Page 47 - BANKING FINANCE APRIL 2024

ARTICLE

process of capturing carbon and storing it underground is The final hydrogen can be transported to different locations
called industrial Carbon Capture & Storage(CCS). Hence, Blue as per requirement.
hydrogen can be called as carbon neutral because the
emissions are not released in the environment. The hydrogen fuel produced above can be converted into
energy by means of a 'fuel cell'. Basically, a hydrogen fuel
Black/Brown Hydrogen- Black hydrogen is produced cell works in the reverse principle as compared to a water
from bituminous coal while brown hydrogen is produced from electrolyzer. Hydrogen fuel and oxygen (from the air)
lignite variety of coal. In these two variants, CO2 and carbon undergo chemical reaction inside the cell to produce energy
monoxide are generated during the production process and and water (in the form of steam) is released as residue.
both these gases are not recaptured. Hence, these forms
of hydrogen can be called very polluting in nature. About two-third of our earth is covered with water (raw
material for green hydrogen) .Also, renewable energy sources
Green Hydrogen- This is the variant of hydrogen which like solar, wind etc. are perpetual sources of energy. So, we
is being looked upon by the world today,to reduce our can very well imagine the potential of green hydrogen to fulfill
dependence on fossil fuels and help us in transitioning from the world's energy needs. Infact, if technology is developed that
dirty fuels to clean energy. can produce green hydrogen in an economically viable way, it
would not be an exaggeration to say
that green hydrogen can prove to be
an'elixir'for fulfilling world's energy
needs.

Our country has a long coastline of
around 7,500 km which gives access
to sea water. Ample sunlight and
wind are also available in the
country. Also, our country's many
industrial give producers of green
hydrogen a captive market, while
proximity to major global markets
and our large ports give our country
an advantage in the export markets.

Green hydrogen scores above even
lithium ion batteries, currently being
used in electric vehicles, in many
Green hydrogen is produced from water (H2O) using ways. Firstly, lithium is a scarce element.
renewable sources of energy. Purified water is fed into
electrochemical devices called 'water electrolyzers', in which Secondly, a lithium mine takes many years of development
water is split into hydrogen and oxygen by passage of electric before it starts commercial production.
current. The water electrolyzer consists of two metal rods
called electrodes, immersed into water and separated by a Thirdly, as of now, only 3 countries i.e. Australia, Chile and
membrane. Hydrogen is produced by chemical reaction at China provide about 90 percent of global lithium supply, posing
one of the rods and oxygen at the another rod.The system huge concentration risk in the global supply chain of lithium.
also consists of equipment for cooling/processing of
hydrogen produced (e.g. removing remaining traces of Also, lithium mining from hard rock mines involves usage of
oxygen and drying of hydrogen), purification of incoming large amount of fossil fuels as well as water. It causes a lot
water as also compression and storage of final hydrogen. of environmental damage to the area around the mines.

42 | 2024 | APRIL | BANKING FINANCE