• abhibeckert@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Great. Is hydrogen powered construction and mining equipment common? No. So until it is, my statement stands.

    It’s expected to be the cheapest form of electricity soon. It’s in the ballpark of natural gas pricing now and prices are falling fast… while natural gas prices are rising. The long term future has it cheaper than anything except solar/wind… but those two can’t easily be stored to be consumed later which is a big logistical win for hydrogen.

    So no, it’s not common right now. But that’s changing. Hydrogen is arguably the most promising area of our efforts to mitigate climate change.

    • frezik@midwest.social
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      8 months ago

      It’s expected to be the cheapest form of electricity soon

      You’re going to need a big [citation needed] on that one. The cheapest form of hydrogen right now is produced from natural gas. Where is the gain coming from in using natural gas to make hydrogen to make electricity, as opposed to using natural gas to make electricity?

      If it’s from expected improvements in making green hydrogen via electrolysis, then you’re using electricity to generate hydrogen to generate electricity. That can’t be the cheapest form of electricity. It could be the cheapest storage solution to combine with solar and wind (probably not, but it could be), but it makes no sense as a form of electricity in its own right.