Green hydrogen is an energy source made with renewable power like solar or wind. And lots of countries are getting very interested in it.

‌When hydrogen is isolated and stored as a gas or liquid it can be burned to power giant electricity generators or used in engines that power cars, planes, buses, trucks and even monster container ships.

But hydrogen is locked inside molecules such as water - and has to be separated - using a process called electrolysis.

‌That process takes energy, and the energy used defines the color on the hydrogen spectrum. Hydrogen isolated, using coal for example, is called black hydrogen, grey hydrogen uses gas and steam. When that process is powered by renewable sources including solar and wind - that is green hydrogen.

Its proponents say it can help accelerate the transition towards a greener world.

CGTN travelled to Europe's biggest green hydrogen power plant in Puertollano, an hour on the train from Madrid, in Spain to speak with scientists and experts.

Spanish power company Iberdrola, with the help of the government and the post-covid European Recovery Fund, opened the facility last year and it was designed to produce green hydrogen to power the production of fertilizer in the giant 'Fertiberia' plant next door.‌

Hydrogen is a necessary element in the process and the new plant helped replace the old carbon-emitting grey hydrogen installations.

‌A solar power plant 10km away generates up to 100 Megawatts of power and that energy is split between supplying electricity to the grid and powering an electrolyser which helps produce hydrogen that powers the fertilizer plant.

‌"Green hydrogen is the future," says Leire Castro, who works for Iberdrola at the plant.

‌"We have to decarbonize the world, so we need to start electrifying and with green hydrogen we can do it in those sectors that are hard to green."‌

Some experts see green hydrogen as a solution in making heavy transport sectors like the airline, shipping, and trucking industries more sustainable.

There are some concerns though despite its sustainable capabilities.‌ Some say it isn't efficient for storing energy, while others say it's very flammable and can leak easily.

‌"The main problem with hydrogen is that it's the lightest element in the periodic table, so it can leak through any pore or tiny breach," says Rocio Andujar.

She's a scientist who works at the nearby green hydrogen research facility in Puertollano.

‌"It can ignite with a spark. What's dangerous about hydrogen flames is that they're not visible, so it's important to have leak detectors."

‌Andujar stresses that with advances in new materials and storage techniques, green hydrogen is getting safer all the time.

Recent scientific studies show that if leaks go above 10 percent then that can negate any potential environmental benefits over fossil fuels.

Andujar is also convinced green hydrogen is the way forward.

"We've been anonymous and a bit forgotten for a while, but now we're seeing more funding and big steps forward."

Accelerating the uptake of green hydrogen

‌In another sign of support in Spain this week, The Green Hydrogen Global Assembly & Exhibition took place in Barcelona.

Governments gathered with the private sector and civil society aimed at accelerating the uptake of green hydrogen. On the agenda was the need for a 'massive scale-up to tackle climate change.' ‌NGOs and climate campaigners also contributed.

A global green hydrogen tech race has begun and the U.S., Europe and China are all betting big on this clean energy.

Spain and France recently announced the 'BarMar' pipeline from Barcelona to Marseilles, envisioned to carry large quantities of green hydrogen from Spain and Portugal to mainland Europe.

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Morocco also announced in May it would launch its first car brand with the flagship model called NamX - a green hydrogen car - by the Neo Motors brand.

China is also investing heavily in the technology, becoming the largest hydrogen producer and consumer in the world, with more than 33 million tons of annual demand.

'To meet China's carbon-neutrality goals, the chemicals, steel, and heavy transportation sectors will require large volumes of green hydrogen to achieve a zero-carbon transition,' says a 2022 report by the Rocky Mountain Institute.

‌Back in Puertollano in Spain, Leire Castro says that grants and subsidies are growing consistently.

"Green hydrogen has a funding gap," she adds. "It's expensive but we expect by 2030 to be more competitive due to the price of the equipment and also with the help of the subsidies expected from the Spanish Government and the EU such as the innovation funds."

It is still too early to say whether hydrogen will power the great green revolution, but investment and innovation are constantly pushing it towards greater viability.

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