Green hydrogen is an ecological and planet-friendly energy source that can power cars and industry. How is green hydrogen produced and what could its future be in Slovakia?
Europe, including Slovakia, needs to switch to emission-free energy sources. According to the European "package" fit for 55 emissions in the EU are to be reduced by 55% by 2030 and carbon neutrality is to be achieved by 2050. We as the PPA CONTROLL group of companies, our customers and partners are already contributing to this today. In addition to other ecological energy sources, we are actively interested in and preparing the introduction of technologies necessary for the production of green hydrogen.
It will be expensive.
The changes that await us all will not be painless. The biggest air polluters, which according to statistics are industry, energy and transport, must undergo fundamental technological innovations in order to use non-fossil energy sources. At PPA CONTROLL, we also realize that this cannot be achieved overnight and that it will require huge investments from both the public and private sectors.
Transitional period during which it will be allowed to use even partially clean energy sources, however, may be shorter than expected. This is because, in addition to the need to avert the environmental crisis, the search for alternative energy sources that would not be dependent on supplies from Russia has become a priority.
Extremely high energy prices They will also likely play a role in the development and, in particular, the deployment of first transitional and then new energy sources.
Hydrogen and green electricity
The good news for Slovakia is that the country is self-sufficient in electricity production. And it should remain so even after the use of brown coal as an energy source changes at the Nováky and Vojany power plants and even after the planned shutdown of the units at the Jaslovské Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant.
Power plants in our country produced more than 2020 TWh of electricity in 29, half of which was produced by nuclear energy. According to the current taxonomy, this is labeled as sustainable. So far, less than 20% of the total energy mix comes from renewable sources.
It is therefore gratifying that the first pioneering projects in the field are emerging in Slovakia. processing of non-recyclable waste, from which it is possible to obtain gases such as biomethane and hydrogen or convert them directly into energy that would otherwise remain unused and the waste would only burden the environment. PPA CONTROLL also participates in such projects.
Eco is just green hydrogen
According to the EU, biomethane and hydrogen are the energy sources that will help us achieve carbon neutrality and greater independence from natural gas supplies from Russia.
Slovakia has also developed National Hydrogen StrategyAccording to her, green hydrogen should be a source of power for cars, freight and train transport, as well as regional buses. The first two hydrogen filling stations are already in operation, and at least two dozen more are to be added.
Steel mills, cement plants and other industries where electrification is either not possible or would be unprofitable can also use hydrogen. However, to be truly ecological, they must use only green hydrogen.
Green hydrogen production
The production of green hydrogen requires clean electricity from renewable sources. At PPA CONTROLL, we know that currently the vast majority of this raw material is produced in a so-called dirty way, i.e. not from renewable sources.
Depending on the method of production and environmental impact, we know four types of hydrogen – green, blue, gray, and brown (black).
Brown, or black, is produced by oxidation (combustion) of coal and is not environmentally friendly by any means. Blue and gray are obtained from natural gas, or methane, and in the case of blue, unlike gray, oxides are captured as a by-product of production and used in further processing. Blue hydrogen is sometimes also referred to as hydrogen that is produced by electrolysis of water, but uses electrical energy produced by nuclear fission.
We believe that the focus for the future should be on the production of green hydrogen through electrolysis, which requires clean and surplus electricity from renewable sources that would otherwise not be consumed and would need to be stored.
The first swallows
It is not excluded that electrical energy from photovoltaics will be used for this. power plants, which is currently being built for 60 million euros next to two nuclear power units in Jaslovské Bohunice. The new solar park is to have an output of 48 MW and has the ambition to be the largest photovoltaic power plant in Slovakia. According to our information, it is being considered that it could be part of a larger project to produce green hydrogen.
Other options
We are closely following research, development and scientific progress in this area around the world. Many countries are working to find other ways to produce green hydrogen. For example, Japanese technology companies have decided to produce green hydrogen from plastics.
The Land of the Rising Sun produces 9,4 million tons of plastic waste annually. This will be heated to high temperatures, breaking down the gases into individual molecules. This way, it is possible to capture hydrogen, which is almost 100% pure and can be used as fuel.
A plasma torch capable of producing temperatures of 3 to 500 degrees Celsius will be used to heat the plastic waste. This process is expected to be more than 4 times more environmentally friendly than currently producing the cleanest green hydrogen.
