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Hydrogen Energy

Hydrogen is a clean fuel that creates just water when used in a fuel cell. Natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable energy sources such as sun and wind may all be used to make hydrogen. These characteristics make it an appealing alternative fuel for transportation and energy production. It has several applications, including automobiles, homes, portable electricity, and many more.

Hydrogen is an energy carrier that may be used to store, transport, and distribute energy from other sources.

Hydrogen fuel may now be manufactured in a variety of ways. Today, natural gas reforming (a thermal process) and electrolysis are the most used approaches. Solar-powered and biological processes are other ways.

THERMAL PROCESSES

Typical thermal techniques for hydrogen generation use steam reforming, a high-temperature reaction between steam and a hydrocarbon fuel that generates hydrogen. Many hydrocarbon fuels, including natural gas, diesel, renewable liquid fuels, gasified coal, and gasified biomass, may be converted into hydrogen. Approximately 95% of all hydrogen generated today is created by reforming natural gas with steam.

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ELECTROLYTIC PROCESSES

Through a process called electrolysis, water may be split into oxygen and hydrogen. An electrolyzer acts similarly to a fuel cell in reverse; instead of utilising the energy of a hydrogen molecule to make hydrogen, as a fuel cell does, an electrolyzer creates hydrogen from water molecules.

SOLAR-DRIVEN PROCESSES

Light is the catalyst for hydrogen generation in solar-powered systems. Among the sun-driven processes are photobiological, photoelectrochemical, and solar thermochemical. Photobiological activities create hydrogen via the natural photosynthetic activity of bacteria and green algae. Using specialised semiconductors, photoelectrochemical processes split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Solar thermochemical hydrogen generation makes use of concentrated solar energy to drive water-splitting processes, often in conjunction with additional species such as metal oxides.

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES

Using microorganisms such as bacteria and microalgae, biological processes may manufacture hydrogen via biological reactions. In microbial biomass conversion, bacteria decompose organic substances such as biomass or wastewater to generate hydrogen, while in photobiological processes, microbes utilise sunlight as their energy source.

HYDROGEN ENERGY IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Platinum Valley Initiative (PVI) – South Africa’s Hydrogen Valley was developed in order to create catalytic green hydrogen hubs and a “Hydrogen Corridor.” The projected Hydrogen Corridor would connect the Anglo American Mokopane Platinum Mine to Johannesburg and Durban, and it will identify nine hydrogen-related industrial, construction, and transportation projects that might be utilised to launch the Hydrogen Valley. The PVI will promote the growth in hydrogen consumption via the introduction of heavy-duty fuel-cell trucks (as opposed to heavy-duty diesel trucks), in addition to helping to a fair energy transition, facilitating job creation, and boosting GDP.

Sasol is in charge of the Boegoebaai Green Hydrogen Development Project in the Northern Cape’s Namakwa Special Economic Zone. The project is recognised as a Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) in the South African National Development Plan and includes an operational hydrogen production facility. It will include the development of a deep-water port, the usage of 30 GW of wind and solar energy, and a battery park to power 10 GW of electrolyzers by 2030. In addition to the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia for export and use as marine fuel and feedstock, the project will include the manufacture of green ammonia for export and use as maritime fuel and feedstock.

Sasol is also a key player in the Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) initiative. SAF is essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving local air quality, decreasing susceptibility to jet fuel supply and price volatility, and decarbonizing aviation fuels.

Sasol stated in April 2022 that it would first produce hydrogen using its current electrolyzer units and ammonia facilities. Sasol intends to generate 3.5 tonnes per day for local use, and in the future it will construct greenfield facilities devoted to green hydrogen for export reasons, including participation in the German government’s H2Global auction programme.

COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS

South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Mauritania, and Namibia founded the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance on 18 May 2022 with the aim of fostering cooperation and ensuring the continent’s leadership in the development of green hydrogen for energy transformation.

Learn more about fuel cells in general.