The basic idea: some energy technologies seem to have “learning curves,” where manufacturers get better at producing the more they make and it drives prices down. Solar and wind seem to have nice learning curves, which has driven down prices; nuclear does not, and neither do fossil fuels.

Does green hydrogen? The answer appears to be yes, and that has the potential to “fill in the gaps” where we need a source of stable energy to cover for solar or wind when the sun is down and the breeze is light.

And green hydrogen is actually green. It involves using clean energy to electrolyze water to generate carbon-free hydrogen.

I’ll be honest, I loved the optimism here!

The following submission statement was provided by /u/bearjew64:

The basic idea: some energy technologies seem to have “learning curves,” where manufacturers get better at producing the more they make and it drives prices down. Solar and wind seem to have nice learning curves, which has driven down prices; nuclear does not, and neither do fossil fuels.

Does green hydrogen? The answer appears to be yes, and that has the potential to “fill in the gaps” where we need a source of stable energy to cover for solar or wind when the sun is down and the breeze is light.

And green hydrogen is actually green. It involves using clean energy to electrolyze water to generate carbon-free hydrogen.

I’ll be honest, I loved the optimism here!

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/xv0yut/i_come_bringing_good_news_about_hydrogen/iqym6z9/

Small scale storage solutions would be helpful. It’s easy enough to produce hydrogen.

It stores pretty good in water.

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Reading that, it seems like it has a future, once we already have a surplus of energy to create it outside of the fossil fuel industry.

It does seem a bit pessimistic to write it off, just because we currently struggle with production and storage. Will be an interesting space to watch.

Nuclear’s big problem is everything is custom and not mass produced.

I don’t know if it’s totally dead in the automotive sector either, the Hyundai N Vision 74 for instance has both a hydrogen fuel cell AND a battery. That was a pretty cool solution IMO since you have them both offsetting the weaknesses of the other. Might be a bit pricier in a consumer vehicle, I’m not sure, but pretty cool idea anyways.

Just add current.

Hydrogens problem is storage. It passes through most materials because of its tiny molecular structure. Even nano bubble hydrogen does not stay longer than 24 hours in water.

I’d rather harvest atmospheric carbon and make petroleum

It seems the author is blending learning curves and economies of scale.

I think large scale storage such as geologic storage is key and can be connected to existing infrastructure via existing pipeline infrastructure.

Why would small scale storage be helpful in your opinion?

Hydrogen is not very energy dense and while it can be compressed well, there is some hesitation proliferating small scale compressed gas energy solutions on a national level. Until solid state (adsorbed) storage becomes a more viable option, I think I’ll continue to support large scale hydrogen projects over smaller ones (though I support energy diversification).

Small modular reactors will mitigate that concern.

Production of hydrogen is pretty well tied to solar production which is getting big (United States perspective). Couple that with the recent proliferation of natural gas turbines that are compatible with hydrogen blends. All that’s really missing is some minor Infrastructure at power plants and major national hub style geologic storage facilities tied into existing fuel pipelines.

I see this coming soon as a stepping stone to less reliance on fossil fuels. I am interested in other peoples thoughts too.

And I’m a huge advocate for nuclear.

Tip: Ammonia as a transporter of hydrogen

The question is, what is the round-trip efficiency of ammonia, methanol or methane? If we need 500% production in the sunny season to produce the fuel we need for winter, that seems like a steep hill to climb.

I read something recently about some startups that were taking CO2 and hydrogen and processing them into liquid fuels. Obviously that adds cost but would be much easier to handle. Even just going to methane would make it a lot easier to use with existing infrastructure.

Yeah I can't see how, with current technology, hydrogen will ever be something we would seek to expand current usage.

But who knows. Maybe some metamaterials will make production, storage and transport easier.

I'm always interested in the technology that replicates photosynthesis - basically using quantum mechanics principles to split water. That could potentially change the equation on production if that process continues to improve.

>Filling in the gaps

Yes, that's exactly my thoughts. Some examples are long-haul freight trucks and locomotives that travel from hub to hub where H2 infrastructure could be readily installed and likely cost effective. I'm looking at Tesla's semi and thinking an H2 fuel cell range extender would be the ticket to cross country hauling for such a rig.

I’m thinking self sufficiency not corporate global resource control. Solar and hydrogen in the sunny north would be useful to homesteads with all the snow to electrolyze.

Ahh okay I see. I was imagining societal scale as I have no means to obtain this equipment myself.

Yeah you do. I have used a plastic bag to hold the hydrogen I made with my car battery, a glass jar, wire and salt water. That it. Not safe, that’s why I’m looking.

I am not interested in a demonstration, that is well within my means and I have had my fair share of fun igniting hydrogen. I mean I do not have the means to obtain a self sufficient energy grid which uses hydrogen for chemical energy storage. I would need solar or other production capabilities and a battery to make it worthwhile, and then all the hydrogen equipment. And by equipment I mean a somewhat efficient electrolyzer and gas handling systems with a compressor and storage tank. without that stuff, I think it’s more of a demonstration that fire can be made from water.

Like this? https://www.homepowersolutions.de/en

Yes, that looks like the sort of system I described.

Then I Guess hydrogen is good for making fire from water as you say. There are other systems that already exist and have been around since the 70s but this one looks ready finally.

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