Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It is clean and renewable, and it can be used to produce electricity, heat and water.

Irena is a company that has been researching the potential of hydrogen-based power systems for years. They have been working on a project in Abu Dhabi that produces both clean water and energy from hydrogen gas using solar power technology.

The company’s goal is to provide desert regions with a sustainable source of clean water by using hydrogen as an energy source. They believe that this would help people in these areas live more comfortably while reducing their carbon footprint at the same time.

Desert regions could boost clean water for local people

Green hydrogen initiatives in barren region areas ought to enhance smooth water for nearby people: Irena Water desalination simplest provides much less than 4% to the levelised value of H2 withinside the maximum conservative scenario, says agency Desalination strategies had to offer water for inexperienced hydrogen initiatives in arid areas may be used to deliver H 2 O to the nearby populace at minimum value, in line with a brand new record via way of means of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).

Nations consisting of Mauritania, Namibia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Chile and Australia are making plans multi-gigawatt inexperienced hydrogen initiatives in barren region areas, which might use the lengthy hours of vibrant sunshine to provide reasonably-priced sun strength that might in flip strength electrolysers to break up water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.

But whilst the water deliver wished for those initiatives ought to theoretically drain nearby groundwater reserves, desalination initiatives that purify seawater may be constructed at fantastically low value, or even offer water for different uses, in line with a brand new Irena record, Global Hydrogen Trade to Meet the 1.5°C Climate Target: Part III: Cost and Potential of Green Hydrogen. “One undertaking for Africa is water scarcity, however inexperienced hydrogen ought to offer an possibility to deal with this undertaking instead of exacerbate it,” the observe says. “Even for low LCOH [levelised cost of hydrogen] scenarios, water deliver, withinside the maximum conservative case, via desalination, bills for simplest much less than 4% of general LCOH, which means it’s miles fantastically reasonably-priced in comparison to hydrogen deliver.

“The water deliver gadget may be scaled as much as serve different water uses (e.g. sanitation) with a fantastically small value penalty for hydrogen, however supplying the essential economies of scale to reap low water costs.” Channelling desalinated water inland may also be an inexpensive option, the record provides. “Even in areas some distance from the coast, water delivery may be considered, in an effort to boom the value of water deliver, however will nonetheless constitute a fantastically small a part of the entire hydrogen manufacturing value, achieving stages of $0.05/kgH 2 and accounting for 1 -2% of the electrolyser’s electricity consumption.”