Eco Green Hydrogen

Hydrogen, especially the so-called green hydrogen, is seen as a beacon of hope in the energy revolution.
Like electricity, hydrogen is not a primary energy carrier that can simply be mined and used; it has to be produced, and that requires raw materials such as crude oil and natural gas or even biomass and water. Energy must therefore be externally supplied.

Currently, the EU consumes about 10 million tons of hydrogen, which is 11 % of global demand.
Gray hydrogen is the dominant and most cost-effective technology today, but it is produced from fossil fuels, mainly through steam reforming of natural gas. However, large amounts of CO₂ are released in the process-about 5.5 kg of carbon dioxide per kg of hydrogen produced.

Currently, green hydrogen accounts for less than 1 %.

Hydrogen plays only a minor role in the European energy supply and accounts for about two percent of the energy mix in the EU. Of this, 95 percent is generated by fossil fuels, releasing 70 to 100 million metric tons of CO₂ annually.

However, the European Commission wants to push the use of renewable hydrogen strongly and aims to produce 10 million tons of hydrogen within the EU by 2030 and import another 10 million tons. For this purpose, the so-called REPowerEU plan was presented, which aims to rapidly reduce dependence on fossil fuels from Russia and accelerate ecological change.

Hydrogen is to be produced primarily by electrolysis, which will result in a strong additional demand for electricity, which must come from renewable sources. The 10 million ton target will require an additional 500 TWh of electricity – which is 14 % of the EU’s total electricity consumption.

With the help of its research partner St. Andrews, AGT has also succeeded in setting new standards in the field of hydrogen. Hydrogen is a by-product of methane cracking and can therefore be produced cheaply and efficiently.

When ACA technology is uitilized, no CO₂ is produced because the carbon is separated during gas cracking and converted into solid form. Hydrogen can be produced both separately using ACA, by adding methane and then cracking it, or in combination with LTC technology, by autonomously producing the synthesis gas from organic waste materials which is then cracked. Approximately 60 kg of hydrogen can be produced per ton of input. The space and material requirements are much lower compared to electrolysis and the associated additional construction of wind and solar plants.