Producing hydrogen
Not all hydrogen is produced equally, and there are many ways to make hydrogen gas that can be used as fuel, such as electrolytic hydrogen production. From green to blue, grey to yellow, hydrogen production technologies are new ways to produce low-carbon hydrogen, according to the UK low carbon hydrogen standard, but currently, some methods have downsides as well as benefits. For example, producing blue hydrogen requires adding carbon capture and storage (CCS) as this method creates carbon as a by-product.
Distributing hydrogen
Safely distributing and delivering hydrogen is not an easy task due to the large amount of space it takes to store a significant amount of energy, the lack of a standardised hydrogen infrastructure and cost. Even before delivery, compression, liquefaction and purification are required to prepare the hydrogen for transportation. Within these supply chains, there may be a need for more visibility and rich data history on the movement of goods. Thermal management is also crucial in the end-to-end supply chain management process as environmental impacts could lead to assets being damaged. Digital Catapult’s platform 5G VIOS is solving this challenge with near real-time condition monitoring and tracking.
Consuming hydrogen
Hydrogen can be consumed for heat generation, propulsion and power generation, and used as a feedstock in chemical processing and material production. It’s already being used worldwide to power vehicles, but less so for larger-scale business use.
