Paul Scherrer Institute PSI researchers recently conducted an analysis of the regions around the world that would be suited for hydrogen production and pointed to regions of Canada as some of the most promising.
The research concentrated on where hydrogen production could take place most cost-effectively in order to develop an H2 economy as opposed to one built on fossil fuel.
Among the findings from the analysis is that it won’t be enough to replace the current use of fossil fuels with electricity and H2 in order to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. The study results were published in the Nature Communications journal under the title “Future hydrogen economies imply environmental trade-offs and a supply-demand mismatch.”
A growing number of countries worldwide are setting targets to become climate neutral in coming decades. For instance, Switzerland’s climate-neutral goal has been set for 2050. This means that in countries participating in this type of goal, the greenhouse gas emissions should be decreasing moving forward in order to bring them closer to their goals for the purpose of combatting the worsening of climate change.
Significant moves are being made to electrify personal transportation and, to a smaller extent, industry and larger transport. This has occurred through battery electric technology as well as through renewable power such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric.
That said, electricity is inadequate as a source of energy for all areas currently powered by fossil fuels. The energy storage density simply isn’t adequate. Hydrogen production helps to provide that next level of energy density. This is more appropriate for areas such as steel, agriculture and aviation, all of which have been making moves in the H2 arena.
Tom Terouw, principal author of the study, project leader Christian Bauer, and the rest of the research team from the Laboratory for Energy Systems Analysis at PSI, collected economic and geographical forecasts and data to provide a description of four possible scenarios for an H2 economy.
Depending on the particular scenario, the prediction they described was that there would be a demand within the range of 111 megatons and 614 megatons per year by 2050. In the first scenario described by the researchers, the world would continue onward with the status quo, reliant on fossil fuels.
The fourth scenario was the most optimistic, in which the world adopts a strong climate protection measures strategy and was able to meet its target of 1.5 degrees.