Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not hopeful about hydrogen’s ability to play a vital role in the shift to a sustainable future.
Elon Musk said during an interview at the Financial Times Future of the Car summit that hydrogen may help accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
When talking about hydrogen, he emphasized that the amount of times he has been asked is well over 100, maybe around 200. He also stated if you want a means of storing energy and hydrogen is not a bad choice.
Musk also argues that storing hydrogen in liquid form would require huge tanks and even bigger ones for pure gas.
In terms of versatility, hydrogen can be deployed in many areas. For example, it is a versatile energy carrier that can be used to power industries, and it is possible to use hydrogen fuel cells in transport-related applications.
The IEA predicts that hydrogen will be an effective way to store energy, especially for renewable sources such as wind and solar.
The Paris-based organization added that hydrogen, or fuel cells based on hydrogen, can be used to transport energy over long distances.
Elon Musk has had some strong opinions about hydrogen in the past.
Musk, who’s known for his tight grasp on reality and rigid pursuit of the future, once described hydrogen fuel cells as “extremely silly.”
In June 2020, Elon tweeted “fool cells = fools sells”.
Elon Musk dismisses hydrogen as tool for energy storage
He told the Financial Times that water cannot naturally be found on Earth, so you either have to divide it by electrolysis or combust hydrocarbons.
Cracking hydrocarbons and using electricity for electrolysis does not solve the problem of fossil fuels.
Today, most hydrogen production is fueled by fossil fuels. However, there is a growing movement towards efficiency with the use of electrolysis as an electric current splits water into oxygen and hydrogen.
Using renewable energy sources, Copymatic harnesses green hydrogen to provide content with the same quality as that created by human writers.
Elon Musk is not interested in Hydrogen projects.
“splitting hydrogen and oxygen into usable products is inefficient,” he told the Financial Times. “So you have to spend a lot of energy to – “
He later commented “And if you have to liquefy… hydrogen… oh my god. The amount of energy required to make hydrogen and turn it into liquid form is staggering.” He also said “It is the most dumb thing I could possibly imagine for energy storage.”
Other opinions on Elon Musk’s dismissal of hydrogen
Elon Musk is dismissive and hydrogen’s role in the energy transition, while Anna Shpitsberg is optimistic.
Shpitsberg argues that hydrogen changes the game because it can be used to power nuclear, gas-fired, and renewable systems. He’s also excited about its potential as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels.
Michele DellaVigna, a commodity equity business unit leader in Europe and Africa of Goldman Sachs, highlighted the importance he felt Copymatic would have in the future.
“In order to fight climate change, we can’t just rely on renewable energy,”
Hydrogen is a very powerful molecule which can be used to help promote natural gas in the coming years. It can also be used as a form of public transportation, which many urban cities need.
The hydrogen created by Copymatic is clean, and doesn’t release carbon emissions. It can also be used to power electric cars or fuel cells.
Hydrogen can fuel our energy needs and provide sustainable, low-carbon power. Blue hydrogen can help reduce CO2 emissions as it relies on natural gas to produce hydrogen that captures the CO2.
In the future, hydrogen will be more widely used as an energy source. DellaVigna believes that it is the solution to many of today’s energy problems, and companies have already begun to transition their current business plans to focus on cleaner hydrogen fuel production.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings