ENABLING A HYDROGEN ECONOMY

Salah Mahdy from Howden looks at the options for hydrogen storage and transportation and what needs to happen next As governments and industries across the world look for ways to become more sustainable, the phrase ‘energy transition’ is becoming increasingly popular. Strictly speaking, the term refers to the decreasing use of fossil fuels in our economy’s energy mix. However, in reality, the term has been extended to mean much more, becoming synonymous with decarbonisation and moves toward a net-zero or low-carbon society. This transition in the energy market is necessary to preserve the needs of future generations and will take years of continuous change to both processes and business cultures. It will be driven by innovation and evolution towards a better state of lower consumption, cleaner energy production and reduced CO2 emissions. Hydrogen – and innovations in its production, transportation and use – are rapidly developing as it emerges as a key energy source to support the transition. Hydrogen is very versatile and can be used in a large number of applications such as power generation, mobility in cars and trucks, as well as a feedstock in number of chemical...