Can you imagine how the world would change if we could generate energy using only water? It’s something humanity is still trying to achieve, and we are now closer than ever. America has just discovered a source so promising, we had to give it a new name. Experts are already talking about “yellow hydrogen,” and it has nothing to do with green or blue. What’s more, it could be a game-changing invention that the whole world will copy (as happened with red, which continues to advance unstoppably in Japan).
America has discovered a new type of hydrogen: This color doesn’t exist in the world
Yellow hydrogen, commonly referred to as photochemical hydrogen, is hydrogen generated through a photocatalytic water splitting reaction. Limiting the number of reactions is one of the main ideas of this method; the reactions include using solar energy and manipulated catalysts to break water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.
This type of hydrogen has been termed as yellow hydrogen, and unlike other conventional forms of hydrogen production, it does not use fossil-based energy and has no direct negative impacts on the climate by emitting greenhouse gases. It’s closely similar to the orange one, but it does not depend on wastewater (what is the main difference)
How can yellow hydrogen be produced? America has developed a roadmap
The process of producing yellow hydrogen involves the following steps:
- Semiconductor photocatalysts and sunlight are used to split water, into hydrogen and oxygen, with a process similar to electrolysis used to produce green or blue hydrogen.
- Hydrogen is then accumulated and purified for purposes of being used as fuel or in numerous other uses. This is because oxygen is a byproduct of the said reactions and is thus released into the atmosphere.
- A photocatalyst utilized in this procedure concerns semiconducting materials like Titanium dioxide or Cadmium sulfide. These materials capture sunlight and harness it, allowing the water-splitting process to take place at the surface of the catalyst.
Why is it a good idea to produce yellow hydrogen in America? More efficient, powerful and available
Yellow hydrogen has several advantages over other forms of hydrogen production:
- This is an environmentally friendly energy source that has no emissions of greenhouse gases or uses fossil energy.
- Some investigations revealed that the efficiency of energy conversion might be 19 percent.
- It can be generated on a small scale with the aid of simple and cheap materials, and therefore it can be generated in a decentralized manner.
However, there are also some challenges associated with yellow hydrogen production:
- The process, nevertheless, has not been refined and optimized as much compared to the current AER process, and more research and experimentation are needed to for better results and practical application.
- Some of the photocatalysts applied in the process might prove costly, and their working time is usually restricted.
- It also has a lower production rate currently than methods such as steam methane reforming or electrolysis.
Experts have discovered the “cores” of yellow hydrogen in America: These states have the most capacity
Despite these challenges, there are several ongoing projects in the United States that are exploring the potential of yellow hydrogen production:
- Among contemporary scientific facilities, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is working on photocatalytic water splitting and has designed several prototype systems for obtaining yellow hydrogen.
- Currently, the University of Colorado Boulder is coming up with a new photocatalyst’s material that is efficient and cheaper than the current materials.
- The University of California, Berkeley, research in the area of artificial photosynthesis includes plans to create yellow hydrogen and other valuable chemicals.
While yellow hydrogen production is still in its early stages, some states in the US have more potential for development than others:
- California is the most suitable for yellow hydrogen production based on the resources, namely solar power, and the goals to shift to renewable sources of energy.
- Texas is another state that has a huge opportunity for growth, as the state already has a developed solar electricity sector and production of hydrogen.
- Arizona, and particularly New Mexico, can also be singled out as possessing high potential for yellow hydrogen due to the availability of land and high levels of irradiation.
The idea of producing yellow hydrogen in America is as optimistic as it is ambitious, and researchers already believe that it could be the medium-term replacement for fossil fuels. However, they have set two conditions: that it be used as a fuel to decarbonize transportation, and that it be combined with other “cleaner” colors, such as white, blue or green (even orange, which we mentioned earlier in this article and which is also promising).
