German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies AG, is offering its semiconductor solutions to provide valuable support for the development of a green hydrogen economy to combat the negative effects of climate change.
Countries all over the world are already taking steps to address the effects of climate change caused by the emission of greenhouse gasses and are looking at hydrogen as one of the solutions.
Hydrogen can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions when used as a basic material, as fuel, as an energy carrier and as energy storage. Green hydrogen can, for example, replace hydrogen derived from fossil fuels as a basic material in the chemical and steel industries. In certain mobility applications, such as heavy goods transport, public transport, logistics and inland navigation, fuel cells and hydrogen-based synthetic fuels can contribute in the medium term to a lower carbon footprint in the transport sector.
In the long term, it is conceivable that hydrogen-based synthetic fuels will also be used in shipping and aviation. In the private sector, fuel cells may be used in combined heat and power (CHP) plants to supply buildings with electricity and heat. In addition, hydrogen can be used as energy storage to improve the total yield from renewable energy, allowing energy generation surpluses to be stored and fed into the grid as required.
However, the hydrogen economy faces various technical challenges. There has to be a cost-efficient production of green hydrogen. In an electrochemical process (electrolysis), electrical energy is used to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. If the electricity used comes from renewable energy sources, the result is hydrogen which is CO2-free and therefore known as green hydrogen. Currently, only 5% of hydrogen worldwide is produced using electrolysis.
To benefit fully from the potential of hydrogen, solutions must be found to the challenges posed by its production, storage, transport and use. Infineon is the leading supplier of power semiconductors in the fields of renewable energy and electromobility. Infineon’s semiconductor solutions can also provide valuable support for the development of a sustainable hydrogen economy along the value chain.
Some of them include the Infineon’s high-power semiconductors that will be used for AC-DC conversion in the electrolysis process for the production of green hydrogen. Infineon is also developing highly reliable hydrogen sensors to detect hydrogen leaks and to control and monitor the production, storage and operation of fuel-cell systems. This is a significant contribution towards increasing efficiency through intelligent control along the entire value chain and towards ensuring safety.
Click here to learn more about green hydrogen and how Infineon’s technology can help its production.
