Hydrogen

For many years, hydrogen has captured the public imagination promising to boundlessly fuel modern life with the most common element in the universe. In 1874 Jules Verne postulated that hydrogen, derived from water, "will be the coal of the future.” (Verne, 1918) Most recently George W. Bush proposed launching a new "hydrogen economy" as a method to reduce dependence on foreign oil (Zubrin, 2007). Hydrogen is often referred to as a fuel when it should more appropriately be labeled a means of energy storage. There are many energy-intensive and inefficient methods of hydrogen production including water electrolysis and steam reformation of natural gas. Once hydrogen is acquired it can be used as a combustible, transportable fuel or it can be used to power electricity through fuel cells. One very appealing aspect of using hydrogen for heat or electricity is that the only combustion exhaust is pure water (Romm , 2004). Similar to a fossil fuel powered electricity generator, the amount of power of a hydrogen energy storage system is a function of the generation equipment while the energy is a function of the amount of available hydrogen.

Though there is great potential in hydrogen energy storage, there are many challenges that currently reduce the competitiveness of hydrogen energy storage compared to other energy storage technologies. The current overall efficiency of a hydrogen energy storage system is quite low compared to other storage systems. Whether used for combustion or to drive a fuel cell, the overall efficiency is estimated to be between 21% and 43% (Anscombe , 2012). Though there are safety concerns with hydrogen, they are on par with the safety concerns of traditional fuels, such as gasoline and natural gas. There is additional concern however, because recent studies indicate that pure hydrogen, at levels beyond its natural state, may cause stratospheric disruption (Jacobson & Golden, 2004). Infrastructure changes must also be made to significantly integrate hydrogen as a means of energy storage. With all these concerns, especially the low overall efficiency, hydrogen often is not currently considered a viable means of energy storage on any scale.

In the energy storage industry change is everywhere and future innovations could make hydrogen much more appealing. Another thing to consider is that the low overall efficiency of hydrogen is a significant concern given current methods of electricity generation. These generation methods include fossil fuel based generation (oil, coal and natural gas) and nuclear power. These methods are costly, their fuel is finite/nonrenewable and there are significant environmental impacts associated with the fuel’s extraction and use. Producing hydrogen through electrolysis using electricity generated by these methods would be prohibitively costly in many respects. However, given recent trends, it is conceivable that renewables such as wind and solar could reach a price point where renewable generation could be over-sized to negate the current inefficiency of hydrogen production through electrolysis. One could easily imagine wind farms or solar arrays being set up solely for the purpose of producing hydrogen.

Works Cited

Anscombe , N. (2012, June 4). Energy storage: Could Hydrogen be the Answer? Retrieved January 20, 2013, from Solar Novus Today: http://www.solarnovus.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5028:energy-storage-could-hydrogen-be-the-answer&catid=38:application-tech-features&Itemid=246

Jacobson, M. Z., & Golden, D. M. (2004). Hydrogen Effects on Climate, Stratospheric Ozone, and Air Pollution. Menlo Park: Stanford University.

Romm , J. J. (2004). The hype about hydrogen : fact and fiction in the race to save the climate. Washington, DC: Island Press.

Verne, J. (1918). The Mysterious Island. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Zubrin, R. (2007). The Hydrogen Hoax. Retrieved from The New Atlantis: http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-hydrogen-hoax