Hydrogen storage is critical for addressing renewable energy concerns
2 min readIndustry, investment, and regulatory policy have all shifted dramatically as a result of the climate emergency. In this transformation, green, renewable energy is critical. As a result, the United Kingdom became one of the first large economies in the world to pass legislation aimed at reducing its impact on global warming by the year 2050. The legislation sets a lofty goal for the UK to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the same year. Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are becoming increasingly popular as a result of strong laws. As per a National Grid report, wind power generated 24.8 percent of United Kingdom electricity in 2020, next only to the natural gas as the largest source of electricity.
Despite this, the future for wind power appears to be mixed. A recent analysis from the UK government on wind power forecast a five-fold rise in offshore wind services and goods exports, bringing in £2.6 billion annually and creating thousands of employments. The energy input from the wind as well as other renewables in the very first quarter of 2021 was down 16 percent compared to the same quarter in 2020, when storms such as Ciara and Dennis led to record wind energy generation, according to the UK government’s Energy Trends Report issued in June this year. This highlights a significant concern with several green energy sources: unlike fossil fuels, wind and solar energy are inherently changeable due to their dependency on climatic conditions.
Despite their flaws, fossil fuels provide a stable and dependable source of power that the system can adjust to meet demand. On the other hand, renewable energy sources have periods of oversupply accompanied by periods of undersupply, based on where as well as when the wind blows, or the sun shines. Renewable energy will have to overcome these obstacles if it is to substitute fossil fuels.
The constant fluctuation of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power highlights the necessity for large-scale clean energy storage. Because of this requirement and technological advancements in clean hydrogen solutions, hydrogen has emerged as a leading contender for the most potential low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels. With the correct assistance, hydrogen may satisfy as much as 24 percent of the world’s energy demands by 2050, according to BloombergNEF’s Hydrogen Economy Outlook.
Hydrogen electrolyzers, together with enhanced batteries and greenhouse gas capture and storage (CCUS), are one of the most promising energy innovation options, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero by 2050 study. Similarly, the International Energy Agency (IEA) considers hydrogen and hydrogen-centered fuels to be one of the essential pillars of decarbonization.
