Celebrated this Tuesday (8), the World Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day was created in 2015 by FCHA (Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association), with the aim of target de recognize the importance of clean hydrogen, which is produced with zero or virtually zero emissions.
The explanation for the choice of data is ingenious, the association chose the atomic weight of the chemical element, which is 1,008, and can be represented as 10/08 on the calendar.
According to Irena (International Renewable Energy Agency), the hydrogen will responsible by up to 12% of global energy use to 2050.
With hydrogen achieving this representativeness along with falling energy costs renewables and the development of equipment electrolysis more mature, the possibilities for this technology will become more accessible.
However, the hydrogen has many challenges ahead before becoming a accessible technology, including reducing costs for production, for example, of ammonia or serving the heavy mobility sector.
Other neck is skilled labor. According to research by SENAI (National Industrial Training Service), Brazil will need to train, every year, almost 3 thousand technicians and workers qualified to ensure the expansion of green hydrogen production.
Brazil has investment potential of US$ 200 billion over the next 20 years
Sérgio Augusto Costa, president of ABHIC (Brazilian Association of Hydrogen and Sustainable Fuels), highlights the potential gigantic of Brazilian green hydrogen and its derivatives to contribute to the energy transition at national and global level.
"The country has potential of investments of US $ 200 billion in the next 20 years, according to projections by the consultancy McKinsey & Company, and could become one of the largest producers and exporters of this input”, comments Costa.
Currently, there is a large number of national companies e International with green hydrogen and derivatives projects (ammonia, e-methanol, SAF-sustainable aviation fuel, etc.) underway in Brazil or with the intention of developing projects in the country.
“There are several projects underway on a commercial scale, And pilot projects, and this number is expected to increase considerably following the recent approval of laws relating to Hydrogen Legal Framework and PHBC (Low Carbon Hydrogen Development Program), which brings more legal security to investments in this sector and can be considered a milestone for this segment”, says the president.
It is worth noting that, among several competitive advantages, Brazil already has a generation matrix renewable energy, over 85% of installed capacity in renewable sources.
“In addition to having a interconnected electrical system in practically the entire country, with more than 170 thousand km of transmission lines. This allows us to use the natural resources of each region to generate renewable energy, such as wind and solar power in the Northeast, and hydroelectric power in the South, Southeast, Central-West and North, for example”, he emphasizes.
Thus, unlike other regions such as the United States and Europe, we we are already renewable, while these countries, in addition to promoting the production of Green H2, also need to make renewable generation viable.
Furthermore, according to the World Bank, Brazil has the largest reserve de fresh water in the world (13,2%), followed by Russia (10%), Canada (6,6%), the USA (6,5%) and China (6,5%). Therefore, there is no need for additional desalination costs for the production of hydrogen and derivatives.
Costa says that despite all the competitive advantages, there are still market challenges that need to be overcome, not only in Brazil, but throughout the world.
One of them is the cost reduction for production de H2 Green from the current USD 5 to USD 6/kg H2 to USD 1,5 to USD 2/kg H2, which is the production cost of Gray H2, that is, that extracted from Natural Gas, through the reforming of Methane Gas.
This is the most common process of production of H2 currently, and therefore it is the benchmark, as it is understood that the H2 Gray technology is mastered and should not have advances in the long term.
According to the president, another challenge is the technology used, as there are, to date, three competing technologies in the production of Green H2 to consolidate themselves as the most viable: Alkaline electrolyzers, PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) electrolyzers and SOFC (Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell) electrolyzers.
These technologies are defined as follows. It is a new technology, an new industry, therefore, it needs financial and fiscal (tax) incentives to develop (reduction of CAPEX and OPEX and increase in performance).
“Taking into account all these factors, and the projections already mentioned, even with challenges to be overcome, expectation is very optimistic regarding the future of hydrogen in the country”, concludes Costa.
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