Biden administration adds exemptions into new climate rules for hydrogen energy

[Miguelito Loveless]

26. True,

but H2 folks usually claim the energy is from renewables, so it doesn’t matter. Except it does if you are using the H2 for transport. You can use 55kWh of solar electricity for example to charge an EV and drive 200 miles, or you can make a kg of H2, and drive an HFCEV 50 miles. Which is a better and more economical use of the electricity?

FF requires energy to drill/mine and refine before it is a usable fuel. The energy contained in FF is more than the energy needed to turn it into usable fuel, which is great except 1) it took millions of years to make, 2) It’s finite, and 3) it pollutes when extracted, refined, and burned. Also, on average, an ICE vehicle wastes 80% of the energy from combustion as heat, compared to to about 10%-15% for an EV. A HFCEV wastes about 50% to 60% in converting electricity to H2, then H2 back to electricity.

Solar panels/wind turbines require power and materials to create, but then run for decades on fuel that is effectively free, so we wind up getting more energy out of them than put in after a few years of operation (My solar array has produced a bit shy of 160MWh (160,000 kWh) of electricity in 9 years of operation. It has powered my home, heated and cooled my home, and provided all my energy for transportation in that time).

H2 may have some energy applications in the future, but so far batteries are way more efficient, and getting better/cheaper annually.