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Hydrogen
It fuels the stars and has a particularly high energy density. It doesn’t produce polluting emissions and could help us in dealing with the energy challenge facing our planet. There is just one flaw, however: it isn’t easy to produce. However, advances in the technology to produce it cleanly, with the help of renewable sources, are paving the way towards a new future.
Benefits
Extremely efficient and does not produce emissions
- Hydrogen is the fuel with the highest energy density: 1kg contains the same energy as 2.4 kg of methane or 2.8 kg of gasoline.
- Thanks to the facility with which electrical energy can be converted into hydrogen, it is the most efficient energy carrier available to us for storing surplus electricity production from renewable sources
- Another precious feature of hydrogen is the high conversion efficiency. In a car powered by hydrogen fuel cells, up to 60% of the chemical energy of the hydrogen is converted into motive power for the vehicle, while the mechanical yield of combustion engines using petrol or diesel varies from 20% to 35%.
- Hydrogen is widely used in industry, as it’s easy both to store and transport, for example in pipes like those used for gas.
- Hydrogen is the only fuel that, however it is used (whether in combustion engines or in fuel cells), does not produce polluting emissions, just water.
Frequently asked questions on hydrogen
Hydrogen is present everywhere in nature, but it’s always bonded to other chemical elements. If the electricity used to produce it comes from renewable sources, it’s called “green” or “renewable” hydrogen, and doesn’t produce the CO2 emissions that contribute to climate change. The best use of hydrogen is in the industrial sectors that are hard to abate, which means in those areas where electrification is technically difficult and not very competitive. Here are the answers to any questions you might have about this source of energy.