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The colors of hydrogen have specific meanings. Green hydrogen - hydrogen derived from water electrolysis, ostensibly from renewable electrical sources so no gr
by giantrobot 4y ago
The colors of hydrogen have specific meanings.
Green hydrogen - hydrogen derived from water electrolysis, ostensibly from renewable electrical sources so no greenhouse gases are produced
Blue hydrogen - hydrogen derived from hydrocarbons, produces greenhouse gases as waste
Pink hydrogen - hydrogen from water electrolysis from nuclear electrical sources, no greenhouse gases produced
The description of "green" hydrogen is only tangentially related to the colloquial use of "green". So long as no greenhouse gases are produced the hydrogen is labeled green.
The use for hydrogen isn't an energy source but as an energy transport and storage. So "green" hydrogen is still "green" in the colloquial sense despite its inefficiency if it doesn't produce any greenhouse gases in the pipeline.
All that being said, I personally think hydrogen is stupid as a transport and storage medium for electricity. Electrical transmission lines will always be more efficient than a theoretical hydrogen pipeline. A chemical battery has a lot less that can go wrong than compressed hydrogen storage. About the only place it even starts to make any sense is grid-scale storage and even then I don't think it can practically beat other storage systems.
- bryanlarsen 4y agoGrey hydrogen is hydrogen derived from hydrocarbons which throws the carbons into the atmosphere. Blue hydrogen is grey hydrogen but the carbons are captured and stored. So nominally it's carbon-neutral but in practice the capture is never perfect.
- ncmncm 4y agoBlue hydrogen is also unicorns. Probably even mentioning it can only distract.
- giantrobot 4y agoI'd agree, the concept of cracking hydrocarbons and then capturing the GHG byproduct effectively is just fantasy. At best a blue hydrogen fuel cell would be on par with a super clean natural gas combustion engine. You'd get CO~2~, water vapor, and electricity. Better than rolling coal but not better than "green" hydrogen or just a chemical battery. The math for blue hydrogen might work out in commercial and residential installations in regions with existing natural gas and siting that makes solar impractical. A fuel cell with a catalytic cracker could feed a building with hot water and electricity vs a combusting water heater that only provided hot water. For similar GHG output it might be an efficiency win. But I see that as a weak maybe all things considered.