Green Hydrogen: Is this The Trend For The Future?

Hydrogen popularity chart

In the top chart you see the global trend for the period of 12 months for hydrogen. The blue color is the line for green hydrogen, red for grey hydrogen and yellow for blue hydrogen. (I know, it would have been nicer if the colors matched.) It can be clearly seen that there is a growing interest in green hydrogen.

Hydrogen a short recap

Hydrogen which appears as colorless gas has come a long way since it's discovery by Henry Cavendish (1766) and naming by Antoine Lavoisier (1783)

Our smallest of the 118 chemical elements with symbol H, was in the early days of 2000 a very hot topic, however lost quite some popularity but is gaining strong interest again. The early interest, years ago, had to do with hydrogen for fuel cells in cars, we all know that this seems to be a market for batteries today and in the future. Now we see a new interest due to hydrogen for usage in trucks, heavy duty vehicles but also for applications in for example the steel industry.

Why is green hydrogen gaining popularity?

Due to wind energy and solar energy there is a good way to use the excess capacity to make hydrogen in a clean way via electrolysis. The "green" hydrogen can then be used in various markets. The development are speeding up, and that leads to a higher interest.

Green hydrogen in the transport sector

In the transport sector where for example ships and truck are almost continuously used there is a big advantage for hydrogen compared to batteries. The main advantage is the quick refueling which does not take much more time compared to benzine or diesel and safe lots of time compared to charging batteries.

Green hydrogen for steel production

Steel production can be done in a fossil fuel way by using green hydrogen. There is already a project in Sweden for a steel production plant that will run on hydrogen, this plant should be operation in 2024. This can be a game changer in steel production as this process in much more environmental friendly.

Green hydrogen for house hold applications

In some countries like for example the Netherlands there is a big pipeline network for natural gas, this network could move to hydrogen from renewable sources. The hydrogen could then for example be used for heating purposes.

Will hydrogen impact purification needs?

There will be an impact, there will be new applications coming due to new processes that are developed and these will have new purification needs.