There is a growing international consensus that clean hydrogen will play a key role in the world’s transition to a sustainable energy future. It is crucial to help reduce carbon emissions from industry and heavy transport, and also to provide long-term energy storage at scale. Hydrogen is a rising star. Versatile and environmentally friendly, hydrogen produces no CO2 when combusted, only water and heat. It can be used to decarbonise electricity, heating, transport and industry. A clean energy vector, hydrogen is easily transported, stored and blended with current fuels.
Hydrogen Energy Laboratory -Project, BCSIR, Chattogram (HELC) has been commenced long term programmes with the help of ministry of science & technology (MoST), Bangladesh to implement hydrogen economy. The HELC infrastructure is a primary measure of capacity building and to introduce hydrogen economy implementation phase I.
To many, hydrogen remains elusive; it is thought of as an energy source of the future. However, proven large-scale and low-emission hydrogen production is already here through hydrogen production from natural resources coupled with carbon capture and storage (CCS), a suite of emission-reduction technologies that store CO2 underground. As such, alongside other key mitigation options, the large-scale deployment of hydrogen production can kick start the energy transition.
Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of sources, a fact that confers both security and diversity of supply. Natural gas reforming (SMR) provides half of all hydrogen produced globally. Electrolysis, a process in which excess clean energy produced from renewables or nuclear is used to produce hydrogen, become important as a form of energy storage, and will enable greater integration of renewables. Governments need to support both electrolysis and carbon capture hydrogen.
This would be a great opportunity to tackle air pollution in cities around the world, as hydrogen produces near-zero lifecycle pollutants. In aviation and shipping industries, the smart money is going on hydrogen becoming the zero-emission fuel of the future. A new hydrogen economy that will support the energy transition will not happen overnight. It will need government support. The IEA found that more than 70% of all investments in the energy transition will either come directly by governments, or will be driven by government policy. Hence, policymakers must take the lead for an effective and successful energy transition. To secure a environmentally friendly energy system in Bangladesh, hydrogen fuel system could be a right choice. Many potential aspect of Bangladesh such as enormous biomass and water can be used as feedstock to produce hydrogen that can save the foreign exchange and establish stable economy.
We can expect to hear much more about policies to stimulate the creation of a single clean hydrogen market in Bangladesh in the months to come. The clean hydrogen future has already begun.
Dr Md Abdus Salam,
Project Director
Establishment of Hydrogen energy Laboratory-project