fuels.

Why hasn't hydrogen made it big as a fuel despite its advantages?

Hydrogen hasn't made it big as a fuel primarily because it has been easier and cheaper to directly burn fossil fuels, which have been the dominant energy sources for a long time.

What is the role of hydrogen in achieving net zero emissions?

Hydrogen plays a crucial role in achieving net zero emissions by providing clean energy solutions for sectors where electricity alone might struggle, such as heavy industry and transportation.

What is the difference between gray, blue, and green hydrogen?

Gray hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, mainly natural gas, without carbon capture. Blue hydrogen is made from fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage. Green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy sources in an electrolysis process, resulting in zero emissions.

Why is blue hydrogen controversial despite its carbon capture claims?

Blue hydrogen is controversial because studies have shown that its greenhouse gas footprint can be worse than burning natural gas directly, due to methane leaks and the inefficiencies of carbon capture and storage.

What are the challenges associated with using hydrogen as an energy source?

Challenges associated with using hydrogen as an energy source include its relatively low energy density, which requires more space for storage, and the need for new infrastructure for production, storage, and distribution. Additionally, the efficiency of converting hydrogen back to electricity in fuel cells is lower than using electricity directly.

What is the future outlook for hydrogen in terms of energy supply?

The future outlook for hydrogen is promising but uncertain. It is predicted that hydrogen could supply up to 20 percent of our energy needs by 2050, but this depends on significant advancements in production, storage, and demand over the next decade.

Outlines

00:00

🔋 The Wonders and Basics of Hydrogen

This paragraph introduces hydrogen as a key player in the future of energy, highlighting its potential to power various modes of transport and even produce steel. It emphasizes the clean byproduct of water when hydrogen is used as fuel and explains the basic chemistry of hydrogen, including its position on the periodic table and its abundance. The process of electrolysis for obtaining pure hydrogen is described, along with the two ways to harness energy from hydrogen: burning it or using it in fuel cells. Historical examples of hydrogen usage and its current applications are also mentioned.

05:00

🌿 The Challenge of Green Hydrogen Production

This paragraph discusses the environmental issues associated with hydrogen production, particularly the dirty nature of current methods that use fossil fuels. It introduces blue hydrogen, which involves carbon capture and storage, but criticizes its effectiveness and high greenhouse gas footprint. The oil and gas industry's role in promoting blue hydrogen despite its flaws is highlighted. The paragraph then contrasts this with green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy, which is truly clean but currently expensive. The falling costs of electrolyzers and renewables are expected to make green hydrogen more competitive in the future.

10:01

🚚 Hydrogen's Role in Transportation and Future Prospects

This paragraph explores the practical applications and limitations of hydrogen in transportation. It explains the inefficiency of using hydrogen for passenger cars compared to battery-electric vehicles but notes that hydrogen might be more suitable for heavy trucks due to their different energy requirements. Advances in battery technology are also mentioned. The paragraph concludes by discussing the need for significant investment and infrastructure development to scale up green hydrogen production and its potential contribution to future energy needs. The importance of demonstrating real progress in the coming years to meet climate goals is emphasized.

Keywords

💡Hydrogen

Hydrogen is a chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the most abundant element in the universe and can be found in stars and water. In the context of the video, hydrogen is highlighted as a potential 'magic fuel' that can power various forms of transportation and even be used in industrial processes like steel production. The script emphasizes its potential as a clean energy source, with water being the only byproduct of its consumption.

💡Electrolysis

Electrolysis is a process that uses an electric current to drive a non-spontaneous chemical reaction. In the video, it is described as a simple way to produce pure hydrogen by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. This process is crucial for obtaining hydrogen from water, which is a key step in the transition towards using hydrogen as a clean fuel.

💡Fuel cell

A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy from a fuel, such as hydrogen, into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen. In the script, fuel cells are mentioned as a way to utilize hydrogen to generate electricity, powering vehicles like cars. They are highlighted for their clean operation, producing only heat and water as byproducts.

💡Net zero

Net zero refers to a state where the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere is balanced by the amount removed, effectively achieving zero net emissions. The video discusses how companies and countries are committing to net zero targets as part of their response to the climate crisis, and how hydrogen can play a role in achieving these goals.

💡Gray hydrogen

Gray hydrogen is hydrogen produced from fossil fuels, primarily natural gas, and is the most common form of hydrogen today. The script points out that almost 90 percent of hydrogen produced is gray hydrogen, which is ironically not environmentally friendly due to the CO2 emissions involved in its production.

💡Blue hydrogen

Blue hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels but with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The idea is to capture CO2 emissions during the production process and store them to reduce environmental impact. However, the video highlights that blue hydrogen still has a significant greenhouse gas footprint and may not be as clean as initially thought.

💡Green hydrogen

Green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar power, to power electrolysis. This method results in no CO2 emissions, making it a truly clean form of hydrogen. The script discusses the potential for green hydrogen to become more cost-effective and prevalent by 2030, as technology advances and renewable energy prices drop.

💡Energy density

Energy density refers to the amount of energy stored in a given system or fuel per unit of volume or mass. The video mentions that hydrogen has a relatively low energy density compared to other fuels, which means more space is needed to store the same amount of energy. This is a challenge for hydrogen storage and transportation.

💡Renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy that comes from resources that are naturally replenished, such as sunlight, wind, and water. In the context of the video, renewable energy is essential for producing green hydrogen through electrolysis. The script highlights the falling costs of renewable energy and its role in making green hydrogen more economically viable.

💡Climate goals

Climate goals refer to targets set by governments and organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. The video emphasizes the importance of achieving these goals within the current decade, with hydrogen potentially playing a significant role in meeting these objectives.

💡Hydrogen Council

The Hydrogen Council is an industry group that includes major fossil fuel companies like BP, Shell, and Saudi Aramco. The video mentions the council in the context of criticisms about blue hydrogen and the lobbying efforts behind its inclusion in hydrogen strategies, suggesting a conflict of interest in promoting fossil fuel-based hydrogen production.

Highlights

Hydrogen is considered a magic fuel that can power various modes of transportation and even be used in steel production.

The only byproduct of consuming hydrogen as a fuel is water, making it an environmentally friendly option.

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and can be found in water, but requires electrolysis to be separated into pure hydrogen.

Electrolysis involves passing a current through a solution to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, with hydrogen being released in twice the amount of oxygen.

Hydrogen can be used in two ways: by burning it directly or by using it in fuel cells, which act like batteries running on hydrogen and oxygen.

The concept of using hydrogen as a fuel is not new, with the invention of the fuel cell dating back to the 1800s and early applications in the 20th century.

Currently, most hydrogen is used in industrial processes like fertilizer and petroleum production, rather than as a fuel.

The push towards net zero emissions is driving interest in hydrogen as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels.

Hydrogen has potential in sectors like the steel industry, which is a significant contributor to global CO2 emissions.

Swedish company SSAB produced the first fossil-free steel using hydrogen in 2021, indicating a shift towards cleaner steel production methods.

Hydrogen fuel cells could be used in heavy transport, such as container ships, potentially reducing emissions in the shipping industry.

Airbus is developing hydrogen-powered aircraft, aiming for deployment by 2035, which could significantly reduce aviation emissions.

The majority of hydrogen produced today is 'gray hydrogen,' derived from fossil fuels, which is not environmentally friendly.

Blue hydrogen, made from fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage, is touted as a cleaner option but has been criticized for its large greenhouse gas footprint.

Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy in electrolysis, is the cleanest form of hydrogen but is currently more expensive and less prevalent.

The cost of electrolyzers and renewable energy is decreasing, which could make green hydrogen more competitive by 2030.

Hydrogen has a low energy density, requiring more space for storage compared to natural gas, posing a challenge for its widespread use.

The efficiency of using hydrogen in passenger cars is lower than using electricity directly due to energy losses in conversion processes.

Batteries are becoming more powerful and charging times are decreasing, potentially making battery-electric trucks more viable in the future.

Hydrogen is not a one-size-fits-all solution and its use should be balanced with other energy sources like batteries.

The next decade is crucial for demonstrating the potential of hydrogen and converting the current momentum into tangible assets and production.

Hydrogen faces a chicken-and-egg problem where supply and demand need to grow simultaneously to support its widespread adoption.

Government investments and strategic planning are key to overcoming the challenges and realizing hydrogen's potential in achieving climate goals.

Transcripts

"We really have to talk about the big buzzword

in the world of energy…"

"Hydrogen."

"Hydrogen."

"Think hydrogen."

"The wonders of hydrogen."

It's the magic fuel that

can power our cars, trucks, trains, ships and planes.

We can even make steel with it.

And the best thing:

"The only byproduct of consuming that fuel

is water again and the energy that comes with it."

"This all sounds great!

Maybe just a little too great?

Let's take a closer look and

see what's behind the hype around hydrogen."

But first off, if you're like me and have a BIT OF TROUBLE

remembering what went down in chemistry class,

let's start with the basics.

Hydrogen sits at the very top of the periodic table.

It's the most abundant element in the universe

that can even be found in our sun and stars.

It's a very clingy gas, though, so you'll usually find it

bound up with other elements –

for example with oxygen in water.

If we want to get pure hydrogen,

we have to split up these bonds.

And a simple way to do this is called electrolysis.

All you have to do is put some baking soda into water –

this will help with conductivity.

When you pass a current through this solution,

bubbles form along the wires.

This is water splitting up into hydrogen and oxygen.

There should be twice as much hydrogen as oxygen released –

because water, so H2O, is made up

of two hydrogen but only one oxygen atom.

"There are two ways to unlock energy from the

hydrogen that's coming out here.

Firstly, it's flammable, so you could just burn it.

And secondly, you could use it to power

what's called a fuel cell."

These essentially work like a battery

running on hydrogen and oxygen.

They react to supply electricity that could,

for example, power a car.

The only by-products are heat and water.

And all this is not really news.

The fuel cell was invented back in the 1800s.

Later, in the same century, a guy in Denmark called Poul la Cour

was already using windmills to power electrolysis,

that supplied hydrogen for his school's gas lamps.

And in the 1960s, General Motors built a fuel cell powered van

that ran on hydrogen.

Today, almost all the hydrogen we produce is used to

make other things like fertilizer or petroleum.

But it's never made it big as a fuel.

It's just always been easier

and cheaper to directly burn fossil fuels instead.

But that is changing.

As the world is slowly waking up to the climate crisis,

companies and entire countries are committing to

not only reduce emissions, but to reach…

"Net zero."

"Net zero."

"Zero emission."

"Net zero."

This is Meredith Annex.

She's the lead hydrogen analyst at BloombergNEF,

a market research firm.

"With net zero, everyone has to do something.

And that means that you need solutions for areas

where electricity is going to struggle to provide the solution.

And that's where we see the sweet spot for hydrogen."

Take the steel industry.

It uses lots of energy and is responsible for around

eight percent of global CO2 emissions.

It was long thought that only fossil fuels could power the

chemical reactions needed to turn iron ore into steel.

But hydrogen can get the job done as well –

while also being clean-burning, so only leaving behind water.

Swedish company SSAB said it produced the first

fossil-free steel in 2021.

Other steelmakers are working on similar technologies

which they claim will be market-ready

as soon as the middle of the decade.

And then we can use hydrogen to clean up heavy transport.

A study showed that pretty much all container ships going from

China to the US could run on hydrogen fuel cells.

They might only have to reduce cargo space by some five percent

or add a refuelling stop.

While there are no hydrogen-powered ships traversing the oceans yet,

there are some promising pilot projects.

The same goes for aviation.

In 2020, the first commercial-size

hydrogen-powered plane took off.

And major aircraft manufacturer Airbus is working on

three hydrogen models that it says might be ready to

deploy as soon as 2035.

Long-haul flights will probably be a challenge.

But a new study estimates that even running short-

and medium-haul flights on hydrogen

could cut aviation emissions by up to a third.

This very simple element can actually solve a very complicated problem.

It can help cut emissions in some of our most polluting sectors.

So we're going to need a lot more of the stuff.

"And this is where this whole thing gets a little bit tricky.

Because not all hydrogen is created equal.

In fact, there's a whole rainbow

of different ways to make the stuff."

The vast majority, almost 90 percent of all hydrogen

that's produced today, is what's called gray hydrogen

made from fossil fuels, mainly natural gas.

Making the "fuel of the future" that's supposedly SO green,

is actually a pretty dirty business.

If we want to use hydrogen as a clean fuel,

we first need to clean up its production.

And there are two main ways to go about this,

the first one being blue hydrogen.

"When we're talking about blue hydrogen,

we're referring to fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage."

This means we still make hydrogen from natural gas

in a process called steam methane reforming.

That does produce CO2.

But instead of letting these emissions

escape into the atmosphere,

producers claim they can catch them

and then store them underground

or turn them into materials we can use for other purposes.

"Sound pretty great, right?

And it would be...

if it worked.

"Blue hydrogen actually has a very, very large

greenhouse gas footprint."

This is Robert Howarth who co-authored a study

that made quite a splash in the energy world.

"Turns out that the greenhouse gas footprint of

the blue hydrogen is worse than if you simply

burned the natural gas directly for fuel instead.

Nothing, nothing low emissions about it at all."

The oil and gas industry often promises to be able to remove

around 90 percent of emissions when making blue hydrogen.

But the reality looks different.

Human rights NGO Global Witness calculated that this blue hydrogen facility

in Canada run by Shell only manages to catch

around half of the emissions it creates.

And this gets even worse when you take into account

leaks along the supply chain, while the gas is processed and transported.

These release methane into the atmosphere,

a greenhouse gas that in the short term is more than

80 times more powerful in warming the planet than CO2.

But despite this, blue hydrogen made its way into

the official hydrogen strategies of major economies,

like the UK, the US, Japan and the European Union.

Reports show that there were some pretty

serious lobbying efforts behind that.

"It's a direct strategy of the oil and gas industry, quite frankly.

The science doesn't support it. It's pure marketing.

The goal, let's be frank, is to keep

selling fossil fuels to the world while

pretending it's going to get better."

We wanted to hear what the oil and gas industry

had to say about this.

So we put these criticisms to the Hydrogen Council,

an industry group, which counts fossil fuel giants

like BP, Shell and Saudi Aramco among its steering members.

Unfortunately, they said they didn't find the time to respond.

"I think blue hydrogen is a mistake

that will cost us a lot in the future."

This is Chris Jackson, who founded Protium,

a UK company that focuses on green hydrogen.

"But I don't believe that the way we resolve that

is by arguing about it.

I think it's about building better projects

and better technologies,

and that's what we want to do with green hydrogen."

To make green hydrogen, you simply use renewable energy

from sources like wind or solar to power an electrolysis.

On a much, much larger scale than this, of course.

This produces no emissions, so you end up

with truly clean hydrogen.

"Today, only a tiny fraction of hydrogen is green

and it's actually still pretty expensive

compared to the other forms.

But that's set to change – for two reasons.

One:

"Electrolyzers are getting cheaper because

we're moving to larger projects with

more upscaled manufacturing.

So, that's the biggest thing."

And two: prices for renewables have fallen consistently –

and continue to do so.

BloombergNEF predicts that green hydrogen will

be cheaper than blue hydrogen by around 2030

and cheaper than grey hydrogen by 2050.

"So, is that it? Problem solved?

We'll just make tons and tons of green hydrogen

and run our entire economies on it.

Well, unfortunately it's not that simple."

One big challenge that remains is hydrogen's

relatively low energy density.

You need about three times more space

to store the same amount of punch compared to natural gas.

So, we’ll likely have to build a lot of new storage facilities,

depending on how much hydrogen we'll actually need.

And how much that's going to be is a tricky question.

"Renewable electricity is still a scarce, precious resource

and we should use it as effectively and as efficiently as we can,

and hydrogen may not be the best way to do that."

"Hydrogen can be used for everything,

but that doesn't mean it should.

So the future is finding the balance

between what we use [for] battery

and what we use for hydrogen."

Passenger cars are a great example for this.

They can run on hydrogen fuel cells.

But turning electricity into hydrogen,

transporting it to refuelling stations,

pumping it into a fuel cell to then convert it back to electricity

is just not very efficient.

About 60% of the energy you put in gets lost along the way.

Alternatively, you could just use the same energy

to directly charge a lithium-ion-battery

that powers an electric motor.

Here, only 20% of the energy gets lost.

With trucks, it's a slightly different story.

It was long believed that batteries weren't going to work here.

To move heavy trucks, you'd need loads of them

which take up valuable cargo space.

And long charging times aren't really great for business either.

But it seems this technology race isn't over yet.

Batteries are becoming more powerful and charging times are going down.

So much so that this recent study points

towards battery-electric trucks dominating

the market in the future.

Hydrogen is by no means the silver bullet that

will help with everything.

But it does make sense in some cases.

So where do we go from here?

"We're really at the point at which now a lot of time,

a lot of effort, a lot of momentum

has been built around hydrogen.

And in 2022 and through to 2026 are really the years where

we now need to demonstrate that momentum

is converting into real assets and real

production of green hydrogen."

And in that regard, green hydrogen

has long had a chicken-and-egg problem.

How do you grow supply when demand isn't growing?

And vice versa.

But as governments around the world start investing,

this might start to change.

It's predicted that hydrogen could supply up to

20 percent of our energy needs by 2050 –

up from pretty much zero today.

But that's just the most optimistic scenario.

"All of that needs to play out this decade.

And if we don't see that this decade, then

we're really going to be struggling to

hit climate goals overall."

So now is the time for hydrogen

to prove that it can really get as big as its hype.

"Now what do you think?

Is hydrogen the fuel of the future –

or should we focus on other alternatives instead?

Let us know in the comments

and hit subscribe for more videos

on the climate and the environment.

We have a new one for you every Friday."