What is white hydrogen? Scientists say the clean-energy gas could save the world.
Business Insider
by Katie Hawkinson
Oct 29, 2023
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/what-is-whi...AA1boD6K|1
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.
Two scientists in France have discovered what may be the largest known deposit of a clean energy resource that could be a saving grace in mitigating climate change.
Jacques Pironon and Phillipe De Donato, directors of research at France's National Centre of Scientific Research, found a deposit between 6 million to 250 million metric tons of white hydrogen, or naturally occurring hydrogen gas, CNN reported.
Take a look at North America's first hydrogen-powered train, which emits only water and will start service this summer
{photo in the link)
Running from June to October in Quebec, the Coradia iLint will be North America's first hydrogen train.
The train, developed by Alstom, first entered commercial operations in Germany in 2018.
It can be a greener alternative to diesel on non-electrified train tracks — over 90% of tracks in North America.
North America will have its very first hydrogen-powered train this summer season.
Alstom, a French rail transportation company, announced earlier this year that it's shipping one of its new hydrogen-powered Coradia iLint trains to Quebec for a summer demonstration.
The train will be operated by rail service Train De Charlevoix, and people traveling on the picturesque route along the St. Lawrence River will be able to get an innovative, hydrogen-fueled ride starting June 9.
The hydrogen train runs thanks to fuel cells — battery-like systems that don't require recharging — which produce electrical energy from the hydrogen in the train's tanks. Hydrogen produces heat and electricity when combined with oxygen, and the whole thing only emits water vapor and condensed water as an emission.
Alstom first started running two of its bright blue Coradia iLint trains in Europe in 2018, and it has delivered 41 more since then. They are considered the first hydrogen-powered trains in the world.
White hydrogen is relatively new to scientists. A study in 2018 that analyzed a well in Mali producing 98% hydrogen gas brought the resource to the attention of the scientific community, CNN reported.
Now, researchers across the globe are interested in white hydrogen — and it could help us "get to speed" on saving the world from the climate crisis, geochemist Viacheslav Zgonnik told CNN.
What is white hydrogen and why is it special?
Hydrogen energy is not a new idea — it only produces water when burned, making it an environment-friendly energy source.
But until recently, scientists thought mass amounts could only be produced in a lab.
"If you had asked me four years ago what I thought about natural hydrogen, I would have told you, 'Oh, it doesn't exist,'" Geoffrey Ellis, a geochemist with the US Geological Survey, told CNN.
And turns out, Ellis would've been wrong.
White hydrogen refers to naturally occurring hydrogen. Its "color" indicates its origin: it is naturally produced in the Earth's crust.
Other "shades" of hydrogen are produced in a lab. They include green hydrogen — which is made from electrolysis, the process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen — and gray hydrogen, which is made from methane gas, Insider previously reported.
While hydrogen is the most abundant element, it is usually attached to other molecules — making the lab production process necessary. But separating hydrogen is energy-intensive and typically powered by fossil fuels, CNN reported.
Because it doesn't require any of these energy-intensive processes, climate experts say white hydrogen could be our saving grace, according to CNN. It's also cheaper: white hydrogen is estimated to cost about $1 per kilogram to produce, while green hydrogen costs about $6 per kilogram, per CNN.
Several start-ups are already exploring how to commercialize white hydrogen, CNN reported.
Ellis told CNN that speed is vital to ensure white hydrogen can help curb the climate crisis.
But Zgonnik told CNN he's hopeful about the turnaround time.
"We have all necessary technology we need, with some slight modifications," Zgonnik said.
The discovery of the largest-known white hydrogen deposit yet comes just months after the hottest summer on global record came to an end — a concerning milestone for climate researchers and activists.
Business Insider
by Katie Hawkinson
Oct 29, 2023
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/what-is-whi...AA1boD6K|1
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.
Two scientists in France have discovered what may be the largest known deposit of a clean energy resource that could be a saving grace in mitigating climate change.
Jacques Pironon and Phillipe De Donato, directors of research at France's National Centre of Scientific Research, found a deposit between 6 million to 250 million metric tons of white hydrogen, or naturally occurring hydrogen gas, CNN reported.
Take a look at North America's first hydrogen-powered train, which emits only water and will start service this summer
{photo in the link)
Running from June to October in Quebec, the Coradia iLint will be North America's first hydrogen train.
The train, developed by Alstom, first entered commercial operations in Germany in 2018.
It can be a greener alternative to diesel on non-electrified train tracks — over 90% of tracks in North America.
North America will have its very first hydrogen-powered train this summer season.
Alstom, a French rail transportation company, announced earlier this year that it's shipping one of its new hydrogen-powered Coradia iLint trains to Quebec for a summer demonstration.
The train will be operated by rail service Train De Charlevoix, and people traveling on the picturesque route along the St. Lawrence River will be able to get an innovative, hydrogen-fueled ride starting June 9.
The hydrogen train runs thanks to fuel cells — battery-like systems that don't require recharging — which produce electrical energy from the hydrogen in the train's tanks. Hydrogen produces heat and electricity when combined with oxygen, and the whole thing only emits water vapor and condensed water as an emission.
Alstom first started running two of its bright blue Coradia iLint trains in Europe in 2018, and it has delivered 41 more since then. They are considered the first hydrogen-powered trains in the world.
White hydrogen is relatively new to scientists. A study in 2018 that analyzed a well in Mali producing 98% hydrogen gas brought the resource to the attention of the scientific community, CNN reported.
Now, researchers across the globe are interested in white hydrogen — and it could help us "get to speed" on saving the world from the climate crisis, geochemist Viacheslav Zgonnik told CNN.
What is white hydrogen and why is it special?
Hydrogen energy is not a new idea — it only produces water when burned, making it an environment-friendly energy source.
But until recently, scientists thought mass amounts could only be produced in a lab.
"If you had asked me four years ago what I thought about natural hydrogen, I would have told you, 'Oh, it doesn't exist,'" Geoffrey Ellis, a geochemist with the US Geological Survey, told CNN.
And turns out, Ellis would've been wrong.
White hydrogen refers to naturally occurring hydrogen. Its "color" indicates its origin: it is naturally produced in the Earth's crust.
Other "shades" of hydrogen are produced in a lab. They include green hydrogen — which is made from electrolysis, the process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen — and gray hydrogen, which is made from methane gas, Insider previously reported.
While hydrogen is the most abundant element, it is usually attached to other molecules — making the lab production process necessary. But separating hydrogen is energy-intensive and typically powered by fossil fuels, CNN reported.
Because it doesn't require any of these energy-intensive processes, climate experts say white hydrogen could be our saving grace, according to CNN. It's also cheaper: white hydrogen is estimated to cost about $1 per kilogram to produce, while green hydrogen costs about $6 per kilogram, per CNN.
Several start-ups are already exploring how to commercialize white hydrogen, CNN reported.
Ellis told CNN that speed is vital to ensure white hydrogen can help curb the climate crisis.
But Zgonnik told CNN he's hopeful about the turnaround time.
"We have all necessary technology we need, with some slight modifications," Zgonnik said.
The discovery of the largest-known white hydrogen deposit yet comes just months after the hottest summer on global record came to an end — a concerning milestone for climate researchers and activists.
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