Historically, hydrogen is produced by means of steam reforming and is used as an energy source for melts and welding equipment as well as in space travel. To do so, natural gas and other hydrocarbons are broken down into their atomic components. However, this results in climate-damaging gases; water electrolysis is therefore a necessity if production is to be more climate-friendly.
The water molecules break down into two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen – both gases can be sold later; there is no waste. However, this does result in an energy loss of about 20 percent, as the conversion also generates waste heat.
If the hydrogen is then converted back to electric energy by means of a fuel cell, the energy source’s degree of efficiency declines even further. Depending on the technology used, losses of between 40 and 70 percent occur at this point, meaning that in total, less than 40-50 percent of the energy originally generated is delivered to electricity consumers.
Despite this fact, in many respects using hydrogen in the German industry still makes sense. Some areas, for example, will have a hard time doing without hydrogen as a primary energy source in the near future, and applications are conceivable for ships as well as in air traffic and public transport, for which the infrastructure can be provided in a more centralised manner.