Hydrogen can be produced using renewable energy as well as nuclear energy. Brussels is currently under dispute on this subject as to which source should be used for production. Both these sources help in producing two different colors of Hydrogen, blue and red. Blue or Red – As per the German finance minister all colors of Hydrogen are needed by us.
The world is inculcating a change in its attitude toward clean and green energy to reduce and overturn the damage caused to the planet. The European Union is seeing hydrogen as the fuel that will help decarbonize not just the economy but will also help reduce our overreliance on fossil fuels. But no solution comes with a problem and the situation here is similar to that. While big bets are being made on Hydrogen being the savior fuel, however, the issue of how to produce the fuel is under the spotlight.
Negotiations for a new EU renewable energy target and a multibillion-euro hydrogen pipeline which were under the works face a halt and it’s all thanks to the ongoing debate as to how to produce Hydrogen. Hydrogen can be obtained using renewable power such as wind and solar energy or it can be made with nuclear energy. The former would give us Blue carbon while the latter would give us red carbon.
However, Blue or Red – As per the German finance minister all colors of Hydrogen are needed by us. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner says, “Blue hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas, and red hydrogen, which is produced from nuclear energy, can make a very important contribution towards establishing the hydrogen economy in a transition phase.”
What he means is that when producing Hydrogen from renewable energy is a thing for the future and is the preferable long-term solution the current conditions should also be looked at. In the short term, a market structure needs to be built where the supply source is reliable and the prices too are affordable at the same time.
He added, “For me, it is therefore hard to imagine that Germany would position itself against this in Europe.”
Also Read: Hydrogen Energy Advantages and Disadvantages
It’s not just Europe that faces making the tough decision as Germany is divided from within as well. The country has its fair share of people opposing the use of nuclear energy to produce Hydrogen even as politicians keep emphasizing the fact that for the time being the method can’t be ruled out since Russian pipeline gas can no longer be relied on.
France is another country that relies on nuclear generation too heavily and that is why it is lobbying the campaign of using nuclear energy in contributing to cutting down on carbon dioxide emissions. However, these efforts have been met with concerns from Germany and Spain who find this to be something of a divergence from massively expanding the use of renewable energy in the future.
Source: Reuters
