WEATHER-ASSOCIATED events have been making headlines lately as casualties and property losses were incurred.
Experts believe these extreme events are triggered by climate change, which is the effect of long-term global temperature and weather shifts inflicted by human activities associated with fossil fuel consumption that releases heat-trapping gases that escalate the melting of the ice caps and the rise in sea levels.
At the brink of a climate crisis, the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015 to pledge global efforts to ensure the temperature rise is limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century.
Many countries are adopting climate action to cut emissions, aiming for net-zero by 2050. Based on the 12th Malaysia Plan, Malaysia aims to achieve the carbon-neutral goal by 2050.
Last November, Malaysia made a commitment to transition into a net-zero emission nation by 2050.
It is also envisioned that by 2030, 100 per cent of our government fleets will be non-internal combustion engine vehicles, signifying the political will and commitment to gradually shift to cleaner energy sources.
Two of Malaysia's major energy companies, Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Petronas, also declared their aspiration to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The term hydrogen economy refers to an economy driven by hydrogen in which a significant portion of fossil fuels is replaced by hydrogen to decarbonise the critical economic sectors.
Hydrogen is considered the fuel of the future as it holds the key to decarbonising the economy. When hydrogen reacts with oxygen, it will produce energy in the form of heat or electricity and its byproduct is water.
Hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant element in the universe. It is the energy that fuels and lights our sun and stars. The availability of hydrogen is infinite, and its existence on Earth is never in its pure form as it easily reacts with other elements to form water or other organic compounds.
Hydrogen is not a primary fuel source as it doesn't exist naturally. Instead, it is considered an energy carrier as it needs to be produced through certain processes. Hydrogen is colourless, but gets colour based on its extraction method.
At present, more than 90 per cent of the world's hydrogen is grey hydrogen, produced through the Steam Methane Reforming process, where methane is mixed with hot steam to make hydrogen.
The drawback is that it emits loads of carbon emissions. If this method is combined with the Carbon Capture and Storage technology, it is coded as blue hydrogen as carbon is captured.
Green hydrogen is produced via electrolysis, where electricity from renewables is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Although this process is costly, it releases zero emissions.
And yellow hydrogen is formed through electrolysis using electricity from the grid.
Decarbonising the economy at scale clearly requires renewable energy to play a pertinent role in driving this climate agenda. The power sector needs to harness renewables as a dominant energy source for electricity generation.
Nevertheless, electricity may not be the answer for certain hard to electrify sectors, such as the heavy transport segment comprising trucks, fleets, shipping, submarines, aviation and energy-intensive sectors, such as cement and steel industries.
Hydrogen can offer a viable solution to clean up the steel and cement industries as it is highly flammable and has the potential to substitute dirty coal.
In the transport sector, two distinct battery technologies for electric vehicles have gained traction, — lithium-ion batteries used in Tesla models and hydrogen fuel-cell batteries used by Toyota, Hyundai and BMW.
Currently, for light passenger transport, lithium-ion batteries have an advantage as electricity cost is cheaper in comparison with hydrogen production. However, charging takes more time.
As for heavy transportation,
fuel-cell vehicles are better as
hydrogen is a dense molecule
that accommodates long-distance travel with a shorter fuelling time.
Using hydrogen has its challenges, but it's an environmentally amicable energy solution, and already right around the corner.
The National Hydrogen Technology and Economy Roadmap by NanoMalaysia Bhd, an agency under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, is a much-anticipated blueprint to chart the growth of Malaysia's hydrogen economy.
The writer is deputy head of cluster, Cluster for Expertise Development, National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN)