Yesterday I posted about two efforts that are getting carbon out of transportation by developing trains powered by hydrogen. That of course leads to the question where the hydrogen is coming from — what color is it? Hydrogen itself is colorless, but it has been tagged with colors as a shorthand to distinguish where it comes from.
Green hydrogen is called that because no greenhouse gases are released producing it by using electric current to split it out of water — electrolysis. If the electricity is coming from renewable energy, it’s all good. Hydrogen cracked out of fossil fuels — blue hydrogen — is cheaper to make, but also involves production of CO2 as a byproduct. Brown hydrogen is created by gasifying coal, and it includes a number of other gases. It was an early way of making gas for gaslights, etc.
There is a market for hydrogen besides transportation. Hydrogen is used in a number of industrial processes, including making fertilizer. New developments in producing green hydrogen have a lot of potential applications. That’s why this news from Siemens is a good thing.
Exclusive hydrogen source for northern Bavaria and the border region in Czech Republic with cross-sector use of renewable energy as a model for the future
Siemens Smart Infrastructure and WUN H2 GmbH signed a contract to build one of the largest hydrogen production plants in Germany. It will be built in Wunsiedel in the north of Bavaria. With a power intake of six megawatts in the initial development phase, the plant will run solely on renewable energy and will be CO2-free.
The electrolysis plant from Siemens Energy will have the capacity to produce over 900 tons of hydrogen per year in this first phase. When fully expanded, it will be able to supply up to 2,000 tons. Groundbreaking is scheduled for the end of this year and commissioning at the end of 2021.
Germany has pledged to be greenhouse gas-neutral by 2050. To this end, all sectors that use energy, such as transportation and industry, must press ahead with decarbonization.
Read the whole thing: there is some new technology involved and plans to integrate it into the larger economy in multiple ways. This part is of particular interest.
The PEM, or proton-exchange membrane, allows protons to pass through but stops gases such as hydrogen or oxygen. In an electrolytic process, the membrane functions as a separator, among other things, and prevents the resulting gases from mixing. Compared to traditional alkali electrolysis, PEM technology is ideally suited for utilizing fluctuating wind and solar electricity because of its highly dynamic method of operation
emphasis added
There are many ways forward to address climate change. All we need to do is get started.