3 ms·
My understanding is that current hydrolysis systems are pretty inefficient (single-digits efficiency) and even worse once you factor in the cost of storing and
by matthewdgreen 2y ago
My understanding is that current hydrolysis systems are pretty inefficient (single-digits efficiency) and even worse once you factor in the cost of storing and transporting cryogenic hydrogen. That doesn't make green hydrogen a bad idea: it just means the main application for it should be industrial feedstock (for e.g., making steel) and not energy storage.
- Kon5ole 2y agoSingle digit would be bad but it's much higher. From wikipedia: "current best processes for water electrolysis have an effective electrical efficiency of 70-80%,[36][37][38] so that producing 1 kg of hydrogen (which has a specific energy of 143 MJ/kg or about 40 kWh/kg) requires 50–55 kWh of electricity." Granted, converting hydrogen back to electricity has another loss of about 60% IIRC but still, you get to keep almost half of your electricity when storing it via hydrogen. So as long as solar is at most half as expensive as the second best stable energy source it's a win.
- Log_out_ 2y ago0.7×0.6 is not half