Neste Explains Role of Green Hydrogen in Climate Solutions
Energy company Neste has provided an explanation of green hydrogen and its applications. The company highlights green hydrogen's potential to significantly contribute to emission reduction goals.
Neste Oyj, an energy company, has clarified the significance and applications of green hydrogen as a component in combating climate change. While hydrogen has traditionally been used in sectors like petroleum refining, Neste emphasizes the future potential of renewable, or green, hydrogen in energy solutions.
Green hydrogen production utilizes electrolysis, a process that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity, thereby avoiding fossil fuels and direct carbon dioxide emissions. Conventional hydrogen, known as grey hydrogen, is produced from natural gas and results in substantial CO2 emissions. Blue hydrogen is a variation where carbon capture is integrated with grey hydrogen production.
According to Neste, green hydrogen serves as a versatile raw material applicable in manufacturing processes for steel, fertilizers, and fuels, among others. The company sees significant potential for green hydrogen to reduce emissions in the transportation sector over the next decade. However, Neste acknowledges that hydrogen production is energy-intensive, making the availability of renewable electricity crucial.
"Decarbonizing existing hydrogen production by replacing fossil fuel-based hydrogen with renewable hydrogen is an important means to cut industry emissions," stated Outi Ervasti, Vice President, Renewable Hydrogen and PtX at Neste. "Many of hydrogen’s current applications are challenging to decarbonize solely through electrification; instead, electrification must work in tandem with green hydrogen."