this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2024
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cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/8569504

How is the hydrogen made?

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[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 246 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (68 children)

To save you all a google: it's made from natural gas, at a pretty significant energy loss compared to just burning the gas. It generates about 4 times more co2 than burning diesel.

[–] JoBo@feddit.uk 65 points 5 months ago (13 children)

That is true of all colours of hydrogen other than green (and possibly natural stores of 'fossil' hydrogen if they can be extracted without leakage).

Green hydrogen is better thought of as a battery than a fuel. It's a good way to store the excess from renewables and may be the only way to solve problems like air travel.

How hydrogen is transforming these tiny Scottish islands

That's not to say it's perfect. Hydrogen in the atmosphere slows down the decomposition of methane so leaks must be kept well below 5% or the climate benefits are lost. We don't have a good way to measure leaks. It's also quite inefficient because a lot of energy is needed to compress it for portable uses.

And, of course, the biggest problem is that Big Carbon will never stop pushing for dirtier hydrogens to be included in the mix, if green hydrogen paves the way.

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