The global energy crisis is always making headlines, but the U.S. may have found a good solution. In a country 11,000km away, a new hydrogen project may be on the horizon. Uzbekistan is the country that the U.S. wants to help achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. They’ll meet this ambitious goal together by booting up a green hydrogen production program that will use renewable solar, wind, and hydropower to make the sought-after gas.
After the Paris Agreement, the U.S. found a way to combat climate change in a country on the other side of the world
The Paris Agreement happened on December 12, 2015. It was a historic day for the fight against climate change. The participating countries agreed to keep the world from heating up to mitigate the effects of a warming climate. To do this, every country in the world promised to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions within the next 100 years. Uzbekistan gained a lot of attention for starting up clean energy projects to meet their goals.
Even though Uzbekistan is on the other side of the world from the U.S., the more powerful country is using its resources to boost green energy production in the Central Asian country. Here are some of Uzbekistan’s country statistics:
- Size of 447,400 sq km, slightly bigger than California
- Has 36.5 million people
- Median age of 28.9 years
- Exports natural gas, textiles, and hydrogen
Uzbekistan has untapped wind and hydropower potential, making it a key country in which to explore green hydrogen production.
USAID is giving Uzbekistan millions of dollars to develop a Green Hydrogen Hub for the future of clean energy
USAID is an agency that funds development projects all over the world. The organization is currently spending millions of dollars to help Uzbekistan develop a Green Hydrogen Hub. This project will focus on producing, storing, and distributing hydrogen for various green energy projects. It may take up to fifteen more years before the hydrogen project is fully up and running.
Through the Green Hydrogen Hub project, Uzbekistan has developed a new master’s degree with a focus on hydrogen production. The country will need a huge amount of infrastructure to get up to speed with the world’s hydrogen demands. On a positive note, Uzbekistan plans to use renewable power to create hydrogen, which will keep the process from releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Scientists are championing hydrogen as the answer to the world’s climate problems, but they need a place to make it
It would be great if the world could run purely on solar and wind energy, but that’s not realistic. Industries such as manufacturing and shipping need more powerful sources of energy, and hydrogen could be the answer. When hydrogen burns, it only creates water vapor, which is safe to release into the atmosphere. One of the issues with hydrogen is that it doesn’t occur naturally. Scientists have to make hydrogen in a lab.
It takes a lot of energy to make hydrogen, and Uzbekistan is committed to keeping the process green and sustainable. If the new facilities for hydrogen production use only wind, solar, and hydropower to make hydrogen through electrolysis, then the country will manage to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon-neutral energy output.
The green energy sector is fairly new in Uzbekistan, which is why the U.S. is eager to fund projects in the country. Places with smaller populations seem to be having an easier time switching to sustainable energy from sources such as the sun, wind, rivers, and hydrogen. Uzbekistan is home to a vibrant manufacturing industry, and producing local hydrogen is a good plan to boost the local economy and increase exports.
