How Green Hydrogen Could End The Fossil Fuel Era | Vaitea Cowan | TED

Summary

This transcript highlights the importance of green hydrogen as a solution to climate change. By using water electrolysis powered by renewable energy, we can create green hydrogen, a clean energy source that can replace fossil fuels in hard-to-decarbonize sectors like steel production and aviation. The key to scaling green hydrogen lies in mass-producing compact, standardized electrolyzers. This approach can make green hydrogen cheaper than fossil fuels, driving a new industrial revolution powered by sustainable energy. The message emphasizes the urgent need to act on this opportunity to end the fossil fuel era.

Takeaways

• 🔋 The experiment with salt water, a battery, and pencils in middle school chemistry demonstrates water electrolysis, which is key to producing green hydrogen.
• 🌍 Green hydrogen is a clean energy alternative that can replace fossil fuels, significantly reducing carbon emissions.
• 💧 Water electrolysis uses renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, creating green hydrogen.
• ⚙️ An electrolyzer is the device used to create green hydrogen from water using renewable electricity.
• 🏭 Green hydrogen is crucial for decarbonizing sectors that rely on molecules rather than electrons, such as industrial processes and transportation.
• 🛫 Hydrogen-powered aircraft are becoming a reality, with commercial flights for a 20-seater hydrogen plane scheduled within two years.
• 🚢 Green hydrogen can be used in various applications, including fuel cells, direct combustion, and creating hydrogen-derived fuels like green ammonia and green methanol.
• 🏔️ Green hydrogen can be stored across seasons without energy loss, providing a reliable energy source.
• 📉 The main challenge to widespread green hydrogen adoption is reducing the cost of electrolyzers to make green hydrogen cheaper than fossil fuels.
• 🏭 Enapter focuses on mass-producing standardized, compact electrolyzers to drive down the price and scale up the production of green hydrogen, aiming for a significant impact on global energy transition.

Q & A

What is the significance of the experiment mentioned in the script?

The experiment mentioned in the script is water electrolysis, which is a method to create hydrogen. This process is significant because it is a key to tackling climate change by producing green hydrogen, a clean energy source.

What is green hydrogen and how is it produced?

Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). It is considered 'green' because it is 100 percent clean and does not contribute to climate change unlike other forms of hydrogen produced from fossil fuels.

What is the role of an electrolyzer in the production of green hydrogen?

An electrolyzer is the device that facilitates the reaction of water electrolysis. It uses renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, thereby producing green hydrogen.

Why is green hydrogen considered a potential replacement for fossil fuels?

Green hydrogen is considered a potential replacement for fossil fuels because it is a clean energy source that can be used in various sectors such as industry, transport, heating, and cooling, which are currently largely powered by fossil fuels.

What percentage of global energy consumption is currently in the form of electricity or electrons?

According to the script, only 20 percent of global energy consumption is in the form of electricity or electrons, with the remaining 80 percent being in the form of molecules, primarily from fossil fuels.

Why can't all sectors be electrified?

Not all sectors can be electrified because some processes, like industrial reactions, require molecules, not electrons. For example, making steel requires a molecular reaction that cannot be achieved by electricity alone.

How can green hydrogen help reduce CO2 emissions in the steel industry?

Green hydrogen can help reduce CO2 emissions in the steel industry by replacing the use of coal, which is traditionally used to remove oxygen from iron ore. Using green hydrogen in the process can eliminate up to 95 percent of CO2 emissions.

What is the potential of green hydrogen in the aviation sector?

Green hydrogen has the potential to power aircraft emission-free. Hydrogen planes are being developed, with commercial flights of a 20-seater aircraft scheduled for two years from the time of the script, and an 80-seater expected by 2026.

What are the challenges in making green hydrogen a widely used energy source?

The challenges in making green hydrogen widely used include the speed, scale, and cost of manufacturing electrolyzers. To be competitive, green hydrogen needs to be cheaper than fossil fuels, which requires mass production of affordable electrolyzers.

What approach is Enapter taking to make green hydrogen a reality?

Enapter is focusing on making electrolyzers a standardized, mass-produced commodity. They aim to leverage economies of scale by focusing on one core size, which can be combined to achieve any hydrogen quantity needed, thereby driving down the cost of green hydrogen.

How does Enapter's approach to electrolyzer production compare to the development of personal computers?

Enapter's approach is similar to the development of personal computers, which started as a disruptive technology and eventually became a compact, standardized, and mass-producible product. Enapter aims to make electrolyzers compact and easy to produce and use, enabling widespread adoption of green hydrogen.