ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we motivate why we need to aggressively pursue diversified sustainable carbon-free energy technologies for our energy sector. Several of these technologies are founded on hydrogen, the storage of which is the central topic of this book. To broadly understand the need for hydrogen to address energy concerns, it is important to understand our energy circumstances in terms of available energy resources, their impact on the environment, the political ramifications, and our time constraints. We root the discussion on projected global energy demand to 2050 and beyond. We also
establish that any future energy system must be sustainable energetically, politically, and environmentally. By energy sustainability, we mean an energy system based on a source (or sources) that is effectively infinite-at least on timescales (thousands of years) that matter to the current animal and plant population on Earth. By environmental sustainability, we mean an energy system that operates autonomously from the environment with no release of criterion pollutants, no greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, no release of ozonedepleting gases, or other significant environmental impacts. By politically sustainable, we mean available to all people. The discussion and arguments we make here really apply for any carbon-free energy
technology (e.g., solar, wind). However, the reader will come away convinced that hydrogen technology is in fact required if our goals for energy and environmental sustainability
CONTENTS
Introduction .....................................................................................................................................3 Reasonable Standard of Living for All .........................................................................................4 Fuel Resource Insecurity ................................................................................................................5 Political Energy Insecurity .............................................................................................................9 Global Climate Change ................................................................................................................ 10 Efficiency vs. Net Zero ................................................................................................................. 15 Timescales for Change .................................................................................................................. 17 Renewable Energy Resources ...................................................................................................... 19 Options for Grid-Scale Energy Storage ...................................................................................... 20 Making Do with Nonrenewable Energy ....................................................................................22 Energy Carriers ..............................................................................................................................23 Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 27 References ....................................................................................................................................... 27
are to be met. We use the year 2050 as the target year to complete the evolution of our sustainable energy infrastructure. It will become clearer as the discussion evolves why we need to embark now to restructure our energy infrastructure and why the year 2050 is so critical. The Editor’s Introduction described how there are three primary reasons for consider-
ing a hydrogen-based energy system. These were fuel resource insecurity, political energy insecurity, and finally global climate change. Here, we take up these three issues in more depth, and describe the global energy-political-environmental circumstances faced by any new emerging carbon-free technology. Although the resource, environmental, and political issues are listed separately, they are
actually linked. For example, energy and environmental sustainability must exist for all people; otherwise, political insecurity will inevitably undercut any progress that is made. We start here with the issue of creating security around our fuel resources and the challenge of creating a reasonable standard of living for all. By standard of living, we mean access to energy and energy-based technology. This is an admittedly Western view of a living standard. Perhaps it would be better to call it a “technical standard of living,” which correlates with long life expectancy.
