Refrigeration to Support the Development of Hydrogen

In France today, hardly a day goes by without the word hydrogen being mentioned, not only in the specialist scientific and technical press, but also on social networks, in the daily press, on the radio or on television. And why? Because the growing awareness of the general public and of our political and industrial decision-makers of the need to drive a genuine energy transition away from fossil fuels inevitably places hydrogen among the most relevant solutions for the future.

It's for this reason that hydrogen has appeared in public discourse, notably with the law on energy transition for green growth, even though it has long been known to industrialists for its energy virtues. As far back as 1874, Jules Verne, in L'Île mystérieuse, spoke of its use as a future replacement for coal! He wrote: "Yes, my friends, I believe that water will one day be used as a fuel, that the hydrogen and oxygen which constitute it, used alone or simultaneously, will provide an inexhaustible source of heat and light of an intensity that coal could never have. One day, the holds of steamers and the tenders of locomotives, instead of coal, will be loaded with these two compressed gases, which will burn in fireplaces with enormous calorific power." A century and a half later, we're almost there!

The Covid-19 health crisis not only brought economic disaster to many industries, but also whetted appetites for hydrogen, with proposals for accelerated development plans in Europe, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, China, Morocco and North America. The governments of these countries have publicly pledged to support the acceleration of hydrogen deployment by mobilizing several billion euros!

In France, the government has set the goal of decarbonizing industry. The aim is to reduce emissions by 81% by 2050, compared with 2015 levels. Decarbonized hydrogen is one of the solutions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As part of its "France Relance" plan, the French government has already earmarked €2 billion for the development of low-carbon hydrogen. A total of 7 billion euros in public support is planned between now and 2030.

Faced with this growing interest in hydrogen, we propose in this article to take stock of the possible uses of hydrogen in refrigeration, as well as the refrigeration needs of the hydrogen sector, since refrigeration will need hydrogen just as much as hydrogen will need refrigeration.

The article begins by reviewing the main modes of hydrogen production, and in particular presents the most promising avenues for environmentally-friendly production with green or decarbonized hydrogen - the only way to build a truly sustainable and virtuous energy transition. We then look at hydrogen distribution...