Is Clean Air in our Cities possible in the New Normal? Hydrogen Ireland Board Member Mark Welsh offers his thoughts.
The coronavirus pandemic is changing our way of life more than could ever have been imagined and we are all looking for new ways to work as we look forward to what will be the new normal.
As we see the shutting down of industrial activity, we are witnessing a temporarily slashing of air pollution levels around the world. From ESA’s Sentinel-5P satellite it shows that over the past six weeks, levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) over cities and industrial clusters in Asia and Europe were markedly lower than in the same period last year.
Pollution comes from us driving our cars, power stations and the offices/factories we work in, and similar to Covoid19 we need to keep the fight up against this pollution as it exacerbates respiratory illnesses such as asthma.
This dramatic change has given us in to a glimpse of what we could see in the future when we move in to a Zero carbon economy. As we move out of this crisis, we should put our energy in to delivering solutions that will bring health and life to all in our communities as it is beneficial to people in susceptible categories as it may reduce the spread of disease as high levels of air pollution disappear.
The World Health Organization states “NO2 is a toxic gas which causes significant inflammation of the airways at concentrations above 200 micrograms per cubic metre. Pollution particles may also be a vector for pathogens, as well as exacerbating existing health problems”. The WHO is now investigating whether airborne pollution particles may be a vector that spreads Covid-19 and makes it more virulent.
According to the Guardian – One of the largest drops in pollution levels could be seen over the city of Wuhan, in central China, which was put under a strict lockdown in late January. The city of 11 million people serves as a major transportation hub and is home to hundreds of factories supplying car parts and other hardware to global supply chains. According to Nasa, nitrogen dioxide levels across eastern and central China have been 10-30% lower than normal.
It is understood that our roads account for about 80% of nitrogen oxide emissions in the UK. The average diesel car emits c50mg of the pollutants in to the air. With the reduction of traffic on our roads we are seeing a dramatic improvement in to the air we breathe.
The challenge for us all in the Hydrogen Community is how we can develop solutions that will keep our air quality clean without the need to reducing;
- the number of miles driven on our roads both private and public transport or
- a reduction in the energy we use to keep us warm and live comfortable life styles.
We at Hydrogen Ireland believe this can be achieved with the introduction of Renewable Hydrogen generated from Wind, Solar and AD generating plants.
With the Lockdowns many people to have been furloughed or permanently laid off. The development of clean, zero emission locally generated energy gives the potential for workers to retrain and up skill that will deliver new and sustainable jobs in this new renewable future.
Using renewable electricity and water for the production and distribution of Hydrogen fuel directly from a local renewable generation site means that the zero-emission fuel is delivered with a zero-carbon footprint. This method does not produce emissions for its generation and as we will be using our existing road tankers (all fuelled by Hydrogen in the future) means there is not a requirement for any additional transportation infrastructure for its delivery.
At Hydrogen Ireland we are keen to support the development of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Transport on the island of Ireland and are working closely with Hydrogen Mobility Ireland (HMI), a group of Irish stakeholders, with industry members from across the transport and energy industries.
The group plans to roll-out a network of refuelling stations across the Island of Ireland by 2030 which will supply hydrogen as a green, affordable and practical fuel for the decarbonisation of transport.
Funding is sought for a first project which will install the first three hydrogen refuelling stations in Ireland. These will be constructed in Dublin and supply green hydrogen to new zero emissions vehicles deployed as part of this project: 30 buses and 60 cars with fuel cell electric powertrains.
These refuelling stations will be supplied by two sites which produce hydrogen from varied low carbon electricity sources through the electrolysis of water. The hydrogen supplied will reduce CO2 emissions in Ireland by 96% compared to the higher carbon petrol/diesel alternative vehicles.
This project is needed to demonstrate both a business model for hydrogen production and distribution, and the deployment of first fleets of fuel cell vehicles to the Irish market. This initial project will catalyse investment in the further HMI roll-out strategy and support a move to a commercial model in the period from 2023 to 2030
The introduction of clean hydrogen fuel will ensure that city air remains clear and breathable. A total of 553,000 tonnes CO2 equivalent emissions can be avoided up to 2030, through the continued roll-out of hydrogen refuelling stations and fuel cell electric vehicles that will be catalysed by this first deployment on the island of Ireland.
This together with the 3 Hydrogen Buses and Hydrogen Fuelling Station project in Belfast supported by OLEV (Office foe Low Emission Vehicles) and the Interreg NWE supported GenComm project delivering a 500kW Hydrogen Electrolyser supplied directly from a wind farm is a great start for this Clean Air in our Cities in what will be a new norm.
