SUSTAINABILITY| 18.11.2020
Green hydrogen for the future: Clean, light and versatile
In an interview with the MAPFRE Global Risks magazine, Javier Brey, Chairman of the Spanish Hydrogen Association, discussed the benefits of this promising alternative for the energy, transport, industrial and residential sectors. Green—or renewable—hydrogen is already regarded as the ideal solution for the challenge of decarbonization. At MAPFRE, we are fully committed to meeting the objectives set out in the 2030 Agenda and, when it comes to sustainability, we are committed to #PlayingOurPart.
The first element on the periodic table and the lightest of all the chemical elements, hydrogen is a clean fuel, from its production through to its use, that can be produced in a renewable manner. One of the main advantages of hydrogen is its versatility, making it a global solution for the energy, transport, industrial and residential sectors.
Although 95 percent of the hydrogen currently used, mainly for industrial purposes, is gray or brown (reformed natural gas), the drive toward renewables and the current interest in decarbonizing industry will help boost green hydrogen from renewable energy sources (directly, using an electrolyzer), biofuels or biogas.
There are already many applications of hydrogen in use, including service stations, explained the Spanish Hydrogen Association Chairman, Javier Brey, in an interview for the MAPFRE Global Risks magazine. However, the use of hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas in homes is still as distant a prospect as being able to buy a hydrogen vehicle. “Take-up across various sectors will depend on the market and the way in which the technology is implemented and deployed,” he pointed out.
Many of the world’s leading companies are now working with hydrogen and the transport sector has already announced prototypes of aircraft, ships, trains and buses. It has enormous potential, with the ability to store all of Spain’s surplus energy from the first 180 days of the year—obtained exclusively through renewable processes—to use it over the following 180 days. Brey warned that the technology is ready now, but regulations and guidelines are needed to standardize its use.
MAPFRE is working for sustainable development, focusing on the present and looking forward to the future. We are continuing to make progress both in terms of our commitments to the UN’s 2030 Agenda and in our strategy to combat climate change. This strategy is based on various measures, including reducing our environmental footprint by committing to carbon neutrality across the IBERIA territorial area by 2021 and carbon neutrality across the whole Group by 2030.
Read the full interview here.
