New electrolyzers will revolutionize the green hydrogen industry
Science and Tech
If solid-state batteries are the future of batteries for electric cars, then many consider green hydrogen to be the energy of the future. A solution that many see as impossible and wasteful since its production requires more energy compared to other fuels.
Green hydrogen is a clean method to produce hydrogen without emitting polluting gases or particles into the atmosphere. It can be produced by water or renewable energy. But its production is much more expensive, and the latest reports suggest that during losses of 80% of the energy.
In addition, competition with batteries to power road transport and the lack of support from governments also work against it. However, all this could change very soon thanks to the discovery of Electric Hydrogen (EH2), already considered the first “unicorn” of the green hydrogen industry.
It is the first private company in the sector with a value of more than one billion dollars. This term is used in the venture capital industry to indicate rarer companies that require innovation. Investors have historically been skeptical of green hydrogen, but it has been the opposite in the case of EH2.
Electrolyzers to obtain cheaper green hydrogen
Electrolyzers seem to have found a way to convince investors, such as BP, United Airlines, Fortescue Metals, or the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund. Its latest technological innovations applied to the production of electrolyzers could change the rules when it comes to green hydrogen.
These electrolyzers are more than devices that perform electrolysis to obtain hydrogen, the division of water (H2O) into the aforementioned hydrogen and water. These are expensive and consume tons of renewable energy to produce a small proportion of the hydrogen.
EH2 has managed to increase the performance of its work to reduce costs and build all the critical components of the electrolyzer in-house in the laboratory. Its business model will not focus on producing hydrogen but these electrolyzers at a much more economical price for the producers of this fuel.
In addition, they will take advantage of the Biden administration’s IRA incentives in the United States and tax credits to achieve the production of green hydrogen at a competitive price without the need to use natural gas that emits greenhouse gases. Depending on its location in favorable areas, aid, and this hydrogen could be free for some users.
Its destiny is clear: to reach where batteries cannot, such as large and heavy road vehicles, airplanes, maritime transport, and even industrial sectors such as chemical plants, steel mills, or fertilizer factories. Work has already begun, and Electric Hydrogen has begun to build its 100-megawatt electrolyzer factory in Massachusetts, which it plans to be operational in 2024. They have selected to equip the company New Fortress Energy’s green hydrogen plant in Texas.
These electrolyzers could produce almost 50 tons/day of low-cost hydrogen. EH2 estimates that green hydrogen could have a price of 1.50 dollars (1.42 euros) per kg by 2030, a price equivalent to that obtained today with natural gas… but in an infinitely more efficient way.
Source- TechCrunch
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