Green hydrogen is considered as an alternative to fossil fuels considering its calorific value in areas like manufacturing, transportation, electricity generation, etc.
(Reference Paper: Link)
Despite knowing the positives, the fuel has issues linked to production, storage, transportation & distribution.
Let us delve into one challenge: Storage
Volume and Density:
- Hydrogen has a low volumetric energy density, requiring large storage volumes
- Compressing hydrogen to high pressures (up to 700 bar) or liquefying it at cryogenic temperatures (-253°C) are common solutions, both of which are energy-intensive and costly
Material Compatibility:
- Hydrogen can embrittle metals, causing cracks and leaks in storage tanks and pipelines.
- Advanced materials and coatings are necessary to prevent these issues, which leads to complexity and expenses
Energy Losses:
- Storing hydrogen, whether as a compressed gas, liquid, or in solid-state hydrides, involves energy losses.
- As stated earlier – compressing or liquefying hydrogen consumes a significant portion of the energy it stores, reducing overall efficiency.
Safety Concerns:
- Hydrogen’s flammability and low ignition energy present safety risks
- The focus again comes back to – ensuring safe storage which is complex and a costly affair
Considering the promise of the fuel, lot of R&D is going on in the domain of material science and breakthroughs will aid in making the storage, transportation and usage way safer.
Similar challenges (but to a lesser degree) were faced during the initial adoption of gasoline for transportation and kerosene for cooking. With time, lot of these bottlenecks were ironed out leading to mass adoption.
Hope this gives an idea about the challenges linked to Green Hydrogen Storage (which is crucial if this fuel needs to challenge Fossil Fuels on a mid to long-term basis)
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