RELEVANT QUESTIONS
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe being more than 75% of the observable matter, found mainly in the sun and other stars. On our planet it is found to be part of different compounds, such as hydrocarbons and water, usually occurs in its molecular form H2. In this molecular form it is a light, odorless, colorless gas with high combustion power.
Generally when talking about hydrogen referring to the topic energy we talk about hydrogen in this form.
The uses of hydrogen today can be summarized in: 1) electrochemical conversion, such as fuel cells that serve to generate electricity with a revolutionary potential in transport; 2) thermochemical conversion, which is basically combustion to generate heat and, 3) chemical conversion, which is to generate hydrogen products such as ammonia.
In Solar Hydrogen we produce hydrogen through the electrolysis of water through electrical energy supplied by photovoltaic modules. In that sense, by not using fossil resources in their process and not producing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide, our production can be considered «green hydrogen».
Electrolysis is an electrochemical process, where the separation of a chemical compound occurs through a direct current. An electrolysis cell consists of two electrodes (a negatively charged cathode and a positively charged anode), a separator, and an electrolyte solution. In the case of water electrolysis, it breaks down into its hydrogen and oxygen components. It should be noted that while water is not the main source of hydrogen production, at the moment it is positioned as the only alternative for the production of «green» or renewable hydrogen on a large scale, given the inevitable depletion of fossil fuels.
The use of hydrogen either for electrochemical conversion (fuel cell or cell) or thermochemical (combustion) only produces water vapor as waste. This is why hydrogen is the most environmentally friendly fuel in existence.
In a global shift to progressively leave fossil fuels behind, hydrogen is becoming a real bet to provide solutions to new energy sources for transport and industry, etc. In Atacama, the great availability of low-cost solar energy can form the basis of the development of a massive market for the production of green hydrogen nationwide. Hydrogen could complement and extend the potential of solar energy, becoming a way to «package energy»