Presently, we live in an era of environmental uproar due to the rising issues of climate change, such as frequent storms, heat waves, and water scarcity. To this effect, organisations, countries and agencies seek better clean and renewable sources of energy to replace fossil fuels.
Interestingly, several renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind power, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal energy are being harnessed; some others are yet fully understood. This article presents the use of hydrogen as a sustainable renewable energy source.
Hydrogen is a less common renewable energy resource, despite being the most abundant clean fuel on earth. Nevertheless, the concept of hydrogen as a fuel cell has been in existence since 1839, and it is currently being applied in various sectors.
Recently, green hydrogen was utilised as the power source at the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo, Japan. In addition, the hydrogen fuel cell has also been utilised in the transport and utility sector as a substitute for fossil-fuelled automobiles, which have been a major contributor to climate change as it emits CO2 into the atmosphere.
While a significant amount of worldwide hydrogen fuel is produced from fossil fuels, it has been proven that the resource can likewise be produced from renewables through various pathways, with the most advanced being the use of renewable electric power sources to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen in an electrolyser (learn more). Whereas a downside to hydrogen use may be the time-consuming factor in production, it is a clean energy fuel with zero emissions. In addition, it is fuel-efficient as it can produce more energy per pound of fuel.