1800 English scientists William Nicholson and Sir Anthony Carlisle discovered that applying electric current to water produced hydrogen and oxygen gases. This process was later termed “electrolysis.†1889 Ludwig Mond and Charles Langer attempted to build the first fuel cell device using air and industrial coal gas.
Discovery and use. In 1671, Robert Boyle discovered and described the reaction between iron filings and dilute acids, which results in the production of hydrogen gas. In 1766, Henry Cavendish was the first to recognize hydrogen gas as a discrete substance, by naming the gas from a metal-acid reaction "inflammable air".
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began using liquid hydrogen in the 1950s as a rocket fuel, and NASA was one of the first to use hydrogen fuel cells to power the electrical systems on spacecraft.
English scientist Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen as an element in 1766. Cavendish ran an experiment using zinc and hydrochloric acid. He discovered hydrogen and also found that it produced water when it burned.
It is found in the sun and most of the stars, and the planet Jupiter is composed mostly of hydrogen. On Earth, hydrogen is found in the greatest quantities as water. It is present as a gas in the atmosphere only in tiny amounts – less than 1 part per million by volume.
The first commercially produced hydrogen fuel cell automobile, the Hyundai ix35 FCEV, was introduced in 2013, Toyota Mirai followed in 2015 and then Honda entered the market. Fuel cells are being developed and tested in trucks, buses, boats, motorcycles and bicycles, among other kinds of vehicles.
Hydrogen have only one electron. Hydrogen is known to be the first element in the periodic table of elements. It has one proton in its nucleus and one outter electron. It is a very light gas and also flammable.
The early universe (left) was too hot for electrons to remain bound to atoms. The first elements — hydrogen and helium — couldn't form until the universe had cooled enough to allow their nuclei to capture electrons (right), about 380,000 years after the Big Bang.
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. The giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn contain mostly hydrogen. It is the third most abundant element on the surface of the globe.
Hydrogen has the highest calorific value so it can be considered as the best fuel but it is highly inflammable so it is diificult to store, transport and handle so it is used as a fuel only where it is absolutely necessary.
Hydrogen is an energy carrier and can be produced from a wide variety of sources. Hydrogen from renewables can be produced through various pathways, with the most established being the use of renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen in an electrolyser.
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, but not on Earth due to its light weight, which allows the gas to just float off into space. Hydrogen is essential to our life – it fuels the sun, which converts hundreds of million tons of hydrogen into helium every second.
Hydrogen: uses
- commercial fixation of nitrogen from the air in the Haber ammonia process.
- hydrogenation of fats and oils.
- methanol production, in hydrodealkylation, hydrocracking, and hydrodesulphurization.
- rocket fuel.
- welding.
- production of hydrochloric acid.
- reduction of metallic ores.
Hydrogen energy involves the use of hydrogen and/or hydrogen-containing compounds to generate energy to be supplied to all practical uses needed with high energy efficiency, overwhelming environmental and social benefits, as well as economic competitiveness.
Hydrogen as an Energy CarrierBecause hydrogen does not exist freely in nature and is only produced from other sources of energy, it is known as an energy carrier. It is a clean-burning fuel, and when combined with oxygen in a fuel cell, hydrogen produces heat and electricity with only water vapor as a by-product.
However, hydrogen is useful as an energy source/fuel because it has a high energy content per unit of weight, which is why it is used as a rocket fuel and in fuel cells to produce electricity on some spacecraft. Hydrogen is not widely used as a fuel now, but it has the potential for greater use in the future.
Hydrogen is found almost everywhere in the universe. It occurs between and within stars, and in the enormous gas and dust clouds that exist throughout interstellar space. Scientists have known since the 1970s that bonds between hydrogen atoms form on the very cold surface of interstellar dust grains.
Hydrogen, like electricity, is regarded as an energy carrier, not an energy source, because hydrogen as a gas (H2) doesn't exist naturally on Earth. It requires much energy to produce hydrogen gas, but in this form, it can deliver or store tremendous amounts of energy.
A McKinsey & Company report co-authored with industry estimated that the hydrogen economy could generate $140 billion in annual revenue by 2030 and support 700,000 jobs. The study also projected that hydrogen could meet 14 percent of total American energy demand by 2050.
Hydrogen can be produced from diverse, domestic resources. Currently, most hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, specifically natural gas. Electricity—from the grid or from renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, or biomass—is also currently used to produce hydrogen.
Hydrogen (like electricity) is not a primary source of energy but rather an energy carrier. There are no natural reservoirs of pure hydrogen. To force electrolysis to occur, considerable amounts of electricity are required, much of which is currently generated by burning fossil fuels.
