This effectively means no new fossil fuel equipment within a few years

  • silence7@slrpnk.netOPM
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    12 hours ago

    They’re very possible, but existing pipes used for natural gas aren’t suitable, and replacing them is more expensive than electrification.

    • Aniki@feddit.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      12 hours ago

      interesting. i remember reading that hydrogen transport through hydrogen pipes costs about half of what it costs to transport the same amount of power over the same distance through electric cables. iirc the figures are: 0.6 - 1 ct/kWh for cables, 0.3 ct/kWh for hydrogen (per 100 km or 1000 km, not sure anymore). could be that i’m mixing that up though and that the number is actually only for methane gas.

      • silence7@slrpnk.netOPM
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        12 hours ago

        We’re talking household distribution here, not long-distance transport. The economics are very different when you’re talking about having to open up walls and dig new holes in foundations to put in pipes.

        HVDC probably comes in cheaper for long-distance transmission at this point.

        • Aniki@feddit.org
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          9 hours ago

          yeah hydrogen to the house might not make sense. after all, gas can only be used for heating / very specific applications (steel reduction, ammonia production) while electricity can be used for everything. most humans want that flexibility in their home. so electricity is better for that. and since you already have electricity, no need for gas anymore. lower fixed costs if you only need to build 1 cable instead of 1 cable + 1 pipe.

          i meant hydrogen can be stored for a year or longer and used for industrial processes where it can be piped to. steel furnace, for example.

          i read up and producing hydrogen (electrolysis) has 80% energy efficiency. storing it (high pressure at 700 bar) consumes 12% of the energy in the hydrogen. source (german wikipedia on the topic). so production + storage has a total of 70% efficiency. which is pretty good i would say. especially considering for how long you can store it that way.