What is Hydrogen Economy Importent Definitions Chapter 3 Chemistry Class 12 Notes Chapter 3 Electrochemistry Chemistry

What is hydrogen economy?
At present the main source of energy that is driving our economy is fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. As more people on the planet aspire to improve their standard of living, their energy requirement will increase. In fact, the per capita consumption of energy used is a measure of development. Of course, it is assumed that energy is used for productive purpose and not merely wasted. We are already aware that carbon dioxide produced by the combustion of fossil fuels is resulting in the ‘Greenhouse Effect’. This is leading to a rise in the temperature of the Earth’s surface, causing polar ice to melt and ocean levels to rise. This will flood low-lying areas along the coast and some island nations such as Maldives face total submergence. In order to avoid such a catastrope, we need to limit our use of carbonaceous fuels. Hydrogen provides an ideal alternative as its combustion results in water only. Hydrogen production must come from splitting water using solar energy. Therefore, hydrogen can be used as a renewable and non polluting source of energy. This is the vision of the Hydrogen Economy. Both the production of hydrogen by electrolysis of water and hydrogen combustion in a fuel cell will be important in the future. And both these technologies are based on electrochemical principles.