The world is deeply disappointed with what many call the “future energy”. It represents only 1% of what we can produce. Currently, companies and policymakers have become responsible for ensuring a safe and reliable energy supply, at affordable costs and with minimal impact on the environment. A difficult mission if we take into account the dependence on fossil fuels that still affects humans. However, many companies and agents in the sector have launched projects like the one in Greece, where energy is produced with water and sun.
As climate change causes more extreme weather events and environmental disasters, such as oil spills, continue to occur, the threat to the environment and human health will continue. In this context, more and more people are choosing clean, carbon-free energy in their daily lives.
But even though ordinary citizens can make some individual changes, significant changes require replacing fossil fuel supplies with clean energy sources.
The energy of the future is not what we thought: this data disappoints a large number of people
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA)the production of clean hydrogen (the energy of the future) remains marginal in global terms. The report Global hydrogen overview 2023 revealed that green H is far from being the majority, while blue and brown H are very present in world production.
To produce clean hydrogen, the industry can use several main methods. The famous green H involves using water to separate O2 from H2, while the other, low-emission H, uses fossils to capture the CO2 generated. The industry currently makes little use of these systems. According to the AIEMore than 99% of the H generated in 2022 came from fuels in processes that do not capture CO2.
A result showing that the 95 million tons of H produced that year caused emissions of 900 million tons of CO2. It should be noted that the data in this report is presented in Madrid for the International Energy Agency and records the global update on hydrogen generation, both that generated from water and renewable energy sources (green H) and that generated from fossil fuels (blue or brown hydrogen).
Refineries are the main producers and consumers of the so-called “future energy”. However, there are also other sectors that use it in their industrial processes, such as the pharmaceutical industry. This gas plays a crucial role in the production of products such as fertilizer or ammonia.
The energy of the future gives the worst news: it was not what we expected
Although more than 40 countries have developed national strategies to grow their hydrogen production, ‘low emissions’ represent less than 1% of total hydrogen production and consumption worldwide. This means that more than 99% of the hydrogen used today comes from fossil fuels that emit CO2.
According to the agency’s report, annual production of low-emission hydrogen could reach about 38 million tons by 2030 if the announced projects become reality. This would represent an increase of almost 50% compared to the above projections. However, only 4% of global initiatives have a confirmed investment decision or are in the development phase, mainly in the development phase Europe j Chinaalthough there is an increasing trend in other parts of the world such as Latin America, Australia, New Zealand j North America.
In this way the future energy It will be a worldwide disappointment. However, there is still much to be said, as hydrogen is still being taken into account in ambitious projects such as the hydrogen AVE.