Vol. 61 (2023): Bulletin of the Chemists and Technologists of Bosnia and Herzegovina

General public views and opinions on the transition towards the clean, carbon-neutral future are often reduced to the false dilemma between hydrogen and batteries, which arises from the oversimplified and narrow view of their current and future uses for the decarbonisation of road transport. In such debates, the comparison of batteries and hydrogen is based on several physical quantities (energy density, power, rate of charge), energy conversion efficiency, and loose environmentally concerned arguments. While the first two sets of arguments may seem sufficient for comparing hydrogen and batteries directly applied in vehicles, they fall short when highlighting the importance of investing in research, development, and production of these systems.

Hydrogen plays a crucial role in various industries (refining, ammonia production, methanol, and other chemicals), and has a perspective to become a key factor in several other areas, like the steel industry and heating (by combustion of clean hydrogen or blends with natural gas). Almost all of the 8.7 Mt of hydrogen consumed by the European Union in 2020 was produced from fossil reserves, leading to significant CO2 output and water withdrawal and consumption, which points to the conclusion that decarbonization of different sectors means decarbonization of hydrogen production. Water electrolysis, in which the energy is supplied from the surplus of the energy produced from renewable resources, is the ultimate method to produce carbonneutral hydrogen. According to the 2022 Clean Hydrogen Monitor, the current water electrolyzer production capacity in Europe is 3.3 GW per year, out of which, 60 % is based on the alkaline and 40 % on the PEM technology. The following years will witness a significant increase in the production capacity, which will consequently increase the demand for personnel qualified in chemistry, chemical engineering, chemical technology, and materials, needed for research, development, production, operation, and maintenance of these systems. The same profiles are also essential for research and development, production, operation and maintenance of hydrogen utilization systems (fuel cells), as well as batteries and other chemical systems for energy storage and conversion. These projections emphasize the importance of investment, not only for the development of new technologies and additional production capacities but also for the investment in the education of required personnel.