Green hydrogen is considered to be an important part of the global climate transition, especially as a fuel and energy carrier for heavy transport and industry.
However, large-scale green hydrogen production requires sustainable ways of managing water resources to avoid giving rise to water shortages and conflicts with agriculture over access.
This has been shown in a unique study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, that connects local water supply with a range of scenarios for future hydrogen needs in Europe.
Replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen in the heavy-duty automotive and industrial sectors has the potential to greatly reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
This is especially true if the hydrogen gas is ‘green’, meaning that it is produced by electrolysis, a process whereby water is spit into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity.
A new study from Chalmers shows that planning where hydrogen will be manufactured, and the use of new technology solutions, is vital in order to avoid the large-scale production of green hydrogen leading to local water shortages in some parts of Europe.
