Hydrogen and the Magic Rainbow
If you believe in the tooth fairy, or vote Green, you probably believe that hydrogen is the magic rainbow gas that will banish global warming, replace wicked hydro-carbons in electricity generation, fuel tomorrow’s trucks, planes and heavy equipment, and earn unlimited export income.
There is one big problem – unlike coal, oil and gas, there are no hidden pools of hydrogen we can tap. Every bit of hydrogen has to be manufactured from water or hydrocarbons using huge amounts of energy.
The energy content of liquid hydrogen is about 70 percent of the energy required to produce it.
Burn it in a combined cycle gas turbine (energy efficiency 50 percent) and see that energy return drop to around 35 percent. Use it as vehicle fuel and see energy efficiency fall even further.
The density of liquefied hydrogen is much lower than that of natural gas – thus the transportation costs will be higher.
And because the tiny hydrogen atom finds any small leak, the safety risks are very high – imagine a road accident involving flammable lithium batteries plus explosive hydrogen gas.
Most hydrogen is made directly from coal, oil or natural gas and the main process produces hydrogen and . . . more of the dreaded CO2.
But hydrogen is loved by Big Greens and little children because it has been named in a rainbow of pretty colours: grey, brown, black, green and blue.
Grey hydrogen comes from natural gas, brown from lignite (brown coal), and black hydrogen is made from black coal (no surprises there).
Green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water using intermittent green energy like solar or wind power. It requires heaps of fresh water and electricity neither of which can ever be fully recovered.
Every tonne of hydrogen produced uses nine tonnes of water.
See here for pictorial comment on Green Hydrogen:
https://saltbushclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/hydrogen-hype.jpg
(Feel free to use this cartoon with no alterations.)
Blue hydrogen is any of the above but the CO2 by-product is stored in carbon cemeteries, making blue hydrogen stupidly expensive.
Further Reading:
Hydrogen Hype:
https://saltbushclub.com/2021/07/08/hydrogen-hype-2/
The Spectrum of Hydrogen Colours:
https://ddears.com/2021/06/22/hydrogens-spectrum-of-colors/
Tomorrow’s Fuel?
https://ddears.com/2019/04/09/hydrogen-tomorrows-fuel-of-choice/
Hydrogen or Battery?
https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/stories/2019/08/hydrogen-or-battery–that-is-the-question.html#
Header image: Azom.com
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Viv,
Your articles are always factual in my opinion. “There is one big problem – unlike coal, oil and gas, there are no hidden pools of hydrogen we can tap. Every bit of hydrogen has to be manufactured from water or hydrocarbons using huge amounts of energy. The energy content of liquid hydrogen is about 70 percent of the energy required to produce it.” is not a theory; it is an observed scientific fact.
Have a good day, Jerry
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K Kaiser
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Hello Viv.
Yes, that’s all true, simply facts.
But, unfortunately, there are few bureaucrats and politicians that comprehend them — or even listen to such facts. And that is why the “hydrogen-idea” comes around, usually claimed to be the latest greatest invention since sliced bread, every twenty years or so — already for generations.
Best regards,
Klaus
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Mark Tapley
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Hello Kaiser:
There is nothing wrong with the puppet politician’s comprehension just like when all the senate had their closed door meeting right after Gate’s “pre pandemic” meeting and then when several of them were subsequently caught pulling millions from the top of the marker. There is also plenty of comprehension as to who runs all the countries of any consequence and they all know it.
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Mervyn
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I agree with everything in this article. But as I don’t believe atmospheric carbon dioxide enrichment poses any threat to the climate and does not cause dangerous global temperature, I believe if companies want to produce hydrogen, and there is a demand for it, I have no problem with that.
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