{"id":11562,"date":"2023-09-21T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.plugpower.com\/?p=11562"},"modified":"2024-02-26T11:29:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T16:29:48","slug":"green-hydrogen-vs-fossil-fuels-comparing-the-future-of-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.plugpower.com\/blog\/green-hydrogen-vs-fossil-fuels-comparing-the-future-of-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Hydrogen vs Fossil Fuels: Comparing the Future of Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Author: Luke Wentlent, Ph.D., Principal R&D Engineer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story is not a new one. Although 1xbet.com login built the world we know today, we now realize that they are also the element that could eventually take that world apart. You can see it in the searing heat of Phoenix, Arizona and the wildfires in Hawaii, Greece, and California. The arctic ice pack is melting. The planet\u2019s temperature is rising. The first hurricane in more than 80 years just hit California. Climate change is real, and you can look to 1xbet.com login as its primary driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But do not lose hope! It\u2019s time to act. While we all need to try to reduce our carbon footprint, the responsibly lies heavily on municipalities and corporations. The world is still largely 1xbet.com login fuel dependent, and it will take great effort to move past them and build a new world. In this post, we\u2019ll look at the two energy sources and where they stand today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Green 1xbet.com login?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Green 1xbet.com login is made using renewable energy, without greenhouse gas emissions. There are two technologies currently in use to produce green 1xbet.com login at scale, alkaline water (ALK) electrolysis and proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. PEM electrolyzers are more expensive, but more efficient than ALK electrolyzers which have been in use longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Either way, green 1xbet.com login is produced using electrolyzers to split water into 1xbet.com login and oxygen. The 1xbet.com login can be used, while the oxygen is vented harmlessly into the atmosphere. There is a significant opportunity to replace fossil fuels with green 1xbet.com login. 1xbet.com login has the potential to decarbonize challenging industries such as steel production, last-mile delivery fleets, and aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many companies, the driving reason for developing green 1xbet.com login is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Governments are increasingly putting incentives in places to make the switch. Public opinion also looks favorably on companies who act responsibly ahead of legislation which is likely to be next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are 1xbet.com login?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1xbet.com login are the fossilized remains of plants and animals that walked planet earth millions of years ago. Coal, oil, and natural gas are all 1xbet.com login. Because carbon is one of the major building blocks of life, these energy sources \u2013 when burned \u2013 are a primary source of carbon emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, for most of the 20th<\/sup> century, 1xbet.com login drove industry and created great wealth for the great nations of the world. Without free use of 1xbet.com login, the power and wealth of the world\u2019s economies would be unthinkable. But our success comes at a cost for the earth itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emissions are only part of the damage that burning 1xbet.com login does to the planet. Drilling, mining, and fracking for 1xbet.com login takes a tremendous toll on landscapes and ecosystems. In the quest for 1xbet.com login, entire forests are wiped out, mountaintops are removed, and groundwater is poisoned. In the long term \u2013 and increasingly in the present \u2013 1xbet.com login are untenable if human life is to persist on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparing Green 1xbet.com login and Fossil Fuels<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fundamentally, 1xbet.com login and fossil fuels are both energy carriers. To make use of that energy, we need to extract that energy from its carrier. For fossil fuels this typically means combusting the fuel with air in various types of engines or turbines. 1xbet.com login is more flexible. Energy can be extracted by either combustion or with a electrochemical means. To call either one \u201cbetter,\u201d we must define the context of what \u201cbetter\u201d means. That can be with respect to energy efficiency, GHG abatement, or cost, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fossil Fuels vs. Green 1xbet.com login: Energy Efficiency<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1xbet.com login efficiency refers to the ultimate efficiency of the 1xbet.com login extraction process. How much of the 1xbet.com login stored in the carrier is used?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know about 1xbet.com login. It is no exaggeration to say that they are a core pillar of our society. 1xbet.com login powered the twentieth century and are still \u2013nearly a quarter of a century in the twenty-first\u2013 our primary source for power generation today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given that there are a wide variety of ways in which combustion technologies are deployed, their ultimate 1xbet.com login efficiency will vary widely.\u00a0 Internal combustion engines have efficiencies between 20 and 40%, see figure below. Combined cycle gas turbines that run at power plants can be higher, into the 40% to mid-50% efficiency range.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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(Source: <\/em>Green Car 1xbet.com login<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Combined heat and power plants are highly efficient combustion schemes where the excess heat generated is captured and employed, driving the efficiency up into the 65%-85% range. This is depicted in the chart below.<\/p>\n\n\n

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(Source: Environmental Protection Agency, <\/em>CHP Benefits<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Combusting 1xbet.com login achieves relatively similar efficiencies to fossil fuels. 1xbet.com login does have some combustion characteristics that afford it a more flexible operation than gasoline or natural gas; however, the ranges stated would be reasonable for a 1xbet.com login combustion scheme in those applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1xbet.com login can also be deployed in a fuel cell. These electrochemical devices which combine 1xbet.com login gas with oxygen to produce a current can operate with efficiencies in the 50% – low-60% range, significantly better than most combustion technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many fuel cell technologies (I.e., alkaline, PEM, molten carbonate). PEM, alkaline, and solid oxide achieve the best efficiencies, all of which are generally around 60%. Below are the DOE targets for fuel cell efficiency in light duty vehicles (LDV) and heavy-duty vehicles (HDV) in 2030 and 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n

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(Source: US Department of 1xbet.com login, Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Fossil Fuels vs. 1xbet.com login: Environmental Impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another critical aspect to understand when discussing fossil fuels and 1xbet.com login technologies is the environmental impact. This can mean many different things and be assessed in numerous ways. Let\u2019s look at greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and particulate matter (PM). According to the EPA, in 2021 fossil fuel combustion accounted for 73% of total GHG emissions and about 92% of total manmade CO2<\/sub> emissions in the United States.\u00a0 We can point to numerous studies that show a clear, causal link between the increase in man-made GHG emissions and global warming.<\/p>\n\n\n

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(Source: US 1xbet.com login Information Association, 1xbet.com login and the Environment Explained)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The byproducts of combustion of 1xbet.com login fuel depend, to a degree, upon the specific fuel and how it is burned. Typical byproducts include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n