Other technologies are required downstream to make the product gas may play a substantial role in the energy transition. of these industrial, refining, and transportation technologies Production and use of hydrogen in industry will continue to viable. In transport, they include fuel cells for pure hydrogen require a range of new technologies. These will continue to build mobility. These devices convert hydrogen back into electricity efficiency and cleanliness into the ways the fuel is refined, or how through a reverse electrolysis process, and are widely used and it is used in place of fossil fuels as a heat generator or a catalyst. proven, although development continues to increase efficiencies. Each of these technologies is distinct, and at a different stage of its development, but in short the technology required in the INFRASTRUCTURE hydrogen economy is already developed and operational. It is New infrastructure is required to support new fuel cell vehicles, now time to scale it up! including refuelling stations and the logistics to bring hydrogen to them. In the latter case, it is possible to re-purpose existing natural gas pipelines to carry hydrogen, or even to add hydrogen to existing gas networks, since most appliances will operate without the need for adaptation to a portion of hydrogen in their fuel mix. SYNTHETIC FUELS The creation of synthetic fuels, such as the creation of e-Kerosene for the aviation sector, is another area where R&D is advanced, with demonstration projects in development. This multi-stage process requires the refining of hydrogen using renewable electricity, followed by the production of synthetic kerosene which can be mixed with conventional jet fuel. The process was first proven in 2014, and some major airlines are already injecting a portion of this e-Kerosene into their regular fuel. The readiness of hydrogen technology does not point to the end of the need for innovation and R&D. On the contrary, as Sunita Satyapal, Director of the US Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, declared: “It’s all hands on deck for innovation.” Further work will make existing processes more efficient and less expensive, while new techniques (no doubt including some yet to be discovered) hold enormous promise. An article by PYROLYSIS ADRIAN LEONARD For example, hydrogen can be produced from the decomposition of methane through a process called pyrolysis, which yields only Journalist solid carbon, a saleable by-product. The pyrolysis of biomethane is an exciting sub-channel of research. Ultimately the pyrolysis of 39