Hydrogen Infrastructure development and Challenges

Satisfying energy demands forms an integral part of the development of the world. Growing concerns over climate change, especially finding an alternate means of energy sources to the present fossil fuels has resulted in an increased interest in hydrogen. Hydrogen is a flexible and alternative energy carrier with potential applications across all energy sectors, which can play a significant role in economic and social development in the low-carbon economy. Hydrogen is considered a clean source of energy and a viable alternative to fossil fuels to control emissions as it can be produced from renewable sources. Hydrogen has the potential to reduce India's dependence on oil imports as several fossil fuel-based applications can be replaced by Hydrogen.

Typically, hydrogen has the highest mass-energy density amongst other commonly used fuels and thus has an advantage for using it as a fuel or for energy storage. However, exploitation of hydrogen for using it as an alternate energy option requires the development of a new hydrogen infrastructure which primarily consists of (a) Production (b) Storage and (c) Distribution. Development of such an infrastructure poses several technological challenges that must be overcome before it can be employed economically and safely in various sectors on a commercial scale. This paper briefly highlights the issues associated with hydrogen infrastructure development.