Green hydrogen is the truly hidden treasure in the deep of the ocean. When we talk about treasures in the ocean, we tend to think about ancient chests full of gold, jewelry, and bright coins. However, this time what was found is something that shocked Europe, and it has nothing to do with wealthy materials. Down in the deep North Sea,scientists have found something more valuable: green hydrogen, a substance that could help change the world and fight climate change.
While studying the ocean bed in the North of Europe, researchers discovered a huger eservoir of this element. According to African in Space magazine, it’s ‘’the biggest treasure ever found under the ocean’’. No, we are not exaggerating! Studies estimate that in this area of the North Sea could be extracted almost 45,000 tons of green hydrogen every year, which could be able to be a milestone in the clean and sustainable energy transition. So, let’s find out more about this discovery.
Green hydrogen
This is a clean energy source that is obtained from water through a process known as electrolysis. This process separates hydrogen from oxygen using renewable energy, like solar or wind.
It’s called ‘’green’’ because, unlike other types of hydrogen, it doesn’t pollute nor generates carbon dioxide during its production. When it’s used as a fuel, it only emits water vapor making it one of the cleanest options to replace fossil fuels like oil, coal, or gas.
This finding in the North Sea is more than a scientific curiosity, it represents a real opportunity to advance toward an energy future without polluting emissions. So, green hydrogen can be the key to reduce dependence on traditional fuels and stop climate change effects.
Fighting climate change
Green hydrogen is clean, and a great way to store renewable energy. One of the biggest challenges about solar and wind energies is that they are not available all the time: the sun doesn’t shine all day and wind can stop .
Here is where green hydrogen is great because it allows us to store the excess of energy produced by renewable sources and use it later, when the production is less. This way a stable supply of electricity is guaranteed without depending on climate factors.
So, thanks to this capacity, green hydrogen has become one of the biggest hopes for the future of energy on the planet. If Europe achieves to make the most of the North Sea’s potential, it could lead the global production of green hydrogen and go ahead toward a cleaner and sustainable economy.
Challenges
Even though the benefits are great, the way to generally use green hydrogen still faces several challenges:
- High production costs: building needed infrastructures to generate green hydrogen (mostly in marine areas) requires a huge economic investment.
- Technology improvement: technology is still in development and production processes need to improve their efficiency so that green hydrogen can compete in price with fossil fuels.
- Lack of regulations: In Europe, energy laws don’t completely include the production and use of green hydrogen. This makes it difficult to quickly advance, despite the huge potential it has to become the global leader in this sector.
No gold in this treasure
This discovery shows that the real treasure from the 21st century is full of innovations capable of protecting our planet, and green hydrogen represents that hope: a clean and sustainable energy capable of transforming the way in which we generate and use electricity.
So, the North Sea, which has been the scenario for stories about pirates and hidden treasures, keeps now a much important secret: a green hope that could help us build a cleaner, more balanced, and more sustainable world for all of us.
