Hydrogen – A Big Step Towards Utopia
What is Hydrogen Economy
Hydrogen Economy is achieving decarbonization using mainly hydrogen, as a fuel and energy carrier, as well as electricity across different industries. The term was first introduced by John O’.M. Bockris in his publication in 1972. The development of hydrogen fuel becomes highly popular in the 21st century which is an important period in solving global warming. It produces no greenhouse gases during consumption and supports sustainable developments. It can act as an energy carrier for solar and other renewable energy. It has a high potential in replacing fossil fuels and a higher heating value. The produced hydrogen can be contained through high-pressure gas compression, liquefaction, and forming metal hydrides. It can be burnt directly or fed into fuel cells to generate electricity.
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Hydrogen Economy and perovskite solar cell
Perovskite solar cell has the advantages of high absorption efficiency and low production cost. It is possible for the power conversion efficiency to reach more than 30%. Higher efficiency allows occupying less area to generate the same amount of electricity. It is very critical as Hong Kong lacks the environment to implement a field of solar panels. Most solar panels in Hong Kong are installed on the roof or the wall of the building. Higher efficiency allows much more efficient use of space.
Another advantage is the competitive price thanks to the low cost of the raw material and fabrication method. Currently, installing an energy system in Hong Kong suffers from a long payback period. It is very discouraging for entrepreneurs especially when the HKSAR announced the cut in feed-in tariff. The advantages which perovskite solar cells provided can be attractive for investors and entrepreneurs to consider implementing a solar energy system.
It has the potential to allow Hong Kong to fully embrace renewable solar energy. This enables the possibility for Hong Kong to generate its hydrogen using excessive solar energy.
Green Hysland Project in the island of Mallorca, Spain
Countries such as the EU, Japan, China, and all around the world have accelerated their investments and research in the hydrogen economy. In Spain, the Green Hysland Project has been launched to transform the island of Mallorca into a fully hydrogen-dependent ecosystem. Hong Kong seems to lag behind when it comes to the hydrogen economy and meeting the zero-carbon emission by 2050. Meanwhile, the new emerging perovskite solar cells strike the industry by offering high efficiency and flexibility at a lower cost. It is believed that the efficiency will continue to rise and cap at 31%. It opens up the possibility for Hong Kong to embrace solar energy and hydrogen fuel.
There is still a long way to go...
Current status
As the perovskite solar cell technology is not yet in its best shape, at this very instance, it is not ready to compete with the silicon solar cells. It still faced serval challenges such as the low stability due to degradation, limited scalability, and unstandardized variability for the technology. However, as it is under intensive research and development, there will be significant improvements and breakthroughs.
With companies around the world working hard to commercialize perovskite solar cells, the launch of the product can be expected to be in the next few years. Oxford PV has finished the 100 MW manufacturing site of perovskite solar cell in Germany, and the production will begin in 2022. In China, the GCL has expanded its pilot-scale production factory to achieve a production of 100 MW.