Do you really know?

What is green hydrogen? Thanks for asking!

Green hydrogen is an alternative to fossil fuels which is made by using renewable energy technologies. 

In reality, manufacturers have been using hydrogen as an energy source for years, but only grey hydrogen, which has a highly polluting production process. So could green hydrogen be the sustainable fuel of the future?

There are certainly promising signs; it can power cars, producing three times more energy than petrol for the same weight. Furthermore, it stocks electricity significantly better than our current batteries.

Wow, that sounds amazing. So, where can I find some green hydrogen then?

That’s the issue. Let’s go back to chemistry 101 and talk about the non-toxic colourless gas known as hydrogen.

If you remember the periodic table, you should know that hydrogen is element number one, and its symbol is the letter H. It’s the simplest element and the most abundant chemical substance in the universe. 

However, it can’t be found in its pure state on planet Earth. Rather, it is found in various compounds with carbon, known as hydrocarbons. And of course in molecular forms like water, which has a chemical formula of H20. That means two atoms of hydrogen for one atom of oxygen.

Until now, manufacturers have used different techniques to separate hydrogen from other elements. For example mixing methane and steam at 1000°C or burning charcoal at over 1200°C. As a result, for every kilo of hydrogen produced, 10kg of CO2 is also emitted. Current hydrogen production pollutes as much as global air transport. 

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