Hydrogen power is an exciting form of clean energy. But hydrogen typically needed to be produced in a lab using energy-intensive methods. White hydrogen, a newly identified hydrogen source, could eliminate the need for lab production.

  • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    What other criteria is more important?

    Really?

    • How about how much you have?
    • How easy is it to get more?
    • How cheap is it to get more?
    • How much can you store?
    • How cheap is it to store?
    • How safe is it to handle?
    • What is the spoilage rate?
    • How easy is it to move?
    • How cheap is it to move?
    • How easy is it to consume?

    Hydrogen fails on every single one of those compared to alternatives.

    • orclev@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Additionally nuclear power is also clean in that it produces no carbon emissions. It does produce nuclear waste, but that’s easily managed and can even be recycled somewhat. Just the amount of nuclear waste that we have in the US could be reprocessed to produce enough power to meet the entire power demand of the entire US for the next 100 years, to say nothing of new fuel. Nuclear waste is also easier and safer to dispose of than most of the waste that comes out of coal fired plants (which is also radioactive), and somewhat ironically nuclear power plants actually release significantly less radiation into the environment than coal plants do.

      Hydrogen power, outside of maybe the highly specific circumstances at play in Japan, just doesn’t make any sense. It’s hard to get, hard to transport, hard to store, its energy density is relatively poor, and it’s even dangerous to be around due to the risk of explosion and fire.

      • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Hydrogen power, outside of maybe the highly specific circumstances at play in Japan, just doesn’t make any sense.

        The poster’s example of Hydrogen in Japan I wouldn’t even call a Hydrogen solution. They’re making green hydrogen from some other energy source. Japan isn’t even keeping the resulting hydrogen generated, they’re immediately turning it into something else for transport and storage.

        The thread original premise of white hydrogen, possibly being burned in situ in France for electricity generation, I’d call a real hydrogen solution, but it is so very specific that I’m not sure its applicable anywhere else on Earth.

      • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I don’t think you’re quite grasping it. There would be an insane amount of carbon used to try to use hydrogen as a primary fuel source in overcoming all the shortcomings of hydrogen.