All About Hydrogen

Methane, also known as natural gas, can be replaced with hydrogen, a clean fuel. It is the most prevalent chemical element and is thought to make about 75% of the universe's mass.

Numerous hydrogen atoms can be found in water, plants, animals, and, of course, humans on earth. Although it is found in almost all living organisms' molecules, it is extremely rare as a gas and only makes up less than one part per million by volume. 

A number of sources, including natural gas, nuclear energy, biogas, and renewable energy sources like solar and wind, can be used to manufacture hydrogen. The difficulty is in commercially exploiting hydrogen as a gas to power our homes and bussinesses.

 

We outline the spectrum of hydrogen colours, from green to pink, as well as the various production methods.

 

The gas hydrogen is indeed invisible. Therefore, despite their colourful labels and a bit of confusion, there is no discernible difference between the various forms of hydrogen. 

 

Green, blue, brown, and even yellow, turquoise, and pink hydrogen are all types of hydrogen. To distinguish between the many forms of hydrogen, the energy sector simply uses colour codes or nicknames. The hydrogen is given varied colours depending on the manner of manufacturing employed. However, since there is no common terminology, these colour descriptions are subject to alter throughout time and even between nations.

 

Although the industry has not yet come to a consensus on this, for individuals who are used to seeing a blue gas flame inside their boilers or when lighting their stoves, this will be the most noticeable difference. For hydrogen, a special flame colour would be applied. 

 

The following is our manual for deciphering the current hydrogen colour code. Are you ready for a green flame?

 

Type of hydrogen produced with no damaging greenhouse gas emissions in the rainbow of hydrogen colours. Green hydrogen is produced by electrolyzing water with clean electricity generated in excess from renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind energy. Hydrogen and oxygen are separated from water in electrolysers using an electrochemical reaction; no carbon dioxide is released during the process.

 

Because generation is costly, green hydrogen currently makes up a small portion of all hydrogen. Green hydrogen's price will decline as it becomes more widely used, just as it has with wind energy. 

 

Using a technique called steam reforming, which combines natural gas and heated water to create steam, blue hydrogen is mostly made from natural gas. Hydrogen is produced, with carbon dioxide as a byproduct. So, in order to capture and store this carbon, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is crucial.

 

Due to the fact that the steam reforming process doesn't actually prevent the production of greenhouse gases, blue hydrogen is sometimes referred to as "low-carbon hydrogen.

 

At the moment, this method of producing hydrogen is the most popular. Using steam methane reformation, grey hydrogen can be produced from natural gas, or methane, without releasing any greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. 

 

The most environmentally harmful type of hydrogen is produced by using black coal or lignite (brown coal), which is the complete opposite of green hydrogen on the hydrogen spectrum. For further confusion, the terms "black hydrogen" and "brown hydrogen" are frequently used interchangeably to refer to any hydrogen produced by the "gasification" process from fossil fuels.

 

Recently, a new brown coal to hydrogen project was unveiled by Japan and Australia. In Australia, brown coal will be used in this project to create liquefied hydrogen, which will subsequently be transported to Japan for use in low-emission systems. 

 

Nuclear energy is used for the electrolysis that produces pink hydrogen. Purple hydrogen or red hydrogen are further names for nuclear-produced hydrogen.

 

Additionally, the extremely high temperatures produced by nuclear reactors might be utilised to produce steam for more effective electrolysis or steam methane reforming that relies on fossil gas.

 

This is a new addition to the hydrogen colour chart, however scaled production has not yet been shown. Methane pyrolysis, a procedure that yields solid carbon and hydrogen, is how turquoise hydrogen is created. If the heating process is fuelled by renewable energy and the carbon is either permanently stored or consumed, turquoise hydrogen may one day be recognised as a low-emission hydrogen.

 

The term "yellow hydrogen," which is relatively new, refers to hydrogen produced by electrolysis utilising solar energy.

 

White hydrogen is a type of naturally occurring geological hydrogen produced by fracking and found in subsurface deposits. Currently, there are no strategies to utilise this hydrogen.

 

In numerous locations across the world, research projects are now being conducted to examine the potential of using hydrogen as an energy source.

 

In the UK, FutureGrid is experimenting with hydrogen blends in off-grid gas pipelines, while Project Union is looking into the creation of a hydrogen "backbone" connecting industrial clusters all over the nation.

 

Similar to that, the HyGrid Project, one of the first and biggest clean hydrogen projects in the US, plans to heat about 800 houses by incorporating green hydrogen into the current distribution infrastructure. Dr. Danielle Stewart, Long Term Strategy Manager for Gas Transmission at National Grid, states: "We will need to examine a range of solutions to attain net zero in a timely, fair, and just manner. The decarbonization of households, transportation, industry, and power may be aided by scaling up and making choices from the clean hydrogen palette. 

 

In order to offer customers clean, reasonably priced, dependable, and resilient energy, National Grid is researching and enabling a variety of complementary technologies. Some hydrogen colours may lose significance in the future while others burn brighter. It is evident that as we move away from our historical reliance on fossil fuels and turn to renewable options to power our homes, companies, and transportation, the hydrogen rainbow will play a big part in helping us reach net zero.