What is all the excitement about?
Renewable energy can and will decarbonise power generation. Renewable energy and batteries can and will decarbonise the automotive sector. But these technologies will not be as viable for aviation, shipping, commercial vehicles, steel or fertiliser manufacturing. In all of these vital industries it looks as though hydrogen will be needed, or at least that hydrogen will be one of the most viable solutions, for decarbonisation.
Hydrogen can be burnt in a combustion engine or boiler for transportation and heating; used to power a fuel cell for transportation or heating; or used as a reduction agent for iron to make steel. It can also be used as an energy storage agent by using excess solar energy in the summer to produce hydrogen, which can then be stored and converted back to electricity for use in the winter. All of these processes have zero or much lower CO2 emissions than current alternatives.
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