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If bursty, uneven sources of energy like wind and solar can be used to produced hydrogen via electrolysis, it could still be a win for reducing carbon emissions

If bursty, uneven sources of energy like wind and solar can be used to produced hydrogen via electrolysis, it could still be a win for reducing carbon emissions even though more energy was used to separate the water than can be achieved by burning the resulting hydrogen. It is a way to store the energy, admittedly at a loss, from wind and solar.

ikekkdcjkfke 4y ago
The market will hopefully decide if it is efficient and not government regulation
- fortran77 4y ago
  ?? This is a non-sequitur.
- imhoguy 4y ago
  Rather lobbying and subsides decide what is efficient.
defrost 4y ago
Ammonia is a major product itself: Hydrogen has many industrial applications in processes such as oil refining and steel making. But ammonia production is by far the biggest single consumer, using around 50 per cent of global hydrogen production. Ammonia itself also has many uses, including as a feedstock in the production of nitrogen fertilisers for farming. But making ammonia releases around 500 million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, or 1.8 per cent of global emissions. Some of the people involved in mining and moving 16x the annual US iron ore production here in Australia have plans to dominate the global green hydrogen market, first with traditional electrolysis and later with recent breakthrough technologies using novel catalysts and filters. If you're interested in where they're planning to go, see (for starting points): https://www.fool.com.au/2022/12/09/will-fortescues-green-hydrogen-plans-really-pay-off-for-shareholders/ https://www.fool.com.au/2022/12/09/will-fortescues-green-hyd... https://ffi.com.au/technology/green-hydrogen/ https://ffi.com.au/technology/green-hydrogen/ https://arena.gov.au/blog/fortescue-plans-massive-hydrogen-electrolyser-in-brisbane/ https://arena.gov.au/blog/fortescue-plans-massive-hydrogen-e... etc. (there are multiple capital projects on the go ATM)
bryanlarsen 4y ago
You're reinforcing my point by showing that green hydrogen has similar use cases to batteries. Nobody considers batteries a fuel source. Batteries and green hydrogen are energy storage, not fuel sources. And as you said, energy storage is a crucial part of decarbonization.

ikekkdcjkfke 4y ago

The market will hopefully decide if it is efficient and not government regulation

fortran77 4y ago
?? This is a non-sequitur.
imhoguy 4y ago
Rather lobbying and subsides decide what is efficient.

defrost 4y ago

Ammonia is a major product itself: Hydrogen has many industrial applications in processes such as oil refining and steel making. But ammonia production is by far the biggest single consumer, using around 50 per cent of global hydrogen production. Ammonia itself also has many uses, including as a feedstock in the production of nitrogen fertilisers for farming. But making ammonia releases around 500 million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, or 1.8 per cent of global emissions. Some of the people involved in mining and moving 16x the annual US iron ore production here in Australia have plans to dominate the global green hydrogen market, first with traditional electrolysis and later with recent breakthrough technologies using novel catalysts and filters. If you're interested in where they're planning to go, see (for starting points): https://www.fool.com.au/2022/12/09/will-fortescues-green-hydrogen-plans-really-pay-off-for-shareholders/ https://www.fool.com.au/2022/12/09/will-fortescues-green-hyd... https://ffi.com.au/technology/green-hydrogen/ https://ffi.com.au/technology/green-hydrogen/ https://arena.gov.au/blog/fortescue-plans-massive-hydrogen-electrolyser-in-brisbane/ https://arena.gov.au/blog/fortescue-plans-massive-hydrogen-e... etc. (there are multiple capital projects on the go ATM)

bryanlarsen 4y ago

You're reinforcing my point by showing that green hydrogen has similar use cases to batteries. Nobody considers batteries a fuel source. Batteries and green hydrogen are energy storage, not fuel sources. And as you said, energy storage is a crucial part of decarbonization.