Hydrogen And The Move To Green Energy

Hydrogen And The Move To Green Energy

Elon Musk, Tesla’s cofounder, has called hydrogen fuel cells “mind-bogglingly stupid” and claims that it is inefficient to use hydrogen in a car when compared with charging a lithium-ion battery from a renewable energy source. In October, Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga described hydrogen as “a vital key to clean energy” and urged “revolutionary innovation to build up a low-cost, high-volume hydrogen supply chain.” One of these perspectives comes from a leader of a company where hydrogen fuel cells are a potential competitor, while the other comes from a leader of a country that imports 90 percent of its energy and is attempting to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and its carbon emissions. It is too early to say who is right, and it is possible they both will be as the momentum behind non-car applications for green hydrogen is currently greater than that of hydrogen in passenger vehicles. While Musk and Suga differ in their views on the future use of hydrogen, specifically as a source of power for new-energy vehicles (NEV), both leaders are among the many CEOs and government officials who recognize behavior must change and investments must increase quickly, if society is to successfully mitigate environmental problems caused by climate change. Increasingly, national and corporate leaders, especially in Asia, are siding with Suga, putting money and priority behind policies and investments that will make hydrogen another tool among several being used in the effort to decarbonize the economy, reduce emissions and address climate change.

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