Scientists urged to crack green hydrogen cost barrier
In South Africa, the South African Government news agency reported that South African firm Sasol has challenged scientists and engineers to help lower the high cost of green hydrogen and prevent promising decarbonization technologies from remaining indefinitely confined to research laboratories.
The company’s Vice-President for Fundamental Science Research, Dr Theo Mudzunga, made the remarks during a sub-forum on Green Fuels and Aggregated Multi-type Energy Storage Empowering High-quality Development. In his address, he said producing sustainable fuels through power-to-liquids technology remains constrained by costs, efficiency limitations and difficulties in scaling scientific discoveries into commercially viable projects.
The sub-forum is part of the 19th Pujiang Innovation Forum in Shanghai, China, where South African and international researchers, policymakers and business representatives gathered to discuss innovation and technological cooperation, according to the report.
“These challenges are precisely where research and innovation can create value. I invite the next generation of scientists and engineers to help us address them,” Mudzunga said.
He added that power-to-liquids technology could allow Sasol to combine renewable electricity, green hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide to produce sustainable liquid fuels. While Sasol’s decades of experience in synthetic-fuel production gave it an advantage, significant scientific and commercial obstacles remain.
Category: Fuels
