Hydrogen Battery Storage: A primer

Among the many obstacles littering the road to decarbonisation is the problem of creating sustainable forms of transport. Hydrogen, and more specifically hydrogen batteries, have long been proposed as a solution to this conundrum, for they can store and supply large quantities of energy, without releasing CO2 emissions during combustion.

At COP26, various new initiatives were unveiled to demonstrate the capabilities of hydrogen batteries. Ambulances powered by hydrogen were shown to the conference attendees; a significant development given that NHS transport constitutes about 3.5% of all UK road traffic. Britain’s first hydrogen-fuelled train also featured at COP26, though it was subject to controversy as, due to current regulations and in order to allow people to view the hydrogen storage facilities, the train did not actually contain any hydrogen. In Germany, meanwhile, hydrogen-fuelled trains will be rolled out onto their railway networks next year. 

While these technologies are still in their infancy, and are not the panacea sometimes promised, they still have the potential to help re-mould the world of energy geopolitics. McKinsey and the Hydrogen Council estimate that hydrogen could account for 18% of the global energy market by 2050. As such, countries who possess the capabilities to produce hydrogen including Norway, the US, Morocco and Australia could become more significant while fossil fuel exporters such as Russia and the Middle East could be weakened. 

It is unlikely, however, that any such shift will prove to be dramatic. In the world of battery storage, hydrogen has many drawbacks. It is less efficient, and therefore more expensive, than electrical alternatives, as it is currently unable to withstand the extreme conditions faced by batteries in heavy duty machinery such as mining vehicles. Rather than being a singular solution to the problem of green transport, then, hydrogen batteries seem better deployed as one tool within a wider suite of options.