Indra Prabha Jain

University of Rajasthan, India

Title: Hydrogen: Clean Energy Source of the Future

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Biography

Abstract

Non-Conventional Energy Sources, such as solar and hydrogen energy will remain available for infinite period. One of the reasons of great worry for all of us is reducing sources of conventional energy. We are consuming more energy than can be produced by nature. The results will be elimination of all the conventional sources of energy from the world most probably in this century itself. The other aspect is pollution added by these sources in our environment. The more we use these sources the poorer is our quality of life on this planet.

 

One of the frequently discussed candidates is hydrogen which when burnt in air produces a clean form of energy. In the last one decade hydrogen has attracted worldwide interest as a secondary energy carrier. This has generated comprehensive investigations on the technology involved and how to solve the problems of production, storage and applications of hydrogen. The interest in hydrogen as energy of the future is due to it being a clean energy, most abundant element in the universe, the lightest fuel, richest in energy per unit mass, produced easily using any source of energy and unlike electricity, it can be easily stored. Hydrogen gas is now considered to be the most promising fuel of the future.  It will provide, Cheap Electricity, Cook Food, Drive Car, Run Factories, Jet Planes, Hydrogen Village and for all our domestic energy requirements.

 

Hydrogen Energy Systems is making inroads in several directions. Major car companies have developed hydrogen run fuel cell cars which are available in market. Some cities have started demonstration projects using Hydrogen fuel transit buses. Long lasting, light and clean metal hydride batteries are already commercial for laptop computers. Larger capacity batteries are being developed for electrical cars. Hydrogen is already being used as the fuel of choice for space programmes around the world. It will be used to power aerospace transports to build the international space station, as well as to provide electricity and portable water for its inhabitants.

 

In short hydrogen shows the solution and also allows the progressive and non-traumatic transition of today’s energy sources, towards feasible safe reliable and complete sustainable energy chains. The present talk includes the storage, application and characterization aspect of hydrogen in the present energy scenario. Hydrogen is three times efficient and four times costly compared to fossil fuel. With increasing cost of petrol and decreasing cost of hydrogen production, the day is not far when hydrogen run cars becomes the reality on the roads.

 

There are sufficient environmental and public health benefits of direct hydrogen fuel to justify moving ahead based on what we know already about fossil fuels, their consequences and their limitations. The coming decade will definitely see greater and greater use of “Green Power” so as to ensure less dependence on ‘Fossil Fuels’ and also in order to prevent environmental degradation.