Sunday, February 04, 2024

Green Hydrogen: A Multibillion-Dollar Energy Boondoggle

Recommendable! Hydrogen is a dangerous form of energy to handle! Remember the Hindenberg Disaster!

I also suspect the large scale burning of hydrogen would create so much water and water vapor as to become an environmental concern if not worse! It just sounds too nice that burning hydrogen is clean, because it only generates water.

Caveat: I did not have time to read the whole article.

"... And in contrast to crude oil that must be refined into usable products like gasoline and diesel fuel, more energy is required to manufacture hydrogen than that hydrogen contains. No technology can change this immutable thermodynamic fact.
Consequently, and in contrast to fossil fuels and nuclear power, hydrogen’s “energy return on investment” (EROI), i.e., the ratio of energy output to energy input, is less than one. Coupled with the additional lost energy from combusting (burning) hydrogen directly or using it in a fuel cell, hydrogen’s overall energy efficiency is dismal, making its use as a primary energy carrier self-defeating. ...
Typically, hydrogen is pressurized to 350 or 700 bar (a metric measure of pressure; 1 bar is slightly less than normal atmospheric pressure) or liquefied. Compression to 700 bar, for example, requires between 5% and 15% of hydrogen’s HHV [higher heating value], or between 2 kWh/kg and 6 kWh/kg. ..."

Even this appears to be doubtful:
"Hydrogen may be useful for long-term energy storage as an alternative to batteries."

Green Hydrogen: A Multibillion-Dollar Energy Boondoggle | Manhattan Institute

energy return on investment = EROI




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