The Global Demand for Green Hydrogen
The demand for green hydrogen is rising globally as it is considered a cornerstone for energy transition and the decarbonization of various sectors. Industries, transportation, and energy supply place high hopes on this energy carrier to replace fossil fuels. Despite numerous projects and significant investments, there are substantial obstacles that hinder the development of a sustainable and affordable hydrogen economy.
The Challenge: Unsuitable Methods and Extreme Conditions
Many current hydrogen production methods are expensive and inefficient, especially in regions with extreme climatic conditions such as deserts. Conventional solar technologies cannot effectively harness the intense solar radiation and exacerbate local environmental problems through excessive heating and reflection. The Bloomberg report, “Why Almost Nobody Buys Green Hydrogen,” further highlights that high production costs and unreliable energy sources are major hurdles.
The Solution: Hybrid Solar System (HSS)
- Energy Intensity: While conventional PV modules harness the power of only one sun, HSS technology can concentrate the energy of up to 1000 suns. This achieves an extremely high efficiency that far surpasses conventional solar technologies.
The Hybrid Solar System (HSS) offers a groundbreaking alternative to overcome these challenges and enable cost-effective hydrogen production:
- Efficient Concentrator Optics: HSS technology optimally concentrates solar radiation, minimizes local heating, and maximizes energy output.
- Hybrid Energy Generation: The combination of solar energy, wind power, and natural gas enables a continuous energy supply that is independent of weather conditions.
- Thermochemical Hydrogen Production: This method utilizes the generated energy more efficiently than electrolysis and significantly reduces production costs.
This chart illustrates the average production costs per kilogram of hydrogen for various methods. Thermochemical methods offer the most cost-effective solution at ~2.5 $/kg, followed by electrolysis (~5 $/kg) and other renewable methods (~8 $/kg)
Global Benefits: Energy for a New Hydrogen Economy
Ground-based wind energy in mountainous regions offers another significant advantage: the mountains themselves serve as natural foundations and, above all, as wind accelerators, eliminating the need to construct tall towers with massive bases. The rocky formations are stable enough to support the installation of new wind energy systems. Additionally, near-ground wind energy density in these regions, such as Inyo County, reaches impressive levels of over 10,000 W/m² compared to only about 1,000 W/m² in flatlands. This makes mountainous regions optimal sites for integrating modern wind energy systems.
Inyo County, California, is an excellent example of a region with some of the highest potentials for solar and wind energy, as highlighted in the maps. The specific solar irradiation (DNI) is an impressive 2900 kWh/m².
The combination of these renewable resources with the significant natural gas reserves in the United States provides an optimal foundation for the continuous production of green hydrogen. This could not only make the U.S. a pioneer in the hydrogen industry but also contribute to powering the country’s energy-intensive data centers with cost-effective, sustainable energy. Simultaneously, utilizing these desert regions for sustainable energy projects could help reduce environmental stress and enhance the resilience of fragile ecosystems.
The United States possesses some of the world’s largest natural gas reserves and numerous desert areas ideally suited for hydrogen production. Regions like the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico and the Maverick Basin in South Texas are close to U.S. deserts and provide an excellent foundation for combining solar energy, wind power, and natural gas. This opens up opportunities not only for the continuous production of green hydrogen but also for providing cost-effective energy.
Potential investors primarily benefit from the economic advantages: reduced energy costs, sustainable and scalable energy sources, and the opportunity to actively shape the global hydrogen market. This makes HSS technology an attractive investment opportunity.
- Hydrogen Available Around the Clock:Through the hybrid combination of solar, wind, and natural gas, hydrogen is produced sustainably and continuously. This weather-independent solution overcomes the previous weaknesses of renewable energies. Moreover, battery storage becomes unnecessary since natural gas is already a stored energy source available around the clock.
- Scalability and Sustainability: Utilizing energy sources available directly in deserts minimizes transportation costs and enables autonomous and resource-conserving hydrogen production. This hybrid solution sets new standards for a sustainable energy future.
An Example: The U.S. as a New Leader
The United States boasts enormous resources, including some of the world’s largest natural gas reserves, strong winds, and desert areas with high solar radiation. These desert regions, including the Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, Chihuahuan Desert, and parts of the Great Basin Desert, are not only natural landscapes with extreme solar radiation but also fragile ecosystems threatened by climate change and environmental stress. By integrating HSS technology, the U.S. could take a leading role in the global hydrogen economy.
- Desert Management: HSS technology could simultaneously combat desertification by halting sand movement and extracting water from the surrounding air.
- Global Market: The U.S. could expand its position as an energy exporter and sustainably shape the market for green hydrogen.
Call to Action: Collaboration for a Hydrogen-Powered Future
The success of green hydrogen production hinges on collective efforts and innovative partnerships. We invite governments, industries, research institutions, and investors to join forces in making hydrogen the cornerstone of a sustainable energy future. Together, we can overcome challenges, harness the potential of groundbreaking technologies like HSS, and drive the global energy transition.
Conclusion: A New Path for the Hydrogen Industry
HSS technology offers the global hydrogen economy a new way to produce green hydrogen cost-effectively, sustainably, and continuously. While the challenges of current methods are particularly evident in extreme climate zones, HSS demonstrates how these obstacles can be overcome. Countries from other parts of the world, such as Saudi Arabia or Namibia, could join the U.S. in taking a leading role in this innovative hydrogen production. The time is ripe to harness these potentials and accelerate the transformation.
Contact information:
Ryszard Dzikowski
rich@desert.solar
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