WHY CHOOSE HYDROGEN
Hydrogen has several advantages:
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It does not emit CO2 or polluting factors
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It can be produced from renewables, with sharply decreasing costs of both solar and wind energy and electrolysers
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It has a lower transportation cost than electricity
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It can be stored reliably, safely and conveniently for a long time
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It can effectively decarbonise so-called "hard-to-abbot" sectors such as steel and refinery
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It can be used in sustainable mobility, through the use of fuel cells
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Promotes "sector coupling", i.e. the integration between the electricity and gas sectors which allows for greater flexibility and therefore lower costs for the energy system as a whole
The first element of the periodic table and the most abundant in the universe, hydrogen is present, combined with other elements, in compounds such as water or mineral substances, hydrocarbons and biological molecules. In addition to forming about 75% of matter, it is the first ingredient of the Sun, of which it makes up about 90%.
The colorless and odorless gas, composed of two hydrogen atoms, allows with 1 kg to move a fuel cell car for 100 km, supply heating for two days to a house and produce 9 kg of steel starting from raw iron .
Free form hydrogen does not occur naturally, however it can be produced through a variety of chemical and physical processes. Currently it is mainly obtained for industrial use starting from natural gas, through a thermochemical conversion process with the production of CO2 (so-called "grey hydrogen"). This method can be combined with CO2 capture and storage (CCS) technology to obtain decarbonised hydrogen ("blue hydrogen").
Another method is electrolysis, which involves the use of renewable electricity to "decompose" water into hydrogen and oxygen, without producing CO2, thus obtaining "green hydrogen".
According to a recent study by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the production costs of green hydrogen could fall by more than 70% in the next ten years. As highlighted by the IEA (International Energy Agency) in its study prepared for the G20 in Japan, there has never been such an opportune time to exploit the potential of hydrogen in building a future safe, clean and sustainable energy mix for all consumers.
Hydrogen is suitable to be transported in existing pipelines, to serve as an efficient and cheaper means of energy storage than batteries, and to facilitate the decarbonisation of various industrial and heavy transport sectors. For this reason it is establishing itself as a pillar of global environmental and energy strategies.
Hydrogen is already widely used for industrial applications in the steel, petrochemical and food sectors, but it is also starting to spread in mobility and in the future it could replace natural gas in heating residential and commercial buildings. Hydrogen can also be transformed into clean electricity by feeding it into fuel cells.
The trump card of hydrogen is that in its various uses it does not generate emissions of carbon dioxide and other climate-altering gases, nor harmful emissions for man and the environment. For this reason it can assume a key role in ensuring the achievement of European objectives and global decarbonisation initiatives.
THE USE
Hydrogen in free form is not present in nature, but can be produced through a wide range of chemical and physical processes: currently there are more than 50 possibilities for producing hydrogen (green) but most of the processes tested in research are not currently used commercially.
The processes commonly used for the commercial production of hydrogen are: reforming of hydrocarbons and biogas (95%), a thermochemical conversion process, which requires conversion temperatures between 150° and 500° C. with production of CO2 equivalent to the hydrocarbon used, and the electrolysis of water (4-5%).
The most common modes of hydrogen transport are:
- in gaseous form through pipelines, and in mixtures with natural gas (so as to also be able to exploit the existing natural gas transport network and therefore avoid the costs associated with the construction of a dedicated infrastructure for the transport of hydrogen in the initial market development) and in dedicated pipelines;
- in gaseous form in cylinders or tankers;
- in liquid form in cryogenic tankers or in vessels in suitably insulated cryogenic containers.