Future of Nuclear Power | What is Green Hydrogen? How it can replace Fossil Fuels?
Search for clean, cheap, sustainable Source of Energy for Future Generation
Hydrogen gets its name from the Greek words Hydro — means “Water” and Genes — which means “Forming”. Hydrogen is the lightest element in the periodic table and the most abundant chemical substance in the universe. It powers our precious Sun. It is Odorless, Tasteless, Colorless and Flammable Gas.
Hydrogen is called Green Hydrogen when it is produced by the electrolysis of water (H2O) and broken into Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms using an electrolyser and the electric current produced by a renewable source such as Solar Cell or Wind Turbine. The benefit of this method is that the Earth has a large amount of Water Resources which are not used for drinking very much — although, there are processes like Reverse Osmosis or Distillation for the Desalination of Water, partially because the cost of setup a Desalination Power Plant is very high and it can disturb the natural habitat of marine life. This problem can also be solved using Green Hydrogen, but we will talk about this some other time.
Green Hydrogen could be the cheapest form of fuel if it is produced by the combination of Wind and Solar Electricity. Hydrogen in turn will produce more energy than the energy required to produce Green Hydrogen, obviously because that is the point of all of this — To provide clean, cheap, inexhaustible, sustainable form of energy and fuel.
Our Sun is a giant Nuclear Fusion reactor, Nuclear Fusion reactions release more energy in comparison to Nuclear Fission reactions. For those who are not familiar with these terms, a short and simplified explanation of these will go like this — Nuclear Fission is a process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more nuclei with some byproducts and Nuclear Fusion is a process in which two or more nuclei combined to form heavier atomic nuclei — obviously they are more complex reactions than that but I am leaving you here with links to read more about the Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion.
Nuclear Fusion requires a suitable environment with sufficient Temperature, Pressure and a container for Plasma Confinement. Most of the stars are powered by the hydrogen and gravity provides the long confinement time so that it can reach conditions required for fusion energy production. Nuclear Fusion has many advantages over Nuclear Fission like Reduced Radioactivity (but we would love to be bitten by Radioactive Spider), Lesser Nuclear Waste, more Energy Production. But truth to be told, according to the World-Nuclear.org, there is no Nuclear Fusion Reactor which has produced more fusion energy than the electric energy input, but this is going to change because of decreasing cost of green hydrogen due to the cost reduction of Solar PV. and As more, we will progress on Photovoltaics, the more cost will reduce for solar energy reduction consequently reducing cost of hydrogen for plasma confinement.
Green Hydrogen also has uses other than in Fusion reactions. Controlled combustion of Hydrogen is used as a fuel in Vehicles. Since, the Tesla has launched their Electric Vehicles(EVs), almost every motor company has started some type of program for EVs, which is good but Hydrogen could be a better alternative to Fossil Fuels. Although, EVs are more safer than hydrogen-fueled Vehicles but Hydrogen will provide more Power Generation than Electric Cars. Also, the production of hydrogen can open up a whole new industry providing a lot of jobs and research opportunities.
A more important reason to look for a sustainable energy source is to survive. Resources of Earth are gonna exhaust at some point in the future. We could find some distant planet just to fulfil our Energy Requirements, which is unlikely but a possibility, or could make Tony Stark’s Arc Reactor. Green Hydrogen, Fusion Energy might not be the Ultimate or Final Answer to this Quest, we have to keep looking.
If you have read the whole article, you must have thought about this guy.
