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BentasticMrBen t1_j8ixv4q wrote

ELI5: how is this relevant to the public? What are some of the direct affects this will have to humanity as a whole?

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RupaulHollywood t1_j8jdjh2 wrote

I'll explain like you're 15.

Hydrogen is envisioned by many in the clean energy sector (and the not so clean energy sectors) as a potentially powerful medium of energy storage as a chemical fuel. It has many potential applications if it can be produced cheaply at scale with green energy - steel and concrete production, sea-based shipping, aviation, grid scale energy storage, and several others. It can also be mixed into diesel engines to partially offset usage of carbon-based fuels, which is useful because diesel engines have service lives lasting decades. So hydrogen is a big deal if you're serious about decarbonization and knowledgeable about the challenges.

The problem is that pure hydrogen is rare - it's usually part of other molecules. To get hydrogen we have to split up those molecules. Water is very appealing because it doesn't emit greenhouse gasses as a byproduct - electrolysis of water splits it into hydrogen and oxygen using just electricity. But freshwater is a limited and dwindling resource. Seawater by comparison is plentiful. But it poses challenges for electrolysis - seawater is corrosive, seawater is impure, seawater is the domain of the Deep Ones and their dread flesh constructs. We simply don't have a great way to make hydrogen from seawater at an industrial scale.

This research presents a method by which to produce hydrogen from seawater that somewhat alleviates these challenges. It's early yet, but these are the kinds of things we need to figure out if we want to start building a real hydrogen economy and phasing it into those applications.

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BentasticMrBen t1_j8jo5d2 wrote

Ah, I did not realize hydrogen splitting was such waste heavy, hence the emphasis on “green” hydrogen, which was the thing I did not comprehend. Thank you, kind person.

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Navynuke00 t1_j8kiffz wrote

Translation: the large utilities and oil companies see pushing a Hydrogen narrative as a great way to delay having to actually cut back on their natural gas infrastructure.

In all honesty, it's a red herring.

EDIT: bring on the downvotes. I work in this arena and this is something that's been discussed at length in more than a few places.

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BentasticMrBen t1_j8n9fv0 wrote

I’m on board with what you’re saying, but will this still be a problem after a few years of successful clean hydrogen? As in aren’t they all just waiting to be proven wrong until they’re forced to change?

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Navynuke00 t1_j8nhx13 wrote

>but will this still be a problem after a few years of successful clean hydrogen?

We're still many years away from even being able to see the levels of hydrogen deployment that the large investor-owned utilities and fossil-fuel companies and industries are bragging about and hedging their carbon reduction goals on. And they're counting on that fact to be able to continue to kick the can down the road with existing fossil-fuel infrastructure, because it means they can keep their existing systems in place and make their stockholders more money by avoiding having to spend anything on capital improvement projects.

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BentasticMrBen t1_j8nl7sa wrote

The final squeeze of old energy has been and will always inevitably be messy and greedy. But it’s advancements like this that’ll try to make these squeezes final. What I’m saying is the car industry didn’t believe in clean energy, until technology and consumers demanded them to be. And now that technology is almost here for clean hydrogen, the next thing to do is convince the consumers of its benefits, and (hopefully) the industry will be forced to listen.

Clarification: I truly believe Reaganomics is on its way out, and the consumers will have a stronger sway on industry, rather than just CEO’s.

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-Avacyn t1_j90pqxf wrote

As someone who is also working in this area, I am more hopeful. My company is setting up both the infrastructure for industrial CCS ánd hydrogen transport to connect off shore wind energy parks to on shore industrial clusters. First steps for realisations of both is planned for 2030, with quick expansion in the years after. Combining CCS with green hydrogen is very promising once the infrastructure is in place.

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saberline152 t1_j8jbe82 wrote

it could replace natural gas as a fuel for gasplants when other sustainable sources are not producing enough (like windmills etc etc)

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seenew t1_j8jd80d wrote

I believe I’ve read hydrogen could be used to power jets. That would be an incredible reduction in emissions.

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