Re:BHP says battery electric cheaper than hydrogen as it dum...
by Kon5ole on Monday July 31, 2023 @04:11PM
(#36948105)
Storing hydrogen in vehicles has never seemed like a good idea to me. The risk is too high since the gas tanks can't be made indestructible and hydrogen goes boom quite spectacularly.
But as a grid storage medium it could make a lot of sense. The fundamental equation is just too good to ignore - energy plus water becomes hydrogen, hydrogen becomes energy plus water - and only water.
The world needs both energy and clean water, so it seems like a potentially perfect "twofer". (I must admit that I have no idea if the amount of water generated from combustion is relevant).
The inefficiency doesn't seem to be a fundamental problem, as we get increasingly more surplus energy from solar and wind. This summer utility companies have had to "pay" customers to use electricity in Europe, a mere 6 months after they had the highest electricity prices on record. Any method to store even a fraction of the current surplus so that it can be sold for 50+ cents per kwh in 6 months should be very interesting.
But as a grid storage medium it could make a lot of sense. The fundamental equation is just too good to ignore - energy plus water becomes hydrogen, hydrogen becomes energy plus water - and only water.
The world needs both energy and clean water, so it seems like a potentially perfect "twofer". (I must admit that I have no idea if the amount of water generated from combustion is relevant).
The inefficiency doesn't seem to be a fundamental problem, as we get increasingly more surplus energy from solar and wind. This summer utility companies have had to "pay" customers to use electricity in Europe, a mere 6 months after they had the highest electricity prices on record. Any method to store even a fraction of the current surplus so that it can be sold for 50+ cents per kwh in 6 months should be very interesting.