The green hydrogen economy: NewHydrogen
The development of profitable green hydrogen from renewable resources such as solar, wind and hydro power can expand the hydrogen market, highlights the company NewHydrogen.
At this time, the company believes that electrolyzer technology represents the safest way forward.
Already hydrogen is big business today with an annual market size of more than $117 billion in 2019, according to a 2020 research report from Grand View Research.
NewHydrogen, a developer of clean energy technologies, is focused on developing an electrolyzer technology to reduce the cost of green hydrogen production.
Hydrogen is the cleanest and most abundant fuel in the universe. It is zero emission and only produces water vapor when in use.
However, hydrogen does not exist in its pure form on Earth, so it must be extracted.
For centuries, NewHydrogen reports, scientists have known how to use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using a device called an electrolyser.
Electrolysers installed behind a solar or wind farm can use renewable electricity to split water, thus producing green hydrogen.
However, modern electrolysers still cost too much. The chemical catalysts that enable water-splitting reactions are currently made from platinum and iridium, both of which are very expensive precious metals.
These catalysts represent almost 50% of the cost of the electrolyser.
Green hydrogen
NewHydrogen is developing technologies to significantly reduce or replace rare materials with low-cost, earth-abundant materials in electrolyzers to help usher in a green hydrogen economy.
In a 2020 report, Goldman Sachs estimates that green hydrogen will be a $12 trillion market opportunity by 2050.
Hydrogen is the most abundant and predominant clean energy in the universe. 73% of the Sun is made up of hydrogen.
An overwhelming amount of scientific evidence shows that carbon emissions from fossil fuels have contributed to increasing global climate change.
Policymakers around the world have accelerated programs to enable the development and adoption of renewable energy. The United States has been slow to adopt such programs, but it is fast becoming a formidable force.
According to the World Resources Institute, more than 14 US states have legislative mandates requiring 100% renewable electricity, some as early as 2040.
Both the UK and the European Union target net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
In a 2020 report, Bank of America noted that hydrogen will absorb 25% of all oil demand by 2050 and that the green hydrogen economy could be worth more than $11 trillion by 2050.
