Celebrating Hydrogen in the Clean Energy Economy

Energy Independence Now and the Hydrogen Council co-hosted an evening Celebrating Hydrogen in the Clean Energy Economy on Thursday 13th September from 5:30pm. Gathering CEOs and executives from the 53 members of the Hydrogen Council alongside key stakeholder and influencers in the clean energy conversation, the event featured keynote remarks from leading figures in the hydrogen ecosystem and on-site displays of the latest in hydrogen solutions.

The reception was another opportunity for Council members to interact with industry, associations, and various other organizations aligned by similar missions. The reception also hosted a hydrogen fuel cell expo where guests could familiarise themselves with hydrogen fueled vehicles and lighting, with trucks and cars provided by members Honda, Hyundai and Toyota.

Celebrating Hydrogen in the Clean Energy Economy

 

 

About Energy Independence Now:

Energy Independence Now (EIN) is the only environmental nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and the hydrogen-fueling infrastructure required to catalyze a rapid transition to a clean energy and transportation economy. EIN engages in comprehensive research, strategic policy advocacy and public outreach to promote the widespread adoption of FCEVs and renewable hydrogen (RH2) as a key part of a zero-emission transport future.

To find out more: www.einow.org

Hydrogen Meets Digital

Global digital revolution creates new energy demands

Digital technologies are transforming all sectors. They are changing how we work, live, and enjoy ourselves and how goods and services are created, transmitted, and consumed. Some of these technologies, such as autonomous driving, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, will have both disruptive as well as cross-cutting effects on many parts of our economy.

While digitization can increase energy efficiency, e.g., by sharing of assets such as cars and improving energy efficiency in our daily lives through IoT, it also creates massive new energy demands. The information and communications technology (ICT) sector already consumes more than 50% of the US electricity consumption. In the coming years, energy demand for ICT is expected to grow further, doubling by 2050, and this forecast already considers the continuous improvement of ICT energy efficiency.

In order to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius, the world will need to make dramatic changes. With the clear imperative to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality, these new energy demands must come from clean and renewable sources. This implies the need for an energy carrier that can take solar and wind power, channel it to its end use, and release the energy when needed.

How hydrogen could help

Two main technologies – batteries and hydrogen – can provide the required storage for renewables. While often portrayed as competitors, they are, in fact, complementary for different applications.

The high energy density of on board hydrogen storage (about 10 times higher energy density compared to rechargeable batteries) makes hydrogen fuel cell systems ideally suited for powering large, heavy or “vertical” (e.g., flying) modes of transport. Longer ranges go hand-in-hand with faster refueling, slashing wait times, increasing utilization, and reducing infrastructure requirements. While initial incremental infrastructure investments might be higher, hydrogen infrastructure is less costly at scale and does not affect the electricity network, while direct charging infrastructure will require significant grid upgrades.

This discussion paper seeks to start investigating the impact of digitization on energy demand and establish a dialogue with the ICT sector on how digitization and hydrogen could complement each other’s impact during the energy transition. Hydrogen offers strong benefits that could enable major digital trends and thus serve as an efficient, zero-emission energy vector. Four specific promising use-cases are explored in this discussion paper:

  • Autonomous taxis and shuttles
  • Digitally enabled freight chains
  • VTOL taxis
  • Data centers

In 2030, hydrogen could power …

 

Read and download the full paper to learn more (English version).

Click here to download the report in Korean.

Download the slides for a summary of key findings.

Global Hydrogen Leaders Forum

Global hydrogen ecosystem unites in San Francisco and invites technology leaders to join forces for energy transition

53 energy, transport and industry companies host ‘Global Hydrogen Leaders Forum’ at Global Climate Action Summit and show how hydrogen can power digital innovation  

San Francisco, 13 September 2018 – The Hydrogen Council comes together in San Francisco today for its third annual CEO event, the Global Hydrogen Leaders Forum. An official affiliate of the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS), the Forum provides an opportunity for industry executives to engage with stakeholders to drive large-scale commercialization of hydrogen worldwide.

Dr. Woong-Chul Yang, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Company and Co-chair of the Hydrogen Council states, “The Hydrogen Council’s third CEO event is a testament to how far we have come since the launch of this initiative about 18 months ago. More than fifty top industry leaders are here today to show hydrogen has a role to play and we need to act now to get it to scale and truly enable the energy transition. This transition needs to be sustainable environmentally, financially and socially, and hydrogen will help ensure it ticks all those boxes.”

To mark its presence at the heart of tech innovation in California, the Hydrogen Council has also launched a new discussion paper – Hydrogen Meets Digital –  to investigate four exemplary applications that can particularly benefit from hydrogen. Developed with analytical support from McKinsey, it demonstrates how hydrogen and digital technologies can work hand-in-hand to drive our energy transition.

The report highlights how hydrogen’s unique benefits can address some of the most pressing energy challenges facing tech innovators today. In the coming years, while energy efficiency gains are reducing overall energy demand, energy demand for digital applications such as data centers is expected to double until 2050. This implies the need for an energy carrier that can take renewable power, channel it, and then release energy when needed. Hydrogen and batteries are both essential to achieving this. Hydrogen, with its 10x higher energy density and 20x faster refuelling than mainstream technologies, is well suited for such applications. It can be flexibly produced, smoothing out imbalances in electricity demand and its longer range can result in reduced wait times, increased utilization, and reduced infrastructure requirements.

By 2030, hydrogen technologies could power up to 1.5 million autonomous taxis, 700,000 autonomous shuttles, 8,000 vertical take-off and landing taxis (VTOLs), 3.6 million delivery trucks and provide up to 1 TWh of backup power for data centres1. As a result, this digital future could grow the world’s hydrogen market, in addition to the applications highlighted in the 2017 Hydrogen Council Report Scaling Up by another 7 million tons of annual hydrogen demand and the use of 6.4 million fuel cells by 2030[1].

“Hydrogen will play a major role in the energy transition, but it is also key to power the digital revolution. We invite tech leaders to consider hydrogen solutions for digital applications. Together, we can deliver concrete solutions while ensuring a sustainable future.” said Benoit Potier, CEO and Chairman of Air Liquide and Co-chair of the Hydrogen Council.

[1] Hydrogen meets digital, Hydrogen Council, 2018, report prepared for the Global Climate Action Summit

3rd Annual CEO Event