HYDROGEN ENERGY FOR EVERYONE
Everyone is jumping or is going to jump on the hydrogen energy bandwagon. Hydrogen is everywhere – its energy for everyone - particularly those with massive renewable energy resources.
61% of a human’s atoms are Hydrogen. Water is the most abundant compound on earth of which two thirds is Hydrogen. The sun is mostly hydrogen and powers our earth.
Australia is one such place with a vast nexus of solar energy on its land and as an island they are surrounded by sea, and vast wind and tidal resources. They need never dig up a piece of coal or uranium again. In parallel on different sides of the planet, Germany, UK, Denmark and the US and more are all pushing for a hydrogen economy vigorously. Australia’s push is economic, they are in a fantastic position to produce lowest cost green hydrogen for places like Japan, Korea and all the east Asian and Australasian countries, becoming a kind of ‘middle-east’ economically.
If they are to make their mark they have to move fast, because the technology will become endemic. Whilst on the cards there is this large-scale front-of-meter hydrogen production, there is also small-scale and micro-scale hydrogen plants. Such that the technology for one’s own home that use mains tap water for home heating or power a car, using on-site or off-site renewables to convert that water into hydrogen, will be possible.
Hydrogen as an energy vector particularly makes sense for Australia with the long distances travelled in cars, trucks, trains and aircraft compared to standard battery solutions.
Ayers Rock, Australia set to be world-leading test site for hydrogen technology. CREDIT: ALAMY
A hydrogen fuel cell provided electrical power for Apollo 11 for the moon landing and the Saturn V moon rockets. Earth’s peoples are moving on a new trajectory requiring an alternative impetus and great courage from engineer’s, politicians and the general public alike.
As the World Economic Forum has said:
“This will require a different blueprint, a collective endeavour that requires at least as much ambition as the Moonshot effort, but on a global scale! Today's Moonshot is to fuel Earth with sustainable energy. Hydrogen is ready.”
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/11/this-is-the-potential-of-the-hydrogen-economy/