Without CO2 emissions, hydrogen is the new star energy. Berlin frees up nine billion to become the world leader in hydrogen. Paris wants to create a hydrogen plane. On Wall Street, a hydrogen truck manufacturer has just gone public for 30 billion dollars, or four times Renault. Alstom is enjoying great success with its hydrogen trains and Renault is wondering if this technology has no more future than batteries.
By plane, train, truck or car, hydrogen is the new star in renewable energies.
This Wednesday, the German government announced a plan of nine billion euros to become No. 1 worldwide in hydrogen.
On Tuesday, the French government released 1.5 billion euros to build a hydrogen plane by 2035.
In the United States, a hydrogen truck manufacturer has just entered Wall Street with a market value of 30 billion dollars, more than Ford.
Hydrogen is the star of the moment!
Why ? What is hydrogen more than electric batteries?
These are the batteries that have a huge problem: their weights. On a Zoé, there are more than 300 kilos of batteries. On a Tesla, more than 500 kilos. So let's be realistic, we will never take off an A320 plane with batteries, the plane would be far too heavy. Hence the interest of hydrogen. Hydrogen is a gas which is therefore much lighter. When you mix hydrogen with oxygen in the air, you get electricity and water. Everything to fly an airplane, without polluting.
It’s already working in rail. In Germany, Alstom already runs Hydrogen trains. In Paris, a fleet of 100 taxis, called "Hype", runs on hydrogen and the drivers are delighted.
What are we waiting for to fully embark on this technology?
It's a whole new ecosystem to develop. First, you have to make this hydrogen. It is the opposite operation, we use electricity to break the water molecule. Then you have to transport this hydrogen, which is a gas, and it's a whole infrastructure. But, the good news is that we have in France: Air Liquide, the world n ° 2 in industrial gases (hydrogen). The world N ° 1 is a German. We therefore have all the assets in Europe to become the champions of this future-oriented technology that is hydrogen!